How to Calm Down During a Manic Trigger?

Saucy · May 24, 2018

I've had a few manic triggers in the last month and I don't know how to control them. I get into this mood and nothing can console me. I even feel like people know the right things to say to me to make the triggers worse and purposely rile me up. I don't know if that's true, but it's how it feels.

I need to figure out how to better control these. Have you tried anything that worked?

Thanks so much!

Danielwright2311 · May 24, 2018

Saucy said:
I've had a few manic triggers in the last month and I don't know how to control them. I get into this mood and nothing can console me. I even feel like people know the right things to say to me to make the triggers worse and purposely rile me up. I don't know if that's true, but it's how it feels.

I need to figure out how to better control these. Have you tried anything that worked?

Thanks so much!

Prayer works, direct contact with the lord all day and this does help.

I'm praying for you.

Southernscotty · May 24, 2018

Prayer and christian music. Remember to breath because people who tense up seem to hold their breath. I have found that quickly asking someone to pray for me helps as well. Praying for you friend.

Kenny'sID · May 24, 2018

I agree with others, and hope those with the same issues will comment on what Dr's recommend in a cases like this...FWIW, as well as what they do.

Might not hurt to do a search on that.

JackRT · May 24, 2018

I have found controlled breathing exercises helpful. Tai Chi can also have a calming effect since it exercises both the mind and the body.

SkyWriting · May 24, 2018

Saucy said:
I've had a few manic triggers in the last month and I don't know how to control them. I get into this mood and nothing can console me. I even feel like people know the right things to say to me to make the triggers worse and purposely rile me up. I don't know if that's true, but it's how it feels.

I need to figure out how to better control these. Have you tried anything that worked?

Thanks so much!

Saucy · May 24, 2018

Thank you everyone for your responses. They are much appreciated!

Open Heart · May 24, 2018

Controlled breathing.
Guided relaxation, where you close your eyes and relax each small individual part of your body one by one, starting with your toes, and working your way up to the tip of your head.
Visualization, where you use your imagination to go on vacation. I like to visualize myself on a reclining beach chair under an umbrella in a lush palmy Polynesian island, with a drink in my hand, a delicious light warm breeze on my face, the sounds of a gentle surf and gulls, and the smell of salt water... If I concentrate on different things, like the aroma of the beach water, or the feel of the breeze, or the sound of the gulls, it drives out the competing ruminations that are bothering me, and helps me to relax for a bit, while I stabilize.
Prayer, in all its forms

Improvisational prayer, where you just talk to God spontaneously. This works for me sometimes, but not as often, since a lot of the times it tends to hover over what is bothering me, which then doesn't help me emotionally. But it's always worth it as a first go, if for no other reason than, that, well, it's prayer!
Liturgy of the Hours: this is a traditional scripture based prayer. It requires purchasing the Breviary. I just have the small one because I only do morning prayers, even if I'm praying at other times of the day on an emergency basis. If you are not used to liturgy, it may seem awkward or stuffy at first, but once you get used to it, it FLOWS!!! The thing that it nice about liturgical prayer is that when I am manic or depressed and have difficulty forming my own words or staying focused, the LOTH is simply easier to use. It will keep me on track for a good 10 minutes or so which is usually long enough for my emotions to regulate again. And of course, it is prayer, so it get's God into the picture.
The Rosary: if this makes you uncomfortable, just skip it; I'm not here to proselytize. The thing that makes the Rosary really helpful to me is its unique combination of meditations on the life of Christ (the mysteries) in unison with liturgical prayer. Ideally we are supposed to do them at the same time, but if I'm distressed I can't. I have to alternate. So let's say I'm doing the Joyful Mysteries, and am on the birth of Jesus. I'll spend as long as I can meditating on the birth of Jesus as fits with my emotional mood. I'll imagine it, the stable, Joseph and Mary, the animals (and their smell and sounds), the manger and Jesus, the Shepherds, the cold of the night, the smell of the hay... it kind of "brings me there" and gives me a sense of awe. I'll consider that this is God there in the manger, and i'll think about how God loved me so much that he humbled himself and became that little baby. I'll think of those lowly shepherds, and how out of everyone in the entire world, God felt them the most fit to reveal his son to first, rather than to the King and Priests. You get the idea -- I *meditate* upon the nativity. This is the heart of the Rosary (something that Protestants don't understand, and sadly, many Catholics don't get either). Then I say the spoken prayers. Because I'm emotional distraught, especially at first, it may be hard to focus on the words. I don't worry about that. God only cares about the intention of the heart. I am only concerned that my heart is directed towards God. So when I pray the Our Father and Glory Be, in my mind I think towards God, and simply let the words flow, and allow the Spirit to intercede for me. When I pray the Hail Mary's, I simply direct my mind towards the Virgin. She knows my troubles and that I need all the prayers I can get, and that I am asking for her prayers for me now, her prayers to the Father through her son. Over the course of the five decades (five sets of ten beads) I am calmed and centered. And of course, in addition, I have gained in my relationship to God from my meditations, and from my prayers.

