Are you struggling to stay awake today? Still need to reset your clocks? Same. I’m trying to adjust to the time change yesterday and epically failing. Daylight saving started yesterday, meaning we launched an hour forward in time. And while it’s pretty cool to think we just time traveled, I’m mentally preparing myself for the imminent “mood lability,” meaning shifts in mood. For me, that’s volleying dangerously between the hypomania, mania, and ultra-ultra-rapid cycling I get each spring. Yep, many people find spring and summer are among the worst months for bipolar disorder. Why? Turns out bipolar spring and summer mania is not uncommon. And we all know what goes up, must come down. This article hopes to help, with tips for living with bipolar disorder and managing moods so the change in seasons doesn’t catch you off guard. These bipolar tips are meant to help those who have bipolar disorder and their allied and loved ones.
And arm yourself with my list of the best books on bipolar (fiction and nonfiction): The 20 Best Books about Bipolar Disorder
You’re Not Alone
Over the weekend, I posted in a mental health subreddit wishing everyone well for this oncoming seasonal mania. I could not believe the response this inspired; in fact, 58 comments were added to this post with more than 200 upvotes to date… by far the most popular post I’ve ever made on Reddit. The upvote support is nice, of course, but to me, what I was most blown away by was the way the post resonated with others. Turns out, many people on the bipolar spectrum also experience the same seasonal mood shifts. For some people who commented, this post was the first time they discovered that other people felt the same way. In other words, they realized they weren’t alone.
In this post, I’m going to share some of my own experience with seasonal affective disorder and offer up some bipolar tips for those going through this and their allies.
A note: I’m still working through pairing my branding here with the language to accurately identify myself with my new diagnosis, schizoaffective disorder bipolar type. For those who aren’t familiar with the condition, it means I meet the full criteria for bipolar disorder, plus I experience schizophrenia features like psychosis and negative symptoms in between mood episodes. When I refer to myself here with bipolar disorder, I do so drawing on the 13 years for which that was my primary diagnosis and the symptoms, all of which I continue to experience.
And now let’s spring forward to the next section!
My experience with seasonal bipolar mood shifts
It all started with this one goddamn bird.
Each early morning, a bird would start singing outside my window. This bird must have taken up residence in one of the many trees on my block. Maybe it was driven by amorous pursuits, given spring fever, or perhaps it simply just loved to sing. But whatever its motivations, the bird simply would. not. stop.
Thanks to our Rockin Robin, I’d wake up early every morning, losing an hour or two of my crucial 8-10 I hoped for to keep my mood moderated.
Perhaps no single factor affects my mood symptoms as much as sleep. The less sleep I get, the more destabilized I become. It’s a simple fact, a predictable outcome, the unavoidable truth; with less sleep, I become more debilitated until my mood spirals into the danger zone.
I first noticed that my moods changed in 2013. I emerged from a long cocoon of depression that spanned the fall and winter of 2012/2013. But after the time change, my mood kept creeping upwards and upwards. I went on spending sprees I couldn’t afford. I overcommitted myself in my volunteer position. I had glimpses into the psychosis that would dominate my life in later years and developed delusions of reference, that famous actors were communicating with me through the screen. I had a huge writing output, my fingers barely able to get the words down fast enough. I believed I had goddess-like spiritual powers, that my tarot readings were practically scripture.
And I stopped taking my medication briefly, until an intervention with my therapist shocked me back into the sobering reality: if I didn’t get back on my meds, he ordered, I’d be headed for hospitalization. I swallowed the pills, but by then it was too late—I was beginning to crash.
My tumble down the rabbit hole into depression happened first in rapid shifts that took my breath away. I’d be up one minute and down the next. It’s true that I have borderline personality disorder, which can cause extreme shifts in mood. In contrast, I could tell these ultra-ultra rapid cycles that took course in the course of one or two days, sometimes even the same day, were the product of my brain, not a response to an emotional or cognitive trigger. Eventually, by the time spring ended, I was more or less back to baseline if not completely depressed.
Somehow we got things under control, but what I thought was a peculiar and exceptionally unsteady spring soon became the rule. In each subsequent year, I’d endure the same pattern. With the change in season would come manic highs and crushing lows in pendulum swings. After making it out of spring alive, I’d end most often end up in a summer depression. My erratic behavior and deep suicidal urges got me hospitalized in June 2018 and July 2019. I firmly believe that what sent me there started with spring. And based on my Reddit post and the comments people made, I’m not the only bipolar who experiences seasonal affective in reverse.
