Hi,

How’s your day going?

I hope it is a good one.

Sometimes it can be hard to figure out who to talk to about yours or your loved one’s bipolar disorder and who shouldn’t know. More so than that, it can be hard to figure out who to tell details to, and who should just know that you or your loved one has the disorder.

But there is one person that you should never keep details from about you or your loved one’s bipolar disorder. Can you guess who that is?

Scroll down to find the answer

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Your psychiatrist!

Did you guess right?

Yes, believe it or not, your psychiatrist is here to help you, and in order to do so, they need to know everything.

You might be wondering what kinds of things your psychiatrist needs to know.

Well, for starters, anything you think might be a symptom, even if it isn’t a symptom of the disorder you are already aware of. That is to say, anything that is out of the ordinary about you or the way you think or behave.

Another thing that you should be telling your psychiatrist is how you are responding to your medications, especially the ones that they prescribed you. For example, are you having any side effects? Is the medication doing what it is supposed to do? Are you having any extra symptoms since the medications started?

You know what another thing is that you should be telling them? Your history of symptoms.

You see, it’s not just important what symptoms you are having now, it’s also important to tell them what symptoms you have had at any point in your life. After all, bipolar disorder can’t even be diagnosed without a full history of your symptoms. If you haven’t already told your doctor about a detail in your past that you think is relevant – maybe you forgot – then you should tell them now. It may or may not make a difference, but they can help you figure that out.

Another thing you should be talking to them about is your other medical problems. Some of them might not be relevant, but some of them might make all the difference in the world. Certain medical conditions may make a difference in your diagnosis, or in the way you are able to be treated. Some medications might interact with your other medical conditions in a way that isn’t good, so it is important that your doctor is aware of those conditions so they can avoid those types of problems.

You should also be telling your psychiatrist about your ability to pay, both for their services, and for your medications. They may have a payment program to help you out with their services, but you won’t know unless you ask them. Many times they will have samples available to hand out to their patients, but they don’t usually do so unless they know that the patient needs help paying for their medications.

Another thing they might be able to help you with is a prescription discount program, or even the number to the drug company’s discount services. All of these things may or may not be available, but you will never know unless you ask.

Go figure, huh? Who knew that all you had to do was talk to the doctor to find out about all these things? And who knew that when you talked to the doctor about all the different things you are experiencing, that they would be able to help you better?

Your doctor has been educated on mental illnesses in general, but you have to aid them in educating themselves about the mental illness you are dealing with. Believe it or not, they can’t do it alone.

With all these benefits for talking to your doctor, who would want to stay silent?

What do you think about all of this?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How are you today? I hope you are having a good day.

Have you ever gotten so caught up in dealing with your or your loved one’s bipolar disorder that you forget to do anything else? If you have ever experienced this, then you know that it can make life exhausting and sometimes even make you think that things are hopeless.

There are some things you can do to improve your outlook, and to bring back the energy you need to deal with all of your life, regardless of whether it is related to bipolar disorder or not.

Try to remember that you are a whole person, and that you have many needs. (This is true for all of us.) One of these needs is to be around those we love and care for. Another need is to have time away from them so that both of you can have a break.

Another need is to be productive, and to do things that have a purpose. So what can you do to be productive?

The most obvious answer, but not the only answer, is a job. Working can be a great thing when a person is able to. It can give them a break from the rest of their life, and it often helps them to appreciate better the time when they are not working.

It helps them to accomplish something, and to have feelings of self-worth. It brings in money to do the things that are needed, such as paying rent and buying groceries. It gives the person a sense of independence and self-sufficiency.

Work can be a wonderful thing, but sometimes a person is not able to work because they either have bipolar disorder that is currently unstable or for one of many other reasons.

There are other things that can be done to be productive though. These things can either be done in combination with work, or by themselves.

One of these things is education. The most obvious way to get education is through school of some sort. There are many different types of schools for adults, ranging from 4-year universities and graduate school down to junior colleges and trade schools.

Depending on things like interests and levels of stability, different kinds of school may be more appropriate than others. Always take these things into consideration before choosing a course of education, because it is awful to have to quit something you have started because of poor planning.

There are other forms of education as well, such as seminars, reading books, and even talking to someone about a topic that they know a lot about. If you are always on the lookout for something new to learn, then you will always be learning new things.

I used to hear sayings about learning one new thing every day. It is a good place to start, but most of us can handle learning more than just one new thing in each day, so why not try to learn more? This can even be a good way to put your energy towards educating yourself about bipolar disorder.

Another good thing, both for people with bipolar disorder and their supporters, is to socialize. Now I am going to say something that may shock some of you. There is nothing wrong with taking a break from the ones you love to go out with friends or family and have fun. In fact, it can even be good for you to take a break.

