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Journaling: A Therapeutic Outlet For Bipolar Disorder.

I have had decades of experience being a patient in therapy. When I was a kid, I remember playing card games with my therapist. It was a nice and relaxing time. When I was in middle school, I had a therapist that allowed me to roller blade in the halls of her office. This therapist was special to me. She was the first one to introduce me to journaling my emotions as well. I was never able to talk about my feelings at home, and you only had the 50 minutes of therapy hour to get all your feelings out. So, I tried the journaling.

Writing in a journal was an escape for me. I talked about all the things running through my mind. I also started writing poetry in my journal. Pretty soon, my journal became my collection of poetry. With poetry, I was able to channel a part of myself that I was hiding, and really speak about what I was truly feeling. I got it all on paper. This helped me a little when I was a teenager. Journaling helped me out a great deal when I got older. When I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, I wrote in my journal multiple times a day, just to record what I was feeling at the time. Any time I had an episode, I wrote it down. It honestly helped me. I continue to journal, and write things down.

The reason why I am sharing my personal story, is because having writing as an outlet can help a person suffering from Bipolar, better understand what is happening to them. Their feelings at the time are recorded. After their manic or depressive episode is over, they can go back and read about how they were feeling at the time. This could be a useful therapeutic tool for your Bipolar loved one.

My brothers and sisters with Bipolar disorder, try journaling. You don't have to censor yourself. Just write what ever it is that you are feeling down in your journal. Your journal is a judgment free zone. You can swear, curse life, be hyper, what ever you want. I used to share my journal with the therapist that I was seeing at the time. She would help me process everything in there, and it really helped me understand everything I was going through. Through therapy and writing everything down, I was able to acknowledge my triggers, and know that if I was feeling overly anxious, hyper, or very depressed, I was having an episode. This is when I would coach myself to not give up, to calm down, and to live life. I would tell myself that I will get through this. I would write it down, either journal-wise, or lyrically.

I am actively looking for a therapist, because I love therapy. There are not many people that understand what a Bipolar person is going through, except therapists and other Bipolars. Therapy gets a seriously bad reputation as being a negative thing. It is not negative at all. These people are there to help, and to listen.
Start writing in a journal. Write everything that you are feeling, and you can share it with your therapist.


(photo courtesy of: http://project800s.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/journal.jpg)

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