How to prevent a relapse? How to remain stable?

I'd like to know what people are doing to prevent a relapse whether it be depression, mania, or psychosis. I have a problem of not taking my medication so am now on the monthly shot. It works! When I become psychotic/ manic, I forget to take my medication and spiral downwards. Now, the shot is working great! I am hoping that as long as I receive my shot, I will be ok and not relapse. Mine is a simple solution and almost a life or death matter whether I can remain stable. How about you? What should you do to remain stable and prevent a relapse?

Stress and fatigue are my triggers so I work hard to decrease those and during my depression time I have a light box. I take ability to help me not get manic and take small doses of Zoloft to decrease depression. I am just now about to add diet and exercise so wish me luck.

It took me many years to find stability (thanks Geodon) so it precious to me. It has been 9 months without a Bipolar episode. If the PTSD wasn’t so bad life would be wonderful. I fought hard to get stable. Many, many meds trials, ECT, and rTMS to minimal effect. Now I will do anything that will help me stay stable: eat well, exercise, get outside in nature, yoga, meditation, distraction, and amongst other things, goal setting. Oh, and of course trying to keep to a strict sleep routine. I also hardly drink alcohol.

Frustratingly, my life now revolves around trying to stay stable. Still, it is worth it to avoid getting very unwell. Sometimes being good doesn’t stop episodes from coming but I’m sure it reduces the frequency.

In the end it was a med that saved me (Geodon). When severely mixed no self-care works for me outside of curling up in a ball to feel safe and cry it ou.

I don't have it down perfectly and still get depressed but for me it's combo 1. good sleep hygiene 2. eating healthy and regularly 3.exercise at least a few times a week 4. get out in nature for stress reduction 5. light therapy 6. working on cognitive distortions/mindfulness to not cycle into the episode further 7. healthy amounts of socializing and also time to myself 8. limiting stress (not always possible). 9. limiting sugar and caffeine intake (have been unsuccessful lately) 10. acupuncture also seems to help (haven't been able to afford recently).

Religiously taking my meds. Being educated about early symptoms. Keeping therapy appointments. Having good communication with my psychiatrist. Finding my passion, I write. The passion is different for everyone.

I think it boils down to routine and being accountable to yourself first and foremost.

I’m currently med free but the follow are a good way of staying stable ...now that said sometimes regardless of great self care Bipolar can reach out and slap the snot out of you.. so being proactive I feel is crucial.

Don’t be afraid to call your treatment team. Trust me they would rather catch you sliding into a bad place than trying to pick you up out of bowels of hell and get you back upright.

Taking meds as prescribed
Seeing T and Pdoc regularly
Have a safety plan
Getting enough quality sleep
Eating well
Exercise
Meditation or mindfulness, whatever you need to quiet your mind
Having hobbies that you enjoy
Tracking your moods
Getting out of the house on a regular basis
Doing a self check each day, mentally reviewing each of the above can help you catch things earlier rather than later.

Most of all find joy in something every day, no matter how small

I agree with so much of what the wise posters have offered here. We are all unique, but I feel there are some solid patterns here that lead to a better chance of success. I'll offer how I go about it.

First, I reviewed my life to see which behaviors and circumstances contributed to my instability. I then removed as many triggers from my life as possible even though it required me to give up things that offered a sense of purpose or enjoyment.

I created a list of long term emotional wounds I needed to discuss and work toward healing in therapy. I began seeing a therapist regularly and added new topics as things came up situationally. I also used my triggers as indicators of what to focus on.

I saw a pdoc regularly and followed the advice. When I was on meds I took them regularly. There were several unfortunate side effects and I partnered with my doc to find ways to stay stable with less effects. I created strategies to accept and counteract the effects I could not avoid such as weight gain. I am now med free with my doctor's blessing, but I will not hesitate to return to them if needed. They were a much needed and helpful tool to me.

I track myself daily. This includes my mood, sleep, diet, activity, health issues, thought patterns, etc.

