Your Journey With Bipolar Disorder

When managing a mental illness like bipolar disorder, it is always a good idea to stop, take a deep breath, and determine where you are in your journey. Find out where you are presently, so you know where you should be going.

It is imperative that you learn the ins-and-outs of how your bipolar disorder manifests itself. Your journey through life is an evolution of becoming more self-aware about yourself and, ultimately, how to best manage from day-to-day.

Ask yourself questions, and use the answers to help you understand where you are at in the present moment. This will provide you with some clarity.

To help provide you with some clarity, I have broken down the journey of bipolar disorder into stages. Take a look, and hopefully it will provide you with some illumination.

Stage 1

Think of stage 1 as “ground zero.” It can feel like you have no clue what is going on and that your life is in utter chaos. For me, I felt like my emotions were out of control – I had no control. At this first stage, some are searching for answers, and this was me.

Stage 2

Stage 2 is where a concrete diagnosis is made. This is pretty much black-and-white – you are diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or you are not. Looking for answers helped me to discover my diagnosis at such a young age. I kept seeking out answers, and I persisted until I found them.

Stage 3

Stage 3 is the “guinea pig” stage. It is here that your doctor will utilize medication to help you better manage your bipolar disorder, at least if you are following the medical model of treatment. I wish this stage happened more timely and efficiently. Unfortunately, this stage can take years of testing your resolve. It took me close to 10 years to find the right combination of meds that gave me the ability to function and that I could tolerate.

During this stage, I also experimented with tools, strategies, and techniques to work in tandem with my medication. Since this stage lasted close to 10 years for me, it gave me quite a bit of time to fine-tune the protocols I now utilize to successfully manage my bipolar disorder.

Stage 4

State 4 is the last stage. You can think of it as the “remission stage,” recovery state, or “management stage.” It is here, after many years of trial and error, that I found a protocol to successfully manage my bipolar disorder. Through years of feeling like a “guinea pig,” I created a treatment plan that has helped me feel better, happier, healthier, stronger, and a more capable contributing member to society.

Last Thoughts

We are all individuals – unique when it comes to our biology, health, and genetic makeup. This uniqueness extends to bipolar disorder, as well. You can look at two people with bipolar disorder, and they will present with different symptoms. Yes, there is a specific list of diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder, but symptomology can vary as much as the individual.

If you are able to pinpoint the stage you are currently in, then you can figure out what action you need to take in order to move forward. Hopefully, this clarity will provide you some hope and give you direction.