Depression is the second part of manic-depressive - or bipolar - disorder. I want to address this mostly because I am more on the depressive side than on the manic side. It's not easy dealing with depression, especially mood swings that flucuate daily. I have rapid-cycling type 2 bipolar disorder and my moods go up and down about as often as the sun. So how do you deal? And without popping pills. I have a few ways I'd like to share.
1. Write. I write my feelings down in rhyme. For some reason, rhymes make my depression easier to swallow. I have songs and poems that will probably never be read or sung to anyone and that's okay. It's a way for me to see what I'm feeling and it helps me understand myself better.
2. Sleep. It's not the best way to deal, but it works for me. I sleep off my troubles like drunks sleep off hangovers. When I wake up, I usually feel better.
3. Talk. I know talk therapy or psychotherapy is not the easiest, but I think it's one of the most effective ways to understand oneself. I get to take a deeper look into myself and when I hear some of the irrational things I say, and some of the rational things I say. It helps me realize where I can change things.
These are only a few ways to deal with depression. Drugs are not always the answer.
This is cousin Lynette. :)
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you suffered from this...Your blog is extremely helpful and I wanted to thank you for sharing how you are dealing with depression and bi-polar disorder. What a great idea to vent and heal through a blog...You are amazing. :)
Love you!