Ideas for Coping : Chapter Contents
Strategies I use to cope with being bipolar. Some work, others work some of the time. (Families and friends should look for coping strategies under Family and Friends)

Ideas for Staying Stable
Things you can try. Some work as well as medication or can be used to back up medication.

Ideas for Reducing Stress / Anxiety
Some Things you can do to reduce stress, or to handle anxiety when depressed, or to try to impose order when hypomanic.

My Morning Schedule
I have a morning schedule to keep me on track. And an afternoon one. And a Saturday one. The reasons I have them and how I use them.

Monitoring Yourself for Manic Depressive Signs 
Learning to monitor yourself and your moods for signs of mania or depression.

Setting Up a Mood Chart
How to keep a mood chart. Includes a scale that I found useful.

One Month of My Mood Chart
An example of the records I kept in my diary for use in plotting my mood chart.

Setting Goals
Depression and manic episodes give you this crazy stop / start feeling, as if you are living between the episodes. How to keep your goals in sight and how stop feeling as if you are failing to achieve them. (new)

Worries about Taking Medication
Should I take medication. Is it safe. Suppose I don't want to.

Should I take Therapy or Pills?
Now that you plan to do something about being bipolar, which is better - seeing a therapist, or taking medication.

Am I Manic Depressive?
How do I tell.

Why Should I Visit a Psychiatrist?
It's a good idea. Here's why.

Visiting a Psychiatrist for the First Time
What to expect. What to do. What to demand.

Is My Diagnosis Correct?
Some suggestions if you are not satisfied with you diagnosis or think you have been misdiagnosed.

Should I Tell People?
Yes, you should. But not necessarily everybody.

Bipolar Disorder and Sports
There are some advantages to being manic. And an ethical dilemma. An argument for using antidepressants to enhance a bipolar person's sports capabilities

What about God?
Having faith helps substantially.

What Does the Future Hold for Me
In case you are despairing that being bipolar will cause your dreams to fail.

The Daily Energy It Takes to be Normal
If you are not bipolar, it is not easy to realise how much energy we waste just trying to appear to be normal.