Coping With Mental Illness: What Not To Do

I was recently discussing coping strategies for my bipolar disorder with my psychiatrist. I was pressing him for new ways to cope. He told me that most of his other patients also tend to look for what to do—a new medication or treatment method—but it is just as important to focus on what not to do.  
 
I was interested in learning more about the experience of his other patients. After all, one of the most effective therapies has been learning I’m not alone, that other people have similar experiences. I wanted to know what he observed as the most common behaviors and habits that interfere with recovery and coping. Indeed, I learned that the obstacles I faced for years are actually fairly common: denial, ambivalence, ignorance and fear of stigma. 
 
I could not help feeling regret as he listed them off. I realized that I had held myself back during all the years I denied the seriousness of my condition. In hindsight errors are obvious, but as I was experiencing the illness, I lacked the insight to make the right decisions. My doctor explained that these behaviors largely result from the “blind spots” that mental illness can create in our awareness. On top of that, stigma compounds the issue by limiting our perception of ourselves and the possibilities of living with mental illness.  
 
Achieving recovery and coping with mental illness has required improvements to both my medical treatment and my interaction with my bipolar disorder. It has required increasing my awareness and coping by not doing behaviors created in response to stigma. Here are some of those harmful behaviors to avoid.