One day at a TIme

Taking it one day at a time is key in helping to stabilize your mood. You will never be able to control factors outside of yourself such as job stress, family concerns or even that rude driver that cuts you off on the freeway. However, what you do have some control over is the way that you respond to a situation.

Even though bipolar disorder is a mood disorder, with the proper treatment one can learn to control, at least in part, their reaction to outside stimuli. When a rude driver pisses me off on the freeway I can respond by yelling and screaming, which used to be typical for me, or by recognizing that I had no control over the situation and forgetting about it. While this may not be possible in all cases learning about the things that contribute to your mood upsets can go a long way in helping how you determine your response to them.

Sometimes it may feel like the whole world is crashing down. In fact I know that feeling quite well and have experienced it recently but through the crying, self doubting and feelings of devastation I have to continue to reassure myself that things will in fact be okay, maybe not great, but okay none the less. Sure I still felt all of these emotions and to an extent I still do, but just today I had one of my graduate professors tell me that I need to remember that there is nothing that can't be undone. We may not be able to change the past and the way we have previously responded to certain situations but we can change the way that we want to handle them in the future.

I still cry and yell and scream from time to time because I have also learned that sometimes you cant suppress the emotion and you just have to let yourself feel it. I may say that learning to control this disorder means one day at a time but sometimes it may feel like you are living minute to minute and that is expected. No one can be perfect all the time but you should not let one bad reaction determine your next reaction.

When in doubt or feeling overwhelmed talk to somebody, anybody that will listen and help you regain control over your emotions and yourself.