World Bipolar Day: Finding balance as a community journalist

POLOKWANE – This year marks eight years since I was last admitted to a psychiatric hospital. It also marks 10 years of working in a fast-paced, deadline driven industry.

Today is World Bipolar Day and according to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, bipolar disorder is a physical illness marked by extreme changes in mood, energy and behaviour which is why doctors classify it as a mood disorder.

Around 46 million people worldwide live with bipolar disorder and I am part of that statistic. I take my medicine twice a day and own my status. I have a mental illness and I am okay with that. Friends and family call me crazy, including myself, because I am. But I am a special sort of crazy. I may look normal, but I am different.

Many people are surprised when they find out I am bipolar. “How do you cope in your high-stressed job as a journalist,” they always ask. The answer to that is pretty much “I don’t know.”

Living with this condition is second nature to me. I live, according to me, a normal life like all of my colleagues. I’m just drinking medication, but then again, so are those with high blood pressure. I just have tablets for my brain.

I have realised that even in my being-normal routine, I do apply some coping mechanisms to help me through the day.

I try and keep to a routine and being a journalist, it is not always easy as news does not have a routine, but planning ahead helps. If something happens and throws my planning around, I take a few minutes to wrap my mind around it and adapt to the changes. Knowing what will happen next makes my life easier.

My diary is important to me as I use it to plan my day and my life. It also helps to prioritise my work-duties and I tick off tasks as I go. Instead of looking at the problem ahead, I look for ways to overcome it. I make a plan and ask for help because I cannot do life on my own, I need support.

I’ve found that positive self-talk is very important because your mind believes every word that comes out of your mouth.

The more you say you cannot do this or you cannot handle it, the less you will be able to do it or to handle it. You cannot necessarily do something, but you can try.

Accept your flaws, they are part of what makes you unique. Being different is really not that bad, in fact, it’s fun. You can be the best you that you will ever be.

I drink my medicine, I get enough sleep and I try to eat healthy. I work hard and I play hard. I am not that different from you.