The Center for Public Mental Health, Faculty of Psychology, UGM holds a routine event every two weeks, namely Online Lectures or commonly called “KulOn”. Held online on Thursday (14/4), this KulOn event is open to the public. This time the topic raised is bipolar disorder. The topic was discussed by two competent speakers, namely Nurul Kusuma Hidayati, M.Psi., Psychologist and Wirdatul Anisa, M.Psi., Psychologist.
Bipolar is excessive mood swings and is considered a mental disorder. Changes in mood occur from very happy or called mania to very sad or depressed suddenly. This condition is not only in a matter of hours, but up to a matter of months and can affect daily activities.
Bipolar is a mental health disorder characterized by manic episodes, hypomanic episodes, and/or depressive episodes. Individuals with bipolar disorder may experience one or two of these conditions or even all three. Based on the data found, there are other comorbidities besides bipolar disorder, namely borderline personality disorder.
Besides borderline personality disorder, suicide is the highest risk for people with bipolar disorder. It was found that one-third to one-half of bipolar patients had attempted suicide at least once in their life and 15-20% died by suicide.
There are several things’ people with bipolar disorder can do to take care of themselves. This includes knowing the symptoms of bipolar disorder, knowing what triggers symptoms to appear, knowing what treatments/therapy are available, educating others about bipolar disorder, building relationships, joining support groups, and staying connected.
As previously explained in KulOn by Wirdatul, emotionally bipolar sufferers tend to be more sensitive. Therefore, it is also necessary to take steps to protect yourself emotionally. The steps in question are don’t take things more than you can handle, take time for relaxation every day, no matter how busy you are, do something you can enjoy every day, also learn breathing relaxation techniques and massages, baths, or other things to pamper yourself.