How many times have you told yourself that you need a break badly? Take the chance to make plans with friends and take your mind off things. You can go to the movies, or the park, or your friend’s house. You can talk, or play video games, or drink tea.

It all depends on what you and your friends want to do, but the important thing is that you spend time with them, and give yourself the break you need and deserve. That’s right, I said deserve. Whether you are dealing with bipolar disorder in yourself or in your loved one, you have put enough time and energy into taking care of that side of things that you deserve a break.

Another thing that you can do is take up a hobby. This can be done with your loved one or supporter, or with your friends, or even by yourself. They even have groups in the community for most of the common hobbies, so you might look into joining one of them when you decide what hobby to take up.

There are many different kinds of hobbies. They range from bicycle riding to knitting to collecting items to bird watching. There are creative hobbies, like scrapbooking, painting, and beading. There are interactive hobbies, like drama, dancing, and playing an instrument in a band. There are musical hobbies, everywhere from listening to music, to singing or playing an instrument; even to critiquing music. Some people write, or photograph, or draw. Others play sports or learn martial arts.

Whatever hobby you pick, make sure that it is something you will enjoy doing often. As strange as this may sound, beading or bicycle riding can help you to cope with you or your loved one’s bipolar disorder. It gives you something to do that is productive and takes your mind off of things.

Even simple things, like washing clothes and making dinner, can help you to not become overwhelmed, discouraged, or even depressed. Focusing on one thing for too long can do that to a person, regardless of whether they have bipolar disorder or not.

Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever gotten depressed or distressed because you were too focused on one thing? Maybe that one thing was bipolar disorder, or maybe it was something else.

Regardless of what it was, it would have been a good thing to focus at least a little bit on something else for a change. Believe it or not, this can be a good coping technique, both for someone who has bipolar disorder, and for their supporters.

What do you think about this? Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How’s it going? Hope you are doing great.

To read this week’s news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews473/

Here are the news headlines:

Kan. House to weigh voting rights, mentally ill
DO> Hmm. What do you think of this?

What’s in your head? Study suggests a psychiatric self-test can tell you
DO> Do you agree with this? Many do but many don’t.

DIY: stabilize your mood in four steps
DO> Interesting don’t you think?

Should schools use seclusion rooms, restraints for difficult kids?
DO> DO you think so, let me know

Film shines light on mental illness
DO> Sounds very interesting, don’t you think?

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews473/

==>Help with ALL aspects of bipolar disorder<<==

Check out all my resources, programs and information for all aspects of bipolar disorder by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentralcatalog.com

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi, how are you doing today? I hope you’re having a good day.

Do you remember the game Monopoly? We played it when we were kids. You may even play it with your own kids or grandchildren now. The thing about Monopoly was that it took soooo long, remember? If you were going to play the game right, you had to plan to play it for HOURS!!! And that’s a LONG time to a kid.

Did you ever play a game of Monopoly, and you were winning, and all of a sudden everyone else wanted to quit? Where did that leave you? Frustrated, huh? Disappointed? Maybe even angry?

Because you were winning the game when all of a sudden everyone else decided to do something else. They “changed the rules” on you. In order to win, you have to play the game the whole way through, so you might have felt gyped of your win. And you wouldn’t like that, because you felt entitled to that win!

You did the work for it… You played by the rules… You put in the time… You played well… And you were supposed to win. But children (and some adults) don’t always have the patience to make it through a whole game of Monopoly. They might already be onto the next activity, and you’re sitting there pouting! Which, of course, will get you nowhere except left out of the next fun activity of playing. It just doesn’t seem fair to you.

Well, that’s kind of like how bipolar disorder works. Things may change on you unexpectedly.

You could be doing everything right… You could be playing by the rules… Doing everything you’re supposed to be doing… Putting in all the time and effort to “win”… And all of a sudden the rules change on you! All of a sudden the things that you’ve always done aren’t working this time!

You see signs and symptoms of an episode approaching. You better do something quick! No, this isn’t what you expected. No, this isn’t what you wanted. But just pouting about it isn’t going to get you stable. And if you’re a supporter, just pouting about it isn’t going to help your loved one a single bit.

It isn’t fair! You might want to exclaim. No, it isn’t fair. But it is a reality you have to deal with. Just because the rules change in mid-game, doesn’t mean you stop “playing” it. You have to continue to do the things that make you stable. Just like a supporter has to keep doing the things they normally do to support you.

By both of you working together, you can come out of the episode faster.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How’s it going? I hope you’re having a good day.

There’s a problem that affects a lot of people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones. So, I’m just warning you: DON’T FALL VICTIM TO A HIGH LIFESTYLE!

Once they become stable and high functioning, many people with bipolar disorder wind up being really successful. For example, they have started their own home business as an option to working outside the home, and it’s going real well.

