Hi,

Have you ever seen a chameleon? I mean, like in the zoo or something? These things are amazing! They actually change color to adapt to their surroundings! Wouldn’t it be great if we could do that? Oh, I don’t mean change color. LOL I mean, adapt to our surroundings.

I think we could get along a whole lot better, don’t you? It just seems that a lot of times we fight against what’s happening around us. Instead of accepting it (adapting to it). If you could adapt to it instead of fighting it, you’d be more like a chameleon!

In the case of your loved one’s bipolar disorder, I think you’d be happier if you could do that.
Like, there are certain behaviors that come with their bipolar disorder.

For example: Say there are certain things they do when they go into a bipolar episode. Like, for instance, whenever they get manic, they talk a lot, and they lie. And this usually makes you really mad. But if you were to be like a chameleon, you could adapt to this instead of getting mad over it.

You could stop reacting to it. You could just accept it. In other words, you would just know that it’s a pattern. That every time your loved one goes into a manic episode, they’re going to lie.
That it’s just a given.

So you just don’t believe what they say when they’re in a manic episode. You don’t have to get mad. You just don’t believe what they say. In other words, you adapt. See? Do you see how it could save a whole lot of heartache on your part?

Here’s another example: Say that every time your loved one goes into a manic episode, they spend money excessively. You’ve noticed this is a pattern. It happens every time.

So instead of letting it continue, you adapt. You ensure that they don’t have access to more
money than you can afford to lose. You limit the amount of cash they have on hand at any given time.

You make sure they don’t have access to the checking and savings accounts. You make sure they don’t have any credit cards and that they don’t have access to yours. That way they can’t spend any money excessively during their manic episodes.

So…You have adapted. You have ensured that your finances are protected in case your loved one goes into a manic episode.

See how being a chameleon can help you? By adapting to things, you can change them.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave