Bipolar disorder affects everyone a little differently. A few people only experience one or two episodes of mania or depression, but the vast majority experience more. If you have had more than one manic or depressive episode, chances are you will continue to have them throughout your life.
Fortunately, bipolar disorder is treatable. For most people, some combination of lifestyle changes, therapy, medication, and support is helpful for treating bipolar disorder.
Start by learning more about bipolar disorder and how it’s treated. It’s also important to understand what your own manic and depressive episodes look like. That way you can catch yourself and intervene before things spiral out of control.
Living with bipolar disorder can be overwhelming—you need to be aware of your depressive and manic symptoms, and it takes time to learn how to predict and manage your moods. It may take you a while to find a combination of treatments that works best for you, but that’s okay—finding ways to improve your mental health is a rewarding experience, with benefits that go far beyond just keeping your bipolar disorder under control.
- National Institute of Mental Health. (2018). Bipolar Disorder. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml
- Meta-analysis of risk of recurrence
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bdi.12593