It's almost mid-August and the new academic year is just around the corner. For those of you beginning your first year of university study, it's an exciting time. A whole new phase of life is about to begin. And it's one that most of you have been eagerly anticipating for several years. But if you've got bipolar disorder (or think you may), your upcoming transition to the college environment can also be filled with pitfalls. Some will be readily apparent, whereas others will be less so and therefore even more dangerous. But either way I can assure you that the bipolar student heading off to campus faces many more challenges than just making the Dean's list. This blog and several to follow during the fall months will be examining these challenges and offering pragmatic advice.
So let's begin with a common wish; one that we've all probably had from time to time: that is, the desire to leave it all behind.
The excitement of new beginnings often involves the opportunity for a fresh start. Think of those friends who knew you in high school and also knew the rollercoaster-like ups and downs that constantly had you feeling off-balance ... or the teachers you had to speak with in order to explain why your performance was erratic... or the sense of embarrassment you'd intermittently feel after a couple of weeks of impulsive hypomania. It's like your history was etched in stone and as long as you were at the same high school, your bipolar stuff was there with you.
Now as you head off to a new academic and social community, your history isn't known. You have the chance to start it all anew, though this time with a different set of outcomes. What a relief it would be!
The only problem is you can't pack all your stuff and leave your bipolar disorder at home. You may certainly want to leave your medication behind but you're bipolar neurochemistry is going to come with you. And not only will it come with you but you'll potentially be more vulnerable to periods of destabilization as a function of the many stresses and challenges of university life.
So the question becomes ... assuming your bipolar disorder does come along with you, what can you do to make sure you've got the right kind of help in place should you need it. First, if your experience with bipolar disorder has been relatively mild and if you're well stabilized on whatever medications you're currently taking, then you may not need to do anything in relation to receiving additional professional help. Perhaps continuing to do what you're doing, getting medication refills called into a local pharmacy and checking in with your psychiatrist by phone on a monthly basis will suffice. And if that's the case, you're fortunate. You're ahead of the game.
But what if your last six or nine months have been really rough? What if you were hospitalized in May and you've spent the summer trying to get both feet back on the ground? Or what if you and your psychiatrist have been working to find the right combination of medications but you just haven't been successful yet? This is when some planning and prevention will serve you well.
It should be easy enough to contact the counseling or mental health services at the university you'll be attending and speak with someone about connecting with a mental health professional shortly after you arrive on campus. Assuming such services are available to you, then it would facilitate the process if you sign a release of information and have your current mental health provider send a copy of your treatment records to the university counseling or mental health services. Another option is to simply obtain a copy of your records and bring them with you to campus. After all, technically they are yours and it's always good to have a copy of your treatment history. Once you've arrived, a follow-up appointment with a university-based mental health professional will help you to know what's available should you need help. If necessary you can even begin regular appointments with a psychiatrist, psychotherapist or both, soon after fall semester begins.
Also, don't be surprised if you're told that most students with bipolar disorder are referred to off-campus resources. Many universities don't have adequate mental health and psychiatric resources to assist all students seeking their services and those with more chronic conditions (such as bipolar) are typically referred out to clinics or providers better suited to work with ongoing psychiatric issues. The good news is that professional staff at University Counseling Centers are usually well acquainted with the mental health professionals in their geographic area. Consequently, their staff can save you a lot of time and hassle by referring you directly to the professionals they've had good success with.
Last, I want to close by saying that I don't mean to be the voice of doom and gloom. Hopefully, your university experience will be fulfilling and highly successful. Hopefully, you won't feel off-balance. But when I refer to the potential pitfalls, I do so because it's important to recognize that for the bipolar individual, times of change and excitement can also be times of vulnerability. If you were not a masterful high wire acrobat, you probably wouldn't venture out onto the wire without a safety net. In fact, even if you were, healthy caution would tell you that a safety net is always a good idea. Now in relation to your bipolar disorder, you're probably not close to mastery. So why not make sure you have a safety net in place? It doesn't mean you're going to fall. But it does mean you're being mature about managing your disorder. And maturity is a good thing as you head off to college in a few weeks time.
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Russ Federman is Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Virginia. He is also co-author of Facing Bipolar: The Young Adult's Guide to Dealing with Bipolar (New Harbinger Publications), see www.BipolarYoungAdult.com
