Biploar Holidays Revisited

It’s that time of year again; time to get ready for the holidays. Gray skies, falling temperatures, daylight receding into night earlier. Time to take the holiday cheer out of the closet and bedeck the house with it. This is the season for gratitude.

Does this sound like too much of a cliché? We’ve all heard these well-worn platitudes before. For those struggling with mental illness, it can seem like pleas for thankfulness emitted from some goody- two-shoes view of reality. For what should someone with bipolar disorder feel blessed?

I ponder my reply to that last question. What should my response be? Is your medication working? Do you feel like you’re on a roller coaster of ever-changing moods? Do your moods shift between depressive lows and intermittent normalcy; normalcy, which is a reprieve from unending manic excess that gives no thought to the inevitable consequences of feeling too good tomorrow?

Do you have family and friends to gather with, or has your life become an isolated trek through the cold and gloom of a winter-night darkness? Is there any relief for what seems like glib attempts to squeeze one more drop out of a stale appeal for holiday solidarity? Is there an opportunity for genuine caring? My counsel for those afflicted with mental illness is—hope. Gratitude springs from the hope that things will be different, and the activity of that difference can bring change that is satisfying and healing. In short--to care. Too much time spent in expectation of better times with too little perceived results can cause burnout.

Perhaps the one true spirit of the season is to rededicate one’s self. Can we acknowledge what we hope is true? Can we have gratitude for the opportunity to hope anew that life has meaning and our struggle is redeeming? Attitude rules change for the mentally ill and their families who cling to the belief that no matter how fleeting or pervasive their circumstances are, these circumstances are not static, but constantly changing and yielding to the betterment of their lives. This belief puts us in a position to be thankful for what we have. Attitude defines the ability to change. The gains are there to see.

The holiday season can remind us of how much we, as people, have in common with one another, if we pull together. And that can be shared again and again throughout the year.
Happy holidays to all who read this, beginning with a thankful Thanksgiving.

Ten Suggestions for Holiday Survival

1. Focus on what you have, not what you don’t have.
2. Count your blessings; make a list of them.
3. Accept the limitations you currently have creating goals that apply year round.
4. Concentrate your caring outwardly, not inwardly.
5. Encourage an open attitude of tolerance.
6. Avoid isolation by gathering with others.
7. Refute negative thoughts.
8. Meditate on living in the present.
9. Avoid excessive alcohol use.
10. Practice random acts of kindness.