Happy June 1st! Hopefully some great things are coming your way throughout June. It feels like May flew by pretty quick. I have my plants in buckets and they’re starting to grow! I also started herbs on the windowsill. This will be my first time growing herbs, so I am excited to see how they turn out.
A few weeks ago, I covered some tips for depression, so today I’m covering tips for mania. I’m well aware that there are more people who deal with depression than there are who deal with mania, so this post probably doesn’t apply to a lot of you. BUT, for my people who this post does apply to, hopefully you can get some tips to help you deal with mania on a daily, or weekly. Whichever is a reflection of how often you deal with it.
For my people who don’t know mania, mania is a wild ride. The word mania actually comes from Latin or Ancient Greek and it means “madness.” We know madness to mean anger down here in the south but in most places, it actually means insanity. And it is appropriately named because it can definitely make you feel like you’re going insane. It can be both a blessing and a curse if you aren’t prepared to deal with it; it tends to be more of a burden for the people around me than it actually does to me, I think. Mania can consist of a lot of things: hyperactivity, racing thoughts, quick breathing, a blatant disregard for your bank account or even, in more serious cases, rules or laws. The bank account one is mine, and I’ve gotten a lot better at it since I’m aware that I do it. I’m the primary shopper in my house, so I have to be the responsible one. I had to reel in some of that spending.
It isn’t always thousands of dollars or anything like that, either. Mine was always the lack of discipline. If I saw something, I bought it. If the girls asked for something, I would get it. It has taken a long time for me to retrain my mind that a want isn’t a need. A much harder feat was teaching the girls that wants are not needs, and that we don’t have to spend money to have fun.
Mania has a positive side, too, though. It isn’t all bad. Mania means a rush of energy for me, and I can clean for hours or do something I love for hours, and I don’t get tired. I’m exhausted at the end of it all, though, so you don’t have to take it easy because you don’t want to end up having to recover from being manic. For me, the highs of mania are worth the lows I go through, most of the time, because I always know that brighter days are coming. For me, this is when I’m at my peak of creativity, I’m the goofiest with my kids, and I have a surplus of energy to accomplish a massive set of goals in a short amount of time. Controlling it is key, though. Don’t let it go wild.
- Pace yourself
- Take a deep breath
- Go for a walk
- Write everything down
- Meditate
PACE YOURSELF. This is the part I mentioned about not wanting to burn yourself out. I’ve had days of mania where I honestly clean for hours, sometimes all the way up until bedtime. It’s something I don’t get to do very often because my time is so scattered, so when I can deep clean, I do. The days where I have cleaned all the way til bedtime and toted heavy things up and down the stairs repeatedly are the days that follow up with at least half a day of me resting on the couch. It’s a massive amount of energy that gets burnt up on those days, along with a massive amount of food. I’ve had days, a long time ago, where I’m so hyped up that I simply forget to eat, and I may not remember til well after lunch. This doesn’t happen to me anymore, though, because I had to start setting a timer to remind me to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would get the girls food, but I wouldn’t sit down and eat. Often, I would tell myself I would do it later, and later never came. It has made me pretty sick a few times and it is NOT worth your health. So pace yourself. Make yourself take breaks. Remember to eat.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH. With how fast our thoughts are going, especially if it’s something we are excited to talk about, it’s pretty hard to get it out of our mouths fast enough. There has been many a time when I have talked paragraphs, and at such a rapid pace, that the other person in the “conversation” would just stare at me, mouth agape, because they had no idea what I had just said. People’s comprehension do not work as fast as a manic mind. Hell, your own mouth doesn’t work as fast as your manic mind. It cannot process what you’re saying and get it out of your mouth fast enough. When I realize I am in manic mode, and I’m trying to have a semi-comprehensible conversation, I take a huge breath and gather myself together. Then, depending on who the other person in the conversation is, I’ll usually take a second and explain that I am manic right now, and to try to be patient with me. The person at the other end of the conversation is surprised, because people don’t share that sort of thing, but that’s okay. I’m very open, and I don’t mind to just say it. Manic moods are nothing to be ashamed of, and don’t let anyone try to tell you different.
