Wrong Way to Save Money with Bipolar

Hi,

Pretty much everyone is concerned about saving money these days. I know the economy is supposed to be on the upturn, but that doesn’t necessarily trickle down to “everyman,” does it?

It still seems as though everyone is still struggling to make ends meet. Especially those people who are trying to cope and deal with bipolar disorder. The other day I was talking to someone who has bipolar disorder and he was telling me how he was saving money by cutting his medication. He was actually sort of vague about what cutting his medication meant exactly.

It could have meant that he was taking it every other day or that he was taking it in half doses, he

wasn’t exactly clear (he said both to me). His reason was that it was too expensive. But playing around with your bipolar medication can be so very dangerous, and I told him so. I actually told him that he was crazy! I know that may not exactly be politically correct, but I just got so upset about what he was doing! I also told him that even though he thought he was saving money by doing what he was doing, that he would actually cost himself more money in the long run.

He looked at me like I was crazy and even called me crazy! I explained how ultimately he was not that stable and he was adversely affecting his job not being stable. So the savings that he saved from the medication was lost in the money he lost when he couldn’t work! I think that he finally listened to that. It actually makes sense when you look at it that way. Your loved one may think that they’re saving money the way that this guy did, but they’re actually not. It’s the WRONG way to save money with their bipolar disorder. And it can ultimately hurt them so much more in the long run. Instability costs you so much more money. Look at how much money it will cost this guy I was telling you about.

For example…When he does want to fix his medication situation, he will have to have help, obviously. And the psychiatrist will need to either put him on perhaps another starter dose of the medication, needing more medication, or even a different medication to get him stabilized again.

And that can actually end up costing him MORE money for more medication. And more visits to the psychiatrist as well, while he is trying to get stabilized on that medication. Whereas, like for your loved one…If they stay on their medication, they will actually SAVE money if they don’t mess with it, because they won’t have to pay more for more medications, and they’ll be able to stay on their present schedule of seeing their psychiatrist and won’t have to see them more often (costing more for more visits). Then they’ll be saving money in the right way with

their bipolar disorder, and not in the wrong way, like this guy I was telling you about.

So actually, there is a right way and a wrong way to save money with bipolar disorder. And the right way is to definitely NOT mess with your medication. You really want to stay stable, as you will save more money in the long run when you’re stable. Like I was saying, because you won’t have to see the psychiatrist as much for management of medications, for one thing. But you also save the cost of therapist visits as well, for another thing, because you’re stable, and don’t need as many visits as often. In other words, stability is just not as costly as instability is. And you can save money by being stable.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar Disorder – This Never Lasts

Hi,

Have you ever experienced that one perfect moment…Like when you’re looking at a sunset over the water? Or experiencing the peace of hiking in the mountains? Or being with your innocent infant when they look up at you and smile for the first time? Moments like these…Don’t you wish they would last forever? The problem is that they never do, though.

When you’re dealing with a loved one who has bipolar disorder, they go through the highs and

lows of the mood swings associated with their disorder. These are called bipolar episodes. And when they’re going through an episode, it can get pretty rough. You can feel like you’re dealing with someone you don’t even know. They will do things they would never do if they weren’t in an episode. The problem is, when you’re actually going through it, it can seem as though it’s going on forever. It can feel as though it’s never going to end. You can get so discouraged. You can get to where you feel like your loved one is always going to be this way, the way they are during this bipolar episode. And that can make you feel really awful. It can make you feel all sorts of negative emotions, in fact. It can not only make you discouraged, but it can also make you frustrated, irritated, agitated, aggravated, angry, resentful, and all sorts of things toward your loved one. Maybe even hateful!

The thing is, that it can make you feel like your loved one is the enemy…Like they’re doing these things on purpose. Like they could help it if they wanted to. Like they’re specifically doing these things to hurt you. When none of this is true. The enemy is NOT your loved one!

The enemy is their bipolar disorder! And it is making them do these things. The thing that you need to keep in mind is that this will NOT go on forever, no matter how much it feels like it will.

