If you have bipolar disorder, you are well aware of how your unexpected mood swings could wreak havoc on your life and the lives of those around you. Aside from your unpredictable highs and lows causing tension in your home and work life, left unchecked, your condition could also lead you to commit suicide. Fortunately, you can control and treat bipolar disorder. Although medication is crucial, supplementing it with CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy could further help in stabilizing your mood and ensure that your condition is in check. CBT could teach you specific skills that will help you focus and understand how your condition affects your life, including:
Accepting That You Have Bipolar Disorder
You need to acknowledge and accept that you are bipolar and that it’s causing your symptoms. Not surprisingly, this is typically extremely tough for people struggling with the condition to accept so knowing the specific warning signs, causes, and symptoms of the disorder is vital as it will help them admit to themselves that they’re bipolar while also knowing that there are plenty of people like them, explains a renowned cognitive behavioral therapy specialist in Westport, CT.
Restructuring Your Thought Processes
This will focus on fixing flawed and problematic thinking patterns so that you’ll be aware of how your thoughts could significantly influence your moods and you could correct of modify them. You’ll learn how to dissect your flawed thoughts by identifying distortions like thinking that everything is all-or-nothing to learn how to think more balanced and realistic thoughts.
Keeping Track of Your Moods
This is typically done with a journal or worksheet that you write on every single day and reviewed by your CBT therapist. This will help you become more conscious of your triggers and shifts in your mood.
Problem Solving
This process will help you identify problems, think of potential solutions, choose the best solution, and then assess the result. Problems could include financial issues, relationship issues, work life, etc.
Establishing and Sticking to a Routine
This will help establish rhythm and order to your daily life to aid in stabilizing your mood. For instance, you could set a consistent eating and sleep schedule or workout routine.
Improving Social Skills
If you lack essential social skills like many bipolar people do, learning these skills is vital to help manage your relationships more effectively.
To help ensure successful outcomes from cognitive behavioral therapy, you need to also do some homework that your therapist will give you in between CBT sessions and diligently take your prescribed medications. Doing your homework is immensely important because this is the best way for your therapist to gauge your willingness to work through your condition and how well cognitive behavioral therapy is working for you. Remember, to master a skill; you need lots of practice. You should also continue educating yourself about your condition by asking your therapist questions about things you don’t understand about your disorder, joining a support group, and just reading about it.
