Top Tips to Avoid an Episode of Mania or Depression
- 23 Aug 07, 12:53 PM
1. Stay away from anything bullish that has snakes for hair, horns and a forked tail
2. Make sure you get plenty of sleep (even if it means abandoning your partner because of the loud snoring and sleeping in the other room)
3. Drink like a fish (water that is)
4. Avoid social overactivity (so a few nights vegetating in front of the telly is just fine)
5. Eat plenty of fruit, veg and fish oils (ration the takeaways)
6. Avoid alcohol (unless it’s only in small amounts – the professionals would disagree but you have to have a life)
7. Get regular exercise (I know it’s a pain but practice by chasing buses and running up that hill to work now and again)
8. Get a hobby or interest (holistic therapies not dangerous sports)
9. Don’t spend too much time glued to the computer or internet (it will suck you in)
10. Take those meds (you may think that they are evil, but they do work to keep you stable)
11. Don’t move house (unless you're sharing a one bedroom flat with a spouse, several children, a dog, a cat and a budgie)
12. Don’t get married (or if you do, don’t tell anyone except the Human Resources department)
13. Don’t change job unless you have thoroughly investigated the organisation and got a reference for your new line manager to ensure that they are not an industrial psychopath
14. Children? You can have them but if you are a woman you have a 50%-90% chance of a
To assess your risk of ill health in the near future, try the
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Comments
1. *makes note to avoid the mirror*
6. *breaks out the Fuller's London Pride, under the guise of 'medicinal'*
13. Ah. So this is where I've gone wrong recently. My addendum to this would be "And if you simply can't avoid getting a new job, make sure it's not for a government department"
*headdesk*
Also... Analyse your individual 'well' periods - the length and regularity and what factors influence these. It's in your best interest to aim to remove everything that leads you to being unwell. But if this is simply working for a living, change jobs every 6 months, before they get a chance to fire you for being off with a panic attack every three weeks.
Alternatively, go into hibernation until there are actually jobs out there that don't involve A) working for a finance company, B) working in a call centre, C) entering endless streams of data, or, D) ticking boxes for a living.
The latter is what I do, more or less with other mind-numbing administration duties, full-time. I have a tick sheet and a pile of documents. 30 tick boxes later, I'm on to the next tick sheet. I had a dream last night that my English teacher from secondary school nearly lynched me - and quite right too.
Dear Jen
Do you work for the DVLA in the medical department assessing ability to drive or the Department for Work and Pensions assessing Disability Living Allowance by any chance? :-)