There are a couple things you can do about this feeling. To help them keep their loved one separate from their disorder and to remind them what their loved one is like when they’re NOT in an episode, one supporter keeps a photograph of their loved one handy from during happier times. You could do that, too. When you’re feeling like your loved one is always going to be like this, look at pictures from when they AREN’T like this, and that will help to remind you that they aren’t always like this.

Another thing you can do is to think back on past episodes when you also thought they would never end. They always did, didn’t they? You always got through them, and your loved

one always got better. So the same thing will happen again. When you start to get discouraged, try to think positive.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar Supporter – Everyone Has Their Limits

Hi,

Remember back in school…There were some students who got A’s…And some students who got C’s. And for those C students, it didn’t matter how much they tried or studied, they just weren’t A students. In other words…There was just a limit to what they could do. There are other kinds of limits in life as well. For example…We have speed limits. Those are rules that are imposed on us for our own (and others’) safety. And we have to obey those limits, or else we’ll get a ticket. There are also endurance limits. In other words…There is only so much that your body will tolerate before it will react. So, like, if you’re under a lot of stress and anxiety

for a long period of time, your body may react with stomach problems or migraines…Or, at worst, when it’s reached its absolute limit…You will have a heart attack or stroke. Especially if you have pushed it to its limits by doing other unhealthy things by eating wrong (being overweight) and smoking.

Well…People also can have their limits. Like when they’re dealing with a loved one with

bipolar disorder. One of the things I talk about with people is that you have to have a lot of patience when you’re dealing with a loved one with bipolar disorder.

But what do you do when that patience is stretched to its limit? What can you do when you feel like you don’t have any patience left for your loved one? Do you just stretch the boundaries even further? Do you keep allowing them to continue the behavior? Do you keep stuffing your feelings? Do you walk around on eggshells, not wanting to make any trouble? Do you keep everything inside, not wanting to take the chance of making them even worse? Aren’t you sick of them laying around on the couch all the time? What about them spending money you can’t afford for them to spend? What about their lying all the time?

Now ask yourself: Is it worth it? If you are stretched to your limit…And you are the one getting sick…Is it worth stuffing your feelings…And walking around on eggshells…In fear of making your loved one worse? Ask yourself: What about me? What about my needs? Because you, and your own needs, are just as important as your loved one and their needs! And if you have been doing the above things…And if you are stretched to your limit…And if it is starting to manifest itself in physical ways…Then you do need to do something about it, before it gets worse. Because then you could wind up as sick as your loved one…Or even worse. Like I said earlier…

You could even wind up with a heart attack or stroke from the stress and anxiety. Do you want that to happen? No, you don’t. You may think that keeping your feelings from your loved one is protecting them in some way, helping them, but it actually isn’t. It isn’t helping them, because it isn’t helping you. In fact, it is actually hurting you. And it is hurting the relationship between you, because you aren’t being honest. And honesty in a relationship is very important, especially when you’re dealing with bipolar disorder.

So you need to own up to your feelings. Somehow…You need to tell your loved one how you are feeling. They need to share the burden. If there is something they can do to help the situation, then they must do it. But they can’t do anything to help you, if you don’t first tell them what they can do. You need to tell them, because they’re not a mind-reader. Let them help you, like you help them.

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/bipolarnews574/

Here are the news headlines:

Bipolar: The ‘Massive Highs And Miserable Lows’ Of A Mood Disorder
DO> Wow, what do you think of this?

Bipolar Drug Fixes Damaged Nerves To Restore Movement
DO> Wow, this sounds really promising

Mother Writes Honestly About Her Journey through Her Daughter’s Bipolar Disorder
DO> How do you feel about this?

Church Takes on Mental Illness
DO> This sounds like a great mission, don’t you think?

