Miss May I agree with you. Before being diagnosed I could multitask with the best of them. Now having a hectic schedule (more than I do now with a hubby and two kids) is a big trigger to me because it increases my stress level. I cannot take the stress of a fast paced career. I also find that being in crowds of people is still a trigger for some of my symptoms.

Right now my son and my husband are among my triggers and it is impossible to avoid them unless I want a divorce which I don't. Other triggers include certain movies which I avoid, certain types of people I call vampires they just seem to leech it right out of me so I avoid them too. I wish today were Monday so my son and my hubby would have to go to work but alas I have 3 days to put up with them both. Fortunately I have a therapist appointment this morning.

I learned very early on about "triggers" and how to deal with them in my life. We can do one of two things.....find a healthy way to avoid them or learn to work through them and deal with them. There are obviously many kinds of triggers for us. The average person deals wiht triggers in their life too.

I think the most important thing to do is what you are doing. Recognize the trigger and decide what to do about it so you can live your best life.

It is also important to recognize what part of the trigger is actually the culprit. For example........when my four kids were small I was anxious and nervous all the time. I would think "my kids are my trigger" but how do I escape or avoid them? Then I realized, it was not my kids that were the trigger, it was the "commotion" from them that was the trigger. I learned way to lessen the commotion therefor, decreasing the possibility of being triggered. I dont like "scary" movies, they trigger me. Obviously, that is very plain ans simple, I need to avoid watching them.

Not all triggers are that simple and we need to learn to recognize what is triggering us within a situation. We can learn to "deal" with most triggers in our lives. It just takes a little investigative work to figure out where the sensitivity is coming from.

I dont have many triggers left and it is possible to develope new ones. Large crowds is a huge trigger for me. I have learned to either avoid them OR take my son or husband with me. As long as I have someone I love close to me, I handle it much better. I also sometimes struggle with seeing people I know who have "great kids" who are successful, happy and making it well in this world. My kids struggle with drugs and school and life in general. I am learning to work through that by recognizing that this world is made up of all kinds of people. I cant know what God has in store for my children and through their challenges, they are being made strong for a purpose.

All we can do is work to live our best life and I think you are doing a great job. Hugs

Getting enough sleep is critical to bipolar disorder. I go to bed at the same time every night, and get up at the same time.

I work in a high stress job; always have. I haven't had good luck yet working on that; it's a trigger for me; irritation. But I am working on it.

Not taking meds; well, that's a no brainer.

Depression: get around people as soon as possible. That's a tough one.

Not eating makes a big difference in how I feel. So I try to make sure I eat; but the abilify is kinda getting in the way of that.

I have recently worked out that social situations can trigger a euphoric hypomania and in turn this can result in drinking too much alcohol. e.g. disinhibition - I used to blame the alcohol but now I realise its the social situation / relaxed atmosphere - I gave up drinking about a year ago and I'm pretty much a recluse these days so the triggers don't occur that often now.

multiple tasks i avoid.thank god my husband is very supportive and helps me out.

My daughter and the custody issues that I face are a huge trigger for me. I lost custody in October and now see her in a supervised setting for an hour a month. I find seeing her as bitter sweet. I really love to see her but there are supervisors around tracking my every move with her...writing down what we do, what we say etc.... It pains my heart to have to go there and I find it a real inconvenience but it is the only way I can see my daughter.

Overdrawn accounts are a trigger for me. My mood totally plummets. I do not have the uncontrollable spending issues that other beepers have. But communication between dh and myself when it comes to money is terrible. I handle the money, but have communicated many times before that I do not want the responsibility. Dh has yet to step up and take over in that area. I am the one who has to say "no, we can't afford that." if he wants something...I'm totally bumming out thinking about it...It is still an unresolved issue. I know I NEED to communicate to him again, but I feel paralyzed right now.

I get very irritable around crowds, so I avoid them as much as I can.
A cluttered house triggers me, so I have gradually made my space more organized so I can at least retreat to a neater part of the house.
Seeing dh overeat triggers me, and since only he can make a choice to eat healthy, I make sure when its my turn to cook he has no other choice but to eat what I make...in the portion I cook.

crowds, stuff i can't write or see in print, having to do things i have to go out to do and clutter as well.

I would do the same. I can't multitask either.

Feeling inadequate at work/school or that I'm about to get in trouble- THIS leads to no sleep (because I feel I the need to stay up all night to work, clean the house, whatever), which triggers my friend hypomania--which, if left unchecked, triggers it's big brother, my enemy.

stress and anxiety unsoothed has the power to completely send me into a manic state. Also not taking meds, or missing doses of course, and deviaing from a routine...if i have a stable nurturing, or even if it is not as nurtuing as it should be, which it is usually not,,,,but if i keep to some kind of routine,,,it keeps me in a safer zone, less likely to stumble apon a big rock or someting and find myself at the edge of the dark abyss,,,,,,or on my way down.....

I'm not sure... Life in general feels like a trigger. I don't handle change very well. If things are routine I do well.. throw me a curve ball and I spiral into a state of panic and tend to become emotionally pathetic. I'm learning to navigate the waters of change and hope to become better at it as time passes.

Earplugs, blindfold & a hermetically sealed bubble? Here's hoping!

I've had to reduce exposure to certain stuff that seemed to send me sky high (mania)...does help. Still get blindsided by Life though..but then a lot of mood swings seem to happen with absolutely no relationship to external events..so..yeah, hmmm.