Here's what I've done after getting off depakote--in order from most effective to least effective:
(Still doing all of 'em.)
1. Get a cat. My biggest issue was not feeling loved--I worked alone on my computer all the time) The cat was a first step toward a consistent supply of love
2. Focus on your successes. *mod edit* I--and a 1,000 other experts back through pre-biblical times--believe that we get what we focus on. Most people fail in life. Most people also focus on their failures. There's a correlation. You'll hear a few successful people almost brag a lot about their successes. Others don't brag... externally. But they brag internally, to themselves. The key is to focus on your successes--and who you were as a person when you were successful. The big evidence for me is that my parents always nitpicked each other's failures for 21 years, with no ######6 results. Just bringing everyone into suicidal, homicidal, gambling, heavy-drinking, cigarette-smoking misery. Contrast that to that lovey-feely happy family - who encourages each other. Mentions each other's strengths and past successes, when everyone else brings them down. They're the family that will only grow to love each other more over time. *mod edit*
3. Take yoga. Most people I meet breathe shallowly and have a tight physiology. Yoga stretches and "breathes" the body. It's like having baby oil on you - where you slide through all the problems, and make really cool stuff happen. If you're wondering where to learn it, just Google "yoga studio". I've been to 3 different yoga studios, and they all appear to teach from a "central method". I did the same moves at different studios - and you'll be fine with most places you go to. (If you want to do this, but want help, PM me. I'll do a Google search in your area, look at the nearby yoga studios, and tell you which one is most probably good.) (Note: You'll need #5 to do this--$20 for 2 weeks of unlimited yoga (at most studios) to start.)
4. Switch to decaf. I drank 12 cups of coffee a day. The doctors never asked about or noticed this. They just heard I stayed up all night and "required little sleep"--which is a symptom of bipolar disorder (they say). But don't you think that anyone with that much caffeine would stay up late? Furthermore, there's a condition called "caffeine-induced anxiety disorder" in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders--the book psychiatrists use in college. The path to creating what I call the "mentally ordered person" was to cut that out--and switch to caffeine-free herbal teas or decaf. (I started with the first, then stayed with the other--because it's more available.)
5. Get money (i.e. from a job, your own business, etc.). Much of my stress and anxiety came from relying on my parents. My parents had different values than me (F1). And they fought a lot--and I was forced to listen to their fighting. When I didn't have money, I was forced to stay there. When I did have money, I felt confident I could escape the situation. (I'm still pissed about this. If you put the most mentally ordered person in my position--he would've come to the same conclusion--go bonkers. 21 years of marital problems. Beliefs reinforced that things will never get better. No escape, because I was broke. That stuff.
6. Leave your current place. Especially if you have a car. Or positive people to be with. Living in your car at a Wal-Mart, showering at a gym, and applying for jobs or working on your laptop (like I did!!) is so much better, and so much more fulfilling than being a near a bunch of emotional blade weilders--ready to cut you anytime you get near them. As long as you listen to point #2, even if you're in your car, you'll be fine. What will point #2 do for you? Try it--maybe listen to Theater of the Mind--and you'll have that answer.
7. Block certain numbers. Do your parents 'trigger' you, like mine do? My parents - a couple other people - trigger unnecessary self-doubt. For no reason, other than they're used to things being a certain way. They're used to a certain level of drama. Being on my parents cell phone plan, I overused the data. I offered my dad to pay for going over - but he went on a 15 minute rant about why I shouldn't have done that. I asked why wouldn't he just let me pay for if we went over, instead of bitching about it? He said, "It's a control thing." I was even more pissed, because my dad's friend and son were shot 17 times at a car dealership. And I'm like, "Is that how you really want to talk to your son--when your friend and son were shot? Bitching at your son over a ######6 data plan--that he's willing to be responsible for and pay?" Anyway, the great part about our phones, is that there are apps to block numbers. My parents only speak to me when I call them. Not right before an important appointment, date, or work--where it ###$ up my life financially, mentally, emotionally, physically... because they had a bad day.
8.
Other Exercise. This comes easier for some people than others. I've always loved exercising. My parents encouraged me to play outside. My dad was always the coach for the sports teams (up until middle school). And I eventually was recruited for XC. 80% of my emotional ###$ came when I was sedentary. 80% of my happiness came when I exercised/ran consistently. If you want an idea for exercise--the yoga I mentioned is the absolute best option. (That's 95% of my exercise routine now.) But when I say exercise, I usually think of it as different from yoga. Because yoga benefits the emotions, the mind, the 'spiritual', as well as the body - more than traditional exercise.
This is how I became that "mentally ordered person", and fixed my situation without resorting back to drugs.
P.S. I answered your question based on my understanding of what you're asking. You might have been requesting something different. But if this is right, it should be useful.
F1: Businessmen call me a "Carnivore", because I want to start my own business--and get my own customers and stuff. These same businessmen call my parents "Grazers", because they're satisfied with a steady job (and preach that everyone should have one). Going into business for myself was and is hard