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews574/

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

Your Friend,

Dave

Faith and Bipolar – The Shocking Truth Revealed

Hi,

The other day, my neighbor said that he had moved, not that he was moving. I was kind of surprised, because he had lived here for a very long time. I asked him why, and he said that he was tired of throwing money away renting. I asked him what he meant by that. I knew what he meant, but I wanted to see what he would say to that. He went on to say that renting was wasting money and that he bought a house and got a good deal. I didn’t want to argue with him, even though I didn’t necessarily agree with him. I did some math and absolutely couldn’t see how he

would be saving money by owning in a period of house prices FALLING! I asked him if he factored in maintenance on the house (2% a year, taxes going up each year, mortgage, etc. etc. etc.). He said, “Yea, yea, yea.” But I could tell that he didn’t, because if you added all those things up, being super conservative, you would find it costs maybe 50% to 100% MORE than

renting.

The mistake he made was that he didn’t have a PLAN. He didn’t check things out. He went on a sort of faith that it would all work out. Then I thought about how with bipolar disorder, people

do this all the time. They say things like, “Oh, I am not going to take my medication for the week, it will all work out.” And they have faith that it will. Or they say: “Well, we don’t need to put that much time into helping so and so, she will get better on her own. We just have to have faith.” And they believe that faith will make everything all right.

One of the things I talk about often is how important it is to bipolar stability to have a PLAN. I mean, it’s ok to have faith. Many people have faith. But faith isn’t going to pay your bills. It isn’t going to stabilize your loved one when they’re out of control. It isn’t going to help them maintain stability even if it were to help them get to stability with their bipolar disorder. And notice I said HELP them get to stability – it has to be only one of MANY things that your loved one has to do to gain that stability, not the only thing.

Too many people think that just by having faith, it will make them get better. And not medication. But that can be dangerous thinking. I know someone who is very religious, and believes very strongly in faith. But they shared with me that they also believe that God made doctors and gave them the ability to help people get better, and that includes prescribing the

right medications. Now, it might be controversial to say this, but that’s how I believe. I think you can believe in doctors and medication and still be a person of faith. Another person says that they are a person of faith, but that they believe that God still wants them to “do the footwork.” I think that’s a good way of looking at it.

And you can apply that to recovery from bipolar disorder, too. Medication is only one part of treatment for bipolar disorder. There are things that your loved one has to do for themselves that will lead to their stability, too. You can be supportive, but they still need to do these things for themselves. They can have faith, but they still need to “do the footwork” for their stability.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Keeping Priorities with Bipolar Disorder

Hi,

I heard a saying the other day that I like a lot: “Keep the main thing the main thing.” I know it’s used in a 12-Step Program, but it can be used for other things as well. For instance, it can be used with bipolar disorder, when you’re talking about trying to cope and deal with it, or just trying to cope and deal with life in general. What am I talking about? I’m talking about priorities. Specifically, about keeping your priorities in order. That’s important in life, but especially important when you’re dealing with bipolar disorder. For example: If your loved one gets their priorities out of order…Say, they start to take on too many projects all at once, they can get overwhelmed. And many times, if a person with bipolar disorder gets overwhelmed, they can too easily go right into a bipolar manic episode. And it can take a long time to de-tangle them out of that episode. Because then it’s a matter of getting their priorities back in order. And that can take some time. The important thing is to keep them in order to begin with so that doesn’t happen.

Before you can keep your priorities in order, you first have to SET your priorities. You want your priorities to be well-balanced and healthy for you. For example: For a supporter of a loved one with bipolar disorder, they often miss the main priority, believe it or not. Too many supporters believe that the main priority is their loved one. Well, it’s not. Now, some people might get mad at me for saying this, but I believe it’s important. Your main priority should be taking care of yourself first. Think about it. If you don’t take care of yourself, who else is going

to take care of you? And if you don’t take care of yourself FIRST, how are you going to be able to take care of anyone else? Even the airlines know this. It’s true: In pre-flight instructions, they always tell you that if the oxygen masks come down, to put yours on FIRST, and THEN put your child’s mask on them. That’s so that you can take care of them. That’s having your priorities in order. You can only take care of your loved one if you take care of yourself first. So your first priority should be to take care of yourself.

