Today

I remember twelve years ago, the men and women in white coats said to me that many people who are diagnosed with bipolar will live a normal life with medication and lifestyle changes. I chose to believe this idea, no matter how hard things got.

Today, I’ve conquered the medication journey, fixed my sleeping habits, lost a lot of weight, hold a full time job, made many new friends, figured out what my bipolar is, who I am, and put everything together to make me who I want to be. I feel like a normal person, which I thought impossible many years ago.

How did I, with such a bad case to deal with, get to where I’m at?

• A very high dose of patience
• Do not isolate; open up to people I can trust
• Embark on the medication journey. No one stands a chance without medications.
• Find a good therapist AND psychiatrist who meet me where I’m at and listen to me
• Taking care of myself – sleep well, eat well, exercise, take medications, and connect with other people
• Journaling/coloring to express and process my feelings on paper
• Music of all kinds – dark, bright, happy, sad, everything in between
• Faith – in myself, in God, and other people in my life
• Don’t beat myself up over mistakes I make… learn as much as I can and move forward
• Remember, the recovery process is often one step forward and two steps back at first
• Finding my own ways to cope healthily when the going is rough
• Remember that it gets worse before it gets better – as time goes on, your efforts begin to blossom and things begin to fall into place

I now consider my experiences related to bipolar to be the best things that have ever happened to me. It refined my heart and my mind as gold ore in a forge in the end. I see the world from a different, deeper vantage point than most and I have taken ownership over my experiences. My hope is that I can share my stories with others who would like to hear them.

If you are like me and have been able to finally start moving forward again, my praises be to you! I would love to hear your story and how you got here.

If you are recovering from something awful that has happened, keep your head up and know there is always a light up ahead.

photo credit: To live the life you see… via photopin (license)