Current Bipolar News

Hi,

What’s new? Hope you are doing well.

To read this week’s news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews675/

Children Who Lose Close Relative at Risk of Mental Problems: Study
DO> Important information for you, especially if you have children.

Cortical thickness may distinguish bipolar from unipolar disorder
DO> Important study, don’t you agree?

Outcome good for patients with dual alcohol use and affective …
DO> Interesting study, don’t you think?

Attentional biases toward emotion help characterize bipolar disorder
DO> Don’t you find this to be a valuable study?

2nd man pleads guilty in N. Ind. store shootings
DO> Don’t you think this is a shame?

Deeds Continues Push for Va. Mental Health Reforms
DO> You’ll find this video interesting.

Nashua man credits Harbor Homes for finding him home, saving his …
DO> This man’s story will move you.

Continuity of care protects mental health patients
DO> Don’t you think this is an important study?

Doctors to carry out enforced Caesarean on bipolar mother-to-be, 25 …
DO> Do you think this was right?

Simple hypomania checklist detects bipolar II disorder
DO> Good information for you to know.

Pa. woman charged with killing newborn is depressed, suicidal and …
DO> This woman’s story will shock you.

A shock to the system: Electroconvulsive Therapy shows mood …
DO> You may be surprised to find out this information.

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews675/

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

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar: Stop Being Angry

Hi,

I was watching an episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos the other night, and they showed this one video about a kid who got angry. He had built this big building with colored blocks, and it was really high…But then he got mad, and kicked it! Then the whole thing toppled, and it was like in slow motion, and the whole thing came crashing down on top of him! And he ran crying to his mother, like it was the building’s fault! Like he just couldn’t figure out what had happened!

Well…You’re not a toddler any more. But you know…There are situations where you still might find yourself wondering why you’re sitting in the middle of a bunch of “colored building blocks”
because of your anger. Anger can cause us to do things that we later regret.

I’m sure that’s happened in your loved one’s case with their bipolar disorder. For example, anger
and rage are symptoms of a bipolar manic episode, and something that you should look out for.
Especially if it becomes a pattern in your loved one.

Anger is an emotion. A reaction to something. Something you don’t like. Something that, say, rubs you the wrong way. Something that hurts you. Especially if it’s been going on for awhile.
And especially if you have no control over it. That’s when we usually react the hardest.

Like you may get angry over your loved one’s bipolar behavior. You may not like what they do.
So it makes you feel helpless. And this might make you angry. It might even make you angry at them. So what do you do with this anger? Do you fight with them? That’s what usually happens when the supporter gets angry at their loved one with bipolar disorder. The problem is that it’s easy for that to happen in too many cases.

Worse yet is when you stuff that anger and it turns into resentment. Because that can actually make you physically sick. It can cause you to have stomach problems like even have ulcers.
It can cause you to have an increase of headaches, or even have migraines. It can cause you to have body aches. It can cause a whole host of problems. And if you’re not careful, the stress can build up to such a degree that you are even in danger of having a heart attack or even a stroke.

So what’s the answer? It’s simple: Stop being angry. Now, I didn’t say it would be easy. I just said it was simple. Just ask yourself if it’s worth getting sick over just to hold onto all that anger, and you’ll see that the answer is definitely NO! Then choose to put your anger (and stress) away and to talk to your loved one instead. Tell them about the behavior that makes you so angry, and ask them to work on changing it.

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/bipolarnews674/

Substance abuse more likely among patients with mental illness
DO> Important study, don’t you agree?

National Park Man Sentenced to 7 Years in Baseball Bat Assault
DO> Do you think this is fair?

Schizophrenia cognition tool promising in bipolar disorder patients
DO> Interesting study, don’t you think?

Feeling down: when does a mood become a disorder?
DO> Good information for you to know.

Mentally Ill African Granted US Asylum
DO> This man’s story will move you.

Outcome good for patients with dual alcohol use and affective …
DO> Good news for those with bipolar, don’t you agree?

Experts on bipolar disorder stress importance of early diagnosis
DO> Good information if you have a bipolar teen.

Children Who Lose Close Relative at Risk of Mental Problems: Study
DO> Don’t you think this study is helpful, especially if you have children?

Cortical thickness may distinguish bipolar from unipolar disorder
DO> Don’t you agree that this is an informative study?

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews674/

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

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/bipolarnews673/

Cardiovascular conditions may be overlooked in bipolar disorder
DO> Important study, don’t you agree?

