Looking for recommendations

[Hsim]

Got diagnosed 1 month ago and still a long way before medical treatment. I looked at different way to remove the stress and help sleeping. Any one uses like a hot tub before bed time? And how do you explain your condition to your love one...

[paul m]

Hello Hsim. In regards to a hot tub, I would imagine that it would be relaxing, I know that a hot bath always relaxes me. According to the following article it helps https://www.health.com/health/condit...189095,00.html . There are also several other hints.

Explaining our illness to others is tough. There are times when I don't understand my own illness (bipolar) much less explain it to others. I found that getting articles that were easy to read and giving them to my spouse helped some, so did taking her on some of my pdoc appts. She seemed to take the answers from a doctor better than she did from me. Take Care. paul m

[nancyxia]

hi, I have been living with bipolar disorder for all my life and I have had two major episodes and a few suicide attempts. Growing up, sleeping is always difficult. and I was always stressed over everything, overreacting and sensitive to every thing. very negative and pessimistic. overflowing with mental energy.

My entire personality and mental health changed ever since being on the right medication. I am now taking Epival (500mg) and Seroquel (125mg) every day, which is the minimal dosage. I am doing really well right now.

Not sure how severe your condition is, perhaps you can manage without medication. but you should always avoid anything that changes the biochemical components in your brain, such as caffeine, smoking, drinking, etc. Try to improve your overall health with exercise and good diet. If you cannot manage without medication, then you should be open minded about trying meds. It took me a while to find the right meds and dosage, but ever since being on the right meds for 11 years, I have not had another mental health breakdown, no matter how touch life gets. Being happy and positive is effortless and my sleep is superb!

when it comes to telling others about your condition, I think Bipolar Disorder is more known right now compared to other conditions, thanks to all the celebrities who have bipolar like Demi, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Jim Carrey, etc. because of them, people have the perception that a bipolar person can still function like a normal person. Unlike schizophrenia, or other more psychotic disorder, I think Bipolar has less of a negative vibe. you know what I mean? I think if you tell others you have this condition, they won't judge you as much, instead, they might be able to understand more about why you did what you did when you were ill. I tell my friends or new friends or even strangers all the time that I have bipolar disorder, because I am in a wheelchair as a result of a suicide attempt when I was 18, whenever people want to know why I am in a wheelchair, I just tell them the truth that I have bipolar disorder. but through interactions, they know that I am a functional and "normal" person. I didn't lose any meaningful friendship because of my condition. For the ones that "care" about my mental health history (which happened maybe twice), perhaps they are not good people to befriend with, and I don't care if we are no longer friends.

hope this helps. you can read my story in my first post.

[Kaight]

Hi Hsim,

Hope things are going OK for you and that you are fitting together the puzzle pieces that come with this diagnosis. I hope also that you have found a way to tell your love ones and that they are there to offer you the support you need.

I kept my depression a secret from everyone but my husband for years. I am very grateful that a friend eventually opened up about her mental health challenges and I found someone I could talk to openly... no judgement, just compassion. This was life-changing. Having someone who understands and wants to hear how things are going is the air needed to breath while going through something like this.

This forum was also a life saver. I was very lucky that there were lots of regular posters when I first joined. A combination of reading through the experiences of others and of me taking time daily to write down my thoughts had a huge impact of my recovery.

Take care,
K.