(Guides' Note: Sometimes we focus so much on drug therapy for manic depression that we forget about psychotherapeutic treatment. The following article addresses a behavioral therapy technique called "pacing" which can be practiced very beneficially in conjunction with walking. We here at About.com's Bipolar Disorder Guidesite believe that exercise is an important part of regaining and maintaining mental health, and we like this idea of turning exercise into walk therapy.)
People with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder often feel that they have no control over their own rhythms. However, your rhythms are not solely a result of chemical reaction somewhere up in the land of neurotransmitters. Behavioral change needs to be part of a medication and therapy regimen. The knowledge that behavior is flexible has been around since B.F. Skinner, and recent research shows that neural pathways are changeable with time and practice.
How do you change your behavior? First you need awareness of a different kind. This awareness is the physical side of the psychological story. There is daily work to be done that will help you feel more in control.
"Pacing" is a tool for regaining a sense of control and learning that a "process" view of life can be creative and satisfying. Many people with Bipolar Disorder can't shift their pace or focus easily. There is a "locked in" feeling to the upswing and downswing modes. It is as if your accelerator is stuck, or you have run out of gas. There is a need to find other paces and the different focus levels that exist rather than these extremes; a need to learn how to gently shift from one focus area to another, and to change pace when you want to.
This article introduces a new form of therapy that uses behavioral techniques to learn a middle ground focus and moderate pacing.
SPECIFIC METHODS
There are specific methods for learning to be aware of which focus area you are in and which pace. I can put you behind the steering wheel of a sports car and tell you all about shifting gears, but unless you have experience with a sports car you will have to learn to "listen to the engine." Listening to your engine will give you the information you need to know when to shift gears.
Without getting to know the rhythm of the engine you will have many problems driving the car. If you don't know what gear you are in, you don't know when to shift into another one. You don't know the sequence: for example, that fourth gear doesn't shift well back into first. And when you are stopped, it is good to go through all the gears before you get into overdrive.
Your system of focus and pace works the same way. While driving you have to be aware of the road in front of you, your car, the cars beside you and in back of you. You have to focus outside the car and inside the car. All this is a great metaphor. So how do you get "under the hood"?
The easiest way to make behavioral changes is becoming aware of focus and pace and learning to shift them around as you need to. You have to feel which pace you are in and which focus you are in, in order to work on changes.
You can experience focus levels right now:
Inner Focus
An inner focus area is made up of your internal world of thoughts and feelings. To experience fully you can close your eyes right now.
You will also notice an inner rhythm, of breathing and heart rate. Close your eyes and listen...
Middle Ground
As you open your eyes, look at your desk in front of you or the back of someone's head or whatever is in the space about three to four feet ahead.
This is a middle ground focus. There are people and tasks and places in it. This middle ground is where many bipolar people have little or no experience. However, It is where the majority of people spend most of their time. This is the focus area for daily tasks and processes.
Big Picture
Now shift your gaze to a space about eight to ten feet ahead of you.
This is a larger focus area where you see many things and full of action.
HOW IT IS DONE
It is easier to shift gears when you can recognize your own rhythms. We live in a world of motion, so we can use walking as the easiest and most practical movement for learning about pace and focus.
PACE
Three paces are used in the walk as clues to the level of energy that accompanies an idea or emotion. This pacing of physical movement allows a full range of pace and focus to be experienced.
A Slow Pace
Slowing down can be a relief as pressure to push ahead becomes de-pressurized, as we regain a sense of where we are and when we are. The act of slowing down may reveal an emotion or problem. Slow rhythms can feel like paralysis, depressed, sad, and sluggish. The slow pace may be scary as you become more involved in your deeper feelings. Pacing will help you shift into or away from these feeling as you gain more control.
