What You Should Know About Holistic Treatment Of Bipolar Disorder

If you have recently received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, you might understandably feel confounded by the situation. Getting such a serious mental health diagnosis can be a tough concept to grasp. And beginning the treatment process can feel overwhelming and just as confusing. While most doctors and mental health providers stick with conventional medical treatments for bipolar disorder, there are also holistic medicine options available to help create a more comprehensive treatment program. Get to know some of the facts that you should know about the holistic treatment of bipolar disorder. Then, you can decide if a holistic approach is right for you and your mental health. 

Holistic Medicine Treats the Whole Person

Conventional medical approaches to dealing with mental health often have to do with managing a specific aspect of the mental health disorder. For example, bipolar disorder involves a chemical imbalance in the brain. As such, doctors will prescribe medications to try to help correct that chemical imbalance. This addresses only part of the whole person's experience with bipolar disorder. 

Holistic medicine, on the other hand, takes into account the whole person and the range of experiences and effects that bipolar disorder can bring about. In addition to medications for the biological aspect of bipolar disorder, holistic medicine approaches may include light therapy for sleep disturbances, therapy and counseling to help a person cope with mood episodes, and more. All aspects of the person's life and experiences are considered when developing a treatment program. 

Holistic Medicine Does Not Exclude Conventional Medicine

Many people are under the misconception that they need to either choose to treat their bipolar disorder conventionally or holistically. However, this is not the case. These two approaches to treatment are not mutually exclusive and can actually be used together to help a person better manage their bipolar disorder. Holistic medicine, for example, does not exclude prescription medications for bipolar treatment. 

In fact, with bipolar disorder and other serious mental health issues, such an exclusion would be quite remiss. The majority of people with bipolar disorder absolutely must take medications to help to reduce mood swings, psychosis, and more. Without medications, they would not be able to keep the extreme highs and lows at bay.

Holistic medicine is an inclusive way of treating a mental health disorder like bipolar. You can continue to see your psychiatrist for medication updates and should absolutely take your medications as prescribed. Holistic medicine just adds on supplemental treatments to help address certain symptoms or certain areas of your life that are affected by bipolar disorder. For example, many people with bipolar have a hard time managing stress. As such, massage therapy may be a holistic treatment to utilize as a stress reliever. 

Knowing these facts about the holistic treatment of bipolar disorder, you can start to develop a treatment program that will best address your mental health management needs.