Hi,

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

Remember those old TV shows that had robots in them? (This was before we had the current

computer generated imaging with its perfect robots that don’t make any mistakes or anything).

I’m talking about like back when the show The Jetsons was on, if you can remember that far back, or have seen reruns on TV.

So what I’m getting at is if something went wrong with the robot, and it got “stuck,” and it would just keep repeating the same thing over and over again, like a broken record. And everyone would think it was hilarious!

Well, we know that nobody’s perfect. But we’re not robots, either. And when someone goes into a bipolar episode, they don’t just keep repeating the same phrase over and over again, now, do they? That would be ridiculous. But they CAN repeat the same bipolar behavior over and over again.

Over time, you can learn what your loved one’s episode triggers are. Triggers are situations or events that can “trip” or cause your loved one to go into a bipolar episode. Like the Jetsons robot I referred to at the beginning of this post. A sort of “glitch” that can get them caught up. A trip wire, so to speak.

Like, say, your loved one does not do well around crowds. If you take them to a family reunion or a big wedding reception, this could be a trigger for them to go into a bipolar episode. Or stress could be a trigger to an episode for your loved one, so you need to avoid situations or events that can cause stress for them.

Lack of sleep is one of the biggest triggers to a bipolar episode for people who have the disorder, so it’s especially important to maintain a good sleep schedule.

So it’s very important not only to know your loved one’s bipolar episode triggers, but to watch for them. But it’s just as important to be aware of their personal signs and symptoms of episodes.

There are general signs and symptoms of bipolar depressive and manic episodes that everyone should know, but not everyone with bipolar disorder will experience all of these signs and symptoms. So you should be aware, over time, of which ones your loved one exhibits when they are heading for an episode.

In other words, what might look like just “tired” to someone else, might signal a bipolar depression to you, since you know your loved one so well. And, knowing their pattern, you can help them do something about it before it goes on too long and gets out of control.

If they seem confused or disoriented, or their thought patterns unusual, you should know that this could be a sign of a bipolar episode for them. It might not be for someone else, but if it is for them, you should be able to jump into action and know what to do to avoid a full-blown bipolar episode for your loved one.

Sometimes, it’s normal to have a burst of energy. It’s great sometimes – it helps you to get things done. But for your loved one, it might indicate the beginning of a bipolar manic episode.

Over time, by studying their repetitive bipolar behavior, you will learn that. You will know which is episodic behavior for them and which is not.

Yes, a burst of energy may not be indicative of an episode. But in another case it might be. Only you can know the difference for your loved one because of their past repetitive behaviors.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How are things going today? I hope they’re going good for you.

Unfortunately, they aren’t going so well for one person who wrote to me.

This is what they wrote:

“Dave, Please remove me from your mailing list. I hate to have to ask you, as I have

gotten so much good information from you, but my sister who had bipolar disorder killed herself last week.

She had decided that she was “cured” from her bipolar disorder and had stopped going to see her psychiatrist and therapist and wouldn’t go to her bipolar support group any more. She even stopped taking her medications, saying that she didn’t need them any more.

We (the rest of her family and me) tried to convince her that it was her medication that was making her feel so much better, but she just wouldn’t listen to us.

She went into a deep depression, telling us that we would all be better off without her, and that life just wasn’t worth living, and all kinds of things like that. We all tried to tell her how much we loved her and that it was the bipolar disorder that was making her think like that, but like

I said, she just wouldn’t listen.

I just don’t understand. How can this disorder be so deadly? Why aren’t more people aware of how devastating an illness this really is? What could I have done differently? Is there anything I could have done to stop her? That’s what’s really bugging me. That there’s something I could

have done to stop this from happening. That there’s something I should have done but didn’t. That way my sister would still be alive. Somehow I think it’s my fault. Dave, is it my fault? What should I have done? –John”

—————————————————

This is a horrible tragedy. A needless tragedy. But, unfortunately, one I hear about all

too often. Michele, who works for me, her sister did the same thing, and she came to me

with the same plea, “Is there something I could have done to stop her?” I get asked that question a lot.

There is so much guilt that the family and loved ones are left with after the person with bipolar disorder commits suicide after going off their medications. That’s one of the biggest reasons I

preach so hard for people to stay on their medications, no matter how much they want to go off them. The chances are just too great (1 in 5) that they will kill themselves.

Is there something that John could have or should have done to stop his sister from killing herself? Unfortunately, we can’t control anyone else – we can’t stop them from doing what they will inevitably do. In Michele’s sister’s case, her sister waited until she knew no one would

be there to stop her, and that’s when she did it. She planned it. She did not want to be stopped.

The thing is that suicide is not the result of a rational mind. When someone with bipolar disorder

decides to kill themselves, they are not thinking clearly. So there is nothing you can do to stop them. If they were thinking clearly, they would hear your pleas that you love them and want them to live and get better. They would understand that they are sick and need help.

But, unfortunately, bipolar disorder is a deadly disease, and without medication, it can fool the person into believing all kinds of things, just like it fooled John’s sister into believing that she was “cured” and didn’t need the medication any more.

If your loved one has been talking about going off their medication, show them this post.

Do whatever you have to do to convince them to stay on their medication. You don’t want to have to face this all-too-common tragedy.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave