Maintaining Balance after Bipolar Therapy
By the end of the year you should have built powerful skills such as coping and problem solving. Keep using those skills daily to maintain balance after your treatment.
Practice Self-Statements daily
"I am in control." Measure your progress by noting your achievements. Prove to yourself that you are in charge of your actions and thoughts. Do not fall into the pattern of believing that luck or fate has anything to do with your progress. Credit yourself rather than give credit to others for your progress.
Take pride in the self-control you build. State "I will plan time for me."
Self-statement - State "I have abilities" then move to develop more abilities to expand your skills. Read, take tests, do things that help you to expand your knowledge. Set up a time management scheme that works for you.
Self-Statement - State "I value learning." (Learning reduces doubts, fears, etc) Remind yourself daily of the benefits of learning, such as more income, a brighter tomorrow and feeling of self-accomplishment or fulfillment.
Next, ask your family to participate with you in creative problem-solving therapy.
Creative Problem-Solving
The intention is to use your creative mind to solve problems effectively. Sensing problems and recognizing your situations and your need for improvement.
Work as a family to generate new ideas to solve the problem. Generate alternating ways to improve or solve your problems, i.e. fluency. Ask - what are all the potential solutions to this problem?
What can you do to improve the problem?
Next, ask what you can do to improve the problem. Brainstorm with your family and graphically organize your information and develop a list, charts or other cognitive maps to help you solve the problem effectively. Examine each idea and select up to five ideas that seem appropriate.
Develop with your family criteria for examining your ideas to improve your situation or solve your problem. Implement the best ideas and move to try it.
Accept your findings. Develop a line of attack or plan of action that best describes what needs to be accomplished. Next, move to ask how you will accomplish it by asking questions, building an idea web and putting a plan into action while evaluating the results.
Conclusion
We have created a guide to help you conquer Bipolar. Understand that Bipolar is often a lifelong condition, yet studies show that those who participate in CBT benefit more than those who rely on medications.
To help you continue maintaining balance we recommend that you continue using this guide for the course of one year. Take some time to learn some strategies and attitudes to solve problems effectively. Never, settle for your first plan; instead search vigorously for alternatives. Examine each time how you perceive your problem. Ask - is there any irrational assumptions? Learn how you can conceive the problem in a different way.
Shift any uncritical potential solutions to find more ways to solve problems. Maintain a good attitude and persevere while playfully exploring alternatives. Apply some sub-skills, such as creative thinking, to help you solve your problems effectively. |