Treatment

There is not a simple cure for bipolar disorder. You will need to work with your doctor and the people around you to sort out your personal treatment plan. You will be trying to do three main things:

• Come to terms with having bipolar disorder 

• Reduce the symptoms of depression or mania

• Stop yourself having episodes or have fewer episodes

You can do this in various ways: 

• Taking medication 

• Changing things about your lifestyle, like your diet and alcohol intake 

• Supportive counselling 

• Learning how to change your thought patterns to be positive instead of negative ("cognitive-behavioural therapy") and other treatments to do with your thought and behaviour ("psychosocial treatments").

Combining these different ways of helping yourself is usually the best.

You will meet different health care professionals who will make up your treatment team: each can help you in a different way.

Most people who have bipolar disorder take some kind of medication. Medications can get rid of symptoms and stabilise your mood, so you can carry on with your everyday life.

Researchers are constantly making progress in the treatment of bipolar disorder.