Lithium has held its own over the last five years. Many of the other medications that I’ve tried have come and gone leaving a trail of side effects in their wake. But not Lithium. It’s been a quiet workhorse relentlessly plodding away to keep my manic tendencies at bay. Lithium is in a class of medications called antimanics. It works by decreasing abnormal activity in the brain.
Lithium is prescribed to treat and prevent episodes of mania. Mania is a frenzied, abnormally excited mood state that impacts people with bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder formerly called manic-depressive disorder is a disease that may cause episodes of depression, episodes of mania, and other abnormal mood states. When in a manic episode people often behave in ways that are very destructive and hurtful to themselves and those they love.
I’ve tried many other medications besides Lithium, but I always come back to the realization that for me Lithium works best and at a very low dose. I’m thankful that I’ve found a tool to help me manage my mood swings. People respond to medications very differently. What works for me may not work for you.You may have to try a few medications and change them around at different times depending on how your life is going – but hang in there - you will find a solution and you will get stable.
Every winter the ground freezes and the hummingbirds feed more avidly at our feeders. The coyotes come out of the wooded ravine searching for food. In spring, flowers blossom and the weather warms. Then comes summer. Summer inevitably brings the ever challenging chore of maintaining the lawn, but summer does have some major positives - sunshine. Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love to watch the Northwest winds blow as the leaves fall off the trees and plumet to the ground. Fall’s turbulant temperament matches mine well.
There are a variety of things that I do to help my mood perk along during the different seasons. The summer’s sun provides warmth and produces vitamin D. That’s supposed to be good for you. Whether it really is doesn’t matter – the sun feels marvelous and is a natural mood lifter. I spend as much time as possible boating in the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands. Being on the water creates a calm and balance in me that is unequalled on land.
As spring approaches, I get excited about digging in the yard and planting vegetables and flowers. When the budget allows, I hire a gardener to do the mowing and weeding so that I can enjoy the fun parts of dirt digging. Fall is a great time to relax and spend time outdoors observing nature. The birds are busy all year round, but in the fall they scurry about hunting for food and seem eager to feed from the feeders placed close to the house. In winter, I tend to hibernate and become dreary and depressed unless I find an activity to keep me focused and engaged. My winter mood lifters involve staying active with shopping, going to lunch with friends, and working on a hobby or two. I also find that mild exercise helps me weather the cold, dreary, gray days of winter.
So, enjoy the sun, shop and share time and food with friends, dig in the dirt, find a winter hobby, and stay in rhythm with yourself and the seasons.
This is my opinion based on personal experience and is not research based or an opinion that is shared by the majority of people who propose helpful strategies for controlling and maintaining mood stability. I’ve been in cognitive therapy off and on for many years. The therapists I’ve seen have all been licensed and well educated. Each and every one of them had years of practice and were sincerely interested in helping their clients. I enjoyed talking with them and they were very good at helping me problem solve.
The one thing that they were not was able to do was pinpoint that I had bipolar disorder and direct me to a psychiatrist for help. In fact all of them were adamant that I was a “normal neurotic”. I’m not sure exactly what that means but if felt good to be reassured that I was within the normal spectrum.
During my most recent manic episode my therapist assured me that everything that I was doing was good for me including leaving my husband of 30 years, running away from home, etc. Even after the manic episode was under control my therapist refused to admit that I was bipolar or that I’d had a manic episode. She said that I was so self confident and self-assured and she was convinced in her mind that my actions were perfectly rational and in my best interests. Then she watched me crash and saw the other side of the illness. I stopped seeing her soon after that because I was not confident in her ability to help me pinpoint when an episode was starting up.
I learned a very important lesson from all this. If you do decide to participate in therapy whether it is cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal & social rhythm therapy, just be sure that the therapist you select has a lot of experience working with clients who have bipolar disorder. Your psychiatrist may be able to recommend therapists with expertise in mood disorders.
I’m not sure any therapist could have kept me from making the mistakes that I made during my last manic episode, but I truly believe that a therapist with experience dealing with bipolar clients could have helped me minimize the damage that I did to myself, my family, and my bank account.
There are several parts of bipolar disorder that can make you feel awful. The up feeling is called mania and the down feeling is called depression. The in-between part is a mix of both mania and depression and is called a mixed episode. Many people suffering from bipolar disorder say that a mixed episode is the worst. Then there are times when you may be episode free and feel pretty good.
During a manic episode you usually have tons of energy, are sometimes irritable, and often overly self confident. During a manic phase you may schedule more tasks than you can accomplish. Risky behavior is also a symptom of mania. You might spend too much money or experience an overly active sex drive – this is called hypersexuality. Your judgement recedes and you might make choices and engage in behaviors that put you at risk.
During a depressive episode you can feel very isolated and tired. You might feel slowed down, sad, and have changes in your sleep and eating habits.You may also have difficulty with memory and concentration.
Some people who suffer from bipolar disorder will also have psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. If a person is hallucinating with bipolar disorder they will see or hear things that are not there. Grandiosity is common. Usually these symptoms happen during a severe manic episode but not always.
Approximately 6 million Americans have bipolar disorder. You could have bipolar disorder and not even realize it. For me, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder explained so many things in my life. If you suspect that you have bipolar disorder contact your doctor and ask for a referral to a good psychiatrist (pdoc). Pdocs are highly trained physicians well qualified to diagnose and treat bipolar disorder.
Lithium has held its own over the last five years. Many of the other medications that I’ve tried have come and gone leaving a trail of side effects in their wake. But not Lithium. It’s been a quiet workhorse relentlessly plodding away to keep my manic tendencies at bay. Lithium is in a class of medications called antimanics. It works by decreasing abnormal activity in the brain.
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