The lived experience of patients with bipolar disorder with adapting their lifestyle to their condition

Background: An important element of self-management strategies for people with bipolar disorder is adapting their lifestyle to their condition, since this improves their quality of life. However, not all people with bipolar disorder succeed in lifestyle adaptation. Knowledge about their lived experience with adaptation would enhance understanding about how healthcare providers optimize support.

Research question: What is the lived experience of people with bipolar disorder with adapting their lifestyle to their condition?

Method: A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological design was used. Individual, open interviews were conducted with 16 people with bipolar disorder. The data were analyzed according to the seven-stage process by Colaizzi.

Findings: Three main themes were identified: (1) struggling to adapt lifestyle; (2) mixed feelings about lifestyle adaptation; and (3) supporting lifestyle adaptation.

Conclusion: Participants reported that adapting their lifestyle to bipolar disorder is a struggle. Adaptation is influenced by factors such as the fluctuating nature of the disorder and differing levels of experiential knowledge and can evoke both positive and negative feelings. Lifestyle adaptation is also interrelated with other strategies for staying well, such as accepting the diagnosis and being open with others. It can be enhanced by support from other people and by making use of practical tools.

Recommendations: Healthcare providers should support people adapting their lifestyle to bipolar disorder by being attentive to the interrelatedness of lifestyle aspects and other strategies for staying well with bipolar disorder.