For most people, living with mental illness is the biggest fight of their life and one that becomes a life long discipline.
I use the word discipline in the first sentence because, for me, it is through discipline that I can live an extraordinary life with Bipolar 2.
In the end though, those disciplines have to become your way of life if you are to win this fight.
When I first started noticing severe symptoms my life had spiraled into complete disconnection from who I was. I barely recongnised myself in the mirror, who was this empty, lonely person living her life for everyone else but herself? How had I gotten so lost? But this was just my state of mind, my surroundings and how I was living had also gotten out of control. I had been very sick with undiagnosed leaking gut syndrome, a gluten sensitivity and lactose sensitivity, my sleeping habits were deteriorating daily, I was working extremely long hours and, having only recently discovered that I have a highly sensitive nervous system, this would also have been a major contributing factor considering the way I was living my life.
My first visit to Albert Road Clinic (an amazing psychiatric hospital in Melbourne) came after my first suicide attempt. Up until this point, I had been the master of magician’s, hiding my true thoughts and feelings from the world. Wearing a mask of normalcy whenever I was in someone’s company. But, as those of you who live with mental illness know, that mask eventually cracks to reveal the black depths to which you have fallen.
Over the next 5 years I was subjected to a multitude of medications and treatment ending in 2 and a half years of ECT (Electro Convulsive Therapy). However, the greatest benefit came from the education and support I received from the medical staff at the clinic.
While living there your days are filled with beautiful clean food, lots of education sessions, daily exercise and therapy sessions and a strict environment for your body to naturally get on the sleep train at night time.
They provided me with the cornerstones of living an extraordinary life with mental illness.
- Clean, healthy eating habits
- Daily exercise
- How to set the right environment for healthy sleep
- Understanding why we think, act and feel the way we do
- The importance of personal development
- Surrounding yourself with positive people, your crew should inspire and motivate you
Clean, Healthy Eating Habits
There is a lot to be said for how poor nutrition can be the instigator of mental illness. Yes, that’s right, I said the instigator. If you’re wanting to learn more about this I would encourage you to delve into a book I recently finished called “A Mind of Your Own” by Dr. Kelly Brogan. In this groundbreaking, science-based, and holistic approach, Dr Brogan shatters the mythology conventional medicine has built around the causes and treatment of mental illness.
Daily Exercise
We all know the research behind regular exercise and staying happy and healthy.
For those of us who suffer from depressive episodes we have all been told that our brains ability to naturally produce enough serotonin is affected. Well, guess what one of the by products of exercise is? Your brain produces serotonin!
“I’ve heard this before” I hear you say. Then why aren’t you doing it?
It’s this little thing called discipline. You see when we’re in the grips of depression we have no energy, no enthusiasm, no motivation to exercise. For a lot of people who suffer from mental illness, sleep and the lack of it is a major factor and therefore we are often too tired to exercise. This is where our little friend discipline comes into play. You see, when that voice in your head is saying “I don’t feel like it” or “I can’t” or “I’m too tired” along comes discipline to smack that voice upside the head.
You need to seriously ask yourself; do you really want to get better, do you really want to feel like “yourself” again, just how badly do you want to climb out of that black hole? Because, believe me, if you truly want it bad enough you will find a way to exercise daily.
Now it doesn’t have to be some massive gym sesh, I mean of course it can be if that’s how you roll. It could be a walk with your dog, a leisurely swim at the local pool, a bike ride, anything to get that daily hit of natural happiness, serotonin.
How To Set The Right Environment for Healthy Sleep
This has been a big one for me and, honestly, one that continues to test my discipline muscle.
This is a little different for all of us and I would encourage you to find out what works for you. However, there are some fundamental strategies that I’ve researched along the way that can really contribute to getting on the sleep train;
- No caffeine for up to 8 hours before sleepies
- No electronic devices (i.e. phones, iPad’s, etc.) for 2 hours before bed
- Dim lighting for 2 hours before bed
- 20 minutes of relaxing meditation in the lead up to bed time
- A nice warm shower or bath before bed
- For some of us that really struggle; wearing an eye mask, using a sleep sound machine (or relaxing meditation music) are a couple of other ways to ensure you’re able to get on that sleep train.
If sleep is a major “trigger” for you I can’t express enough the importance of researching what is going to work for you.
Understanding Why We Think, Act and Feel The Way We Do
Knowledge is power my friends. The better you can understand yourself and your “triggers” the more in control you will feel. This is where therapy comes into the mix. A good therapist; be it a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Counselor and/or an experienced Life Coach can help you to unlock the complexities of your “why”.
If you can understand and recognise why you feel, think and act the way you do your eyes will be opened. Once you accept that you have a choice you can begin to choose differently.
Once you realise and understand that you have complete control over how you choose to feel, think and act you will begin to regain the power in your life.
Read books, ask questions but most importantly, once you’ve gained this knowledge have the discipline to make the changes in your life to support living it happily and healthily.
The Importance of Personal Development
“Therapy is about the past – healing wounds. Coaching is about the future” – Rich Litvin & Steve Chandler.
This is how I feel about and what I’ve personally experienced with Personal Development and Life Coaching.
While it’s important to understand why you think, feel and act the way you do, it’s equally important to learn the tools to equip you with how to change those thoughts, feelings and behaviors that weren’t serving you and replace them with those that do so that you can create positive change in your life.
Surrounding Yourself With Positive People
You are the sum of the people you choose to surround yourself with.
I have seen this both in my life outside of Albert Road Clinic and during my time in the clinic.
In hospital, the patients who surrounded themselves with people who were focused on healing and determined to claw their way out of the black tar, you could see the light in their eyes grow stronger and stronger each day.
Outside of hospital I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and spend time with champions in both the sporting and professional arenas. One of the common denominators in their extraordinary lives is the awesome crew they surround themselves with. It really is awe inspiring to see how someone can lift just by being around positive, motivated, energized people. I can literally feel the energy, it’s so amazing.
Really when it comes down to it all, discipline to do what’s needed for you to live a healthy, happy life is the major thread that sews this all together. These 6 principles won’t help you if you don’t have the discipline to apply them daily because without discipline, you’ll constantly be falling in and out of that black hole.
And if you fall, which I have done many many times, it’s having the discipline to put these principles back in place again and the empathy to forgive yourself.
To finish up, if you are feeling like you’re life is getting out of control and you are slipping down that rabbit hole, YOU MUST REACH OUT!
So many of us are either too ashamed, too scared of what other’s may think of us or how they may judge us to let people know of the battle that’s going on inside our minds.
Love, understanding and support are right there waiting for you.
The world is never “better off” without you in it.