Triggers

I know that anyone and everyone with BP or other mentall illneses knows what a trigger is. They are the little things that set you off. Things that other people may not think are annoying, but drive you insane! For some it's a lot of noise, certain kinds of music, lighting, the way people eat, or even certain facial expressions. Everyone's trigger is different, the key is to identify exactly what your triggers are (and i say triggers because most people have more than one) and then finding a way to help you cope with them. That's especially necessary if yours tends to be a day to day problem. I know what works for me personally is listening to music. I listen to my music and drown out everything else. I focus on the artists voice, and let it flow through me so to speak. That might work for someone who gets bothered by a lot of noise. For example, my brother gets highly annoyed at my much younger brothers whenever they make a lot of noise, because noise is a huge trigger for him. What bothers him is the stuff all young little kids do, so it's impossible and unrealistic to stop them from doing what little boys do. The way he deals with it (after he's done shouting) is to go into his room and listen to his favorite band (sometimes louder than the rest of the family likes, but hey whatever works) that immediately calms him down. Like some people he is also sensitive to some kinds of lighting, he carrys a pair of sunglasses around with him so he can dimm any bright lights, and he almost always wears a hat, which helps shade his eyes. Eash person is different and what works for me and my brother may not work for you, but my advice is to try incorporating the things you like to do or hobbys you have to help cool you down when you feel irritated, or can feel yourself starting to get worked up. Also, try to think of all possible situations where there might be a trigger, and come up with a plan on what you or/and you parent can do to help you get out of the situation without too much damage done. Because lets face it, your not always going to be in your comfort zone when these things happen especially if your like me and they always seem to happen at the most inconvienent times, so what i recommend is to have an out. Figure out a way to tell your parents your gonna go into code yellow before you hit code red and they can help you, because from personal experience when you have a melt down its not fun for anybody. So, try out different solutions to your problem untill you find the right one, and don't stop untill you do. Because things always go smoother when everyones happy!