Bipolar Disorder, Pressure and Anxiety

One thing that I have definitely found, after having manic depression for 20+ years, is that the more you rush around, the more wound up and manic you begin to feel. I call it The Bipolar Rush.

I am definitely a deadline motivated person, so even though there are many aspects of my disorder that I have a reasonable handle on, I frequently find that I feed my mania by not leaving myself enough time and hurrying from task to task.

So what can be done to avoid the manic rush?

Planning and Over Scheduling
Here are a few tips that I try to keep in mind:

• Be sure to give yourself more than enough time; build "buffer time" right into your schedule to help absorb the unexpected events that take up time.
• If you are going somewhere, get the essentials done FIRST. Before you allow yourself to move on to other tasks, make sure that you have gotten everything, including yourself, ready to the point that you can walk out the door at a moments notice. Place all the items that you are taking with you on the counter (and don't forget the keys).
• If you have to leave your home early in the morning, be sure to get everything ready the night before. Heading out the door will be a much more relaxing experience.
• If you've gotten to that point where there is not way to avoid rushing at the moment, lay off the caffeine! In the analogy that rushing around with bipolar disorder is like feeding a manic fire, adding caffeine is akin to throwing gasoline on the flames. Grab a decaf!
• Remember, you don't have to get everything done today!

Mooday

My own rushing around is what prompted me to write on this topic today. So, yup, I've been a bit on the hypomanic for the past few days.

Mood-ie-Meter
Manic 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 depresseD

This blog is for informational purposes only, it is not intended to be used for the treatment of mental illness. If you are having emotional troubles, please see a mental health professional .