GO FOR A WALK. Sometimes, I’m too much to handle. I realize when this is the case because everyone in my house starts doing something different. My kids will usually have headsets on with music going, or they will be upstairs playing in their room. We are super close, so this is pretty rare for them, and it’s when I know that I’m a bit too much at the moment. Nothing at all is wrong with it, and don’t let it get you down. It is what it is. You’re not too much for you, and that’s the key. So lace up your shoes and just get away for a few minutes. Go walk, or hike, or jog. Take a breather. If you have young children like me, and walking isn’t possible because you have to watch them, then occupy them with something for a little bit. Music or their favorite show, anything. Then slip out the backdoor and sit outside for a moment. Get away from all of that and just gather your thoughts. Sometimes the stimuli around us can affect us, too. Everything else can just be too much. And that is also okay. Don’t feel bad for it. As previously stated, it is what it is.
WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. Listen, I’m going to say this a lot. I’m big on writing. I make lists, I journal, and I make to-do lists. I do it all. If it stayed up in my head all day, swirling around with everything else that lives up there, I would forget half of everything I’m supposed to do. During mania, our thoughts are so chaotic that we have a million things going on at one time. I usually have a notebook handy, and I leave it open on my kitchen table. As I walk by, I’ll jot stuff down. At the end of the day, or whenever it is that I’ve come down from my manic ride, it will look like the rantings of an insane person, but that’s alright. It for real helps, even on times that you’re not manic. Writing things down helps a lot. Post-It notes are great, too. Side note: I’m currently in the process of creating my own notebooks. I’m still working on them, but the journal designs I already have are unique and very pretty. (Yes, I may have a bit of a bias, but see for yourself!). My youngest daughter helped design one, too! Anyway, grab anything to write on and jot everything down. My mania can sometimes lead to anger really fast, if I start getting agitated, so I will also write during these times; it keeps it from being bottled up which is bad, and it also keeps me from misdirecting it, which is also bad.
MEDITATE. Last, but certainly not least, meditate. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Meditate. There are so many different kinds of health benefits from meditation. The number one biggest thing is its well-known ability to be a stress-reliever. Stress in itself can cut your life short, because it can take such a huge toll on our body. Stress can cause a plethora of other illnesses or health issues if it builds up or stays high for a long time. There’s nothing like waking up while everyone else is in bed, pouring a nice cup of coffee, and sitting on the back patio (I sit on the ground, to be grounded in to earth, but you can very well sit on a chair or mat) while I meditate. I’ve been practicing deep meditation, too, and it’s a whole different journey. It requires more focus and more patience, because you have to sit still for longer. The key thing is, though, you don’t have to be completely still. You do need to be somewhere where you can have your eyes closed. But moving around, as long as it’s slightly, is something you can do. Staying focused and blocking the outside world from affecting your thoughts while you’re meditating is what the whole practice is about. Learning to control your thoughts and having that discipline to not move for a certain amount of time. Start small, five minutes or so, then work your way up. You would be surprised at how great you feel once it’s over. Clear mind, peaceful feeling, calmness.
There are my five tips, and I hope they help. Being manic can be a huge struggle, sometimes just as much as depression. It can make you feel alone and it can be difficult maintaining relationships and friendships. Just remember that there’s nothing at all wrong with you. You are NOT your mood swing, whether it be depression or anger or mania. Don’t be defined by your feelings. You aren’t mania; you have mania. You aren’t depression; you have depression. Once you get your mind into this habitual path of thinking, you will start to recognize your mood swings, your triggers (if you have any), and you will be better equipped to deal with them as they come.
One thing I purposely left off the list that could help, too, is medicine. Some people find that antipsychotics or mood stabilizers can help with mania. I left it off of this list because not everyone uses medication, myself being one of them. By all means, get medicine if you need it! For either depression or mania. But I found out years ago, it just isn’t for me. In an overmedicated country where literally anything and everything seems to require some kind of prescription or over-the-counter, I would rather manage with herbs and good food, sunlight and exercise. And my tips, of course.
Be kind to yourself.
-L