🖤 Living with Bipolar While Running a Business — What Helps Me

I have bipolar disorder.
It’s not easy. It doesn’t disappear just because I run a business I love with everything I’ve got.

But I’ve lived with this long enough to have tools, scars, and a kind of resilience you only earn by surviving. That doesn’t mean I’m always fine — far from it — but I’ve learned how to support myself when the mood starts to shift.

Sometimes I feel it coming. Sometimes it blindsides me. Either way, having structure and comfort already in place changes everything.
And honestly? I’ve found a strange beauty in the fight. It’s where my creativity lives.

🫶 What Actually Helps on the Low Days

• I say it out loud. Just telling one person “I’m not okay today” is a lifeline.

• I know my signs. I’ve learned what to look out for — so I can act, not spiral.

• I stay hydrated. Even the basics feel like work. Water nearby helps.

• I keep food simple. No cooking. Just something light, quick, and no stress.

• I don’t watch the clock. Minutes stretch when I’m struggling. I go moment by moment.

• I let comfort in. Soft clothes, safe spaces, duvet days. It’s not lazy — it’s care.

• I stay near animals. No judgement, just presence. It helps me breathe.

• I watch childhood films. Alice in Wonderland brings me back to something familiar.

• I choose music carefully. Nothing sad. I pick steady, grounding tracks that help me move.

• I speak kindly to myself. Moving from bed to sofa counts. It matters. That effort matters.

• I meditate when I can. Even if it’s messy. I never stop trying.

• I slow everything down. If I can’t stop, I go gently. No rushing. No shame.

• I go outside. Even if it’s raining. Feeling wind, hearing birds — it reminds me the world is still turning.

Living with bipolar means treating care like a full-time job.
Not just something you reach for when things fall apart — but something you protect even on the better days. Especially on the better days.

Because anyone who lives with this knows: your own brain can turn on you in an instant. And when it does, those tiny routines might be the only thing holding you up.

Even the smallest things matter — a hot water bottle, hearing someone laugh, standing in the sun for five minutes. They keep you tethered.

And even when I don’t want to, I talk.
I remind myself: “This will pass.”
Because it always does.

If you’re struggling right now:

🖤 You’re not alone.
🖤 You’re not weak.
🖤 Doing your best is enough.
🖤 Even on the hardest days — you are strong, you are fierce, and you are still here.

And that matters.