Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.
There are four basic types of bipolar disorder, all of them involve clear changes in mood, energy, and activity levels. These moods range from periods of extremely up, elated, and energized behavior known as manic episodes to very sad, down, or hopeless periods known as depressive episodes. Less severe manic periods are known as hypomanic episodes.
If you have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, you are more than likely trying to find ways to improve your symptoms. Although taking medications may be an important part of your treatment plan, there are also natural ways to influence your symptoms in addition to traditional medication.
Alleviating or diminishing symptoms through non-pharmaceutical means may allow you to take a lower dose of your prescribed medication. Always talk to your doctor about your treatment plan, which may include going to therapy, changing your diet, exercising more, and taking natural supplements.
Below are 8 ways to treat bipolar disorder naturally.
1. Consider Intensive Psychotherapy
Psychotherapists assist people with bipolar disorder to find ways to manage their symptoms. Intensive psychotherapy can take the form of cognitive behavioural therapy, family therapy, or interpersonal and social rhythm therapy.
Patients taking medication have been found to improve faster and stay well longer if they are also undertaking intensive psychotherapy.
2. Participate In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
This therapy targets and identifies negative feelings, thoughts, and behaviours and encourages changing your behaviours and reframing your thoughts and belief patterns. Your therapist will help you recognize triggers for your bipolar episodes and how to cope.
Self-awareness, stress management, and problem-solving techniques are essential skills learned in CBT that can help make your life easier, regardless of the extent of bipolar disorder you have.
Mood monitoring, symptom and activity logs, and tracking behaviours are some of the tools used in managing bipolar disorder via CBT.
3. Try Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the traditional Chinese practice of inserting tiny sterilized needles into the skin at strategic points to balance the chi, or life force, stimulate blood flow, and release the body’s natural painkillers.
Acupuncture is a safe practice to be done in addition to medical therapy for bipolar disorder. Weekly acupuncture has been found to decrease symptoms in bipolar disorder. Tell your acupuncturist you have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder so she can target your treatment effectively.
4. Exercise To Increase Endorphins
When you exercise, your body releases these chemicals responsible for lifting your mood and making you feel happy. Exercising to release endorphins may help with hypomania and depression.
Depression is the dominant form of bipolar disorder and not everyone exhibits mania. In fact, hypomania, which is a milder form of mania marked by excitability, mild elation, talkativeness, and irritability, often goes with depression in bipolar disorder, especially in women.
If you feel like a depressive episode may be coming on, go for a run, bike ride, or do other physical activities. Your body’s endorphins can help alleviate symptoms.
5. Give Yoga A Try
Yoga can help to improve your mood and keep you in shape. At the same time, yoga can also help to reduce your stress levels and help you relax. Enroll in a yoga class and give this meditative practice a try.
The combination of physical activity, meditation, and breathing techniques may help you to feel calmer and more in control of your emotions.
6. Make Sure To Get Plenty Of Sleep Each Night
When you do not get enough sleep, your body and brain have a harder time controlling cycling, stress, and other symptoms of bipolar disorder. Because of this, it is important that you try to maintain a regular sleep cycle.
Consider keeping a sleep diary. A sleep diary can help you to track what helps you to fall asleep, and what can keep you up at odd hours.
Write down things such as how much sleep you got the night before, how often you woke up, how long it took you to fall asleep, and what you did right before bed. This way, you can also target problems to fix in order to sleep better.
7. Avoid Skipping Meals
Eating enough food is an important part of managing bipolar symptoms. When you skip meals, your blood sugar levels drop which has a negative effect on your mood. Try to eat at least three meals a day. If you do not like eating three big meals, you can eat six small meals throughout the day.
8. Avoid Self-Soothing And Activating Brain Reward Centers With Food
People with bipolar disorder have lower levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that not only impacts your mood, but can spark a craving for carbs and sweets. Eating sweets activates reward centers in the brain, releasing dopamine, which makes people feel good.
Credit: WikiHow
No comments:
Post a Comment