And there are other things that go along with that priority, of course. Like that you need to be well-balanced: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Like that you should keep a good sleep schedule, eat a nutritious and balanced diet, and exercise. In other words, you should keep yourself healthy, in all ways possible. That’s so that you can be the best “you” that you can

be, both for yourself and for your loved one. In that way, you’ll be keeping “the main thing the

main thing” as well.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Service Dogs for Bipolar Disorder

Hi,

You’ve heard of service dogs for the visually impaired, haven’t you? Those are those specially trained dogs that help visually impaired people get around better. Well, now they have service dogs for other disabled people as well. Including people with bipolar disorder. It’s true!

Here’s a true story:

Bill has bipolar disorder. He was in a major car accident this past year, and was injured. They thought he was going to lose his leg, but fortunately, they were able to save it. Unfortunately, it was broken in four places, and had to be immobilized. He needed two major operations to save it. Bill was a very independent man and up until then, was used to getting up and going wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. So being in a wheelchair was something new to him. He didn’t like it at all. On top of that, he was told that his recovery would be very slow. In fact, he was told that it could take up to a year before he would be able to walk again. He was very discouraged by this news. It was very hard for him not to be depressed. His doctors were very concerned that on top of fighting to recover the use of his leg again, that he would be fighting to stay out of a bipolar depressive episode on top of it. So somebody recommended that he get a puppy from the Animal Shelter. At first he was reluctant to do it, but the more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to Bill. He talked it over with his wife, who said she would help him take care of it. They went to the Animal Shelter and picked out a puppy. Bill began training the puppy and playing with her, and pretty soon, his spirits improved greatly. It was a great motivation to get up on his leg as he needed to take the puppy for a walk, so his leg began improving as well. Believe it or not, he improved so rapidly that he actually was able to walk at less than a year – at only nine months of recovery! Bill attributes his rapid recovery and avoidance of a major bipolar episode to getting a puppy.

——————————————————————————————————————-

An amazing story, isn’t it? So uplifting and encouraging! You might want to consider getting a puppy for your loved one to take care of as well. Look what it did for Bill!

I saw another report on TV, on Discovery Channel, I believe, where they did a story on a young woman who was struggling with depression. She had even been on medication to try and help her depression, but it wasn’t helping her. Even therapy wasn’t helping her. Nothing was helping her. She was desperate. So somebody suggested that she get a dog. And she did. She quickly came out of her depression, and this report, done quite awhile after that, showed that she still was not experiencing any more depressive episodes. She attributed her healing from depression to

getting that dog. She said it was because it gave her something to get out of bed for every day, among other things. She couldn’t just stay in bed and feel sorry for herself any more, because that dog needed her to take care of it. Maybe this would help your loved one as well.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar: Same Time Every Year

Hi,

Do you remember years ago there was this popular thing going around where you would stare at this picture that looked meaningless, just like a bunch of random colors on a page…But if you relaxed your eyes and stared at it for awhile…It would turn into a picture right before your eyes?

A hidden picture? That would happen because there were actually patterns hidden in the colors.

Well, there are patterns to life, too. That’s why we do the things we do. Unfortunately, it’s why we keep repeating the same mistakes we keep repeating as well. And if we don’t change our ways…We’ll keep repeating those patterns over and over again, because…As they say…“If nothing changes, nothing changes.”

Well…There can be patterns to your loved one’s bipolar disorder as well. Cycles, if you will.

It’s one of the things you need to watch for as a bipolar supporter – patterns in your loved one’s bipolar disorder and in their moods and behavior.

For example: There’s this woman, Phyllis, and every year at the same time, she goes through a bipolar depressive episode. Why? And why at that particular time? Because it’s a pattern for her. Because at that time, her father passed away. And every year at that time, she grieves for her father. And that begins a cycle for her. She gets depressed, then she goes deeper… Then she gets so deep into the depression that she ends up in a bipolar depressive episode and can’t even get out of bed. Every year at the same time. She feels like she can’t help herself. But the truth is that she CAN. One of the things I always tell people is to watch for episode triggers so that you can fend off episodes before they take hold. So, in Phyllis’s case, every year at the anniversary of her father’s death, that would be an episode trigger for her.

