New FREE Articles on Bipolar Disorder

Hi,

I wanted to drop you a quick note about all these FREE articles on bipolar disorder.

We are constantly adding more and more articles.

I forgot to tell you.

Take a look if you are interested it’s located at:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/articles

If you look over the lower right you will see over 1000 FREE articles on bipolar disorder.

Lots to choose from.

Dave

Current Bipolar News

Hi,

What’s new? Hope you are doing well.

To read this week’s news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews480/

Here are the news headlines:

DSM 5 and Bipolar Disorder: Science versus Politics
DO> Very interesting article, what do you think?

Are Combat Veterans more Prone to Suicide?
DO> This is sad. What are your thoughts?

Psychiatric Advance Directive Helps You Control Options For Treatment
DO> This is a great idea if you don’t have one get one.

Backpack Display Raises Awareness
DO> Great cause.

Mental Health Patients Turn more to Each Other
DO> Inspiring story, check it out

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews480/

==>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

The Truth About Supporting A Loved One With Bipolar Disorder

I wanted to send out a quick note today about the truth about supporting a loved one with Bipolar Disorder.

The truth is that most people will have some amount of bipolar episodes in their lifetime.

When a person goes into mostly a manic episode you’re most likely going to face: screaming, yelling, threatening, manipulating, lying, etc.,

Therapists and doctors never tell you this. I have no idea why. They should. Because if you don’t know this, you will never create a plan on how to deal with this before it happens.

The bottom-line is you need to know this if you don’t already and you have to prepare for it.

If you need help, I have a report titled:

“How to Instantly Deal With Anger, Irrationality, And Mania In Your Loved One with Bipolar Disorder”

Located:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/specialoffer/dealwithanger

People are going to get mad at me and say that I am negative but I am not. I am just being a realist.

Anyway, hey I have to run.

Have a great day.

Dave

Bipolar? Use This To Help Prevent Problems

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

I just got my oil changed in my car. Now, I don’t know much about cars, but from what I understand, the oil is very important. It apparently flushes the car’s system. I know that you aren’t supposed to wait until the car is out of oil to change it. It is an issue of maintenance.

The same thing can be said about bipolar medicines. You shouldn’t wait until you are in the middle of an episode to take them. They are also meant to be a preventative medicine. This means that it may be able to keep relapses from happening in the first place. So they should be taken even when you are stable.

I know that many people don’t like the idea of having to take a medication for the rest of their lives. But it’s better than the idea of having to deal with all the pieces of a bipolar episode for the rest of your life. It’s better than dealing with the instability that comes with untreated bipolar disorder. And it’s better than losing everything you have and want because your bipolar episode allowed you to burn bridges.

Just think of it this way: Someone who has insulin-dependant diabetes will have to take insulin for the rest of their lives in order to stay healthy. Someone who has high blood pressure may have to take blood pressure medicine for the rest of their lives. Someone who has chronic seizures may have to take anti-seizure medication for the rest of their lives. It’s the same sort of thing.

Bipolar disorder is a medical problem that happens to affect the mind more than the body. And, since it is a medical problem, it needs to be treated in a medical way. There are no surgeries that can be performed to cure bipolar. There isn’t a cream you can rub on your forehead that will take it all away. There isn’t even a miracle-cure pill that you can take one time and it will cure you.

But there is such a thing as preventative medicine. Unfortunately, at this point in time we cannot cure bipolar disorder. But we can prevent it from taking over a person’s life. Isn’t that great news? But it can only be great news if you take your medicine that was prescribed to you and follow the rest of your treatment plan.

Now, if your medicine is wrong or if you are having problems with it, then you need to talk to your psychiatrist. If there is a serious problem then they can usually see you on an emergency basis, especially if it is during business hours.

Find out ahead of time what your psychiatrist’s policy is on emergency visits. It is always better to know ahead of time so you can be prepared. Also, keep in mind that some minor side effects are normal and usually go away within a short time after starting the medication. If you have any major side effects, then you should talk to your psychiatrist immediately.