Cannabis for Bipolar
DO> This man’s story will concern you.

Light therapy can help overcome seasonal disorder
DO> Good information for you to know.

Distinct developmental trajectories for bipolar disorder and …
DO> Interesting study, don’t you think?

Predictors of substance abuse identified among teens with bipolar …
DO> Information important to you, especially if you have a teenager.

Emotion regulation deficits characterize bipolar and MDD patients
DO> Don’t you think this is an interesting pattern?

ND man gets life in prison for killing SD man
DO> Do you think this was a fair ruling?

Taiwan study gives new hope for bipolar disorder
DO> Aren’t you excited about this new hope?

RNA sequencing unlocks bipolar secrets
DO> Don’t you think this is an important study?

Mood disorder patients seek explanation for symptoms
DO> Interesting information for you to know.

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews673/

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

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar: Stop Wearing an S on Your Chest

Hi,

Remember how Superman always wore a big S on his chest? Well, some people might say that some bipolar supporters wear a big S on their chests, too. It could be because they try to do everything themselves. They don’t accept help from anyone else. They don’t have their own support system. They put too much time and energy into their loved one and not enough time and energy into themselves. They don’t take care of themselves. They aren’t balanced. They are usually stressed to the max. They don’t do things that bring them pleasure.

They don’t do anything outside of their loved one. They don’t have any hobbies. They don’t take care of their own health. They’re always busy trying to please their loved one. Everything they do is for their loved one, and nothing is for themselves. They try to be perfect. Everything they do has to be perfect.

Does this sound like you? If so, take the S off your chest! You are NOT perfect! Nobody is. Your loved one should not expect you to be perfect, and you shouldn’t expect yourself to be, either. Trying to be perfect is only going to exhaust you! To say nothing of the stress that it will bring upon you.

All you can ever do is just the best you can do. And you can’t do everything by yourself, either.
You need to have your own support system, just like your loved one should have their own
support system. You can’t keep holding everything in all the time. And sometimes even journaling your thoughts and feelings just isn’t enough – you need a real person to listen to you.
Like a close friend or family member, or maybe a clergy person. Some supporters even go to a therapist of their own.

Taking care of yourself should be a priority – if you’re not in good emotional and physical
health, then you’re no good to yourself or your loved one. Having outside interests will help to keep you emotionally healthy and well-balanced. You need to do things that make you happy and bring you pleasure, whether that is working at a job, having a hobby, or just reading a good book or going to the movies or lunch with a friend.

You need to keep yourself balanced – mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You should have an exercise program in place – even if it’s just walking (30 minutes at least 3
times a week). Just remember that you are not Superman – don’t expect too much from yourself.
If you do, you will get into trouble. Just ask yourself if what you are expecting from yourself is more than you would expect from someone else. If it is, then you need to lower your expectations.

Or ask yourself if what you are expecting of yourself is more than other people would expect
from you. If it is, then again, you need to lower your expectations.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

 

Bipolar: Stop Wearing an S on Your Chest

Hi,

Remember how Superman always wore a big S on his chest? Well, some people might say that some bipolar supporters wear a big S on their chests, too. It could be because they try to do everything themselves. They don’t accept help from anyone else. They don’t have their own support system. They put too much time and energy into their loved one and not enough time and energy into themselves. They don’t take care of themselves. They aren’t balanced. They are usually stressed to the max. They don’t do things that bring them pleasure.

They don’t do anything outside of their loved one. They don’t have any hobbies. They don’t take care of their own health. They’re always busy trying to please their loved one. Everything they do is for their loved one, and nothing is for themselves. They try to be perfect. Everything they do has to be perfect.

Does this sound like you? If so, take the S off your chest! You are NOT perfect! Nobody is. Your loved one should not expect you to be perfect, and you shouldn’t expect yourself to be, either. Trying to be perfect is only going to exhaust you! To say nothing of the stress that it will bring upon you.

All you can ever do is just the best you can do. And you can’t do everything by yourself, either.
You need to have your own support system, just like your loved one should have their own
support system. You can’t keep holding everything in all the time. And sometimes even journaling your thoughts and feelings just isn’t enough – you need a real person to listen to you.
Like a close friend or family member, or maybe a clergy person. Some supporters even go to a therapist of their own.