My 7 top tips for managing seasonal changes with bipolar
Sure, the seasonal hypomania feels great, and the mania even more so, especially if you’re crawling out of a depression in the fall and/or winter. But the fact is, the sense of control you feel with the ups is just an illusion.
I have to continually remind myself when I’m hypomanic: you’re still sick, this is sickness, don’t believe it, don’t trust it.
To help you prevent as much mood instability as possible, I’ve compiled a list of bipolar tips for dealing with seasonal mood shifts. Here we go…
1 – Guard your sleep like your life depends on it (because it does)
Do whatever you need to do to keep a steady sleep schedule. For me, that means taking my meds earlier each night so I get tired faster. With all the extra sunlight, we feel less tired than we do in the fall and winter. That can make it harder to fall asleep.
I’ve used sleeping medication in the past and nowadays take Trazadone as needed. But I’m also a big believer in natural medicine. When I’m not taking Trazadone, I take a melatonin supplement at night. I also find proprietary melatonin and sleep supplement blends like this gummy one from OLLY (my fave gummy vitamin brand) to be helpful:
I rely on valerian root when I want to feel tired right away. For me, valerian root makes me drowsy in a fast-acting way (not unlike my benzo, Ativan) while melatonin gently eases me into sleepiness.
I’ll open a capsule of valerian root, like this one:
…into my favorite sleepy tea, Traditional Medicinals Cup of Calm. For some reason, this tea is a lullaby into bedtime.
I use this specific relaxing tea almost every night.
2 – Wear blue light blocking glasses at night
This is actually a pet passion of my psychiatrist’s… wearing blue light blocking glasses to keep your circadian rhythms in check. I bought mine from LowBlueLights.com, but you can also get these blue blocking amber glasses on Amazon that are just as effective:
There are many different models to choose from, like this one from Sundown Sleep Eyewear, which comes in over-glasses (shown below), adjustable with foam, and computer blue light specific versions:
Basically, you wear them for about two or three hours before sleep, which helps your circadian rhythms get back to normal. This makes sleep easier and actually resets you back to the natural cycle we humans were programmed for in the first place.
3 – Keep a journal and/or use a mood-tracking app
Because I’m an ultra-ultra rapid cycler (who also gets longer, months-long mood episodes), my mood changes rapidly. Even if it’s only been a week in between a therapy or psychiatry appointment, I still endure big shifts. When I get to my session, I can barely remember all the highs and lows in the last week. That’s why keeping a journal is so important for me. I’ve tried mood tracking apps like Daylio, which many people with mood disorders love, but personally it’s hard for that app to truly capture all my shifts, which is why I journal.
I just keep my personal record in a Leuchtturm1917 journal like this one:
But you might find a mood journal to be helpful, too. Here’s an awesome one by Sourcebooks:
And even if you can’t manage to journal for pages and pages, a simple line-a-day diary like this one by Chronicle Books will do the trick:
Start small by making it a habit to journal just a sentence or two in a paper journal, a Notes app, an email draft, or whatever is most convenient. Tracking your moods can help you crack what sets you off.
4 – Make a list of warning signs for allies and loved ones
Enlist your loved ones and allies in your battle to tame bipolar. Draft a list of what your warning sign symptoms are. Here are a few ideas:
- Staying up later than usual / waking up earlier than usual
- Talkativeness, long rambling monologues, and pressured speech
- Calling up old friends or acquaintances
- Sudden commitments to big projects, like signing up for a marathon when you’re not a runner
- Spending sprees
For me, the thin line between hypomania and mania usually hinges on a few symptoms. One example is how bipolar affects my reading, which I’ve written about on this blog before. If I reach that point, I’ve gone too far, and I might need a big intervention with meds, therapy, and treatment.
Make sure you set up some guidelines for your friends and family. Often they will wish to help you but not know how. Here are some measures you can take:
- Put your psychiatrist and therapist’s cards on your fridge. Take pictures of the cards and send them to allies.
- Write a letter to yourself or make a video of yourself when you’re at baseline and tell yourself to trust your friends and family. Send to someone to show you when you’re slipping upwards.
- List your medications and dosage and share with others.
Help your allies help you with these proactive measures.
5 – Lock down spending in advance
I’ve never made much money and make even less now. Even a $60 hypomanic shopping spree could put a dent in my bank account I wouldn’t be able to recover from (or afford necessary things like therapy and psychiatry). In my spring 2016 mania, I racked up close to $2,000 in debt on a high-interest store account that I only just paid off four years later.