They will know whether your medications need to be changed or altered. Also, if your medications need to be changed, then they will know whether you need to be weaned off of your current medication gradually, or if you can stop it all at once. Make sure you follow all of their instructions when it comes to this.

When you and your psychiatrist have worked together and found the mediation that is right for you, then it is important that you take it exactly as prescribed, without missing a dose. Also, know ahead of time what to do if you should miss a dose. Usually you either need to wait until the next dose is due or take it in between doses. Your pharmacist or psychiatrist will be able to help you determine that. It should also be on the pamphlet that came with your medications.

Taking the right medications regularly as prescribed can help prevent relapses and keep you stable. It is well worth the effort it takes to take them, even if it is for the rest of your life. Stability makes it worth it.

What are your thoughts on this?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar Supporter? What Does This Mean To You?

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

Resourcefulness is an important part of the recovery process from bipolar disorder. It is necessary for the supporters involved to have at least a little bit of resourcefulness, in case of an emergency or crisis situation. It also helps in other situations.

So what does resourcefulness mean, anyway?

I know a man that has mixed levels of resourcefulness when it comes to cars. He just bought a car, and it’s not quite ready to be driven yet. It still needs some work done on it, and it still needs a license plate.

He already had a different car before he bought this “new” used car. This car he already had ran just fine. It didn’t need any work, and it already had all the necessary things like registration and insurance.

He decided he was going to sell his working car, even before he got the other one working! Now, this man lives about eight miles away from where he works. This wasn’t very resourceful. I’m not sure how smart it was, either.

But the good news is, he can have all of the work done to the new car within a couple of days from the time he sold the old one. Then he can go down and get the license plate from the Department of Motor Vehicles. He knows how to do all of the work it needs himself. Plus, he already has rides to work set up for the time between now and when he gets the car up and running.

So as far as those details go, he is very resourceful. Funny how someone can be resourceful at one thing and not at another, isn’t it?

People who are supporters to a loved one that has bipolar disorder have a great need to be resourceful. They need to be resourceful to help their loved ones find a doctor, psychiatrist, therapist, or support group. They need to be resourceful to manage theirs and their loved ones time. They need to be resourceful to handle emergency situations. They need to be resourceful to make plans for the future, such as a recovery plan.

Do you see what I’m getting at? There are many reasons that a bipolar supporter needs resourcefulness.

So what does resourcefulness mean, anyway?

Resourcefulness means keeping and maintaining the things you need that you already have, and getting the things that you don’t have yet. Most of the time, this is a process of creativity. Things don’t just come easy, and they don’t always make sense either.

You may have to work your way around obstacles. And if around doesn’t work, try over, under, or through! Everybody is going to face obstacles at one point or another in their life. Most of us will face many of them, especially when dealing with bipolar disorder.

Even bipolar disorder itself tends to be an obstacle that needs to be overcome. On that note, if you and your loved one can learn to overcome the bad things about bipolar disorder, then the creative energy that is left can be a good thing.

That same creative energy can help them to get and keep a job, even if they had never been able to do so before. That same creative energy can help them to find and enjoy the things that will make them happy, such as fun activities, hobbies, and social events. That same creative energy will help them to overcome any obstacle that stands in their way, because creative energy is what is needed to be resourceful.

The best way to teach resourcefulness to your loved one is to show them by example. And the best way for you to have resourcefulness is to posses a creative determination.

What ways do you think that you could be resourceful in your life right now?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar Supporter? The 10-Letter Word That Will Make Your Life Miserable

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

Do you know what really makes me mad? This happened to me today: I was driving, and someone cut me off in order to get where they were going faster. It is a dangerous move. Not to mention it’s inconsiderate.

Where could they be going that they’d be in that much of a hurry? I can understand if they were going to the emergency room. But as many people that do this on a regular basis, I seriously doubt that most of them are going to the emergency room. Which just goes to show that many people are impatient.

That got me thinking. Why are they so impatient? You know, the only ideas I could come up with are that they either didn’t plan as well as they should have, or that they procrastinated too long. And most likely, it is the second of those.

Many people in this day and age will wait until the last minute to get things done. We seem to like to speed through things, either that or we are just lazy and don’t\ want to work on something until we have to.

