Month: September 2018

How To Continue Living As A Bipolar Teen

One does not have to be a genius to know how devastating it is to be a teenager with bipolar disorder. According to John M. Grohol, Psy.D., “It is characterized by alternating moods of mania and depression, both of which usually last weeks or even months in most people who have the disorder.”

You cannot charge all your success to determination and hard work as the mania might have fueled your adrenaline. When you look sad, the entire family tends to panic and keep you in a close watch because the depression might push you to attempt suicide. Moreover, it is tough to know which side of the disorder will strike at any time.

Despite that, hoping that you’ll find normalcy as a bipolar teen does not make you crazy. It is possible, primarily once you stop hating the disorder and start doing the following.

1. Avoid Stress At All Cost

People believe that your teenage years comprise the busiest period of your life. Everyone expects you to excel at school and sports. You ought to join different clubs to figure out your other talents. Aside from that, you need to socialize with adolescents in and out of school as a way to build connections for the future.

The problem with having to do all of these things is that your stress level has nowhere to go but up. High levels of stress can break even the most mentally stable person you know. When you acquire it and still need to deal with bipolar disorder, you are likely to experience one manic or depressive episode after another. “It’s important to take things slowly and avoid stressful situations,” says Steve Bressert, Ph.D. “If you are a student, most colleges and universities will offer good support and advice.” Hence, you should limit the stressful activities you participate in and try to be chill all the time.

2. Watch Your Diet

It is recommended for a bipolar teen like yourself to pay attention to everything you eat. Consuming a few servings of greasy meals, cakes, and pastries, and junk foods daily can affect your health severely. Not only will you be a candidate for diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, but your mental disorder may also flare up due to it.

You see, the more you stuff yourself with fattening dishes, the lesser articles of clothing you can wear. The shirts won’t fit; the pants are impossible to button up. Going through a series of clothes to an ensemble that can encase your blossoming figure can undoubtedly be depressing, so you need to control your cravings to prevent the symptoms from getting in the way.

3. Get Enough Sleep

“Sleep is critical for people with bipolar disorder,” says Margarita Tartakovsky, MS. On a regular basis, sleep deprivation causes your skin to break out and gives you dark bags under the eyes. If you happen to have bipolar disorder, the lack of rest at night will not only be terrible for your aesthetics but can also trigger your manic episodes.

Likewise, it will help if you avoid sleeping for more than eight hours every day. That is a sign of depression, and you are merely feeding the disorder by letting your eyes stay shut for too long.

It is best to stick with a bedtime schedule so that you won’t accidentally activate the illness with irregular sleeping habits.

To Sum Things Up

Bipolar disorder is an illness that affects your mood and way of thinking. There is no cure for this condition; you can only try to cope with it. Because of that, you have to change some aspects of your life that can worsen the disease.

Feel free to start with the three things mentioned above, and then keep on looking for more facets to improve as you mature.