I get regular sleep. I keep the same schedule even if I struggle to sleep. Eventually, it returns to normal again. I keep an eye on my dreams as several times they have been indicators of things I needed to process further in therapy.

I researched a ton about bipolar disorder, mania and psychosis. I was interested to learn the different ways it affected people so that I might have greater insight into any future symptoms I might have. This also helped me have more in-depth converstations with my T and pdoc. I asked individuals here for their stories and read the details of their experiences noting common patterns so that I could better understand how people are affected on a daily basis.

I learned coping skills. I leaned on them immediately any time I felt like my mind was travelling down a path that might lead to relapse. Some worked and some did not. I just kept trying until something stuck. What works in one moment sometimes fails in another. The goal was to have as wide a toolbox as possible.

I sought out support. I leaned on my family and friends. I also came here. It was incredibly helpful to speak with people who truly understand. I have learned a ton here and the support is amazing.

I focused on my physical health. I exercise almost daily now and I stay active every day. I eat well and I am continually looking for ways to improve physically. I also practice consistent self care.

I focus on my spiritual support. I take care to renew my spirit through various practices. Prayer, mindfulness, grounding in nature, fellowship with others, meditation, etc.

The last thing I am focused on is a continual process. I am learning I need to reinvent myself in a number of ways. I need healthier hobbies. I need service projects that are better suited for my mental and emotional health. I need a new plan professionally. I'm trying new things and keeping an open mind while I transform so many areas of my life. It has been a year since I was sick and so much of my life looks completely different than it did a year ago. Losing my mind was a very loud cry for help from my subconscious. I am doing all I can to take it seriously. I am implementing various strategies for change incrementally and adjusting as I go. This is all very new for me, but it has been a worthwhile effort. I feel healthier and I'm able to be a better wife and mother. That was my ultimate goal. Stability is a byproduct.

1 obvi...take the meds
2 relax...not all the rules of society are real or even important....by this I mean you’re probably not going to get fired if you take a mental health day fro time to time....my T would ask is there anything you could have done differently knowing this would be the outcome.....suddenly a lot of walls dropped, things I felt incredibly pressed to do could have been done more slowly....we must have made 100 grant revisions there could’ve been 20 quality revisions with the same result.
3 nip depression in the bud, if you feel it coming at all you better do something before it’s too late. For me I pick three things I love with three different senses so paining while listening to music and enjoying a cup of cocoa for example. This tends to bring me back to neutral or even happy. If you wait this won’t work.
4 keep a self care box, if things have gone beyond the pick 3 technique pull out a few new items. It helps to keep gift cards for retail therapy but also some stuff you’ll enjoy immediately. Maintain the self care box regularly. I’ve had a variety of things, silky pjs, bath salt, Nutella, books, photos, a little note that says buy 10 new songs etc.
5 make sure I have someone monitoring me, whether professional or family.....I can’t spot everything

Take my meds
Track my mood/symptoms to keep an eye on any changes.
Talk to my treatment team if I'm having any issues.
Get enough sleep.
Use coping skills and self care.
Getting out of the house enough and spending time with people.
Use my PRN med if necessary
Taking walks, helps organize my thoughts
Try not to overdo things because I have a tendency to take on way too much stress at once and that's a major trigger.

Take meds as prescribed
Routine, especially sleep schedule, even if I don't sleep, to bed each night
Get my alone time, I'm a introvert and alone time feeds my soul
Avoid loud aggressive people and drink and drugs
Follow the Desiderata, I've found it a wise group of words to follow.

Wise words indeed. I had never read it before. Beautiful!

I truly can't add much more to all that has already been said in this thread. I guess the only other thing (forgive me if it has sort of been said) is that over the years, I have developed a bit more of a "This is not that big of a deal. It's OK." attitude. This new attitude of mine reduces stress, which was already a mentioned trigger. I won't go so far as to say I'm a totally laid back kind of person, but I'm much more so.