What is Bipolar Stability?

Many people believe that when you have bipolar disorder, you go through episodes all the time; however, the truth is that most people with the disorder have more normal periods in their lives than they ever have episodes. This is called stability.

When symptoms of bipolar disorder are present, it is called an episode. There are two kinds of episodes - manic and depressive.

Bipolar stability means the absence of symptoms. This can be compared to a cancer patient who goes into remission. The cancer may still be there, but the symptoms of it are absent.

There is no cure for bipolar disorder, just as there is no cure for cancer; however, there can be long periods of stability for someone who has bipolar disorder (i.e., the absence of symptoms).

Once stability has been achieved, certain things must be done in order to maintain it; such as the following:

o Take medications daily
o See doctor, psychiatrist and therapist
o Keep a regular sleep schedule
o Exercise regularly
o Eat a healthy diet
o Make sure you have balance in your life
o Be productive
o Have a job or volunteer
o Don't isolate
o Have a strong support system
o Keep stress levels to a minimum

Some people have also found that keeping a mood chart or journal to be helpful for bipolar stability. This is a daily way to chart moods, events, thoughts, feelings, etc., which can help you to note patterns and triggers, alerting you to possible oncoming bipolar episodes.

If you should notice that you feel more depressed than normal and it lasts for more than a few days, call your doctor, psychiatrist, and/or therapist, as this might indicate that you are becoming unstable and may be going into a depressive episode.

If you should notice an excessive amount of energy, decreased need for sleep, change in eating habits, and other symptoms of mania, you should contact your doctor, psychiatrist, and/or therapist, as this might indicate instability and an oncoming manic episode.

Although there is still no cure for bipolar disorder, stability is possible for you simply by doing certain things on a regular basis, as outlined in this article.