Tag: Solutions

Jigsaw Puzzles Help My Racing Thoughts

Jigsaw Puzzles Help My Racing Thoughts

There are a few activities that I do that help to keep my brain occupied. I use adult coloring books and a wide variety of puzzles including Sudoku and word searches. However, my favorite puzzles are jigsaw puzzles. I find that my racing thoughts slow down a little bit while working on jigsaw puzzles. My negative thoughts don’t disappear, but they seem more manageable. I don’t have to deal with my overwhelming negative thoughts every second. I let myself get lost in the puzzle. It doesn’t work every time, but it does help most of the times. I can even do jigsaw puzzles on my laptop or my phone. It’s probably the best solution I’ve found in a very long time.

Finding Happiness

Finding Happiness

Getting through a bipolar depression episode is extremely difficult. I’ve been going through a depression for many months now, some days are better than others. I’ve been having a few good days lately because I am able to work out and I’m able to smile. Some days I’m not even able to smile. It’s on the easier days that I can work at finding happiness. For those with depression, we know that happiness is not something that just happens; for us, it takes a lot of work.

So what do I do to find happiness? Maybe watching a comedy, or listening to and dancing to some good music, spend time with or talk to friends/family, or do some things that you’re good at doing. For me, I would probably do some cooking and/or cleaning. I enjoy doing these things and I feel great when they’re all done. Reaching out to others is very important; it also helps me feel better.

Everyone is different; no matter what it is that helps you feel better, it’s important to figure out what that is and remember it for when you need it. Remembering is difficult, so I try to write down the things that help me. That way, when I’m in a depression, I have something to turn to.

Talk Therapy: Difficult Yet Beneficial

Talk Therapy: Difficult Yet Beneficial

There are many forms of therapy that are known to help individuals with bipolar disorder and other mental health illnesses. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT), interpersonal therapy, psychotherapy (talk therapy) and family-focused therapy are just some examples. Therapy is a vital aspect of bipolar disorder treatment. I have been using therapy as a tool since I was 14 years old. As long as you have the right therapist, it is very helpful. The way I found the right therapist was just by trial and error. It was difficult, but I ended up very happy with my final choice.

I’m not really sure what form of therapy I’m using right now. I go in his office, he sits at a desk and I sit on the other side, it’s very informal and I like that. We have some things in common, for example, he is also from the east coast. I’m very comfortable with him and I’m comfortable in his office in general. Basically, I talk about what’s happening now, what happened in the past, and my fears, and he points out some patterns that I never noticed. Then, he provides some solutions and even gives me small easy steps to take to achieve these solutions. He holds me accountable. I suppose you could say that he helps me find and use tools to deal with situations that I encounter. He also helps me to have healthier relationships with anyone/everyone I know. He knows my triggers and makes sure to always respect them and my boundaries.

It took me a few years to be able to talk about the abusive relationship I was in. But one day, only a few months ago, I finally opened up. He was great about it. I didn’t feel judged or looked down upon. He doesn’t bring up certain aspects of it because he knows how much of a trigger it is for me. I think that the type of therapy I use is talk therapy, also called psychotherapy, but I could be wrong. No matter what, the therapy that I do is helpful; I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t. Therapy is very difficult; it’s hard to talk about your life, problems, and difficult situations, especially face to face with another person. If you can get past these difficulties and the fears of talking about some of your most sensitive issues with a stranger, you will gain the benefits at some point, just hang in there.