5 Morning Struggles: 5 Simple Solutions for Living With Bipolar Disorder

I am a BIG believer in slow mornings. But I wasn't always.

I used to wake up, jump in the shower, get dressed, jump in the car, sit in traffic, get to work, work, work, work, sit in traffic again, get home, eat, watch TV, go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

Until one day, a manic episode slid me into a psychotic break, and life forced me to SLOW DOWN.

How a bipolar mental health crisis taught me to slow down

I was off work for 7 weeks. For the first time in years, I had nowhere to be, no deadlines to meet, and nobody waiting for me to do something. My only job was to get better.

I woke up late and went to bed early. I took long walks to smell the fresh air and enjoy the sunlight on my sunscreened face. I drank coffee while watching the morning news. I had conversations with my parents about everything and absolutely nothing.

And somewhere in those 7 weeks, I realized something.

I HADN'T BREATHED IN YEARS.

When I returned to work, I knew I couldn't go back to those chaotic mornings. So I started waking up earlier. Not to get more work done, but to have time to do absolutely nothing in particular.

Coffee. Morning news. Journaling. Meditation. THEN I'd get dressed and go to the office.

And then COVID happened. No commute. No rushing out the door. Slow mornings became THE ONLY WAY.

I started wondering, how the hell did I NOT do this before?

Rushing left me overwhelmed, irritable, and exhausted before the day even started. So I decided slow mornings weren't going to be a special treat. They were going to be my everyday routine.

5 ways I make my morning routine easier

Living with bipolar disorder has taught me that managing my mental health isn't just about what I do when something goes wrong. It's also about the everyday routines that help me recognize my patterns and manage my energy.

1. Feeling rushed? Give yourself a buffer.

   I wake up early enough to take my time. Not to join the 5 a.m. club or squeeze in more work, but to have a little breathing room.

   Even 15 or 30 minutes can make a difference. Just don't sacrifice sleep to get them. With bipolar disorder, protecting your sleep matters more than winning some imaginary productivity competition.

2. Feeling pressured to be productive? Do something you enjoy.

   For me, it's coffee and the morning news. Sometimes I journal or meditate. Sometimes I just enjoy the fact that nobody needs anything from me.

   Your thing might be reading, listening to music, or sitting in silence. It doesn't have to be productive, educational, or part of some elaborate wellness routine.

   You're allowed to enjoy your morning simply because it's YOUR morning.

3. Feeling pulled in every direction? Set morning boundaries.

   Everybody does not need access to you the moment you open your eyes. The emails can wait. The texts can wait. The social media notifications can DEFINITELY wait.

   I give my mind a chance to wake up before responding to everyone else's needs. Because once you let the world in, babe, everybody has a question, a problem, or something they needed yesterday.

4. Not sure how you're feeling? Check in with yourself.

   Living with bipolar disorder has taught me to recognize my patterns. My mornings give me an opportunity to notice how I'm feeling before the day gets busy.

   Sleep: Did I sleep well? Am I unusually rested or exhausted?

   Mood: Am I anxious, irritable, low, or unusually energized?

   Energy: What do I realistically have the capacity for today?

   I'm not trying to diagnose myself over coffee. I'm simply paying attention. Changes in sleep and energy can be important signals, and noticing them helps me know when to check in with my care team.

5. Struggling to get going? Get dressed.

   When I started working from home, I realized staying in my pajamas all day wasn't doing me any favors. But I also wasn't about to put on actual office clothes just for Zoom calls. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

   So I created a work-from-home wardrobe. Comfortable loungewear that looks professional enough for a Zoom call but doesn't feel like pajamas. I'm comfortable, I look put together, and my brain knows it's time to get to work.

Slow is not lazy

Creating space for myself helps me show up better for everything else. Some mornings won't go according to plan. I'll oversleep. Something unexpected will happen. Life will be life-ing. But a slow morning isn't optional for me. It's a REQUIREMENT.

I don't need to conquer the morning, optimize every minute, or prove how productive I can be before breakfast.

I just need to give my brain time to glide into the day instead of being jolted into it.

And if the world needs me before I've had my coffee?

Girl, it's going to have to wait.