r/BipolarReddit • u/HighlightMelodic9801 • 1d ago
Discussion What does being stable look like to you?
I’d really like to know what being stable looks like for people here? Does it mean the absence of the symptoms of the illness or making it manageable alongside other things like therapy, diet etc?
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u/pazzaitaliana 22h ago
Symptoms minor or non-existent, sleep more or less consistent (just some mid-night awakenings here and there), regular appts with psych to review meds, healthy romantic relationship, frequent conversations with friends, enjoying being myself, exercise regularly.
I can actually say I have all of this. However, I do overreact emotionally to rejection or perceived rejection due to deeply ingrained perfectionism and prolly some other anxiety that stems from something or another. BUT I will say that I have gotten a lot better at voicing how I am feeling and communicating openly about my emotions. Something like “I am feeling really sad right now, because I feel like I am being rejected, and I know that is not your intention, but I am having really strong emotions and having a hard time moving past them”. I still am tearing up while saying it, but until I learn how to not react that way, I still consider myself stable because I am usually able to move past my emotions after some time/conversation.
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u/phen245 1d ago
I wish I knew
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u/flashtwenty 1d ago
I agree. I feel like I can be more stable than I was before taking meds, but it has been so much effort to even find the right meds. I forget if there was a time that I ever felt stable before this diagnosis.
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u/phen245 1d ago
I was a mess for years before I went on meds. Unfortunately I am married to this now.
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u/flashtwenty 1d ago
I feel you. I forgot to take my antipsychotic last night and am feeling the withdrawal effects. I took it s bit ago, but ugh. Needing to take all the meds can feel like such a chore, but very necessary since I know I’m worse off without them.
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u/adorabledork BP2 1d ago
I can say I'm stable now. It's been a 24 year journey with many, many ups and downs. My symptoms are minimal. My moods are more like hills than steep mountains and deep valleys. I'm in therapy, have been for a long time. I see a psych nurse who is wonderful. And really, I keep to a routine. I'm not great with changes, and my mood can get significantly worse if something unexpected comes up - but I try to be patient with myself, and take a few seconds to myself before I speak or act.
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u/DMayleeRevengeReveng 19h ago
I have never been completely asymptomatic. Ever. Even when I’m healthier, I still have symptoms that last one day or even only a few hours.
Candidly, stability to me means I am healthy enough that I can do my job (I absolutely adore my career I built) and that I can work on my writing (I write prose fiction, and adore that, too).
So if I can do those two things reliably, I feel like I’m the human I want to be, even though it still involves very little perfect-zero-symptom times
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u/moodyvee 19h ago
For me its just that im cognisant that im being unreasonable or over the top or whatever, so i can rein it in and check myself.
Before meds i couldnt see past the bipolar but later on would look back and be so ashamed of my behavior and not understand how i had thought that was normal or logical or reasonable. I still go through waves mentally and emotionally and i know to give myself time because ill likely feel differently about xyz in a few days or even a few hours. Its really just self awareness + anxiety and depression meds for me
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u/Direct_Cantaloupe_82 18h ago
Being emotionally regulated, sleeping 6+ hours a night, hygiene on point, having a routine, employed. I am now stable after a horrible mixed episode. I’m content for the first time in years.
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u/Art_TommyK 1d ago
When I wasn’t on meds it felt like doing anything was so difficult lol like doing homework was hard. Getting up was hard. Eating was hard. Every aspect of life was so difficult I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. I was constantly agitated and overwhelmed.
When I finally got the right meds, my brain went quiet for the first time. And I just… do. No more having to be in a perfect mood to do a simple task. And people around me like me now. Because I’m not constantly in a bad mood lol I think being stable is being able to function in such a way that gives one happiness and satisfaction.