Why I Strive for Mental Wellness With Bipolar Disorder

In “The Strangest Secret” by Earl Nightingale, he says:

“Success is really nothing more than the progressive realization of a worthy ideal … Any person with a goal towards which they are working is a successful person.”

• What is Bipolar disorder?

My first hospitalization was in 1978. I was 23, where I was misdiagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I should have been hospitalized many times before that, but my family did not know that was an option. Over the years, my diagnosis was revised to include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). From my earliest memories, life was a struggle. The struggle was compounded after my misdiagnosis, trying to fix problems I did not have.

When I received the bipolar 1 disorder diagnosis in April of 2009 at almost 55, I took it with a grain of salt. But my psychiatrist saw my skepticism and did something no doctor had done before. He challenged me to prove him wrong. Over the next week, I read everything I could on bipolar disorder, and everything fit. I also learned ADHD and OCD have overlapping symptoms with bipolar disorder. There was only one real difference: ADHD and OCD lacked mania, which is why ADHD and OCD are common misdiagnoses.

The next week, I returned to his office having to admit bipolar 1 disorder was the proper diagnosis. Much later, I realized my psychiatrist was sneaky in this tactic. As I could not prove him wrong, I had to accept the bipolar 1 diagnosis. In talking to other people who struggle with bipolar, many had a hard time accepting their diagnosis.

During that session, we talked about prescribing medication and setting some goals. That is when I came across the Earl Nightingale quote. I made it my goal to be as mentally well as I could be. I resolved to do the work required to make that happen. Mental wellness became the worthy ideal toward which I would work.

The next week started the journey I am still on today. The first three years of that journey were rough. It took over two years to find a medication that worked for me. I have since transitioned from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals (natural means) to treat my bipolar disorder. This was done under the guidance of my professional support team.

It took a year to get into a therapist and two years of intense therapy after that.

It was my ideal of mental wellness that kept me going. Over those years, I learned many things. I am still learning. I believe the real key to bipolar management is learning.

I learned a proper diagnosis gave me hope. Although not curable, I hoped bipolar disorder could be managed, but I needed a support team of professional and non-professional people to pull it off.

I learned proper medication only stabilized my mind and mood, but did not fix my mental and emotional turmoil.

My therapy had two purposes.

1. To challenge my thinking and false beliefs to bring me into reality.

2. To help me find and heal the trauma I endured that caused the bipolar rupture in the first place.

I learned bipolar disorder either stripped me of my coping, life and social skills, or prevented me from ever learning those skills.

I learned bad habits stuck to me like glue.

I learned bipolar inhibited my mental and emotional resilience.

I learned bipolar caused me to eat and sleep poorly, and not exercise.

I have learned to treat and manage my bipolar disorder successfully; I needed more than medication and therapy. I needed to form the right habits and learn the coping, life and social skills I lacked. I needed to build my mental and emotional resilience. I needed to learn about proper nutrition and supplements, then incorporate them into my life. I needed to exercise; I needed to understand what sleep hygiene was and get adequate sleep.

With proper treatment and intense therapy, plus learning these skills and developing the habits and tools required, I have progressively realized my goal toward mental wellness. I have yet to reach my ideal of mental wellness. But each day, I steadily progress toward my ideal. Which, according to the quote, makes me a success.

There have also been unexpected benefits in learning all this to manage my bipolar disorder. The habits, skills and tools I learned in managing my bipolar disorder are transferable to other areas of my life. These habits and skills allowed me to hold a job for the last 10 years of my working life. I retired in 2020 at 65. These habits and skills enabled me to create a blog where I write on bipolar disorder and publish two children’s stories.

I can say, with certainty, mental wellness is a worthy ideal.