Making Decisions Triumph or Agony

Making Decisions Triumph or Agony

In this post I will be focusing on making decisions with bipolar (you can apply this to other aspects of mental illness as well).


Life is going to throw us curves in our straight and laid out streets. Make no mistake though, there are challenges to having to make decisions on the fly, and sometimes those can be excruciatingly difficult when choices have to be made, or when to weigh out pros and cons. There is a lot that goes into making critical decisions, firstly: why, second: how do I maintain, and three: longevity is it attainable?

Lets take the first comment why: this is a very forthright question as to the meaning and complexity that is taking place, in my situation having to move. As moving involves having all kinds of complex things such as setting up moving vehicles, changing addresses, phone numbers, re-routing or forwarding all mail to the next place, having to clean up prior location, you get the idea.

Its a lot to digest in a short period of time, let alone having to grasp the construction around pack up and then unpack. For those with bipolar this is an arduous task of compartmentalizing each component. The challenge here is sticking to a planned out routine, having all information at hand, and knowing the outcome will be benefiting. In my past, I would often forget these crucial steps, and often I would be thrust into very disastrous situations that would feed my cycling.

Second how do I maintain: this goes in hand with the first why component. Stick to a plan, be flexible, but don't deviate from the intended goal. A lot of this involves strategy, and as a video game player I know when and where to use certain strategies, and when to go with it. Its harder said than done, if your in a good place i.e. medication, having a good functionality and maintaining healthy outlets and boundaries this shouldn't be an issue.

Third longevity is it attainable: here is the high stakes prize. If one has researched where and what, figured out a safe and sound place to reside in coming to a good conclusion this won't take to long to evaluate. For myself if I have to go over certain elements to try and make sense of the 'what if' scenario then I'm already giving myself to much room for complications to arise.

If I don't feel or trust what I am about to get into, the decision will become a very laborious process for those around me. Thusly I'll talk ad nauseam about whether or not the outcome is right or wrong, and often this compounds my decision making process even further. I think with having bipolar it is far more difficult making confident decisions because we are often flighty in jumping head first into situations without thinking it through. In my case this derives from personal trust issues.

Everything in life involves making quick decisions, or having planned out logical decisions. Someone once told me that in order to have great decision making ability it takes experience, and confidence to feel strong in that conviction, and steadfastly follow through. Yet there are some decisions that were made which seem like its a win win, but later turn out to be bad decisions based on a slight miscalculation. No ones perfect, and we can't always account for every permutation, as I often over analyze each decision before committing, which in turn drives my family and friends crazy.

Anyways, I hope this post will give some insight into how mental illness can wreak havoc on fundamental living, and maneuvering when it comes to making decisions. Thanks for reading.

B.