hello i'm a wife and i have bipolar

Hi towns28,

I understand how you are feeling as I experience those as well. Usually I would try to do things to distract myself and relax. You can try as well and see if it helps you. Make a list and whenever you feel angry or sad, pull out the list and do something from it to distract yourself.
Does your husband know about your Bipolar?

Counseling will help you as well.

Hang in there. We are here for you.

Keep us updated on how you're feeling.

Take Care

Hi towns,

You have to take care of yourself to be able to take care of your baby boy. Your son can be a huge source of strength and motivation to be well.

We cannot discuss self-harm on healingwell.com forums. However, there are many people on this forum that struggle with self harm. You may briefly state that you are struggling with "SI" (self injury), but anything that might be "triggering" or upsetting will be editing.

I SI'ed for 14 years. My son - when he was 5 years old - was my motivation to stop. I have a tattoo of a butterfly on my wrist for a constant reminder when I'm struggling. Google "butterfly project self harm" to find some effective coping skills.

Are you seeing a psychiatrist or on medication? Do you track your moods? Have you started social rythym therapy or learned DBT (dialectal behavioral therapy) skills? There is A LOT you can DO to manage the effects of bipolar disorder. It takes time and dedication. After several years, Happy Bill (forum moderator) and myself, have each become reasonably stable without medication. We have each had to make MAJOR life changes and keep focused on our individual mental health first. For me, I recognize that I'm only in a period of remission of a chronic illnes - I'm not cured. I'll stay in this remission until "something happens" to trigger symptoms. When that happens, I'll go back on medication to get stabilized.

To be stable, I had to divorce, withdraw from school, end friendships, move away from my family, EXERCISE, eat well, eliminate caffeine, have a strict sleep schedule, use a service dog, get disability accomodations including working less than 16 hours a week, and tolerate medications for 2 years while I learned coping skills and developed better habits.

Best of luck to you. (((hugs)))

I had a therapist tell me to make a list for each mood. When I'm irritable, what makes me feel better? When I'm depressed, what helps me function? It started out as a acouple of very short lists, but now each is long giving me many options to deal with oncoming moods proactively.