If we could just begin to work on something as soon as it is drawn to our attention, then we could get things done in a timely manner. Then we wouldn’t need to be impatient.

As a bipolar supporter, we tend to have the same problem. We get impatient about our loved one’s recovery, all the while waiting until the last minute to work on it with them. Does this make sense to you? It doesn’t to me.

Have you been working on your loved one’s recovery plan? This can mean making it to begin with, or changing it as it needs changing.

Have you been working with your loved one about their spending habits? This one is better done before they ruin their chances of meeting their budget.

Have you been working with your loved one about making realistic plans and sticking to them? This will take a lot of practice, so it is better to start working on it as soon as possible.

Have you worked on an emergency plan? You never know when an emergency will happen. (That’s why it’s called an emergency, after all.) So it is better to have the plan made as soon as possible.

Have you been working with your loved one about keeping a mood chart? This is important to help predict when an episode is starting. When you know ahead of time that an episode is likely to happen, you can do things to try to prevent it.

Have you been helping your loved one remember to take their medications? This can be vital to the recovery process.

If you have been doing all these things, then I commend you. But if not, then you need to start working on them. And the time to start working on them is now instead of later. If all of your task lists are set for tomorrow, then you will be overwhelmed when tomorrow comes. Then you will become impatient, and you might even do things that inconvenience others just to make sure that you get done what you need to.

It may take some time for recovery to happen, even if you take the necessary precautions. But rest assured, no matter how long recovery takes, it is worth the time and effort you have put into it.

What do you think of that?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar? Remember This When Planning

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

The other day I was on my way to a very important meeting. I gave myself plenty of time to get there, just in case something happened like traffic, or anything else I couldn’t predict. It ended up being a good thing I did that.

It ended up I had forgotten I had very little gas in the car. When I got to the gas station, there was a line of cars waiting to get gas. I ended up having to wait 10 minutes before I even got up to the gas pump! I would have been something like 20 minutes late if I hadn’t planned for the unexpected.

And this was a meeting I could not afford to be late to. So it’s a good thing that I thought ahead.

That’s the thing about planning. You can’t plan for everything, because you never know what is going to happen. But if you make room in your plans for the unexpected, then you can handle it when something unexpected happens.

That means you can’t procrastinate on the things that need to get done. If you procrastinate, and you are at the last minute scrambling to get it done, and then something else comes up that needs your immediate attention, you end up having to choose between the two. And especially if that other thing is an emergency, it can really mess up your plans. So it is better to get things done ahead of time, so that if the unexpected should happen, you can handle it.

It also means allowing yourself extra time to do something, like what I did with the meeting. This may mean leaving early to get somewhere. It also may mean keeping a calendar to keep track of when everything is due or when events are happening. If you can see on a monthly calendar all of your upcoming events, then you can figure out which of them needs to be dealt with in what order. I would suggest using a monthly calendar for this, as you can see more dates at a time that way.

So what does this have to do with being a bipolar supporter? Well…

Imagine this scenario. You have a list of things that need to get done over the next week. Everything on your list is very important and can’t wait an extra minute. But you have waited until the last minute to start working on them.

Your loved one has been depressed lately, and all of a sudden you realize that they’re suicidal. That is something that needs to be taken care of immediately, regardless of how important those other tasks might have been.

Now, you may feel like asking “why did they choose now?” But the thing is, they didn’t choose it. You, on the other hand, did choose to wait until the last minute to get those other things done. See what I’m getting at?

Let’s take a less extreme example. You’ve got that task list to do, the one that you’ve procrastinated on. Your loved one ends up going into a manic episode and is likely to go on a spending spree or follow some “crazy” idea if they are not watched closely. Do you stay home and take care of them, or do you ignore your duties as a supporter to get your list done?

You shouldn’t ever have to make this kind of decision. If you get the things you need to get done finished ahead of time, then hopefully you will never have to. You can’t plan for everything, but you can make the most of your time and take certain precautions to make sure you have allowed for the unexpected.

What things do you need to work on when it comes to this?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Current Bipolar News

Hi,

What’s new? Hope you are doing well.

