For many mental illnesses relapse is part and parcel. Bipolar disorder is one of these. What’s especially unnerving for people is that relapse can seem random, as though you go to bed feeling one way and wake up another, feeling hints of mania or depression.
Why relapse occurs is largely unknown. But we do know certain facts based on research findings, according to Joseph R. Calabrese, M.D., director of the Mood Disorders Program at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in this excellent article in bp Magazine on relapse:
“Those who are diagnosed with bipolar II are more likely to relapse than those with bipolar I. Their episodes of depression, mania or hypomania are often shorter than the episodes experienced by those with bipolar I but tend to return more often, according to Calabrese. It’s also far more common to relapse into depression than into mania or hypomania. Calabrese estimates that in bipolar II, there is a 40-to-1 ratio of depression to mania; the ratio of depression to mania drops to 3-to-1 in bipolar I.”
Even though relapse may be the rule, you do have some control in shrinking its severity and impact.
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Good artcle – have to PRACTICE strategies constantly. Haven’t had a relapse for many years, but keeping vigilant.
yup like what Keensland mentioned, indeed this is a very good article .To me what I normally do or what kinda strategies i use in minimizing relapse is foremost:
1) Prayer
and these really makes me laugh and happy just to see how fun they could become
tbc…
2) Doing exercise as in walking or u may do any type of exercise also can to me exercise not just it improves my stamina , health, but also moods i remembered how i first started of walking one mile seemed challenging and tired out easily . But I realized that after much walking it boast up my stamina and strength on my legs . if you just under depression state u may do some simple stretching ..
3) Never stop doing what u enjoyed from the beginning – hobbies
4) buy a pet or adopt one – despite the cleaning part might be troublesome but when u gives ur love for ur pet cat or dog in return ur stress decresed I captured some clips of my catdogs recently of how they get along so quickly that they does wrestling
5) Being grateful count ur blessings and getting involve in helping someone to be cheerful also gives enlightment and I can testified to this
6) Be Vulnerable – talk to a friends be open ,if u fear of something or fear of losing control? share it out .As the more you kept things inside ur heart the more its choke u despite of whatever thoughts it might be whatever troublling the best way is to be open and vulnerable
7) Be gentle with urself – just as each person handling a situation differently so as we feel differently give time to urself but also set goals
8) Hang out with friends never ever stay at home normally when you’re moody and you dont have mood to go out thats the moment u feel weak. ( I still recalled when I was too comfortable to be at home where my bed is my best friends too tired to go out , feel so weak ,cant work , etc even as friends encouraged me to go out and even drive all the way to pick me up to go to church at times I go at times I just stayed at home , I felt each day passes by my moods became negative. i became to have those negative thoughts etc . But I really appreciate my friends as they never fail reaching out to me and tries different ways just to help me and after few times I goes out I no longer depend on them I can go out or even goes to church on my own
One thing, its good to be close to nature, by this I mean eating fruits and vegetables as natural as one could find them. Adam in the Bible was bipolar. God told him to eat fruit that had seed in themselves, and herbs. He was not also to take from the tree of the kowledge of good and evil representing a false doctrine about Christ. So there is the spiritual food and the physical food, the spiritual dimension, and the physical dimension to the sickness. Exercise is also good, reading and studying, especially reading and studying one’s interests. Also having positiveand loving, platonic relationships with the opposite sexn and also taking regular showers under tap water or running water. Exercise is especially good in that it aids blood circulation to the brain and makes one sweat. Then one should not try to worry or should try and postpone any worry to the distant future making sure as much as possible one does not come back to them and just allow the situations to play out. This last one, avoiding worry is acactually very important. God made Adam, but He made others male and female. One needs to be complete. While those male and female are attracted to both sexes, one with Bipolar might need, like Adam, a special female to complete him. The same for a woman.
I think certain types of music help, I found through friends Somafm music radio differant styles of music some no words just flow…Also for me when exercizing helps to show me or amplify some of the early signs of mania or the other..
These are all good suggestions. It seems things have been making me sad lately.
Thank you.