Hope & Harmony Headlines
November 10, 2022 • Volume 15, Issue 45
No doubt about it, mania might be thrilling. It’s typically pinpointed as a catalyst for creativity, productiveness, hovering vanity, and emotions of deep connection, which is why it’s straightforward to romanticize a manic episode—and tempting to remain in a single.
As Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, medical psychologist and writer of An Unquiet Mind, says, “If you have had stars at your feet and the rings of planets through your hands … it is a very real adjustment to blend into a three-piece-suit schedule.”
But there’s a “pretty big” draw back to mania, says Linnea Butler, a psychotherapist and founding father of Bay Area Mental Health in California. “During a manic episode, you are impulsive, and your actions are extreme. That means some pretty extreme consequences can follow.”
And then there’s the everyday dive into despair afterward.
So, whereas it may be enjoyable to dwell life on the sting, and to go from feeling common to feeling distinctive, it’s essential to keep in mind that extremes—which frequently result in chaos and self-destruction—are to not be coveted.
Psychiatrist Murray W. Enns, MD, FRCPC, a researcher and professor of psychiatry on the University of Manitoba, says, “With current treatments you can reduce the frequency, severity, and duration of episodes.”
Enns recommends cautious monitoring of your moods to study to establish warning indicators of an oncoming temper episode. Have an “action plan” together with your treating practitioner—that covers adjusting drugs to handle temper and sleep points—prepared for when signs first come up.
While it’s completely acceptable to grieve the lack of a manic high, the hot button is understanding that stability, whereas having its challenges, in the end results in larger happiness.
“Being sick with bipolar disorder is a great leveler,” says bphope blogger Laura Yeager. “It strips most everything away, leaving only the most primitive elements—fear, grief, anger, lust, euphoria, thoughts of genius.”
In the top, although, says Yeager, wellness is “where it’s at. It’s peaceful and quenching and healing.”
Read “For When You Miss Your Mania” >>
Originally posted October 18, 2022
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