I feel ya Frankie. My week has been kind of the same. I started down then had flashes of normal and the possibly hypomania-ish for a few days. And now I find myself depressed again and just not giving a you-know-what. When I'm feeling good it's surprisingly in the baseline (for lack of a better word) range for the most part which, in itself, is unusual but welcome. I've actually accomplished a few things this week but my momentum is gone again. The mood swings aren't too extreme, but it's a roller coaster nonetheless.

Sound familiar? Personally, I'm most stable when I'm up in the hypomania realm. When I get some good juice for a few weeks, that's as steady an emotional pace as I can usually accomplish. I rarely achieve the normal-people mood range, let alone stay there for more than a few days.

But if you find yourself in that up and down funk you're in right now for an extended period, talk to your pdoc if you can. Might be time for a med tweak or something. It's at least worth having the conversation and making the doc aware anyway.

Hang in there champ. Maybe try a little exercise if possible to get some endorphins going. I know we've heard that so much but it can be helpful.

Thank you, DistortedOne.

I feel very agitated and everything is getting under my skin. I feel like I could flip out any second.

When I’m doing ok, I have more patience and am calm but today I may go off on someone.

Sending you positive thoughts

Hang in there.
Do you enjoy walking? Sometimes a walk can help shift a perspective for me. I walk a lot and even if I’m not feeling up to it, I do it anyway and am glad I did.

Big picture things like your living environment and relationships are good to sort out in therapy if you have access. I had situations that weren’t ideal and I worked hard on sort of “life logistics” to recognize important things. It’s still not perfect but much improved.

Hobbies and exercise are important. Get in a yoga class or something? I like to write and go to museums.

It takes time, but filling up different parts of your life with different healthy components can help get through the difficult aspects of the illness. It doesn’t go away, but it is manageable….

What has helped me feel stable is Medicine and Self Care. The only thing holding me back from being 100% or close is now taking that next step with therapy so I can better understand my bipolar and working through things I have done before I was diagnosed. I take my medicine religiously and have communicated with my doctor a lot to make sure we figure out the right medicine and doses.

Trying to keep a routine as best I can. When possible, knowing its okay to step away from something if I know it is going to cause stress or saying no to doing something if I know it can cause stress. It is important to put myself first when it comes to situations around stress because it is not worth the emotions that may follow and putting myself in them will most likely cause more harm then good. Keeping my caffeine intake low. Staying off social media until I feel I am at a stable place in my recovery for a consistent amount of time. Finding healthy ways to express my emotions and admitting there are things to stop doing that are unhealthy. For example painting helps but, music makes my emotions worse or being productive and doing things around the home is healthy but, when I am glued to a screen all day it makes me feel worse.

So far it feels like this is a journey of trying different things over and over again till you begin finding things that help and things that dont. It is important to always remember though its okay to have a bad day or a weekend with a funk. My weekend I was in a big funk and it was weird but, this week has been a little better.

I have my days and weeks being up and down. I find myself up more than down. This can be dangerous for me. Although it feels good my behavior and sleep become twisted. Trying with the pdoc to extend time between episodes

In my case, the only stable state I have achieved with meds was a constant, low-level depression. You know Eoyore - from Winnie the Pooh? That. lol
I have a friend that has gone normal (for several years now) using a very expensive, custom vitamin/mineral program. Insurance doesn't cover that sort of thing, so not an option here, but I would try if it were.

I want to add that my periods of sustained stability have only been possible because of my meds.

I've been stable since 2010, but it took 39 Sessions of ECT over a 13 week period to make my brain medication reactive. I stay Stable by taking my meds every day, using my coping skill and seeing my Therapist when I need to. I've been BiPolar for 32 years and that means I've seen a Psychiatrist for 32 years and been on meds for 32 years. It took a long time and some serious psych treatment to get to a point of stability.

Hi Frankie...sorry to read you are having a hard time....these days Everything seems challenging, throw in bp, well quite frankly I think you've got reason to be angry....For me, I was angry for many years until I realized I Was Angry At Myself...and sadly people around me got anger directed at them....my dear brother once said to me 'I can't deal with your anger" and that was a Huge Eye Opener for me!

In 2010 I started a therapy called DBT which changed my mind/life, giving me tools to use for any type of mood. Teaching me self care, Learning how to say no, and doing different forms of meditation....finding something you enjoy doing to "fill up your cup'...for me it's gardening and being outdoors in nature....I have a friend who wrote out all the things she likes to do so that when she is depressed and has no motivation/energy, she can look at the list...for me, baby stepping my way out of depression, I just do three things a day...something I need to do, something I don't want to do, and something fun....I might need to call a dr, I might not want to get dressed, I might want to get out side....just move a muscle and change a thought :) take good care