Living Life to the Fullest

Regardless if you have Bipolar Disorder or any other illness for that matter you have to live your life to the fullest keep a positive attitude and live for each day. Make it a point to do something each day that is different from your last. It can be the simplest thing such as riding a bike, taking a walk or watching your favorite sport. Make sure to incorporate change each day because it helps getting you through problems and hardships in our lives. Remember life is difficult for us all, it is how we deal with it that counts the most. The number one thing to always follow is never give up in your life no matter how hard things get. I too have gone through hardships and still deal with them today but I know I need to keep a positive attitude and just give it my all each day. Well that is my advice for today. Until next time stay active and safe!

Setting out to Accomplish your Dreams and Goals

Everyone has dreams some are small dreams while others are big dreams but all are dreams that can be accomplish regardless of your circumstances. Those who deal with Bipolar Disorder are often told to give up on their dreams because they will never be able to accomplish what it is they set out to do. That is a lie and myth, even though you may have Bipolar Disorder that should never deter you from reaching and accomplishing your dreams. Do not let an obstacle such as Bipolar Disorder get in the way of any of your dreams or goals that you want to accomplish. The one important thing to do is surround yourself with people who are supportive of your dreams and goals and can encourage you to never give up on them.
I know setting goals and having dreams may be difficult when going through a depressive episode but you can easily write one or two goals down on paper and return to them at a later time. Same goes for dreams you have for the future be sure to write them down and you can go back to them to make sure that you don't give up on them.
So once again let me say be sure to set goals and have dreams for your future just because you may have Bipolar Disorder it does not mean you have to give up on your goals and dreams just keep reaching and working hard and you will see how much you can really accomplish along the way.
Until next time stay active and safe!

The Pros and Cons of Support Groups

Most patients who have Bipolar Disorder don't know if support groups are effective or not. So I thought I would just go over some of the Pros and Cons of Support Groups. First I will give you the Pros.
1. Support Groups allow you to share not only problems you may be having but also possible solutions with others who may be going to the same problems as you.
2. Support Groups are a great way to meet others who go through the same ups and downs that you experience.
3. Support Groups are an excellent way to build up friendships.
4. Support Groups allow you and others who care for you to express their feelings.
5. Support Groups give you hope that things will truly be alright.

Now onto the Cons of Support Groups
1. Support Groups tend to bring together people who share only criticisms of people who deal with Bipolar Disorder.
2. Support Groups leaves the Bipolar sufferer feeling worst because they are not given any hope to overcome their problems.
3. Support Groups sometimes have attendees that whine and complain about how bad they have it but can not do anything to change it.
4. Support Groups sometimes can lead to arguments and disagreements which can be very detrimental to a person's progress who has Bipolar Disorder.
5. Support Groups do not always give you useful coping strategies and sometimes leave you feeling empty.
Well, those are the Pros and Cons of Support Groups. Again support groups do often help but sometimes they can also bring along more stress and hardship. There are many options for anyone who has Bipolar Disorder you just have to be the one that takes the first step in asking for help.
Until next time stay active and safe!

Don't let Bipolar Disorder Take Over Your Life

It is very important to not let Bipolar Disorder take over your life. You should not allow the Disorder stand in your way of accomplishing whatever it is you want to accomplish. These accomplishments do not have to be huge. They can be as small as getting out and taking a walk or even going to see a friend to talk to. Believe me it would do you a lot of good if you got out of your same routine and did something you may have not done in a while.
One trap that people who are dealing with Bipolar Disorder tend to fall into is isolating themselves from the outside world they simply shut themselves out of everything that is going on including staying away from family and not attending family functions. I know this firsthand because I have done it myself, even though it may be difficult to approach or embarrassing to show yourself at family functions it can do you a lot of good. The interaction with people will be comforting and also it helps to take your mind off of problems that may have been bothering you lately.
So until next time stay active and safe!

If your struggling to stay on track here are 7 ways to stay on track

1. Don't be lazy, you may be without a job or your collecting disability. You may lose your sense of direction when you have nothing to wake up for each morning. So don't get lazy because your not working. One thing you can do is make a can do list and follow it out each day. Something that will help you get out of bed and accomplish a day's goal.

2. Make Sure you stick to your treatment plan, see your doctor regularly and therapist, take your medicine, eat right, sleep right and exercise daily.

3. Try to make a Buddy System, it can be someone from a support group or someone who knows what you are going through and might be going through the same struggles as you. You can talk to this person, do things together such as going to a see a movie or grabbing something to eat.

4. Try to be Independent, try to do things yourself and not depend on others to be there to wait on you hand and foot. Believe me when you have some independence it makes you feel so much more confident and proud of yourself.

5. Give yourself a pat on the back once in awhile, commend yourself for something you may have accomplished or share it with someone you care about. Doing this makes you feel so great and also more happy.

6. Don't ever give up always say you can get back up or over whatever you maybe going through and you most certainly will. Never say you can't get over something or that your life will never get better because it will you just have to have patience and take one day at a time.

7. Finally the last one is to always have confidence in your abilities and in yourself because you never know how far it can get you until you truly try to make the best of every precious moment you have on this earth. Make sure to live each day to the fullest and never give up.
Until next time stay active and safe!

Learning from your own faults

When someones who has bipolar disorder its always important to learn from your mistakes and learn from you own faults that you have made in the past. Like myself I had a tendency to stay up very late but now and for the past couple of months have gone to bed earlier which has really made me feel good. I also had a lousy habit of eating snacks and lots of junk food I have since cut down on my junk food intake and substituted with more fruit and vegetables which also has given me more energy and made me feel great.
See little mistakes or even big mistakes you may have made in past are always good to remember because you can learn to prevent yourself from making the same mistake again or committing the same fault over again.
Another way to learn from your faults is to go back or think about what may have caused a manic or depressive episode and try not to make the same mistake again. This is a great way to prevent episodes from occurring way to often in person that may be dealing with Bipolar Disorder.
Until next time stay active and safe!

A Poem about Bipolar Disorder

This is a poem I wrote some time ago that I thought I would share with you.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder is like a roller coaster
that go's up and drops right down
It grabs hold of your life
and squeezes very hard with all
its might until you give in with all
your fears in plain sight.
Bipolar Disorder tries to consume
your every thought and take over your
whole darn life.
Bipolar Disorder clouds your mind and
swallows you up until you decide
Enough is Enough and You
Want To Take Back Your Life!