Diet, bipolar and moodmapping

 I am frequently asked what I eat. This may even come with a request for a meal by meal breakdown of my menu over the week. It always strikes me as a somewhat strange and personal question. Not least because I hope that no one is quite stupid enough to eat exactly what I do and expect to get exactly the same results.

We are all different although there are some general principles which I believed apply to everyone.

My rule of thumb is, nothing with a barcode!  that is if it does not look like food it probably is not food! 
 Factories do not produce food, they process material. I have a packet of cakes, made by  a well-known manufacturer, kindly given to me four years ago in my top cupboard. I still have them. They look exactly the same today as they did when they were given to me. anything that last that long without decaying is not food! it is some kind of weird material that does who knows what, to your insides. if it doesn't look like food it probably is not. Food comes from trees plants, vegetables and occasionally fish

In short Avoid processed food. If something similar not around 10,000 years ago then you probably should not eat it. I've never seen a Kit-Kat Tree, nor a fizzy drink come from anything other than a can.

I take omega three fish oils, and multimineral multivitamin supplements. I'm not certain there is any great buried in one brand over another providing you choose a reputable brand.


Usually these requests come after somebody has seen the programme Stephen Fry and the secret life ofthe manic-depressive. In the little bit of the programme in which I figured, Stephen and I are seen shopping in Borough market for oily fish. Stephen explains that I manage my bipolar disorder without medication.

Staying well with bipolar disorder depends on more than diet. living a healthy life is crucially important. This includes diet and exercise drinking plenty of water, making sure that one surroundings are as nice as possible, having a good social support network, having plenty of strategies to manage difficult situations and being able to do the kind of job and live the kind of life that suits your personality.

All of this is explained in the book Moodmapping by Dr Liz Miller. Self management is a frequent theme of our workshops on moodmapping.

The reason you may want to learn to moodmapping, is to increase help you increase your understanding of how you feel and therefore manage it better.

Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. Moodmapping is a way to monitor your moods just as a diabetic would monitor their blood sugar. I do it so that you now, but it is difficult for me to imagine how I could possibly live without mood mapping. I use a wide range of healthy foods and no two days over the same. however every day I do check my mood at least once probably more frequently.

By knowing how I feel, I can manage my moods before they become extreme and before they become out of control. This enables me to live without bipolar disorder. After all bipolar disorder is only a name for extreme unstable unmanageable moods. And if your moods are reasonable stable and managed then I think it is fair to say that you have cured your bipolar disorder!

This does not mean that you may not have a vulnerability, in this area. Just as somebody who has injured their back, will always be vulnerable to a further back injury. However if they exercise, make sure the posture is good and avoid doing something that might cause further injury, there is no reason why they cannot live pain-free lives doing just about anything. 10 years ago I ruptured 3 discs! I now run four or five times a week, and as long as I do not lift anything heavy I am fine.

The next course is on Saturday 3 July and it would be lovely to seeyou there.

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