Bipolar Treatment

• BLOG

Assembling a care team comprised of trained professionals, family, and friends is crucial to building the support system you’ll need while navigating bipolar The first reactions of someone just recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder often include denial, horror, shame, fear, anger and a host of other negative feelings. Shame and denial have been the strongest...

• ARTICLE

Internationally known visual artist Derek Hess uses his personal struggle with bipolar and alcoholism to creatively express the raw intensity of the human experience. If ever there were a way to tap into the human psyche and lay it bare for all to see, celebrated visual artist Derek Hess has found the key. Indeed, the...

• ARTICLE

Walking can help you balance bipolar moods, relieve stress, sleep better, and feel less lonely. Find out how to take the first steps. It was by accident that Marian figured out walking could be more than just a mode of transportation or exercise. Years ago, she was going through a bad depressive episode after moving...

• ARTICLE

When you’ve come to depend on your therapist, learning they’re retiring can be devastating. While searching for a new one, avoid these common behaviors. I thought I would be fine when my therapist retired after almost 13 years together. After all, I didn’t really need a therapist, right? I know how to manage my bipolar....

• BLOG

What if someone is telling you that you have bipolar, but you don’t think that the diagnosis is correct? A reader asked a really good question on my blog post “Dealing with Bipolar Disorder Denial.” She wanted to know what to do if someone in your life—a friend, loved one, coworker—tells you that they believe...

You’re full of ideas and thrive on challenges, but know a stable lifestyle is essential. Fortunately, you can satisfy your desire for challenges, and still maintain balance. If you’re like me, you’re chock-full of bright ideas. You’ve got tons of inspiration. You love the new, new, new—and get bored easily. You’re always looking to shake...

• BLOG

Getting stuck in the past prevents you from living in the present. While you can’t ignore your past, you can keep it in perspective while moving forward. I’m 56 years old. Well into middle-age and pushing the envelope on the later part of life. I’m certainly closer to the end than the beginning. But that’s...

• BLOG

There are times in life when we must be our own best advocate. This can be difficult when depressed or manic; however, it is doable. Countless times, I have thought to myself, “All persons with bipolar disorder should have some type of advocate.” Not only the sort of advocate you’d find in a lobbyist group...

• BLOG

It’s easier to tackle a mental health crisis when you know what to do ahead of time. Use these tips to develop your own crisis plan. Life is difficult and it can be extremely stressful for everyone, not only for people who live with bipolar disorder. However, when life causes triggers to occur that spark...

• BLOG

There are times when we are a mess inside emotionally, but we pretend that everything is okay. However, this practice can be counterproductive in the long run. It’s interesting how those of us living with bipolar disorder sometimes look like everything is okay on the outside, while really on the inside we’re just a big...

• BLOG

Finding a support group can be difficult, let alone one that fits your personality. It’s still worth it though to check out local resources. Since my diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 1995, I have always felt that something has been missing. I have attended years of therapy, and have a great deal of family support,...

• BLOG

While bipolar disorder can be confusing and frustrating, learning about this condition can help a person manage better through education and healthy living. If you’ve followed my blog here at bphope.com, then you know that I have been living with bipolar disorder for a long time—a very long time. So long, in fact, that when...

• ARTICLE

Cleveland Clinic researchers have found that better cardiorespiratory fitness leads to longer life, with no limit to the benefit of aerobic fitness.   Researchers retrospectively studied 122,007 patients who underwent exercise treadmill testing at Cleveland Clinic between Jan. 1, 1991, and Dec. 31, 2014, to measure all-cause mortality relating to the benefits of exercise and...

• ARTICLE

During a hospitalization, an entrepreneur with bipolar disorder discovers how music can create a shared community and a way forward in difficult times.   As a touring musician in my 20s, I enjoyed many wonderful times. But as I look back, it’s actually a sing-along in a mental health clinic that to this day is...

• ARTICLE

Despite that nasty voice in our heads that’s always saying “You can’t,” we are eternally worthy and useful. We can, and do!   “You’re lazy. You’re useless. You’re better off giving up,” I said to no one ever. Except, of course, if you count me. I could never imagine saying any of this to another...

• ARTICLE

Finding useful information and nurturing connections with friends, family, and people with common interests are good things. Depression, demoralization, and isolation aren’t.   Today we communicate and interact in a manner unprecedented in human history. Social media—such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.—are mainstream technologies that allow us to communicate and connect with each other online....

• ARTICLE

Are you in shock over holiday spending? Use these strategies to take control of your finances now and over the long term.   Do you ever look back over the past year and wish you had made better financial decisions? I do. When it comes to holiday spending, you’re not alone if you’re wondering, What...

• ARTICLE

While mood-stabilizing medications have long been the centerpiece for treatment, education and therapy that includes family support are essential for lifelong success.   For years, many in the mental health field believed that treating bipolar disorder came only in the form of medications, and that therapy, family support, and education about the condition were far...

• ARTICLE

Strategies for managing bipolar also apply to weight loss. How to adapt principles like mindfulness, self-monitoring, and a support team to slimming down.   Whether you’d like to lose a little weight or a lot, you’ve got company: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than 70 percent of Americans over age 20...

• ARTICLE

Repairing relationships, routines, and reputation after a severe episode of (hypo)mania or bipolar depression requires small steps and a willingness to seek change.   In the spring of 2017, Jess L. got the news that her estranged father had been in a serious car accident. The combination of uncertainty about his prospects, emotional baggage from...