It honestly depends on how rapid and intense the cycles are. Mine typically last an hour or two at the “fastest” cycle—I’m not sure what’s considered normal with mood swings. I am on medications, and it helps, but I typically go WITH the cycle—if I’m in a particularly sad mood, I’ll TRY to journal and write out all my feelings or talk to friends to get out of it. If I’m in a high, I’ll TRY to exercise or clean to get myself back down a little bit. I try to keep things productive—I know moping in my feelings won’t help when I’m sad, and at the same time, I know having sex with anything that moves won’t benefit me when I’m in a high. All in all, just be kind to yourself and your brain. It’s not your fault, and the only thing you need to do is be kind to yourself. If all you can do is lay in bed for a little while, that’s okay. I think that’s kind of the “good” thing about bipolar disorder—the feelings don’t last forever.

You’re also welcome to send me a message at any point! I don’t have everything figured out, but therapy and obsessive googling has helped me learn a ton over the past few years

I do see a psychologist and am on a great medication regimen that we do have to adjust sometimes because nothing is perfect, as we know with bipolar. I also have a therapist that helps me work through things that I can make adornments with frequently if needed.

I really have to take a step back- I usually just disengage from whatever is happening and isolate myself. It's super hard because I'm an extrovert but for the sake of everyone around me, I need to back off and get my thoughts straight