The best crystals to balance your bipolar moods
Years ago I was biking to the high school I taught at in East Oakland, California. Upon arriving at my classroom I realized, “CRAPPPPPPPP!!!” Somehow my hand bag with all of my personal possessions had fallen out of my panier. I called my principal and informed him I would be arriving a few minutes late. And rushed back in search of my belongings.
About 10 blocks from my school, an avuncular man pushing his own bicycle flagged me down. “HEY!!!!” he yelled. “You’re the girl who dropped the bag right?” I swerved over. “Yes! Did you see where it went.” He sighed. “I did, unfortunately. As soon as it fell, the weirdo in that RV swooped it up and rushed back inside.” Fuck.
One perk of being bipolar is that almost nothing scares me. So without hesitation I rushed up to the RV and started banging on the door. “Hey!!! You have my bag right? I need it back!” I heard some grunting inside. Then a Darth Vader like voice grunted, “Come back this afternoon.”
Ugh. I sprinted back over to my classroom, 10 minutes late. My sweet students saw the exasperation in my stare and asked, “Profe what happened? Are you ok?” I sighed and started explaining, “Somehow my bag fell out my bike on the way to class.” “Oh no! Did it have your keys in it? Your wallet.” I nodded, then sighed, “But honestly, what I’m most pissed about was my crystals. I had a bunch of my favorites in there.” My sweet teenagers rolled their eyes, “Oh Profe.”
My students loved to poke fun at me for my hippy-ness, but most of them understood how powerful the crystals were. I had dozens scattered around in my classroom. Before tests many students would go pick up their favorite. Some would place them on the table to gaze at. Others would clutch them in their palms. Intuitively, many picked up a crystal when they were going through a break-up. Or suffering violence at home. Just like me, they weren’t sure what exactly was going on inside those rocks. But they couldn’t deny that the crystals made them feel better!
When I started learning about crystals years ago, I was delighted to find that different stones helped me balance my bipolar moods. And I’m here to share what I’ve learned to inspire you to find some bipolar soothing crystals too.
When I’m depressed, my go-to crystals are carnelian, citrine, and tourmaline. Carnelian, with its luminous crimson hue, helps heal emotional wounds. Bright lemony citrine brings a bit of joy into the darkness. And black tourmaline, one of the most powerful stones for cleansing and protection, helps temper some of the suicidal torture.
A squad of balancing bracelets (jasper, rose quartz, carnelian)
On the other hand, when I’m (hypo) manic, my go-to crystals are grounding stones that calm my flighty spirit. Some of my favorites include red jasper, smoky quartz, and hematite.
Having a super stigmatized mental “illness” isn’t exactly a self esteem booster. So to support me daily with self love and compassion, I always carry a rose quartz heart in my pocket, regardless of my mood.
Amethyst—My go-to stone for pretty much everything!
Another constant friend is amethyst, an all purpose powerhouse stone. Amethyst is simultaneously grounding, healing, and connects us to our spirituality in a safe, nourishing way. I also carry a chunk of it with me wherever I go!
Aventurine, amazonite, and pretty much any other light blue/green crystal loosens up our voice so that we can speak our bipolar truths with greater ease
Other stones I connect to daily are amazonite and aventurine, whose turquoise hues are both calming, and help activate my expression. With bipolar, it’s super important, and often challenging to communicate our needs–both with others and ourselves. Both stones boost my courage to reach out for support when I’m depressed. They also enhance my creative voice. Making art is alchemy for us bipolar beings. It’s a channel that helps us release some of the venom inside of us and transform it into liquid gold. It’s no coincidence that some of the most famous artists throughout history also had bipolar. So anything that supports us getting the creative juices flowing is a bipolar boon!
A couple of notes: crystals, while powerful, are an aid to managing bipolar, not a cure. So please keep taking your medication sister and keep up your other wellness practices!
In terms of what size and shape of crystals to get, you do you boo. I wear some crystals in jewelry. Others I put in my pocket. Others I place in strategic spots around my home and work spaces. Use your intuition to choose what size, shape, and function of each crystal will be best for you!
So what ended up happening with the creepy RV man? After panting all day without my crystals to calm me down, I rushed back over to his eerie homel. I banged on the door and yelled, “Hey! I’m the girl with the bag.” He creaked open his door, threw back my bag back to me and slammed the door shut. Immediately I scraped through the content– Housekeys–thank god. Drivers license. Whew. He had kept all of my cash and my favorite green sweater. But I didn’t care about that. I banged on the door one more time and yelled, “Where are my crystals? Give them back!!” He opened the door, rolled his eyes, and threw a plastic bag at me with all 12 of them. Yess! I beamed all the way home, then threw the poor things in salt water to cleanse for an entire week!
Sending you love, serenity, and minimal theft with any crystals you invite into your bipolar world!