How to Care for Your Bipolar Disorder With Tiny Steps
The little things add up.
Hi there!
Do you ever feel like life is just one big juggling act? Toss one ball up and four fall in its place.
Every day is a struggle to balance a million different things. You’re like a juggler with an infinite number of balls in the air. Many days, it’s overwhelming.
For those of you with bipolar disorder, this balancing act is even more challenging. You have to worry about your mental health, your relationships, your work, and your daily routines. It's no wonder you sometimes drop a ball or two (or six. Or is that just me? 🤔)
Life is heavy, so it’s easy to get bogged down with the major things. You often focus on your primary goals and forget about the little things that make up your day-to-day life. But those tiny daily activities can add up to make a big difference.
“It's not the big things that add up in the end; it's the hundreds, thousands, or millions of little things that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.”
- Darren Hardy
Scott Ninneman also publishes the free All Things Bipolar Newsletter (off Substack). The Sunday email features the newest content about bipolar life.
The Little Things Really Do Add Up
Do the little things really add up? Absolutely!
Here’s a brief history of my time as an online writer. I published my first blog post on February 26, 2018. It took me 10 hours to write, edit, create graphics, and publish the post. I looked at other blogs with hundreds of posts and worried I would never get there.
But I didn’t give up.
My timeline may be a lot slower than other bloggers, but I promised myself to give it my all. Twice, I nearly shut down the blog completely. Once I even deleted all my social media accounts. Each time, I eventually came to my senses before it was too late.
Now, over six years later, you can do an internet search for ‘Scott Ninneman’ and find dozens of my posts hanging out on the net. (That, and a guy who worked on shows like The Angry Beavers and Rocko’s Modern Life, and another guy who’s a baseball player. Both have a “famous” name, but neither of them is me. 😉)
Hard Work and Determination
All the posts online with my name attached didn’t happen by accident. Instead, they’re the sum of thousands of short working sessions all strung together. Some days I barely wrote five words and others nearly 5,000, but every day mattered. Some of those words are now a book, the first of what I hope will be many.
What you won’t find in an internet search is the impact of my words.
I save every blog comment and email from my readers. I have hundreds of messages saying how something they read in my writing helped them. Those comments are worth more than anything. Each message proves to me how much the little things matter.
The same is true for caring for your bipolar disorder.
Succeeding in your health care is about more than the big things, like taking your medication or going to therapy. It’s also about the little things.
Self-care includes taking a few minutes each day to relax or spend time with friends and family. Every time you consciously slow down and take a breath before you speak, those are tiny acts that add up. A recent UC Berkeley study seems to show that even 20 seconds of self-compassion “micropractice” can reduce stress levels. And who doesn’t need that?
Never forget the little things.
You learn to juggle by starting with one ball, then moving on or two or three, etc. Each new ball is a small step but can create something amazing.
By taking care of yourself, both mentally and physically, you can better manage your bipolar disorder and live a happy and fulfilling life.
For today, think about the value of tiny acts. Celebrate even the minor steps you take to keep yourself stable. Every action is getting you closer to who you want to be.
Write It Out
Grab a pen and explore the power of tiny acts with these writing prompts.
Journal Prompt: What’s a small thing you do that improves your life? What does that teach you?
Creative Writing Prompt: Write a story about someone whose small acts changed the world. What did they do? Why did it matter so much?
Until next time, keep fighting.
Scott Ninneman
Additional Reading:
The book that started it all…
Disclaimer:
This email may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.