They make lots of money (while those who are not as high functioning may still be battling financial troubles because of the economy and/or their high lifestyles.

But if they do become successful, some of these people start going to the extreme. The extreme is what I was talking about before – about buying lots of unnecessary things and living a high lifestyle, just because you have the money.

Then they have to cut back on whatever they did to make all the money, because the stress puts them back into a bipolar episode, and the cycle just continues on and on.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Sustaining this high lifestyle is too much, and not worth it. Especially in this economy, where everyone is having to cut back expenses wherever they can, just to try to live within their means. And so many people are having trouble with this, because the economy is really hurting them, and now they’re having to scramble to change their lifestyle.

You should cut back and downsize to a more simple life, like these people are having to do. De-stressing alone would be worth what you have to do to achieve it. Take a look at all your stuff and see what you really need (as opposed to what you really want).

Do you really need 300 stations on your TV? Many people are going down to just basic cable. Do you really need 3 cars? Or even 2 cars? Many people are even going down to ONE car! Do you need to eat out 8 times a month? This is where a lot of people spend their money. Not just eating out in a regular restaurant, but tons of money is spent on fast food. Try bringing food from home instead. And do need to buy all those expensive clothes? Or can you buy them at a thrift store?

I know this married couple, where both of them have bipolar disorder, and they both live on disability. They used to have high paying jobs, along with the pressure that came along with that, and they had all the trappings of it as well – the house, the car, the clothes, etc.

But both of them could not keep up that lifestyle, not just because of the bipolar disorder, but because the economy turned so much for the worst. And their high tower fell down.

They were both living month to month on just their disability, until I met them, and now one

of them works for me. But the point is, they have continued to live a very simple lifestyle.

AND THEY ARE HAPPIER THEN THEY WERE BEFORE!

It’s basically very simple. If you continue to live a high lifestyle, you will continue to have the high stress that that lifestyle brings into your life. And if you have bipolar disorder, that can cause you to have episodes. IS IT WORTH IT?

It’s your choice. You can give up the stress, and you can live a simpler lifestyle. You can still be successful without all the materialistic trappings. You can cut back to one car (or at least only 2). You can cut out eating fast food. You can cut out expensive dinners 8 times a month –

maybe just once a week, for a “date night” (which I’ve talked about before), and at a more reasonably priced restaurant.

And I bet you’ll be much happier for it.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How are you doing today? I hope today is a good one.

A while back I had to ride a train, and I had an irritating experience while I was riding. There was a man on the train that was talking loudly to everyone, whether they wanted to be talked to or not.

He couldn’t seem to take a hint that no matter how interested he was in his stories that no one else cared! In fact, he was really disturbing the other passengers, who were trying to work, relax, and even sleep.

It made me think about our loved ones who have bipolar disorder. Sometimes they can act like this, too. Other times they say or do other things that are inappropriate, and don’t even realize they are doing it.

I’ve known people with bipolar disorder to speak too fast and too loud.

I’ve known people with bipolar disorder to be unable to stop moving, no matter how inappropriate that is for the situation they are in. This may seem harmless enough in theory, but I’m sure many of you know what I mean. After all, can you imagine a person who can’t stop fidgeting at a funeral? Many people there would probably find it offensive.

I’ve also known people with bipolar disorder to be so focused on their own life that they forget that they are talking to another person who might have feelings and a life of their own.

Have you ever had this happen to you? A person will go on and on about their day, and just when you think they are going to ask you about yours, they decide it is time to leave. This can be frustrating.

So what can be done about this? Should we just “blow it off,” with the excuse that they cannot think clearly? Should we continue to deal with this behavior, and even apologize for it? Or are there things we can do to minimize it?

Until our loved ones have gotten to a certain point on the recovery process, these inappropriate behaviors will probably not go away entirely. But they can be minimized, with some specific steps and effort.

To begin with, let them know what they are doing that bothers you. You may already be doing this. But if you are not yet, this can help them realize that the things actually do bother you, and possibly others as well. One important thing to remember is a person with bipolar is often unaware that their speech and behaviors are inappropriate.

Another good way to introduce them to that concept is to arrange a meeting with another person who has bipolar disorder. This may seem simple enough, but it can potentially be very helpful. If your loved one realizes that the behaviors of the other person are not what they should be, then they might just make the connection that their behaviors are not what they should be either.

Of course, this only works if the other person with bipolar disorder is not very far along in their recovery. And depending on whether your loved one is manic at the time, it may or may not work anyways. If they are manic also, then they are less likely to notice the behaviors of the other person.

Once you have done what you can to make your loved one understand that what they are doing is inappropriate, the next thing to do is to simply give them something to do. When our loved ones are focused on something in specific, especially something that they love doing, they are less likely to show the symptoms that they would show normally.

Now, in order for this to be effective, you have to know what they like and pick something from those things.

Giving them something constructive to do can be helpful in many other ways, as well. For example, it may help teach them to finish projects, or help them to relax. It may help them to focus their energy onto something that will not turn around and harm them or their supporters.

Another important thing to remember is that if anyone should apologize for their behavior, it should be them.

There are certainly times where apologizing for them is necessary. Like in the case if they were to ruin an event for other people, or do something that might physically harm someone.

But when they do something that is simply embarrassing, it is not all that necessary to do their apologizing for them. Instead, try to teach them to apologize for their own behaviors. Try to teach them that when someone brings it to their attention that they are doing something that is annoying or frustrating, to give an apology and an explanation (when it is needed).

For example, in a situation where it is okay for the other people to know that they have bipolar disorder, they might say “I’m sorry I’m behaving this way, you see I have bipolar disorder and sometimes it’s easy for me to forget that how I am behaving makes a difference. I am doing my best to learn from my mistakes so that this won’t happen in the future. Thank- you for pointing out my behaviors to me.”

When they do not feel comfortable telling the other person that they have bipolar disorder, then it is a little harder to explain, but it is still possible. They might say something along the lines of “I’m sorry I was behaving that way, I got a little off track. Thank-you for pointing it out to me so that I can fix it.”

There are many ways you can help your loved one out, but apologizing for them is not one of those ways. It doesn’t do them or you any good for you to be apologizing for them constantly, when you could have been focusing that energy on helping them learn to change their behaviors.

There are other things you can do to help them along, but these are three ideas to start you off. Can you think of any others?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi, how are you? I hope you’re fine.

I was looking at greeting cards the other day, and I came across this one that made me laugh out loud: On the cover it says, “Open this card to find your birthday money.” And then on the back it says, “Gotcha!”

Because… You can’t open the card! I thought it was so funny.

But it reminded me of the saying, “Expect the unexpected.”

See, like with the card, the way it gets you is that you ASSUME something (that turns out not to be true). Well, we do that in life, too. And when it comes to bipolar disorder, it can be dangerous for your loved one.

For example, if you ASSUME that they are stable, so they will never have another bipolar episode…That episode can come unexpectedly and you won’t be prepared for it.

First of all, no matter how long your loved one has had bipolar disorder, you still need to update your knowledge of the disorder. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I post the Bipolar News on my website, and why I stress the importance of information in my daily emails all the time. There is always new information coming out on bipolar disorder. You can’t afford to fall behind.

So you need to stay informed. That’s one thing you can do.

Another thing you can do as far as expecting the unexpected is to have a plan in case your loved one DOES go into an episode. This plan should be something you develop together, when they are NOT in an episode. You might want to come up with a code word that they can say to you when they are “feeling bipolar.” Then you can determine how you will respond to it.

Here is one couple’s plan:

Their key word is “decompensating.” If she uses this word, telling him that she feels like she is decompensating, he knows to put their plan into effect. The first thing he does is determine how serious the situation is. He asks her if she’s feeling suicidal.

If she is, (especially if she has a plan for it, how she is going to do it), he calls her psychiatrist right away, and they decide whether to put her in the hospital because she is a threat to herself.

If he believes it’s a real threat, like if she’s got a plan and intends to carry it out, he may take her directly to the Emergency Room (for her own safety).

If she is not suicidal, he tries to determine if she is in a full blown bipolar episode, or just on the way to one. He can determine this by talking with her and finding out how rational she is. If she is in a full blown episode, he goes ahead and calls the psychiatrist and the doctor either adjusts her medication, or her husband takes her to the Emergency Room.

Sometimes, if your loved one is only on the way to an episode but not in one right now, or at least not a full blown episode, they can be controlled by a temporary increase in the dose of their medication, and you may not necessarily have to take them to the hospital.

This is the plan they have developed, and you can copy it and/or make one of your own. But you still have to expect the unexpected. In other words, you may think that your loved one is stable and perfectly fine, but then they may say their key word to you, and you will have to put your plan into action.

The point is to have a plan you have worked out in advance, so you know what to do.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How’s it going? Hope you are doing great.

To read this week’s news visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews472/

Here are the news headlines:

Micronutrients: Revolution or false hope?
DO> Wow, what do you think of this article?

Margaret Trudeau speaks about mental illness…
DO> Great story, don’t you think?

Fifth Edition of DSM Released
DO> Take a look at this, very interesting changes

New manual = More ‘disorders,’ more pills
DO> Hmm. What do you think of this article?

Warning label on new diagnosis
DO> Do you agree with this?

Belief in God Improves Response to Depression Treatment
DO> EXACTLY article. Something I have known for a longtime.

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews472/

==>Help with ALL aspects of bipolar disorder<<==

Check out all my resources, programs and information for all aspects of bipolar disorder by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentralcatalog.com

Your Friend,

Dave