Alternative "treatment"

I spend some of my free time on forums about mental illness. I don’t actually have an account with any of these sites; I just like to see what goes on in the minds of others. I recently came across a discussion on one of the bipolar forums about alternative treatments. I was shocked by the amount of people who don’t believe in any alternative treatment and rely on medication alone. Some of these people don’t even have a therapist. Now, I do believe this disorder needs medication to help control it, however I also believe that these alternative treatments can help tremendously.

Anyway, yes, medication is probably necessary in most cases. In my mind, psychotherapy is just as important. I don’t want to think of where I would be if I didn’t have therapy. If you are having trouble mentally it’s important that you have someone to help navigate what is going on in your mind. In my case I feel I benefit more from therapy than medications.

I recently came off two of my four medications. One was not my choice, an antidepressant, I had to go off it because of a possible seizure (long story). The other one, an antipsychotic, was my decision. The reason for that was mainly I was sick of the side effects, but also I was put on it when I was in the hospital and needed to calm down, it wasn’t supposed to be a long term thing. So I’m left with two, a mood stabilizer that I take twice a day, and an antianxiety med that I take as needed (which I only need during an episode, so I don’t take it often).

My therapist and I are working on finding other ways to control this other than medication, since the meds I’ve been on haven’t been that effective. I also refuse to be on certain meds due to the side effects (I won’t try anything that causes weight gain). We are going to start trying a different type of therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). The therapy is cognitive-based, but aimed more at individuals who have trouble regulating their emotions, and it also helps one cope in crisis situations.  My therapist has never tried this on a patient so it will be interesting for us both.

In addition to DBT we discussed at my last session other ways to help, such as diet and exercise. All three of my doctors, therapist, psychiatrist, and my primary care provider (who is extremely involved in my care), have all talked about the importance of exercise for me. Now they want me to actually put effort into it rather than exercise “a little bit a couple times a week”. As for the diet, that is something to help overall with my wellbeing. I have never been a good eater. I have trouble finding the balance between eating too little and too much, and eating the “right” foods rather than the junk I tend to consume. So this is going to be quite interesting to see if I overcome this obstacle.

I usually can’t say I’m proud of myself, but when it comes to trying to control this I feel quite good after reading that discussion forum. So many people out there take medication without trying anything else.  And you know what I found out when looking into these people more, most of them are on disability. I refuse to live my life stuck in one place. I have plans and I’m going to accomplish them.