To read this week’s news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews479/

Here are the news headlines:

New Special Report Helps Those with Bipolar Disorder Manage Physical and Mental Health
DO>Hmm. Looks promising.

Pfizer’s Geodon Trial Had ‘Significant Violations’
DO> WOW, what do you think of this?

Man ‘angry at phone call’ killed stranger in Greenwich
DO> This is a very sad story. What do you think?

DR ELLIE CANNON: Bipolar or Depression: What’s the Difference?
DO> Great article, don’t you think?

Shelters Feel State Budget Squeeze
DO> What do you think the Shelter should do?

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews479/

==>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

Dealing with Bipolar Disorder? Make sure you do this

Hello, I hope things are going well for you today. I was thinking

about how we all go through tough times, and people with bipolar disorder often suffer through many challenging times. It may seem like the depression will never lift, you will forever be going to therapy appointments or that your new medication is making you feel sick. People that have a loved one with bipolar disorder will often wonder if the worrying will ever end, or if their relationship will ever be free of turmoil.

During especially difficult times, it is important to stay positive and look ahead. When we wallow in our sadness/frustration/anger, it gives these emotions more power. Thinking positively is always a good idea, even during the darkest of moments.

My friend Jack says that when he is having a tough time dealing with his wife who has bipolar disorder, he tell himself one positive thing about their relationship, or relives one good memory. He claims that this helps him to put things in perspective and it guides him to push through the especially challenging times without dwelling on the negative.

Try this next time you are having a particularly bad day. When those voices in your head start to tell you that your life is in shambles, or that you will never feel well, stop these thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts.

So if you tell yourself “Gosh, I feel so ill today from my medication, I HATE taking my meds”, replace this thought with “ It is a bummer that I have to take medication and that it is making me feel ill right now, but I will call my doctor tomorrow and discuss with him the options I have on switching to a different med. Plus the medication does help a lot with my depression, so I guess it is not so bad after all”.

It may seem hokey, but trying to replace negative thought s with positive ones really does help your overall outlook on things and can help to turn the corner during a particularly difficult time.

Try this the next time you are feeling down and let me know how it goes

Well I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Dealing with Bipolar Disorder? Are you going like this?

Hi, how’s it going? I hope you’re doing well.

I have a friend who’s really into car racing (I think I’ve told you about him before). But his girlfriend doesn’t understand the concept of a bunch of cars driving in circles going nowhere, until eventually they’ve driven enough and someone is declared the winner. That’s how she sees it. People driving around in circles.

Actually, she said, “And they call that a sport?” LOL

But it made me think of going in circles, and how that relates to bipolar disorder. Because you may be doing the same thing – Going around in circles with no destination (goal) to reach.

Remember the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Well, you may be doing that.

Think about it. Do you feel purpose in what you’re doing? Or do you feel like you’re in the same rut day after day? Do you, in fact, feel like you’re going in circles sometimes? Well, that’s what I’m talking about.

If you don’t feel like you’re making progress, you might just be going in circles. Why? Because you’re doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same results.

If you’re going in circles, something needs to change. It could be your medication. If you don’t feel it is adequately treating your bipolar disorder, talk to your doctor about it. You may need a medication change or change in dosage of your current medications.

It could be your environment. If you are in a stressful environment, you need to change that. If when you get around certain people, you get nervous and anxious – Then you might want to consider a different set of friends.

If you’re working, it could be your job. You may need to change a part of your job routine so that you don’t feel like you’re doing the same thing day after day. But if the job does entail doing the same thing day after day, having you going in circles, you may have to consider changing jobs.

It could be your relationship. If you feel like things between you and your supporter just keep

going in circles – Then you have to change something. Perhaps your communication needs to be clearer.

It could be idleness, laziness, or just plain non-productivity. That can lead to depression, and depression leads right back to non-productivity. Talk about going in circles!

Even if it means that it makes you uncomfortable, if you feel like you’re just going in circles, you need to change.

First, take a look at yourself to see what needs to be changed. Then look around at your environment to see what needs to be changed. Then look at your life and see what needs to be changed. See what I mean?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave