Chronotherapy to Entrepreneurialism – Coping Strategies for Living with Bipolar Disorder
Dr. Raison discusses the pros and difficulties of keeping a routine to help control bipolar symptoms. "I have personally had great luck with using routines (or more formally chronotherapy) to help people with bipolar disorder. One of the sickest patients I ever cared for was able to completely turn her life around by committing deeply to establishing very strict routines that helped stabilize her sleep."
Margaux Salcedo, with Sunday Inquirer Magazine, reports that Jetro, owner of the Van Gogh is Bipolar restaurant in Quezon City in the Philippines, has found his solution in food. "Diagnosed as being bipolar since he was young and having experienced medication that made him feel worse, he began experimenting with his diet, cooking with ingredients that made him happy and avoiding food that would lead him to spiral into depression." He has taken his coping strategy and turned it into his business.
His menu is comprised of cuisine named after celebrities who have bipolar disorder. There is an Axl Rose Egg Shot, a Sting Hot Cherry Potato and Larry Flynt's Cabbage Experience. And of course, Van Gogh rice.
Do you have any solid or unique coping strategies for living with bipolar disorder? ~Kimberly
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I have found that AA has not only stopped my drinking, but helped me to find Good Orderly direction and and Discipline, and not to focus on the problem of Bi-Polar, but to focus on the solutions. I can’t believe how many limiting lies I told myself out of fear of being Bi-Polar, or because I used Bi-Polar to hide my laziness and sloth.
I’ve used Bi-Polar as an excuse to not to try to put Simple order in my life, because being BP thrives on being complicated and muchness of everything. I’m by no means perfect, especially in social skills, but I follow people who can show me the way.
I’ve done the same thing. As I get up way too early and love to bake, have just started a baking business from home. Much better than thinking about the wrong things or spending far too much time on the computer which further charges the already crazed and sleep deprived mind.
I find baking meditative and therapeutic and a joy.
http://www.karmapies.com
And when people ask, how can you make all this stuff before 7 am, I just smile and think inside my mind, these are the joys of mania!! I hope I can continue this in my depressive phase, which starts soon, in the winter, because I feel, this may be the routine which helps me to stay clear of the lows this winter.
Love,
Jhilmil
When i’m hypomanic i tend to overspend. The way I handle this is to keep a list with the headings what do i want, what do i need and what do i desire. So I don’t feel deprived I keep a wish list at Amazon.com. I put things down that i would really like to buy. Then I look for ways to get them by bartering or hosting a group swap of unwanted clothes or household items or trinkets. I use the need column to help me proiritize things i need like cleaning products.
Prior to being diagnosed with Bipolar 10 years ago, I was working full-time in a public service office job. For the following 4 years, I jumped from job to job, from study to study. I would apply for jobs when normal or hypomanic, only to quit when I slumped into depression 4 months later. It was so frustrating – suddenly my career didn’t work for me anymore! Eventually I sat on the Disability Support Pension (AUS) for 2 years as I could not find a job that fit my criteria: No early morning starts, 6 hours max day, flexible working hours, a boss with whom I could be honest about my illness, flexibility for me to be able to manage my own workload around my mood-swings AND still be trusted with stimulating work with responsbility.
Two years ago, I decided to switch my hobby to my “real job” – furniture restoration – as a small business working from home. This allows me all the flexibility I need, although the “staying self-motivated” requirement is a new challenge! I also do short bursts of annual-leave cover in an office about 3 times a year, which helps me get my “corporate hit”. I love working like this and my mental health has vastly improved and remained that way. So far so good!
(Albeit, one must take into account personality type when choosing work structure. Some people thrive on the haphazardness that working from home provides – like me – but others may thrive on more scheduled, supervised work performed in an office or worksite.)
When I was diagnosed 10 years ago, my psychiatrist told me that I must go to bed at 10pm EVERY NIGHT and sleep for 7+ hours. I was 21 – and partying alot at the time – so needless to say I did not follow that advice.
A “must have” bipolar management strategy I have developed since, is that “I must have 8 hours sleep every night”. Occasionally, I will stay up until 4am after parties, but will ALWAYS designate myself a full 8 hours of sleep from that time. Even if it means I get up at 3pm!
This way I’m not depriving myself good fun social times, but I’m ensuring that I’m managing my health as best I can. It works for me!