actually the touch orientation is something that came naturally to me. and all the examples i came up with or have used myself.

the hugging too is something i have done spontaneously and was afraid to admit for years. i was actually a little suspicious of it and it took my therapist telling me it was healthy before i suggested it to others.

However the 5 senses thing i got from a post of Mari's... it seemed like a more thorough version of my experience with touch. touch still seems like the strongest tether to me, but others may have better success with a different sense. certainly going through all of the senses, is a more thorough approach. one can then do more of the sense that is most comforting.

~ waves ~ credit goes to Mari for the 5 senses exercise.

Some with bipolar and especially with anxiety may be interested in psychiatric service dogs: http://www.iaadp.org/psd_tasks.html

Then there is the issue of people finding (even after decades) that their bipolar symptoms were due to something medically and/or nutritionally testable and/or treatable:

http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/

http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/

*edit*

http://www.suicidefindinghope.com/content/videos
videos about suicide and depression, kay jamison

http://www.needymeds.org/
low cost meds
bizi

Great book that may be helpful.
Not Bipolar related but very good none the less.

Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion
Amy S. Wilensky, Author

Amy also has Tourette's Syndrome as well as OCD but I found the book more about her OCD and it was helpful because it was from a young woman's point of view and a very personal story.

NAMI - Prescription Drug Assistance

Information on government programs,
non-profit organizations
and pharmaceutical companies
offering free or low-cost medication.

Suicide The Forever Decision By Dr. Paul G. Quinnett

Quote:
To help save lives, the best selling book "Suicide the Forever Decision, For those Thinking about Suicide and for Those who Know, Love and Counsel Them", by Paul Quinnett, Ph.D. is herewith made available in a free electronic format to anyone in the world who wishes __________________
http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/