Binge eating, abusing drugs, smoking—there are many behaviors to deal with bipolar disorder symptoms that can lead to bad habits. But you can learn to break them.
By Allison Strong
Hi, I’m Allison Strong with bp Magazine’s bphope.com Vlog. Today I’d like to talk about Bipolar Disorder and hard to break bad habits.
From the time I was a young girl, I engaged in compulsive behaviors to balance out my undiagnosed, untreated bipolar disorder. I started with comfort food, then I found endorphins through exercise and put the two together.
I found drugs to suppress my appetite, which gave me an unsurpassed sense of power! However, this took me down a catastrophic road of consequences. When I had my first manic episode at age 29, I’d actually managed to put together a year of sobriety. The psychiatrists at the hospital say this helped them because it gave them a clear clinical picture. They got the medicine right the first time and I felt better.
I didn’t want to ruin a good thing, and so, after I was stabilized, I lost the desire to self-medicate altogether…except for smoking, which took me another ten years to quit. I’d stop…then I’d start back up, then stop, then start again… Now, it’s been 12 years since my last cigarette.
Sometimes, when I get all worked up about food and weight I think…maybe I can have ‘just one,’ but I know what a slippery slope that is.
Now, I’m no addiction specialist, but I wonder, how are you doing with bipolar and hard-to-break bad habits?
There’s a replies section below, and plenty of room for you to contribute to this video. After all, this isn’t a community unless you participate!
I’m Allison Strong with bp magazine’s bphope.com Vlog. Have a great day. Ciao!!!
