In Canada, life takes on a more serious tone in September. This is the month that children go back to school after their two-month summer holiday, students of post secondary institutions return to classes and many people’s jobs get busier after our brief warm summer months. This transition can cause a considerable amount of stress for everyone. High levels of stress are not good for people with bipolar disorder.
My bipolar disorder is highly sensitive to stress. Elevated stress levels played a significant roll in my first and subsequent full blown manic episodes and all my severe depressive episodes. If I am not mindful of the amount of stress I have in my life the consequences can be devastating. Every acute episode I have had has resulted in a loss of employment, relationships, and all my money. There are many things you cannot control when you have bipolar disorder but if you can decrease your stress level this can help lower the likelihood of acute episodes and help manage chronic symptoms.
The first thing to consider is to take an objective view of your bipolar disorder to figure out how much activity you can do. Bipolar disorder is not like a broken leg where the symptoms and treatment are the same for everyone. Everyone’s bipolar disorder is different. Some people can be so reactive to stress that employment would cause them to have a severe manic episode that could include psychosis or depressive episodes that have the possibility of death by suicide. Reflecting on the events that led to previous episodes can give you a sense of what you are capable of doing.
Regardless of whether you are working or not, stress needs to be managed. In Canada, since many activities start in September it is often the time of year we choose to make commitments. It is important to keep in mind the limitations of your illness when you agree to add an activity to your life. It is easy to agree to do more than you are capable of doing when your symptoms are in remission.
There are other wellness practices that can help reduce stress. Mindfulness, a life practice that grounds people in the present moment through activities like meditation and yoga can make a dramatic change in stress levels. Any form of exercise, peer support groups and incorporating recreational opportunities or volunteer work into your routine are all excellent ways to reduce stress.
Despite our best efforts, life will surprise us and we will end up having to deal with intense moments of stress. The best we can do to mitigate the damage these events cause on our lives is create a healthy routine and use as many tools as possible to decrease our stress level. This will not guarantee that we will not become acutely ill, but it gives us a better chance of maintaining wellness.
Thank you for the explanation Allan.
To find oneself “physically held down and drugged and taken to the hospital” without any warning signs is a brutal experience.
What kind of behaviour has required that kind of intervention in your particular case?
Were you endangering anybody before being forcibly restrained?
Who called medical professionals to do so?
Ivan
Thank you for your comment Ivan. Your question is difficult to answer for a number of reasons. First off, being held down and drugged is definitely one of the traumatic experiences someone who has bipolar disorder can go through. Luckily, I did not understand what was going on when it happened but waking up in an entirely different country after someone has decided to take control of your body without your consent is an awful feeling.
That being said, sometimes it is necessary. Generally, the decision to do this is made by a psychiatrist. My case was unique because I was living in Japan at the time. I was not threatening anyone but I was completely disconnected from reality. My family came to Japan to bring me back to Canada. I have a family member who is a family doctor who was in consultation with a psychiatrist in Canada when the decision was made to inject me and bring me back to Canada.
Alan, thanks for another excellent story. Thanks, too, to Ivan who commented above about how forcible restraining. Two years ago this month, a woman was repeatedly kicked by Edmonton police after she was found hanging from a wire, committing suicide. She later told a news reporter that this was the police’s way of restraining her: “One cop tried to get me down and succeeded, but the other cop just started kneeing me in the side. And when I was down on the ground, he just kept on kicking.”
Here’s the link to the news story: https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/edmonton-police-and-mental-health-calls
Thank you for your comment Sue. This story is heart breaking. It’s frustrating for those of us with a mental illness who know that we just need to be treated with compassion and dignity to get us through those short periods of time when our brains tell us death by suicide is our only option. I hope the trend of having more police officers trained in mental health issues becomes more wide spread.
Thank you for your reply, Allan.
Do you have any recollection of being “completely disconnected from reality”, or were you simply told that you were, after the intervention?
I am sure it is not easy to revisit those memories, so you do not have to answer if you find it difficult.
I am trying to gain full understanding of how one has to behave to give justification to suspension of ALL of his human rights. Personally, I would be terrified to seek psychiatric help just for the real possibility of this happening. I suspect there are many people feeling the same.
I feel that there is lack of predictability and information about what can one expect.
I really appreciate your questions Ivan. It’s great that you are trying so hard to understand. I do not remember everything that happened during my psychosis but the memories I do have make me realize I was disconnected from reality. My interpretation of my environment at the time was way off from what was going on at the time. When I woke up in the hospital and they told me I had bipolar disorder I was completely shocked and I refused to believe it. Over time, I realized I was not well. Thank you for your comment Ivan.