Taking care of yourself should be a priority – if you’re not in good emotional and physical
health, then you’re no good to yourself or your loved one. Having outside interests will help to keep you emotionally healthy and well-balanced. You need to do things that make you happy and bring you pleasure, whether that is working at a job, having a hobby, or just reading a good book or going to the movies or lunch with a friend.

You need to keep yourself balanced – mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. You should have an exercise program in place – even if it’s just walking (30 minutes at least 3
times a week). Just remember that you are not Superman – don’t expect too much from yourself.
If you do, you will get into trouble. Just ask yourself if what you are expecting from yourself is more than you would expect from someone else. If it is, then you need to lower your expectations.

Or ask yourself if what you are expecting of yourself is more than other people would expect
from you. If it is, then again, you need to lower your expectations.

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/bipolarnews672/

People with Mental Disorders more Likely to Use Alcohol, Drugs
DO> Interesting study, don’t you agree?

‘First-line’ role for sleep deprivation in suicidal bipolar patients 
DO> Important study, don’t you think?

Aggression treatment needed for patients with bipolar disorder
DO> Important information for you to know.

Legalizing marijuana will bring many problems
DO> Do you agree with this man’s opinion?

Jane Pauley publishes ‘Your Life Calling’
DO> This famous newswoman and talk show host’s story will inspire you.

Study explores bipolar in postpartum period
DO> Good thing for you to know, especially if you’re planning on having children.

Chantix Helped People With Mental Illness Quit Smoking Longer in …
DO> Good information for you if you want to quit smoking.

Bipolar screening tools not tailored to young people
DO> You’ll find this study has important information

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews672/

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

Your Friend,

Dave

Bipolar: You Need to Take the Bad with the Good

Hi,

There used to be an old nursery rhyme that went:

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good
She was very, very good
But when she was bad she was horrid!

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

I don’t know why that made me think of today’s topic, but it did: How you have to take the bad with the good when you’re dealing with bipolar disorder. Or maybe it should be the other way around if you continually dwell on the bad – that you might need to be reminded that underneath it all, there is still some good to be found. Just in life in general, there is both bad and good to be had. You don’t have to be dealing with bipolar disorder for that to happen. But it just seems to be amplified when you are dealing with the disorder.

Like the nursery rhyme line, “but when she was bad she was horrid,” sometimes what you have to go through can seem almost intolerable. But it could be just your subjective interpretation of
events – to someone else it might not seem so bad. Not to belittle what you have to go through as a bipolar supporter, because I know it’s rough. I know how bad it was for me when I was going through it with my mom.

But taking the bad with the good, you have to admit that there is some good in there. Even though the bad times are, as the nursery rhyme says, “horrid,” the good times are just as good.
And there are good times in between your loved one’s bipolar episodes, you’ve got to admit.

One of the facts I’ve talked about before is that someone with bipolar disorder only has about
4-5 full-blown episodes in their lives. It is a fallacy that they go from one episode to another
all the time. But it can seem like it sometimes, can’t it? Because you are there for the worst of it.

You know your loved one better than anyone else. You know the bad side of the disorder. You know firsthand what “horrid” means. Yes, it’s true that during episodes your loved one can get pretty out of control. But in between bipolar episodes, your loved one can be normal. So you have experienced those times as well. And you need those times to balance out the bad times.
Otherwise you wouldn’t still be with your loved one, would you? It would just be too hard to take. Too much bad all the time.

But it’s the good times that make it worth it to stay with your loved one. And the good times can be very, very good, can’t they? So you have to take the bad with the good. And you have to focus on the good in order to put up with the bad. It helps if you can separate your loved one from their disorder. Have you been able to do that? One supporter I know does this by keeping a photograph of him and his wife from when she was at her best, between episodes. He looks at this picture whenever his wife is in an episode and exhibiting acting-out behavior, so he can separate his wife from her bipolar disorder. Another supporter keeps a scrapbook of “best times”
that she and her sister have had.

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/bipolarnews671/

Me2/orchestra enlists musicians with mental illness
DO> This story will inspire you.

Tragic, avoidable
DO> Are you appalled by another senseless tragedy?

GADL1 gene variants predict response to lithium in Han Chinese
DO> Important study, don’t you think?

Register-Guard: ER Doctor Sues Psychiatrist
DO> This outcome could have been avoided, don’t you agree?

Family history points to more severe bipolar disorder
DO> Some good information for you to know.

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews671/

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

Your Friend,

Dave