The hardest part for most Bipolar patients is handling the depressive moods or what I like to refer to as the “down days”. Mania, though hard to handle, is so much more fun than those days when you crash hard and feel like you don’t want to do anything but stay in bed. These tips can help you battle depression and at least tolerate this aspect of your moods:
1. Ride it out. - Recognizing that you are going through a depression is half the battle. I find that it is somewhat helpful to deal with a depression when you recognize that it is not a permanent experience. The depression will end if you can make it through it unscather. Our minds are built to correct the feeling of depression so even if you feel that your depression is at the top of its game, it will slowly get better. Focus on recognizing the depression, owning it, and realizing that it is temporary and you are going to eventually get better.
2. Fight the urge to give up - Though you feel like staying in bed all day and missing work, try to fight the urge to give into these feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness. Try to keep your regular schedule and focus on doing (despite the way you feel.) Your depression wants you to give up and stay sedentary, but you might find if you battle against the urge to give up, you will decrease the duration of the depression. You may be miserable throughout, but allowing yourself to ignore your coping skills and dropout of society is only going to prolong the event.
3. Don’t listen to the negative thoughts in your mind - Your mind is going to work hard to rationalize your feelings of depression. As human beings we are designed to give reason to our emotions and try to make them better or explainable in our minds. Depression is very good at telling you that the feelings you have are grounded in real life and your world. Recognize that your mind is going through a depression and try to discount the connection between how you are feeling and the truth in your life. It sometimes helps to make a list of the “truths” in your life and referring to these when depression strikes. Your mind will try hard to make you paranoid, suicidal, or worried. Feelings are just feelings. They are not true just because you feel bad and depressed. Concentrate on the fact that you are going through something that will pass.
3. Don’t listen to the negative thoughts in your mind - Your mind is going to work hard to rationalize your feelings of depression. As human beings we are designed to give reason to our emotions and try to make them better or explainable in our minds. Depression is very good at telling you that the feelings you have are grounded in real life and your world. Recognize that your mind is going through a depression and try to discount the connection between how you are feeling and the truth in your life. It sometimes helps to make a list of the “truths” in your life and referring to these when depression strikes. Your mind will try hard to make you paranoid, suicidal, or worried. Feelings are just feelings. They are not true just because you feel bad and depressed. Concentrate on the fact that you are going through something that will pass.
4. Reach out to a loved one - So often with depression we feel like a bother when it comes to other people. No one wants to be a downer to those around us. Still, it is important for someone to love to know that you are going through a depression. They won’t always know how to help you, but telling them will help them to recognize any thoughts of suicide or paranoia. Give your loved ones the help they need by learning to recognize your moods, even if you feel like withdrawing and hiding. Odds are good they already know you are depressed.
5. Don’t self medicate - It would be so nice if there was a magic pill that ended your depression, but most of the methods we use to self-medicate typically make us more depressed. Fight the urge to change the amount of pills that are prescribed to you or drinking alcohol when you are depressed. Most of the pills and alcohol you consume are depressants and will usually draw you deeper and lower in your mood. It may be painful and you just want to escape, but that escape usually comes with a price. Try to remember that you want the depression to subside and that it will. Don’t let self-medication give you a problem that will still exist when you finish this mood.
5. Don’t self medicate - It would be so nice if there was a magic pill that ended your depression, but most of the methods we use to self-medicate typically make us more depressed. Fight the urge to change the amount of pills that are prescribed to you or drinking alcohol when you are depressed. Most of the pills and alcohol you consume are depressants and will usually draw you deeper and lower in your mood. It may be painful and you just want to escape, but that escape usually comes with a price. Try to remember that you want the depression to subside and that it will. Don’t let self-medication give you a problem that will still exist when you finish this mood.
6. Take Breaks - When you are depressed you need to take breaks and comfort yourself. It is horrible and sometimes we try to push past our limits. It is good to give yourself space and time to make it through the episode. Remember to keep your stress at a minimum and allow yourself to recover at a pace that works for you.
7. Consult your psychiatrist - Sometimes a depressive episode is caused by failures in your medication. This may be a sign that you need to change mood stabilizers and/or your depression medication. These drugs sometimes stop working and it is important to let your doctor know when they are happen frequently and the duration and intensity of the depression.
The best advice I can give, and what has helped me, is the knowledge that you have a disorder that causes these depressions. They will pass, but you can try to minimize the damage created by them by acknowledging your depression and committing to the idea that they are a normal part of your disorder. You will survive them, so try not to lose hope when you feel this way. Whatever you are feeling today, will be better tomorrow, no matter how hopeless you feel.
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