Prevention

Bipolar disorder cannot be prevented, but often the mood swings can be controlled with medicines.

About 1 in 3 people will remain completely free of symptoms of bipolar disorder by taking mood stabilizer medicine, such as carbamazepine or lithium, for life.⁵

To help prevent a depressive or manic mood episode, you can:

• Eat a balanced diet.
• Exercise daily.
• Avoid extensive travel into other time zones.
• Get approximately the same number of hours of sleep every night.
• Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs.
• Reduce stress at work and at home.
• Limit caffeine and nicotine during manic episodes.
• Seek treatment as soon as you notice symptoms of a depressive or manic episode coming on.

Changes in your sleep patterns can sometimes trigger a manic or depressive episode. If you plan extensive travel into other time zones, you may want to call your doctor before you leave. Find out from your doctor if you should make any changes in your medicines and what to do if you have a manic or depressive episode while you are away.