Causes – a change of emphasis – Dec 2012

A change of emphasis

Finding a person’s causes and triggers for mood disorder is something we have talked about for years and yet it seems it could be time to change the way we say this.

Recovery is most successful when we first tackle the triggers – essentially, what is causing the ‘episodes’/’relapses’ (as the medical people describe the blips we have). We have to tackle the triggers to gain the stability we need to move on.

Traditionally, moving on is about getting back to work, repairing damaged relationships (if it is not too late to do so) and learning to live with the bipolar disorder label for the rest of your life. However, the label stays no matter how well you become, even when you may feel fully recovered. The change we are suggesting here is that; after you have identified and dealt with some of your triggers, to regain that essential stability, it is not time to move on! It now seems this may need to be the time to look for the root causes and in particular identifying if there may be a physical cause of your troubles that has been overlooked.

If your mood disorder has been primarily caused by a physical health problem, then sorting this out is essential to stop your difficulties from returning.