Recovering From Bipolar Disorder

People are often confused when the word ‘recovery’ is combined with mental health disorders. Recovery is a term most often used in medical settings, like recovering from a surgery, and treatment settings, like being in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Recovery doesn’t mean all of the symptoms go away and everything goes back to normal, though the very definition of recovery indicates “a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength”. People ask if they’re ever done recovering when they’re in recovery for drug and alcohol addiction, as if to ask if they will one day be recovered. Mental health conditions are relapsing and remitting, which means that there is a good chance they will stay in remission for the rest of their lives and there’s also a chance they will relapse. Mood and personality disorders can be more difficult to predict. Relapse in drug and alcohol addiction happens when someone picks up drugs and alcohol again.

For recovery from a mental health condition like bipolar, for example, there many treatment methods and therapy types which can help reduce the intensity of symptoms to the point of manageability. Bipolar disorder, and any other mental health disorder, is not “cured” by recovery. Science hasn’t yet found a “cure” for mental illness. What recovery does do is make living with a mental health condition more manageable. There is a chance that the mood swings will slow down and not be as drastic. By practicing these different therapies, techniques, tools, and methods, managing mood swings when they do happen is easier. Most of the tools included for making bipolar recovery successful are tools that everyone needs to balance in their daily lives, like sleep. A lack of sleep makes anyone feel a little frazzled. In bipolar disorder, sleep is rarely stable. During depressive episodes there can be an excess amount of sleep for two reasons. First, sleepiness, fatigue, and exhaustion are common symptoms of depression. Bipolar depression is different from other forms of depression because bipolar also includes mania. During manic episodes, insomnia is common, keeping someone with bipolar awake many hours of the night and still at high energy during the day. Once they crash into a depressive episode, they are exhausted. Bipolar recovery uses tools like mindfulness to notice when there is a shift in mood coming and focus on creating normalcy in sleep as much as possible. Regularly talking to a therapist helps someone with bipolar stay in check about where they are and prepare for an oncoming mood shift.

Harmony Place is a dual diagnosis treatment center offering luxury residential treatment to men and women. Our warm and welcoming environment meets people in recovery right where they are and helps them achieve their goals for life success. For a private consultation, call us today: 1-888-789-4330