7. When you wake up, startlingly wide awake after just a couple hours of sleep at night, don’t listen to your brain when it tells you you’ve had quite enough sleep. Do perhaps drink a glass of water and try to lie back down. If you can get it, this is a most excellent investment: Delta Sleep System. I think Jeffrey Thompson must be some kind of genius, because this puts me to sleep every time, even when I don’t stay asleep because of being manic.

6. Don’t get up instead, lurch over in a drug-induced stupor to make coffee and get onto Facebook. FB is a never-ending loop of “shiny” from which one never escapes. Not good for the manic phase. Do try guided visualization. You don’t have to buy these. There are plenty super great ones available on YouTube. Here’s one that I try to stay awake to, but her voice is so soothing it conks me out every time:

5. Don’t go onto sites where you know you can read books for free in exchange for reviews. (I have 13 books in a queue because of such a dilemma. “Oh look, another book that would be perfect for me to review!”). Do try, hard as it is, to have no more than two books going at one time.

4. Don’t announce to the world a huge almost impossible to fulfill goal if there is a chance in hell you may not fulfill it. Case in point: I announced on Facebook that I would make 1,001 origami paper cranes for the family of a favorite professor who passed away last year. The deadline is May 16th. My goal was 14 cranes a day, which started out doable. I’ve made a total of two cranes. Two. Which means if I want to catch up, I have to make 54 cranes today, or recalculate completely so that I make more than 14 cranes a day to make the goal. Do find something both meaningful and meditative to occupy and burn up all that excess energy you have.

3. Don’t drink tons of caffeine. I know, I know. Your body is exhausted and your mind is racing. Don’t drink more than 1-2 cups of coffee/tea in the morning if you need that jump start. Any more is just asking for a train wreck. Do drink lots of nice cold water. Sleepytime tea is fine too. Hot water with lemon is good, so I’ve heard, but I’ve never tried it myself. Any other decaff tea/herbal tea you can find is wonderful, but make sure it’s decaff. Your body is a precious, precious vessel and it needs as much rest as it can get, even during the day right now. Napping at this point is fine.

2. Don’t take your aggression out on your family, or the ones you live with. Right now, they may be your biggest supporters. Do tell them you need space right now, and don’t be afraid to leave the room physically if you need to be alone. Picture Marlene Dietrich, the blond beauty, saying, “I vant to be alone.” <grin>  Be prepared to apologize, and make amends.

1. Don’t speak whatever comes to your mind to strangers! This is difficult. I am learning it the hard way. Part of mania is that it can make you want to tell people they’re “doing it wrong.” Do keep your thoughts to yourself. Count to five, because right now ten is too hard. Walk away. Fake-smile (you know what I mean, the kind that doesn’t quite reach your eyes). Pretend you’re the fictional heroine of your favorite book. Just do what you need to do to get through the moment, because you don’t know how every stranger will react to confrontation.

I hope this helps. It helped me just to write it. Peace out. xx