My 'Good Morning' Video
Last time I was talking about the good ideas I got on handling mental illness from the movie '50 First Dates'.
I asked you if you had a video to wake up to every morning which would tell you how to handle your illness that day, what would that teaching video say to you?
Today I am going to tell you what mine would say. This is a form of 'self-talk' I will refer to now and then.What does this picture have to do with anything? I would like to wake up in the morning to this smiling lady on my TV screen and she would tell me how she handles the things she has to carry around in life, like that on her head and then she would compare that basket to my bipolar!
I like illustrations. Heck, I just liked the picture. Okay, here is my morning pep talk.
REVIEW YOUR CONDITION
"Good morning Wendy! Let's review your condition. You are a moody person. You have rapid cycling bipolar II. You can start the day well but it may end up awful, you can start the day bad but it may end up good. It could go either way but you can help it out a bit.
MEASURE YOUR MOOD
Okay Wendy, how are you feeling right now? Okay? Well slept? Tired? Edgy? What are your thoughts like so far, positive or negative? You need to measure today's mood. Are you done? Have you taken your biplar temperature? Time for the next step.
REVIEW YOUR JOURNAL FROM YESTERDAY
Check out the journal on your bedside table. What kind of day did you have yesterday? Good, bad, busy, quiet? If it was busy, are you able to rest today? If it was a slow, low day, do you need to get out today or at least call someone for a chat? Do you have the luxury today of choosing your activities or do you have obligations to fulfill? These are important considerations before you go on to the next step.
PLAN YOUR DAY
If you have obligations and it is a busy day, what will you do afterwards to 'come down'? Remember the enemy is depression but part of that for you Wendy means that feeling good is also not always good. Feeling good can lead to feeling better and then to feeling too good and then feeling great and after that there is only one place to go and that is crashing straight down into a deep dark depression.
WARNING!
So, even if you are feeling good Wendy, as nice as that seems, be careful. Try to keep a lid on it and don't let yourself get too high. The higher you go the farther you will fall. If you don't go too high you won't fall down too low.
It's all about managing moods. You can do this but you have to pay attention. You cannot ignore this illness and do whatever you want whenever you want, it doesn't work that way.
EVERYDAY
Pray for help, eat well, avoid sugar, get out for a walk, and if you can, enjoy your day. Sometimes you get three good days in a row, but seldom more than that. The three good days are followed by at least three bad days. It seems to follow that sort of pattern. But some days can be mixed with moods cycling so fast that you will have both bad and good in one day. Be on the alert.
You can do this.
You have been doing this for a long time.
It is hard, but it is managable.
Okay, let's get this day started. Pray first.
Good morning Wendy!
WHAT ABOUT YOU? How are you feeling today? What would your good morning video say? Mine was personally created for me. Create a custom one for you. We are each unique.
Don't give up! There is hope for depression.