So what do you do when you’re faced with an episode trigger? If you start to experience symptoms of a bipolar episode, you call your psychiatrist right away, so they can help you. If you do that…Usually all it takes is just a temporary increase in your medication to ward off a full-fledged bipolar episode. This way your loved one won’t end up in the hospital or need any major help or anything. And they won’t go into a major episode. But it all starts with noticing patterns. You can watch for patterns in their behavior. Like when the weather changes. Many people with bipolar disorder experience depression during the winter months because there is less natural sunlight. It happens to them every year during the winter months. That might be a pattern for your loved one as well.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar News

Hi,

What’s new? Hope you are doing well.

To read this week’s news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews573/

Here are the news headlines:

Mia Tina’s Chocolate Raises Mental Disease Awareness
DO> Great story, take a look.

Mindfulness Therapy Improves Bipolar Disorder Symptoms
DO> No question it does, what do you think?

Rapid-Cycling Bipolar or Just Moody?
DO> This is a great question take a look

Family Secrets: What My Son’s Diagnosis Revealed About Our Past
DO> Hmm. How do YOU feel about this?

Families Face Revolving Door in Getting Help for Mentally Ill
DO> So true and so sad, don’t you think?

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews573/

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

Your Friend,

Dave

Can Bipolar Get Worse?

Hi,

I got an email recently that pretty much is about a topic that I get asked about more often than you might imagine, so I thought maybe you might be wondering about the same thing. So here it is:

“Dave, I’m worried about my husband, and I’m hoping you can answer something for me, because I don’t know where else to turn. My husband has bipolar disorder, and he’s had it for all the time we’ve been married, so that isn’t the problem – I knew about it before we got married, and married him anyway. He’s a good man, in spite of what he does when he goes into his bipolar episodes. I hate what his bipolar makes him do, but I don’t blame him for it. I mean, he’s had affairs in episodes before, but only a couple times, and I forgave him for it, because he wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for the bipolar disorder. I know that he loves me, he’s just sick. But that’s the problem. I thought he would get better over the years, but he seems to be getting worse. He’s going into more episodes each year, and they’re lasting longer each time. And the episodes themselves seem deeper, at least his depressions seem worse each time, like

he seems sadder than the time before, and he stays sadder longer. I don’t know what to do to help him. But here’s my question. Can bipolar disorder get worse over time instead of better?”

——————————————————————————————————————

Wow. This supporter sounds really concerned about her husband. But, believe it or not, I’ve heard her story before from other supporters. Yes, you would think that with time, her husband

should get better instead of worse. However, there are some researchers who believe that bipolar disorder does get worse over time. And untreated bipolar disorder definitely gets worse over time.

The first thing I would tell this woman would be that her husband’s medication needs to be

looked at. It seems like something isn’t working there. It could be that some of his medication just needs to be changed, or at least the dosages need to be changed. I would also look at his treatment plan.

Then I would ask: Is he seeing a psychiatrist? If so, how often? Are they regulating his medications? When was the last time his medications were changed? Is he seeing a therapist? On a regular basis? A therapist would help him look at some of his bipolar behaviors and help him to change them. They would work together on some of the issues surrounding his bipolar disorder. It sounds like he might still have some unresolved issues going on. It also seems that maybe her husband is still holding some things in that he isn’t talking to her about. So I think there needs to be some work done on their communication.

So it could be not just that his bipolar disorder is getting worse, but these issues that surround

his bipolar disorder that need attention. For example, if he is holding in negative feelings, and not talking to his wife or his therapist about them, they will build up inside him and eventually come out and “blow up” possibly into a bipolar episode.

Also, other things need to be looked at. For example, what are his sleep habits like? Is he sticking to a regular sleep schedule? Loss of sleep can be a trigger to a manic episode, for example, which can then make him crash into a later depression. Any one of these things can be making his bipolar disorder worse.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave