This one feels good. It’s now been five years since I’ve been hospitalized. There have definitely been some ups and downs during that time, but by and large it’s been a satisfactory five years.
I’ve done a lot of things for self-care to stay out of the hospital — one thing that has helped me quite a bit are the recommendations provided in “Preventing Bipolar Relapse,” by Ruth White. Her program is broken down into SNAP: sleep, nutrition, activities, people.
Sleep is pretty self-explanatory: get an adequate amount of sleep using good sleep hygiene: going to bed and getting up around the same time every day, don’t eat too close to bed, sleep in a cool, dark room, etc. Sleep has pros and cons for me the past couple years. I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping — especially during a manic or depressive phase. Now, it’s really hard for me to not sleep too much. I could sleep ten hours every day if I let myself. I have a doctor’s appointment in a few days, so I’m hoping she can give me some ideas.
Nutrition: I’ve been up and down on nutrition. The big thing I’ve done well is eating lots of fruits and vegetables every day, and I think it’s made a positive difference. Where I want to improve this year is having fewer snacks — particularly the lower nutrient higher calorie snacks. I’m also going to try to not eat as much sugar.
Activities is the thing that’s gone best. Though the pandemic has limited it somewhat, I still have seen friends a fair amount, and I’ve gotten to do some fun things with my family. I’ve also kept up with my exercise and even did a lot of walking and cycling when I couldn’t run due to injury.
People have also been an important part in preventing relapse. I’ve been blessed with positive and supportive friends and wonderful family. A few times I’ve had family come and help with the kids when I was having a hard time. I’ve also kept up with my doctors and therapist who have helped keep me on track.
Here’s to five more years of staying hospital-free.
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