Bipolar- Pace Yourself

I always must remind myself to slow down and pace myself. With bipolar, what goes up- must come down.

A large part of bipolar is extremes in mood and energy. Got to love hypomania. Feels like you can conquer the world. I am smart enough to convince people that I am superwoman. I am! At least I am for a while. My upward swings have been known to last days, weeks, and sometimes even months. New relationships are magical and can bring me to cloud nine.

The truth is, I can only be superwoman for so long. For employers and boyfriends, the crash is a letdown. They simply can not understand why this woman who was so wonderful is now basically unproductive.

The secret to my bipolar success- pace yourself. Life is not a race. If become hypomanic and produce a lot of work- turn in a little at a time. This will give you the time to rest on your downward swings, and you will still have work to turn in.

Think of it like this. A runner can sprint very fast. However, when going cross country, must pace himself. At times the bipolar mind wants to sprint. When this happens, it's only fair to let your mind rest.