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How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? None. The light bulb has to want to change. It’s supposed to be a joke (a lame one, I know) but doesn’t this also apply to people? A lot of people who have bipolar disorder think that medication is all they need. They expect to simply take a pill (or two or three or four) every day. Behavioral therapy is often overlooked during the treatment of bipolar disorder, but it is a very important step towards achieving stability. Maintaining a regular schedule and getting enough rest can help increase the length of time between episodes. It is equally important to avoid alcohol and drugs because they can interfere with how the medications work. The desire to achieve stability and improve your condition is the first step. Set goals and work towards them. Chart your moods and take note of what affects them. Sometimes you can make small changes that will help a great deal. It is imperative that you understand that while you do have some control, you do not have complete control. What this means is that you cannot see failure (recurrence of an episode) as a personal failure. Changing your lifestyle can help you to avoid episodes for longer periods of time and decrease their severity but it can’t keep you from having them altogether. But, if you can go longer between episodes or the episodes aren’t as bad, isn’t it worth it? Choosing to be active and proactive in your treatment can improve your condition and help to make it easier to deal with. In a sense, you have to want to change in order to actually change. Since I have begun to analyze my actions and seek ways to deal with my emotions, I have found that my episodes aren’t as severe as they once were. I look for ways to cope and actively seek ways to improve my overall mood. I try to avoid situations that cause me to become agitated and I am trying to learn to let things go. I gave up feeling sorry for myself and using bipolar disorder as a scapegoat for every issue. I am not saying it’s a cure, but it has made it a lot better. It has forced me to face the issues in front of me and identify ways to deal with them. As a result, I have improved my self esteem because I am proud of how hard I am working to take more control. Please understand that none of this will end a depressive or manic episode, but if you take small steps between episodes it can help you to avoid one for a longer period of time. In the end, that’s the best we can hope for.

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1. All About Bipolar: Effective and Ineffective Management