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How a Bipolar Patient Learned to Manage Mania

Like many people with bipolar disorder, Laurel Lemke, 54, of Lakewood, Wash., cycled in and out of hospitals and tried various treatments before being diagnosed and treated with her disorder. Though she will likely never be "cured," her mental illness no longer is central to her life. Here is how she copes today

Bipolar disorder ran in her family, but she didn't know it
The genetic component of bipolar is something that I cannot control. And like many families, I didn't even know that mental illness was in my family until much later in life. A few years ago, a genealogist contacted me while he was researching my family for another individual. He told me that my great-grandmother had killed herself and that she likely suffered from some mental illness. This came as a complete shock to me, and I'm certain that my father (he passed away years ago) didn't know about this either. Knowing this information about a relative—although tragic—somehow helped me understand and accept my condition a little more. It also reminded me of the importance of managing my condition.

My family didn't talk about my great-grandmother's illness, but they were the only ones who knew about my mental illness for a long time. The privacy was comforting, but it also limited my social support network. That changed when I was in my 30s. I started to branch out socially. I discovered that I loved ballroom dancing, and it became my favorite hobby. I traveled with a dancing tour group and we went as far as Australia. In addition to learning new steps, I made lasting friendships. And my closest friends know about my bipolar diagnosis. When I told them, more often than not, they would always respond by telling me they knew someone else in their family or network of friends who also had bipolar.