Struggling with bipolar
Please help, what helps you when you are very depressed. I was in a psych hospital. Getting Ketamine treatment, waiting for results. What helps you? Please.
Being on the right medications at the right time of day. I take my antidepressant once in the morning and once again at night. I also take a mood stabilizer daily.
Setting up a routine sleep schedule helps if you’re able to. I also like staying busy and keeping myself distracted.
@Lenna8210
Hi Lenna. It sounds like you're really struggling. Like, way at the bottom. Desperate. Yes? I've been there.
There's no one answer for everyone, but for me, here are some things that helped:
1. Having a therapist to support me getting through the worst of it. Knowing when *not* do do cognitive therapy, but coping skills instead, or just support.
2. finding a local support group where people really understood 'cause they were going through it too. That was huge. For me, it was DBSA (depression bipolar support alliance).
3. Having good supports and making promises/commitments to those people when I lost hope.
4. There was once that I had the right med combination and it was great. I got bad side effects and had to go off, though. Then, after several years of trying to find another combo, I finally agreed to ECT. It helped, but with lasting side effects. However, I can now smile and laugh etc. which was something I could not do before.
@Lenna8210
Im sorry to hear that you were in hospital how are you now .Some tips that could help are listening to music ,drawing or talking to someone
Thank you everyone
Sleep. It’s so simple but something I never thought about. I started tracking my mood and sleep habits and noticed when I have a bad night’s sleep, it throws me off. After a few of those and it can send me into a depressive state.
@Lenna8210
How are you doing, Lenna?