I have a slight bipolar trait to my mental illness so not in the exact same camp but close. Exercise, exercise, exercise was pushed as the main thing from my doctors. I have not taken their advice but many others who I know with mental illness have and swear by it as one of the main things which makes a huge difference. Eating healthy is another one which makes a big difference I have found, having 3 solid meals of healthy foods which include lots of fresh greens does greatly help. Routine also is another, one I still struggle with as I have never followed any sort of routine other than making sure I get to work each day. Having changed that so I have to set bedtime most days to ensure I get enough sleep and get up at the same time, ensuring I eat at close to the same times each day and taking my medications at the exact same time each day as also helped, not sure why but once I got this going I started to feel better.
When I was in hospital I met someone who I struck up a great friendship with which has continued to this day and will for ever into the future I hope. She has similar mental health issues and we have been able to rely on each other in harder times and in the good times able to have some great fun. Having someone who first hand knows how things are for you and able to talk for as little or long as required has been another major help for me. My wife who has always stood by me and without her my kids and family would have suffered hugely but she has not first hand experience mental health issues like me. So while we have spoken at great length, having my other friend as well made all the difference. The only other thing for me which was key to my recovery was having a rock solid psychologist and [FONT=verdana, sans-serif]psychiatrist. They both spoke with each other often during my worst times and now still contact each other if they need to clarify or exchange information. They both also really gelled with me very well, they weren't the first ones I tried and I kept looking until I found the "one" had I not done that I would be one of those yo yo people I kept seeing during my stay at the hospital. I can tell them both anything and everything, even if what I am telling them is behaviour which has directly defied their instructions. As in I didn't take my meds and went out on a drug fuelled binge for the entire week since my last visit. Some of the other people I had spoken to in hospital would just lie to theirs as previous when they had been open their doctors were not understanding or helpful and only made the entire situation worse. My doctors just shrug it off and move on from it with me to get me back on track. Having health professionals like that are a large key element in your treatment and I would urge you to keep trying different doctors until you find one who you get along with better than anyone else in your life and who has extensive experience in your mental health diagnoses.
[/FONT]
