Prendo ciascuno in una fase diversa della vita. Mi è stato diagnosticato il disturbo bipolare all'età di 29 anni. Sapevo di essere bipolare però almeno quando avevo 19 anni. Cerco di mantenere la calma, ma a volte posso essere stressato, ma me la cavo abbastanza bene per essere quello che è nella vita.

I think the question is intended as what daily activities do you do in your life while living with bipolar. I’ll list the 5 things that made the biggest impact on my quality of life:

• 8 hours of sleep each night at as regular times as possible. I cannot emphasize this enough.
  • Randy Gardner is the current world record holder in the Guinness Book of World Records - What’s the Longest Amount of Time Someone Has Stayed Awake?
  • He identifies a lot of current issues with having stayed up over 11 days with no sleep
  • He will stay the world record holder, because GBoWR will not allow you to do this no-sleep record anymore, citing safety risk….they just let a guy jump from 24 miles up in space to earth in 2012 without similar safety concerns (per NPR (public radio) ) … sleep is important
• Medication is very effective. Whether in a crisis, or using lithium regularly, medication is a helpful tool. Try to find something that works for you, but remember it isn’t a silver bullet. Read up on Dr. Kay Jamison and her view on medication, she also manages through life with Bipolar.
• Exercise can be walking to the corner store, going on a run, anything that gets you outdoors and not looking at concrete or your phone.
  • I find Yoga is really helpful, as is running
• Support Network. Family, close friends, mental health groups, online forums, etc..
  • I really liked taking Nami’s peer to peer class, I highly recommend it
  • I think the Huddle app is interesting, not a big user as of yet but could find helpful if you are just looking to hear from people and/or tell your story -see link- Talk through it, together.
• Organisation, make a list of the 5 things you want to do today, this is a bare minimum list and could even go something like this
  • Get out of bed
  • Eat
  • Check to see if that succulent needs watering
  • Eat something you cook
  • Prepare to sleep for 8 hours

If you are having a crisis, NAMI is a great resource, and never be afraid of calling 911 if you need to:

NAMI HelpLine | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness