Ways to help cope please

[Dynamicsea]

Lately my mood swings and changing thought patterns have gotten worse. I can't make up my mind to save my life. It's like a switch. I can be really passionate and excited about planning a vacation and I almost buy the plane tickets and I have it all book and then I go to bed and wake up and resent the idea and can't believe I've ever considered it. I changed my mind for what I want a education in multiple times and the same thing happened. I can be so sure then boom I hate the idea. I can love my long term relationship one minute then be panicking and freaking on on a dime because I think I have to leave because. Too young. This is just a short list. I don't trust myself anymore, I never trust any of my thoughts because I don't think I'll stick with it. I've never been able to have a hobby, never been able to keep friends for a long time because one min I enjoy their company and the next minute I want nothing to do with them. It affects my emotions too. Lately either I wake up or randomly mid day I get a feeling of crushing sadness where I can't do anything but lay in bed or sit on the couch. I've lost my appetite or more so of making food or buying food takes too much energy for me. I end up binge eating almost every night. I've always had self esteem issues. I don't know if that's relavent. It's affecting my life and my relationships as it seems to be getting worse. I'm looking for ways to manage and cope. I've taken online tests and 2 of them said I have moderate risk for bipolar. Do these sounds like the symptoms of bipolar? I do have a meeting with professional help next week but need help and coping mechanisms untill then. Thanks

[Hidden]

Yeah, it sounds like bipolar disorder. I struggle with depression, and I don't know exactly will these coping mechanisms help you or not…

1. Meditation. I don't tell you it's a panacea for all things in our life, but it can help to cope with negative patterns, and stay calm and steady. About ten minutes in the first days will be enough.

2. Cognitive therapy. I found pretty useful a book “Feeling good: New mood therapy” by D. Burns. It shares some instruments to cope with emotions and thoughts.

3. It can be not suitable for you. Hug yourself. It helps me. If you struggle with self-harted and “self-huggy” hurts you, try to continue a very little and find pleasure in this, then end the action. Donʼt do that if your self-esteem is very low.

[Hidden]

Oh, and I wanna say also this: remember that coping mechanisms are not avoidance mechanisms. Don't run away from thoughts, they won't bite you. You can change the mindset to more positive one (cognitive therapy can give you fast results in this).

[hopeful09]

Hi, I'm so sorry you're feeling this way. I too experience really high highs and really low lows. One thing that helped me was to try to find the middle, and realize it was okay to feel "average." My therapist had me practice mindfulness. She had me imagine my emotions as a rapidly flowing river, and me, just sitting on the bank, watching them flow back. She called it making a portion of myself an "internal witness" in order to self-soothe. In short, I would create a part of myself that acted like the parent to the rest of myself that was behaving childishly. As strangely as it may sounds, talking to myself helped. I would create two voices: one for the internal witness, one for whatever off-the-wall emotion I was feeling. Then initiate a dialogue, and have the calm part talk to the other, crazy part. This helped me A LOT. You can literally talk out loud if it helps. Just remember to create a calm part of yourself, and keep that part from becoming tainted with the emotions the other side is feeling. But yes, seeking professional help is the best way to manage your emotions. Hope this helps!

[Coffeegirl1979]

Sounds like borderline personality disorder..I say this cuz u sound JUST LIKE ME