If your bipolar disorder tends to follow a seasonal pattern, you may have an increased risk for spring mania. Fortunately, maintaining awareness, consistently taking medication, and making lifestyle changes can help reduce the chances you’ll experience a manic episode, or help tamp down the negative effects if you do.
“Some people learn to recognize their increasing restlessness in early spring and then take steps to prevent the feelings from escalating,” says Dr. Alpert.
Here are experts’ top strategies for managing spring mania:
1. Stick to Your Medication Plan
2. Consider Trying Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy
3. Set a Consistent Daily Routine — and Make It Nonnegotiable
Chris Aiken, MD, encourages his patients to designate and stick to consistent times for meals, exercise, socializing, and sleep. “Sleep and wake periods in particular should be kept consistent,” says Dr. Aiken, the editor-in-chief of the Carlat Psychiatry Report and director of Psych Partners in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Aiken suggests leaning on digital calendars, voice reminders, or even Post-it notes to help you stick to your schedule.
4. Limit Your Light Exposure During Spring and Summer
During spring and summer, when daylight is longer, heavy-duty blackout shades for work and home are a must for Rosenthal. “I enjoy the sun in spring and summer, but after the third week in May, I limit exposure to light after 3 p.m.,” she says. In the winter, when daylight is shorter, Rosenthal reverses her efforts to make sure she gets enough light before the sun sets.
5. Make Your Bedroom a ‘No Screens’ Zone
Good sleep hygiene is critical for people with sensitive circadian rhythms. Aiken recommends keeping all electronic screens — including cell phones, laptops, and TV — outside the bedroom, keeping things quiet, and maintaining a cool temperature and complete darkness for optimal sleep. Light from electronic devices can confuse the brain and keep you awake longer, he adds.
6. Avoid ‘All-Nighters’
The energy that comes with mania makes it easy to stay up all night, but the consequences can be serious. “You just can’t allow that, even if you think you’d rather ‘be productive’ all night,” says Rosenthal.
One way to calm yourself before bedtime is to master mindfulness, says Rosenthal. Mindfulness in meditation involves intentionally focusing on the present moment rather than thinking about the past or future.
Some smartphone apps that offer guided meditations focusing on mindfulness are the Healthy Minds Program and Insight Timer.
7. Steer Clear of Caffeine and Alcohol
8. Eliminate Long-Distance Travel During the Spring
Knowing this, Rosenthal skips far-away conferences during critical periods. “Air travel gets me even more jacked up than I normally am in spring, so there are events I don’t attend in person, even if I feel fine,” she says.
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