Excercise: physical exersion helps me find an alternative expression for mania that also helps me "come down." Going for a short run or a long walk with music playing is my fav.
Distraction: I have learned in my 56 years of being bipolar to recognize that I have these times of being irrational and that I have to simply outlast them. The idea is to keep my mind distracted until they have run their course, so that they torment me less. Distraction is whatever works for you. For me it means watching a Thriller movies, watching YouTube videos about science, philosophy, or history, or going into a chatroom and blathering about stupid stuff with other morons like me.
Self Soothe: I take care of me, baby myself, even if it looks silly or childish to others, because I know from experience that it's far better than allowing mania to rule. Self care is different for different people. For me it's taking bubble baths with candles, making homemade brownies with my mother's recipe, watching a scary ghost story with a comforter and hot chocolate in my pj's, spending time petting my kitty...
Self Talk: Because I've learned to recognize my mania rearing its ugly head, I can do self talk. This doesn't make the mania go away, but what it will do is keep it from escalating and wreaking havoc. I have to say I've benefited a lot from my wonderful counselors in this, especially those who have used CBT with me. Here are examples of some of my self talk:
- This is not real, this is just me doing my manic crap again. Pay no heed.
- This is just feelings, it is not facts.
- This too shall pass.
- This is disproportional
- This is just my biochemistry talking
- Things will look different tomorrow
- A good night's sleep will change my persective
- Fools rush in
- I accept the anxiety, there is nothing I can do about it right now. (This is called radical acceptance, and I immediately feel better after saying this.)
If this lasts more than a couple days, call for an emergency appointment with my psychiatrist because I may need to have my medication tweaked.
It is just as important to know what to NEVER do when beginning to react in a manic way:
- Never ever make important decisions like quitting a job or dropping out of college or accepting an important position.
- Never spend money. Try hard to not even go grocery shopping, since you know you will buy a lot of stupid stuff like insta-infatable-creamcheese cake just because you see it on the shelf and it sounds interesting and yummy.
- Never talk it out with people: I will say crazy things and alienate friend
- If there is interpersonal conflict, deal only with the bare facts. Do NOT get into "the deep stuff", like the past, the history, underlying feelings, etc. If the other person feels the need to have a deep talk, explain that you are going through some stuff right now, and that you WILL have that talk, but you need a rain check.

Serving Zion · May 25, 2018

Saucy said:
I've had a few manic triggers in the last month and I don't know how to control them. I get into this mood and nothing can console me. I even feel like people know the right things to say to me to make the triggers worse and purposely rile me up. I don't know if that's true, but it's how it feels.

I need to figure out how to better control these. Have you tried anything that worked?

Thanks so much!

Adonai is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul that seeks Him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of Adonai.
27 It is good for a man
to bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and be silent,
since He has laid it upon him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
Lamentations 3

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control.

Nobody is born with manic depression, it comes as the corruptions are formed in us, that creates exploitable triggers.

As you have said that sometimes people seem to aggravate it, that is our wrestle. They have no idea what their words are doing.

locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
Proverbs 30:27

You might be able to identify with Job, whose wife tempted him to curse God and die to escape his misery, and none of his friends were able to comfort him. When you read their speech to him, you can see they really weren't coming from love, but they thought they had all the answers. Adonai did eventually talk, and in that is the healing: "Who is this that obscures my counsel?", Job put his hand over his mouth: " Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?"

