John W. Grace, M.D., P.A.
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General Psychiatry
Phone: (352) 795-2246
Caring. ​Private. Relaxing.
Compassionate Mental Health Care
What can you do to live with Bipolar?
1)
Keep your mood chart. Downloadable on our Patient Forms page.
Three days in a row (up or down) may signify an upcoming episode. A small adjustment at this point may alleviate or assuage an episode. It is important to follow your cycles when they begin, how long they last and what alters them.
2)
Keep a regular schedule. Active in the day. Shut down at night. Little light exposure late in the evening. No caffeine. No alcohol.
3)
Take your medication as prescribed. Small changes as cycles start can avert depression and mania.
4)
Don't trust your feelings implicitly...don't just act on them. Learn them.
5)
Chart your activity...ask for feedback.
6)
Use light therapy under instruction of a physician.
7)
Avoid alcohol and drugs. These disrupt circadian rhythm.
8)
Start to understand your "fast" and "slow" times. Start a timer then start doing something else. After a while try to guess how much time has passed. Are you guessing faster or slower than actual time?
9)
Join the "Society for Circadian Sanity." It's easy. Just start acknowledging that your body has a daily rhythm...start developing a healthy respect for it and learn what time of day you should be doing different activities.