How do you get your inner voice to be quiet?!

Hi, I have been doing really good lately, I have been calm & relaxed and not angry or moody or snappy.  BUT! this week I feel like it's starting to come back!!  Aaaarrrggghh! My thoughts are racing like crazy.  I cannot stop thinking. My inner voice is constantly whispering irrational thoughts to me, like that my boyfriend is cheating on me, or lying to me or not paying me enough attention or all kinds of things, which in reality are totally not true.  I have progressed to the point where I can generally keep these to myself, without causing arguements or trouble or throwing accusations around, but that doesn't mean that these sorts of thoughts don't hurt me, they tire me out so much. Lately I have been so happy, my job is going great, relationship going great, family are good, for the last month or so everything has been lovely, but now all of a sudden my mind is working overtime again & causing problems where there are none! Not even sure what I am looking for in writing this, I am seeing my counsellor tomorrow so hopefully that will help!

I don't take any medications, I have tried a few & have had bad reactions - generally i don't feel that I need then, just having a bad phase atm i think, I have read parts of that book & it has been really helpful

I know exactly what you're talking about as far as the quieting the inner voice. That's always my first sign that I'm losing my grip. Sometimes it gets so loud and it takes soooo much energy to quiet it. My husband doesn't understand when I tell him how exhausted I am by the time I get off work. He thinks that because I sit at a desk all day, I shouldn't be tired at all. He doesn't know how draining it is to fight with your mind all day. Little by little, your mind wears you down and you just start to give up and lose control even faster.

Feeling Good by David Burns is a good book. I'm reading it at the moment and I really like what he has to say. I really recommend it.

My inner voice bothers me a lot too. It tells me all sorts of things that I know deep down are irrational, but somehow I believe what it says anyway. What helps me is that I sit down and think about what's going on in my life and try to find reasons why the inner voice is lying. Like, I always feel people are constantly talking bad about me or thinking I'm a terrible person. But then I think to myself, now, have they said anything to my face to make me believe that? Have I ever even talked with them? Do they even know who I am, what I've been through? It's hard work, but once you start thinking why your inner voice is wrong, it becomes less difficult to overcome it.

Martha's Vineyard,

I agree with you that medicine is often the best approach, but for many people, they are too afraid or have had too many bad experiences to take it. I've got to disagree with you about books and counselors, though. For one thing, the medicine can only do so much. I do believe it's crucial to try and find a medical approach which works for you. But there isn't one pill out there that is going to "fix" you. The pills make the symptoms better and the rest is up to you. We ARE still responsible for the choices that we make in our lives, despite having a brain chemical imbalance. If we don't take responsibility for our health and just say "Well, I have a mental illness, I don't have to be strong or read books or see a counselor," then we have given our whole lives over to the disease, and just given up. That is unacceptable, and that is how we hear of manic people going completely off the deep end destroying their families, making terrible financial decisions, getting into trouble with the law, and hurting people. Maintaining balance while bipolar requires constant effort and a multi-layered approach. Medicine is a first line of defense, but as you'll see as you read the boards, medicines stop working, doses need to be adjusted, new medicines need to be tried, there are side-effects -- medicine is not fail-proof. So to keep yourself sane, you have to work on managing your moods yourself. Learn some new techniques for doing that. Learn about your triggers. Learn about what starts up a manic cycle, or a depressive cycle. Learn how to avoid them. Learn about your emotional life by seeing a counselor. Learn about how stress plays a part in bipolar. That is where the books and the counselors come in.

I know you weren't implying that we go cold turkey -- that you were actually saying she should get help. I just wanted to say that I think we need ALL these things to stay healthy.

serafena