August 2025

Bipolar Disorder & Suicide Trigger Warning Hello, dear reader. I want to begin this post about bipolar and suicide with a fair trigger warning. If this topic is too sensitive for you right now, DO NOT PROCEED. If you are facing a losing battle against suicidal ideation, then call a loved one immediately or call 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Hotline. For more, check out my book The Five Pillars of Bipolar Recovery, book and masterclass. You can also check out my free resources. So, what does the photo above have to do with bipolar and suicide? This photo captures an important moment in my recovery. In the fall of 2020, my dear cousin took me to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I had been dealing with intense symptoms including depression, insomnia, constipation, and migraines for 10 months straight. I was dealing also with a lot of suicidal ideation at the time. We went white water rafting and were approaching rapids that were potentially deadly if we fell. As I stared at the approaching rapids, I thought to myself, “Okay, Imran. Here’s your chance to end it…”  I paused and said softly to myself, “No, I don’t want to die. I just really want to get out of this misery.” That moment told me that I still found life to be precious. There were so many things I still wanted to do and so many people that showed me love and support, both personal and professional. I share this moment to inspire you to keep working toward recovery: It gets better, much better.  Suicide is a sensitive topic and deeply disturbing if you are having suicidal ideation. It’s important, however, to know the right steps to overcome such dark thoughts.  From “I want to kill myself” to “My body is experiencing temporary suicidal ideation” Word choice is crucial for dealing with thoughts of suicide. When I was facing these thoughts, I found myself thinking, “I don’t want to live anymore”, “I just want to die”, “I need to end this”  Then, I learned the phrase “suicidal ideation”. The phrase was key for separating the ugly thoughts from my sense of self. When I would say things like, “I don’t want to live anymore,” I was implying that I had nothing to live for and that was a core feature of my identity. But, when I started saying, “My body is experiencing temporary suicidal ideation,” I was saying that I was having feelings that would — albeit very disturbing — ultimately pass.  How to help yourself or someone you love facing suicidal ideation — Safety Agreements! In my integrative mental health coaching training at the Nickerson Institute, I got some specialized training related to suicide prevention. Here are some important questions to ask when determining the severity of someone’s suicidal ideation. They are also really useful to help calm down and control the situation.  If you or your loved one is struggling to see that their suicidal ideation is temporary, then consider writing a safety contract.  The two most important things to note down in your letter are (1) the reasons to live for such as family, friends, pets, future achievements and (2) what to do when dealing with suicidal ideation like calling a loved one, going to the gym, calling the suicide hotline.  It may seem corny, but safety contracts are proven to work. I know I can speak from experience.  Is suicidal ideation something you’ve struggled with? Please reach out or share your coping techniques in the comments below. I’d to learn from you.  -Imran

Bipolar Disorder & Jet Lag Travel Preparation In my recent trip to South Africa, I had a long layover in London. We hopped off the airport and went to go see the world famous Big Ben clock tower. The iconic tower was a lot taller than I expected. Clocks are an interesting motif for discussing bipolar and jet lag. When you travel across the world and change your clocks by eight hours, your internal clock faces an uncomfortable adjustment period.  I feel blessed to be able to travel again. In the past, the effects of jet lag would severely trigger my bipolar symptoms, so I stopped traveling for a few years. With the help of my Five Pillars of Bipolar Recover, book and masterclass here, I was able to start up again with local travel. This year was the first time I left the western hemisphere since 2019.  Merriam-Webster defines jet lag as, “a condition that is characterized by various psychological and physiological effects (such as fatigue and irritability), occurs following long flight through several time zones, and probably results from disruption of circadian rhythms in the human body.” Everyone experiences it, but for people with bipolar disorder, jet lag can worsen something called metabolic jet lag. Moreover, especially in my case, travel can trigger severe anxiety, migraine headaches, constipation, and, of course, insomnia.  Disturbance in sleep is the “canary in the coal mine,” that suggests a mood episode on the horizon. When traveling, take reclaiming your sleep schedule seriously from ruining your precious travel time. With time, I learned how to overcome these shifts naturally.  Here is what I would do during the acute phases of mental illness before traveling:  Pack my medication as an emergency. Even though I no longer take them, I still pack them as a precaution.  Alert my hosts of the possibility of a mood episode.  Take it easy for the first 1-2 days upon arrival.  INSIST on being in bed for 8-9 hours at night. Be VERY strict with my diet. Here is some guidance on nutrition with bipolar.   Take a Vitamin-D supplement for mood regulation and Magnesium for sleep. Practice Yoga for 10-15 minutes in the morning under the sun to boost my energy. Wim-Hof breathing 30mins before sleeping to help fall asleep sooner.  You can also check out my free resources to come up with strategies on how to best overcome struggles like bipolar and jet lag. How Did it Go for Me? I was a little nervous since this was the first time I was going to face a large time change. In the past, even a two hour time change triggered bipolar symptoms in severe ways. Traveling from Texas to Johannesburg meant that I would be flung across the planet for 30 hours and face an eight hour time change.  I’m happy to report that I overcame jet lag fairly quickly this time when I got there. However, upon my return stateside, I found recovery from jet lag to take much longer.  Here is what I have been doing to recover:  Light exercise. These days it’s jogging and tennis for me.  Eating home cooked, whole-food meals.  Being merciful with myself when I’m not able to be as productive as I’d like.  Being positive that I will reclaim my energy soon.  I know these tips seem small, but so much of overcoming mental illness is about believing that you can and will recover.  What do you do to recover from jet lag? The internet is chalk full of research about recovering from jet lag. I want to know what you do. By sharing here, we can help readers all over the world combat bipolar and jet lag.  I want to hear from you! -Imran

A New Direction for the BP Harmony Blog​ From Information Dumping to Personal Stories You will rarely find the personal “I” in blog posts of the past. This is because, for the last two years, I have playing a game that has not felt authentic to why I started BP Harmony to begin with. As opposed to writing about personal stories about how I overcame mental illness, I’ve been SEO-ing this blog to a state lifeless info dumping. Keywords, blog banners, positioning… something didn’t feel authentic.  When I, Imran Ghani, was going through the acute phases of mental illness, I ached for narratives that gave voice to my experience. I jumped for joy when I found movies like Silver Linings Playbook and shed tears when I found Ellen Forney’s powerful TED Talk. When I finally liberated myself from a life of chronic illness, I wanted to pay it forward to sharing my story. I did that with my book and masterclass, The Five Pillars of Bipolar Recovery, but now I want to continue writing about living life to continue offering hope.  In any case, I’ll still put a shameless plug at the start of each blog to about guidance on how to recover from the acute phases of bipolar disorder 🙂 You can also check out my free resources to find immediate help.  Why Switch to Personal Stories? In the age of generative AI when readers can query information for ages, it is more important than ever to offer human connection through lived personal stories.  Take for example my recent grappling with jet lag. In the past, I would draft a general article titled, “Bipolar and Jet Lag,” and put together a bunch of information that is guided by SEO strategies. The article would have sections titled “What is Jet Lag?”, “Precautions for Bipolar Individuals and Jet Lag”, and most importantly “How to Recover from Jet Lag.” Now, I’m going to talk about my experience with jet lag and how it may have triggered any symptoms and what I did to address them. You’d still get a lot of good information but the personal narrative, I imagine, will make it more relatable.  What Would You Like to Read About? What would you like to hear about? What are you struggling with? I’m here to share my experience and engage with you, the reader, in your struggles and triumphs.  Here’s to a new direction! -Imran