Epicurus and Bipolar Disorder

So how plausible is Epicureanism to a bipolar sufferer? IMO, to use the expression, "It's nice work if you can get it." A life of stark asceticism (discipline) is very, very difficult, especially in today's world loaded with so many dynamic pleasure temptations. I think most of us live lives of moderation but it's moderation based on balancing both dynamic and static pleasures. We're happy when we're at peace but we're also happy with the occasional indulgence. For Epicurus, the occasional indulgence was some cheese with his bread. For us today, it's often dynamic pleasure, usually drugs of one kind or another as our society is loaded with them. I'm not different. I'm a caffeine addict. As a bipolar person, I feel the need to use caffeine to both get me out of mental funks and to burn fat off my body. In that way, I love being revved up. I love my peaceful moments but I could never stay in that zone for long. Such is addiction, no matter what it is. Caffeine use, as we all know, leads to very powerful, often painful withdrawals. Epicurus wouldn't have tolerated such pains. I'm also a sugar addict and I'll talk about that in my next post. For a bipolar sufferer, drugs can exacerbate symptoms of both mania and depression. I know this yet I keep using caffeine. To me, the idea of having a dynamic mentality beats being "saner." I'm reasonable and not greatly symptomatic but I do like having my brain and body revved up and ready to go. I know what mania is and I don't consider getting revved up to be mania. In that way, I'm keeping a dynamic pleasure as static as I can. I don't let it get out of hand and I know when to stop (when something could get dangerous, which is why I stop.) That's for caffeine. For sugar, I have no limit. I'd eat all the sugar in the grocery store if I could. Long periods adhering to the ideas of Epicurus can be invaluable to a bipolar sufferer as they are moments of mental calm accompanied by peaceful stability. However, like I wrote above, it's nice work if you can get it. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 22 and couldn't accept it until years later. By that time, I had developed a litany of coping devices for my symptoms. Sugar was always the biggest one. Then in college, I binged drank once a week and used and abused benzodiazepines every minute of every day for three years. When it comes to an Epicurean lifestyle, I lost that battle before I was even aware that there was one. That said, I'm much more insightful and lucid about my illness today and I have Epicurean moments that I never used to pursue, much less achieve. That means being less materialistic and less hurried in life. It's stopping to smell the roses (literally) and feeling the happiness in the moment. It's having good friends and being good to them. With me, this has come with age and experience. Epicureanism is attainable to a certain degree, even for bipolar people. INO, it's only attainable with medication and therapy. There is no peace without the proper healthy choices. Epicurus would agree.