Self-healing methods for bipolar disorder

All self-healing methods are supplements to standard clinical treatment (taking medication as directed by the doctor + regular follow-up visits + professional psychological consultation) and absolutely cannot replace medical intervention.； The core goal of self-healing is not to "completely eliminate emotional fluctuations", but to learn to live with fluctuations and bring the out-of-control emotional amplitude back to a safe range that will not harm yourself or affect normal life.

I have been working with the bipolar community for almost 4 years, and I have seen too many people panic to death when they were first diagnosed. They either refused to take medicine and relied on "willpower" to get through it, or they were so sick that they went to the doctor and bought a bunch of so-called "emotional regulation classes", which ended up in the emergency room. What impressed me the most was a boy who studied computer science that I met last year. When he was having a manic episode, he wrote code for 48 hours without sleeping. He felt that he could start a business project immediately. He used his credit card to buy a server worth hundreds of thousands. When he was depressed, he almost jumped off the building when he looked at the bill. Later, he took medicine on time and slowly adjusted. Although he still has ups and downs occasionally, at least he will not do anything he regrets anymore.

Nowadays, the mainstream CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) recommends everyone to do emotion tracking. This method is used by most of the patients around me, but it doesn’t need to be too complicated. You don’t need to buy any professional emotion scale. Just write it down in the memo on your mobile phone, even if you only write three or five words at a time: "On March 12th, I was depressed, and I bought 5 blind boxes." "On March 15th, I was depressed, and I lay down for a day without eating." If you remember it for a long time, you will naturally find your own patterns: for example, you will be depressed for a week before each menstruation, or you will most likely become irritable after staying up late for two days in a row. Just be prepared in advance next time. Of course, some scholars do not support too detailed emotion tracking, believing that it will cause patients to pay too much attention to their emotions and regard normal small fluctuations as "symptoms of illness", which will in turn aggravate anxiety. It all depends on your own feelings. If you feel more tired after recording, then don't remember it, just do it as you feel comfortable.

Speaking of this, I am reminded of the recently popular mindfulness adjustment. Many bloggers recommend mindfulness exercises to bipolar patients, saying that they should "completely accept your emotions and don't resist." However, many doctors in the clinic also put forward different views: For patients with manic episodes, excessive "acceptance" will allow their impulsive behavior to be indulged. For example, if you already feel that you are drifting, and you tell yourself to "accept this happiness", you may turn around and say nothing, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit cards, or even engage in more dangerous behaviors. My experience is that mindfulness is more suitable for regulating emotions during depression or stable periods. If you already feel that your mind can't stop spinning and you are so excited that you can't sleep, don't try to accept it, and quickly put the brakes on yourself: hand your phone to someone you trust, uninstall shopping apps, lock the door and go to sleep. If you really can't sleep, ask a doctor to prescribe some sleeping pills. Don't force yourself to take it.

When you are depressed, don't listen to other people's nonsense: "It will be fine if you just go for a walk" or "You just think too much". Just lie down when you can, and don't force yourself. When a patient of mine was depressed, the minimum goal he set for himself was to "get out of bed, brush his teeth, and drink a glass of warm water every day." If he could eat one more bite of his favorite strawberry cake one day, it would be considered an "excess achievement" that day, but he would recover much faster than forcing himself to exercise and study every day. After all, when you are depressed, your brain is like an old mobile phone that has run out of battery. If you try hard to turn it on, it will only flash for a moment and then shut down. It is better to plug it in and charge it slowly, and wait until the battery is enough before talking about anything else.

Oh, by the way, if you find that you can barely sleep for more than three days in a row, or you can't eat for a week, you don't even have the strength to get out of bed, or you even have thoughts of harming yourself, don't rely on self-healing, and see your attending doctor immediately for medication. This is an acute attack period, and the role of self-regulation is almost zero. Don't make fun of your own safety.

After getting sick, many people are afraid of contact with others. They either feel that they are "abnormal" and are afraid of being discriminated against, or when they are in a manic phase, they tend to talk nonsense and offend others, so they simply lock themselves up. Actually, no, you can explain your situation clearly to a few trusted friends around you, such as "I sometimes get very excited and talk a lot, or suddenly don't want to talk. It's not directed at you, it's because I'm in a bad state." People who really care about you will understand. If you encounter someone you don't understand, there's no need to explain, just stay away, and don't make yourself unhappy. I once had a friend who, after learning about my patient's condition, would ask in advance every time we got together, "How are you doing today?" Do you want to come out and sit for a while? ”, if she is not feeling well, just bring her a cup of milk tea and go to see her at home. There is no need to force social interaction, comfort is the most important thing.

In fact, after all, there is really no standard answer to self-healing. The good methods used by others may not work for you. For example, some people can calm down by doing yoga, and some people feel irritated by doing yoga, so there is no need to force yourself to do it. Dealing with this disease is inherently a process of trial and error. You don't have to force yourself to "get better" right away, nor do you have to blame yourself for occasional mood swings. I have seen many old patients who have been ill for more than ten years, and now they are living a good life. They work when they should, and fall in love when they should. Occasionally, they can take a two-day break when the mood comes up. It is not a big deal. After all, who hasn’t had some minor problems in this life? It’s good to take your time.