Take preventative measures to make sure this doesn’t happen to you:
- Use cash and leave your credit cards at home – Don’t take your credit cards with you when you shop. Hide them at home, or give them to a trusted loved one. Try to limit your spending to what you can buy in cash, and only take the bills you think you need with you into a store.
- Delete credit cards from auto-save – This is a big one. I remember back in the day, I was able to recite my credit card number by heart. Now it’s so easy to buy anything with your card information stored in Amazon, your browser, apps, and phone. To avoid any extra spending, make it harder to purchase things. Even the smallest obstacle can prove effective if you’re (hypo)manic, impatient, and distractible, e.g. far too unfocused to try to crack a challenge like this.
- Set bills to autopay – Make sure your bills are turned on autopay. This way you won’t miss a payment due date if you’re too manic or unstable or in the hospital (this has happened to me).
- Stick to a budget – Hypomanic? It’s time to stick to a budget. You might also ask a friend or ally to help manage money. Whatever shame you might feel from reaching out for help is far more valuable than the debt and damage you can do to your personal finances.
Here are two great books on managing your money and budget and an awesomely helpful planner if you’re interested in exploring financial stability when your mood is unstable:
How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any by Erik Wecks
This book’s title says it all: How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any. And it’s really helped me when I was carving my way out of mania debt. I love its non-judgmental tone and quick, actionable tips. Plus it’s free on Kindle Unlimited, which is also a good option to save money on books if you go on book buying binges while manic (like I do… I mean, look at the title of this blog).
How to read it: Purchase How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
You Need a Budget by Jesse Mecham
Jesse Mecham is the founder of You Need a Budget, a powerful personal finance platform that has helped so many people get a budget going. In You Need a Budget, Mecham distills the principles of his creation in book form. You’ll learn everything from budgeting to getting out of debt. If bipolar disorder has wrecked your money situation, dig your way out with this book. (This is another great book you can read for free on Kindle Unlimited.)
How to read it: Purchase You Need a Budget on Amazon and add it on Goodreads
If you’re as disorganized as I have been when on a bipolar bender, writing my money decisions—the good and the bad—in print helps me slow down and focus. That’s why budget planner journals are so key. And while there are many budget planner workbooks and notebooks out there, they aren’t all created equal. With more than 3,000 reviews into a four+ star average, it’s not hard to see why the Clever Fox Budget Planner is a bestseller that reigns supreme. This deluxe budget planner will get you organized and up-to-speed in no time. Pages and prompts guide you through tasks like expense tracking, debt and savings tackers, setting personal strategies, and, of course, setting a budget!
How to get it: Purchase the Clever Fox Budget Planner on Amazon
6 – Pre-schedule therapy and psychiatry appointments
If you’re heading into a turbulent spring full of mood lability, be sure to schedule your therapy and psychiatry appointments in advance. Remove any obstacle that will prevent you from seeing your treatment team. At your next appointment, get yourself penciled in with sessions for at least a month in advance. Then be sure to set alerts and reminders on your phone, digital calendar, schedule app, and paper planner to make sure you don’t miss a meeting. If you know you have trouble remembering, send an email to yourself now. Gmail users can schedule an email to send ahead of time. I do this quite often if I know I might need a reminder in the future.
7 – For the love of god, avoid caffeine!
This such a tough one. If you’re on bipolar meds, you’re likely tired and sedated much of the time. I know I need caffeine to be functional. But I also know there’s a thin line between just enough caffeine and taking it too far. Because whatever someone might tell you, caffeine can help you on your way to hypomania and mania. I know that the more caffeine I have over the course of a day, the more I become untethered to reality as I ascend into a manic high.
So how to deal?
Recently I’ve gotten into half-caff coffee, like the Green Mountain’s Half-Caff K-Cups:
These have just the perfect dose of caffeine to keep me awake and energized, plus I don’t miss out on the taste of coffee.
Maud’s also makes good half-caff coffee in K-Cups and ground coffee:
Whether you choose to give up caffeine or not, take precautions during the spring so you don’t aggravate your (hypo)mania.
Resources for more information
Learn more about bipolar and seasonal changes in these articles:
- “Bipolar and Spring Mania: 5 Steps to Reduce Symptoms” by bpHope
- “Spring Has Sprung and So Might Your Hypomania” by Psychology Today
- “What It’s Like to Experience ‘Spring Mania'” by The Mighty
- “A New Tool for Springtime Mania” by Psychiatric Times
- “How Seasonal Depression Affects Bipolar Disorder” by Everyday Health