Of course, you see there is tremendous knowledge to be had through learning of spirituality, but the false teachers introduced destructive heresies, many follow their depraved conduct, bringing the way of truth into disrepute.

Now the mental health experts see so many antichrists, lunatics, teaching about demonology, they are fixed in opposition to the knowledge.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My kohen. Since you forgot the Torah of your God, just so I will forget your children.

Our brothers and sisters, also only finding lunatics in this field, subject themselves to those disbelievers, who are perishing.

If the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into a pit.

Proverbs 25:26
Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous person who yields before the wicked.

Open Heart · May 25, 2018

Serving Zion said:
You might be able to identify with Job, whose wife tempted him to curse God and die to escape his misery, and none of his friends were able to comfort him. When you read their speech to him, you can see they really weren't coming from love, but they thought they had all the answers.

I'm afraid that although you have the best of intentions, your advice is not only not helpful, but it is harmful. Many of us tried giving up psychological advice and engaging in spiritual warfare only to have our bipolar illness spin way out of control. No, the only relief is to get on a good regimen of meds and learn good coping techniques through counseling.

JackRT · May 25, 2018

Serving Zion said:
Do you understand that it is a demonic attack?

Adonai is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul that seeks Him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of Adonai.
27 It is good for a man
to bear the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and be silent,
since He has laid it upon him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
Lamentations 3

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control.

Nobody is born with manic depression, it comes as the corruptions are formed in us, that creates exploitable triggers.

As you have said that sometimes people seem to aggravate it, that is our wrestle. They have no idea what their words are doing.

locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
Proverbs 30:27

You might be able to identify with Job, whose wife tempted him to curse God and die to escape his misery, and none of his friends were able to comfort him. When you read their speech to him, you can see they really weren't coming from love, but they thought they had all the answers. Adonai did eventually talk, and in that is the healing: "Who is this that obscures my counsel?", Job put his hand over his mouth: " Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?"

Of course, you see there is tremendous knowledge to be had through learning of spirituality, but the false teachers introduced destructive heresies, many follow their depraved conduct, bringing the way of truth into disrepute.

Now the mental health experts see so many antichrists, lunatics, teaching about demonology, they are fixed in opposition to the knowledge.

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Since you rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My kohen. Since you forgot the Torah of your God, just so I will forget your children.

Our brothers and sisters, also only finding lunatics in this field, subject themselves to those disbelievers, who are perishing.

If the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into a pit.

Proverbs 25:26
Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous person who yields before the wicked.

I wish there was some way a post could be awarded a "disagree" or a "dislike".

Serving Zion · May 25, 2018

Last two posters, only knowing the truth will set us free, and that is where counselling has it's advantage. If our counsellor is The Helper that proceeds from The Father, He does lead us into all truth. Medication OTOH, is a crutch, not a solution. It helps to reduce the impact of the symptoms, but in itself never cures. Always introduces side effects too. Some people do come off meds when circumstances and or knowledge have changed whereby their vulnerabilities have been healed or the aggravators have been eliminated.

Open Heart, I am sorry that your past attempt to face down your demons has left scars. As I mentioned the vastness of lunatic demonologists, they are the modern equivalent of Luke 11:19-20.

It does not help matters at all when television is portraying the exorcist in that way. Real deliverance by the finger of God, is to restore the spirit in holiness - that is, to impart understanding, instruction in righteousness that equips them through repentance, to leave their sinfulness - the sin that has taken them captive (Romans 6:16).

But I am not here to convince you, I recognised that I was able to help OP, that's all.

redblue22 · May 29, 2018

Meds.

Chinchilla · Jun 13, 2018

I found that lack of pattern in your life can cause you to be triggered like you have few day break from work but you are used to work on certain hours so you don't know what to do , you end up doing things you would not do otherwise like for example not going to sleep at time you usually do which will cause you to oversleep or not sleep for enought of time and break your next day cycle/mood for next day .

In short , find stuff to do and make patterns in your life so you don't end up overthinking and get busy with something instead .

redblue22 · Jun 13, 2018

If any of this stuff worked, it wouldn't be manic. When I go manic and still have some touch on reality, I need to take the drugs prescribed to me for such occasion. Doing some exercise to get over mania is bull. And more, keeping some heightened awareness and prayer to God Jesus is not going to fix it.

How to Calm Down During a Manic Trigger?

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