2.5 years ago I was diagnosed with bipolar. It was a hard diagnosis to accept. It took me a year to fully process it. But the silver lining is that it forced me to take mental health seriously. And I did. #thread

I decided to calm down, to take it easy. I still worked and I still worked hard, but I refused to be stressed out about it. I eased up on my self-inflicted deadlines. If the work got done on time, great. And if not, that's ok too.

What I learned was that so much of the stress and pressure I felt for years was entirely self-inflicted. I always thought that working hard was supposed to hurt. I conflated working hard with being overworked. If you weren't tired, you weren't trying hard enough.

That first year after my diagnosis, I refused to overwork. I ate well. I got my 8 hours of sleep. Longer if my body needed it. I took weekends off. And I still got my work done.

I was just as productive. But I was more efficient. By being forced to go easier on myself I was forced to find ways to work a little faster, a little smarter. I stopped giving myself ridiculous deadlines and prioritized the ones that actually mattered. And everything worked out.

It may look like I never sleep, but trust me, I sleep a lot. I've just figured out how to get more done in less time because that's what my mind and body demanded of me. I love working, I work very hard, but I can't afford to be overworked.

All that is to say this: Take care of yourself. Self love starts with mental health. The work will get done. And if it doesn't, things will probably be ok. You're more important than the work you produce