Reaching your SMART goals with bipolar disorder gives you a sense of accomplishment, a feeling like no other. Living with bipolar disorder poses challenges, but you don't have to give up your hopes and dreams, no matter how big or small. It would benefit you to learn to be flexible, patient, and realistic with yourself. Goals aren't reached overnight. Regardless of your goal (physical, emotional, academic, professional, or personal), it is important to set yourself up for success. Using SMART goals with bipolar helps you to do that.

Alternative coping skills for bipolar disorder can be important thanks to the fact that living with bipolar disorder can feel like you're on an emotional roller coaster. Dramatic and erratic shifts in mood, energy levels, and your ability to function on a daily basis are affected. These mood fluctuations can wreak havoc throughout your personal and professional life. Learning to cope with intense emotions and changes with alternative coping skills for bipolar can help you feel more in control of your mental health.

I don’t know anyone who likes to ask for help from their bipolar support system. No one wants to feel like they can’t handle things on their own or like a burden to others. The impact that mental health conditions such as bipolar can have on our lives requires us to seek help (Asking for Help Because of Bipolar). This is where having a bipolar support system that is equipped to help you comes in handy and you must help your support systemp in order to allow your support system to help you.

Yesterday was not my best day and I had to pull out my bipolar coping skills toolbox. It's not the first bad day that I've had and it won't be the last. Highs and lows are part of the territory of bipolar disorder. Learning to manage the extremes of bipolar disorder feels like something I'm constantly working on and that’s okay. Wellness is a journey and it can be improved by building your bipolar coping skills toolbox.

Life with bipolar disorder brings a sort of intensity with it so mindfulness skills for bipolar disorder can help. The highs and lows of bipolar disorder can be difficult to manage. If you live with bipolar disorder, mindfulness skills are a great way to help you observe and track your mood so that you can better manage symptoms when you notice changes.

For bipolar youth, self-care strategies are important. Self-care sounds pretty self-explanatory, right? We all know that we are supposed to take care of ourselves, but so often we neglect to do it (Practicing Self-Care Is Hard But Vital For Mental Health). Think of yourself as a car. You need your car for a lot of different reasons. If you don't take the time to care for it, get the oil changed, rotate the tires, wash it, or get a tune up, it doesn't run properly. Your mind and body work the same way. When you don't take the time to give yourself the things that you need to keep yourself healthy, things don't run as smoothly. Learn these self-care strategies for bipolar youth to keep yourself running smoothly.

School can be overwhelming and life with bipolar disorder can present additional challenges. Whether you are dealing with mental illness in high school or college, surviving school and keeping yourself healthy while doing it is possible. Adding some healthy habits to your academic routine can make all the difference. Here are some tips for setting yourself up for success.

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is characterized by highs and lows in mood. A person living with bipolar disorder experiences shifts in their thought processes, energy levels, behaviors, and emotions. Although the onset of bipolar disorder is typically in early adulthood, an individual can begin to experience symptoms as a teenager. Receiving a diagnosis at such a young age can seem like the end of the world. This doesn’t have to be the case.

I’ve read and heard about the mental health benefits of journaling for years. For those living with a mental illness, journaling as self-care can be even more beneficial and therapeutic. I’ve always loved the idea of journaling; the book itself, the pens, the prompt, but I could never seem to keep up with it. I never knew what to put in it once I got started. Over time, though, I realized that there isn’t a right or a wrong way to journal. I think of it as a “stream of consciousness.”

This time of year is supposed to be special and joyful and full of fun. We all have our own ideas of the perfect holiday, the perfect family get-togethers and conversations, the perfect meal (Dealing with Bipolar at the Holidays – Expectations). But then life gets in the way and we’re all wrenched from our festive holiday bubble.