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What Helps Callie, 30, With Bipolar II Disorder

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Editor's Note

Any medical information included is based on a personal experience. For questions or concerns regarding health, please consult a doctor or medical professional.

With our ongoing “What Helps Me” series, The Mighty is leaning into what sets us apart from other health sites: We aim to provide real health advice from real people who live it.

• What is Bipolar disorder?

In this spirit, we asked our community for the best insights and tips they’ve developed for managing their conditions. As always, they responded with their unique health stories and we are happy to pass along their well-tested resources to you.

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Today, we meet Mighty member Callie. She is 30 years old and lives with bipolar II disorder.

Callie, what helps you?

A woman with curly blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a black dress smiles.

THE MIGHTY: What helps you most when your condition affects your physical health?

CALLIE: Massage therapy helps me the most with my bipolar II disorder.

What helps you most when your condition affects your mental health?

Opening up to my partner helps me with my mental health. My partner quietly listens to me and doesn’t try to “solve” what I’m going through. He simply responds with, “I’m sorry you’re struggling right now. I’m here for you.”

How do you cope when your normal self-care isn’t working?

I do something that benefits others, like dropping off my recycling, helping a friend with childcare or pet care, or randomly texting someone I love a positive or encouraging quote.

Thank you to Callie for her contributions to our community. Did you find this helpful? Add your gratitude in the comments.

If you want to tell us what helps you, you can complete our survey here.

Getty image via contributor.

Originally published: June 13, 2022
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