📖 Definition
- Bipolar Type I — Characterised by manic episodes including euphoria, increased energy, and impulsive behaviours. Manic episodes can be preceded or followed by hypomanic or major depressive episodes.
- Bipolar Type II — Characterised by patterns of depressive episodes and hypomania, but without the full psychosis experience of bipolar I.
- Rapid Cycling — A high frequency of mood episodes (at least four) over the past 12 months. This is what I have.
The two poles are elevated moods and depressive moods. Everyone is different but generally an elevated mood lasts for at least several days and a depressive mood is present for most of the day for at least two weeks.
Bipolar Moods
▼Mood Scale
☝️ Tap an icon to learn more
🚀 Manic (9–10)
Recommendations
🚨 Freeze all bank cards, stop everything, stay inside.😄 Elevated / Hypomanic (7–8)
Recommendations
🧠 Think before doing something. Wait a while before making any decisions.😊 Good / Stable (5–6)
Recommendations
✅ Enjoy the moment. Keep things in check.😐 Neutral (4)
Completely stable. No signs of mania or depression. Slight withdrawal and less concentration but manageable day to day.
Recommendations
✅ This is the baseline. Enjoy it.😔 Low (2–3)
Recommendations
💙 Cognitive strategies. Get outside. Play games. Love yourself. Try not to withdraw entirely.🌧️ Depressed (0–1)
Recommendations
🆘 Tell someone. It's OK not to be OK right now.My Strategies
▼☝️ Select a mood to see your strategies
My Meds
▼My Current Medication
Common medications used to treat bipolar disorder. Always follow your prescriber's guidance.
Gratitude
▼Noting what you're grateful for — even small things — can help shift focus during hard days. Add things that matter to you.
My 1-5 Yr Goals
▼Progress Not Perfection
It's important to look at the overall trajectory — achieving more goals than if I didn't have them. Month to month may not be up to expectation but year to year always surpasses it if I keep going.
Progress doesn't go in a straight line! 📈
🎯 My 1-5 Yr Goals
Synced with your journal daily goals
💰 Daily Budget
Synced with your journal — you'll be asked if you kept to it when logging each entry.
Mind Games
▼From time to time I lose my ability to recall anything. It's debilitating and scary. But I can't allow it to keep dragging me down.
📝 Test Yourself
Type something important. Hide it to cover with a block — tap to reveal.
🎨 Go Creative
Just met Colin Butcher? Imagine Colin the Caterpillar as a butcher. The weirder the image, the better it sticks.
🔢 Play with numbers
Need to remember your AirBnB code 6936#?
Try 69 then 6 halved (3) and 9 upside down (6), hashtag.
Reading
▼
Media
▼I'm not alone. There are creatives, celebrities and ordinary people all over the place.
Memories
▼☝️ Tap a mood to see your memories
In the future you can upload your memories (once I pay the hosting fees) but, for now, here's mine:
🏍️ Mood on Moon
We've all driven our motorbike into a library.
🎤 What is Going On?
We've all spent thousands on an entire barn to give a PowerPoint presentation to family.
You're braver than you believe,
stronger than you seem, smarter than you think,
and loved more than you know.
Struggling?
▼Lifestyle changes have made a big difference. But remember — for me, if I come off the meds, lifestyle alone isn't enough.
- Get to the gym
- Eliminate / reduce alcohol
- Get 7–9 hours sleep
- Eliminate / reduce refined sugar
- Eat whole foods
No! In the UK there's 2% of the population (1 in 50) with bipolar. Around the world estimates range from 0.5 to 5%. That's a lot of people.
No! Ok, maybe, but unlikely. It takes on average 9.5 years to get a proper diagnosis. Mine was pretty quick, so I can be happy about that.
Suicide risk is 20x that of the general population. Hanging in reading this? Doing a good job. Just take it day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute.
There's definitely something not right, and it happens to a lot of us, especially during low mood episodes. Use cognitive remedial therapy to improve this. Practice remembering names, numbers, shapes using strategies.
And don't worry — as mood improves, so will memory. This isn't the first time.
Why not check out: 🧠 My Mind- Water — Lithium levels can become too high if you don't drink enough water but can also be diluted if you drink too much. On the whole, normally better to drink too much than not enough.
- Ibuprofen (Nurofen, Advil) — Can raise Lithium levels to toxic levels. Use paracetamol instead.
- Grapefruit & grapefruit juice — Interferes with how Quetiapine is processed. Avoid entirely.
Calm down. Drop whatever you 'need' to do and call 111 for emergency medications. Write down the list of medications needed and just call. It's going to be OK.
12 Steps
▼I found hope in my version of Bipolar Anonymous when things were looking pretty bleak.
– Dalai Lama
Karma & Spirit
▼Bipolar Anonymous
▼💬 Bipolar Anonymous Chat
Connect anonymously with others living with bipolar — no real name required, no data sold, just peer support from people who get it.
End-to-end encrypted · Anonymous alias only · Email verified then discarded · Zero data selling
Bipolar Anonymous ↗ Bipolar UK Groups ↗🆘 Need Help Right Now?
It's OK to ask for help. Regardless of how you feel, today is a beautiful day to be alive.
🌐 Bipolar UK 📞 Call 111 🚨 999 Emergency