How to Help and Support Someone with Bipolar Disorder.
Bipolar disorder is not a rare syndrome, and there are methods to deal with it. Bipolar disorder is a chronic condition that triggers extreme mood swings, actions, and states of energy. Manic episodes show this disorder. Though I had no manic episodes, they diagnosed me as bi-polar. There is no cure, but psycho-social support helps reduce anxiety and stress. It can be traumatic and wearisome to be detected with bipolar disorder for both the caregiver and someone suffering from it. However, there are various approaches to deal with the illness. Here are ways-How to Help and Support Someone with Bipolar Disorder for the patient and the caregiver.
- Early recognition of symptoms and treatment
- Steer away from self-medication
- Stop drinking alcohol, tobacco and weed.
- Do not expect a speedy recovery. Be patient and show compassion for the ailment.
- Avoid stress as far as possible.
- Lend a patient ear and understanding to the patient
- Medical treatment is imperative and there should be regular check-ups.
- Keep yourself engaged in tasks and hobbies of interest. Take personal care and keep your mind occupied for faster recovery.
- Caregivers of mental health patients carry a lot of burdens. They should seek advice if they feel overwhelmed or stressed.
- A nourishing diet with some sort of physical exercise is a must.
If someone is having a manic episode, try these ways to deal with it.
- Manic people are lonely as everyone avoids them. As a caregiver, spend as much time as you can.
- Hear out the patient and do not get into any confrontations.
- If the patient is rude or vitriolic. Do not take it to heart, as they are in an unsound state of mind.
- Manic patients are jumpy and ill at ease. They may not sit down for a proper meal. Try to feed them fruits, juices, sandwiches or healthy snacks instead.
- Insomnia, and delayed or irregular sleep patterns, disturb the natural circadian rhythm. They need to follow a routine bedtime and have a nap in the day to feel rested.
Bipolar patients need your love, patience and understanding. Sunshine, frankness and candid dialogue can help more than any medicine.
‘This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter’
@wordsmithkaur
@wordsmithkaur
These seem like great options to know and adapt too when confronting with a bipolar. This is great to know and informative
Recognition of the change is very vital and then acknowledging it and taking the respective treatment are next steps. The pointers are helpful to know how to support bi-polar disorder person.
A friend’s husband has bipolar disorder and it’s so challenging for the entire family to deal with this illness. The erratic behaviors and extreme shifts in mood can be hard for the person with the condition, as well as the people in their life. It is important for the care-givers to understand and know how to help the person who is going through the manic or depressive episode. In fact, we need so much awareness on this mental illness.
Having bipolar disorder and living with it is a scary episode. Likewise we should be aware of the fact that mental illness is just like physical illness. Your efforts are commendable in bringing for the positive change
Such an insightful post. I agree people suffering from any mental conditions needs your ear more than anything else. Instead if being judgemental or giving solutions it is important to hear them out.
It’s so important to know the best way how to deal with a person going through Bipolar disorder, I am happy you spoke about the same and shared such valuable tips.
I have a friend with bipolar disorder and I know how challenging it is to understand what they’re going through. Patience is the key, also one mustn’t take their rude behaviour personally.
Hugs to you Harjitji, you have a special place in my heart and I am so proud of you that you are spreading awareness about a condition you are experiencing
I feel Bipolar is a term of high importance and shouldn’t be used as casually as it is being now said upfront. But yes its diagnosis is very important followed by medication. Also empathy by caretaker is necessary.
It’s a challenging situation to take care of someone who has bipolar disorder and these tips would be of much help to the caregiver
a few years ago someone had misbehaved with me and i made it public. later it was rumoured that he had bipolar disorder. i hadn’t heard of this until then. but i guess some people are using it as an excuse to do whatever they want. but yes, bless those who are close to you and need help.
I am glad you have written on this topic. Any sort of mental illness needs lots of patience from the caregiver or family members and its for sure not easy for both the patient and family.