Bipolar Disorder Can Change

Hi,

Did you ever have a time in your life when things were going along a certain way, but then all of a sudden things changed?

For example: You had plans for a certain career, but then found yourself in a totally different career than the one you had foreseen yourself in? Or…Had you imagined marrying a certain type of person, but found yourself instead married to a completely different type of person than the one you imagined you would marry?

These are just examples. But you get what I mean. The thing is, we can’t plan for every eventuality in life. Sometimes, no matter what we do, the unexpected happens. Things change.
And there’s nothing we can do to help that.

There’s something important you need to know about bipolar disorder, in case your doctor didn’t tell you. Bipolar disorder can change.

There are different kinds of bipolar disorder. And you can be diagnosed with one type of bipolar
disorder, but as you get older, you can actually end up with a different type of bipolar.

Here’s a case study:

Sylvia had bipolar disorder for most of her life, but wasn’t diagnosed with it until she was older. When she went into bipolar episodes, she always went into manic episodes, though. She never experienced the bipolar depressions she heard so much about.

However, when she was well into her 60’s, Sylvia experienced a bipolar depressive episode that thoroughly confused her, since she had never had one before. It was a particularly bad one, where she couldn’t even get out of bed for three weeks.

When she eventually came out of it, she asked her psychiatrist about it, and he said that since she was older now, her bipolar disorder had changed. They went over her triggers and found out that, in fact, her age did have something to do with her depression.

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Here’s the thing about aging and bipolar disorder. As you get older, there are other issues that affect you other than just your bipolar disorder, but that can contribute to a bipolar episode.

For one thing…You’ve heard of “senior moments,” right? Where you start to have memory problems as you get older? Some people do get depressed over that issue.

Another thing that can lead to depression in older adults is not being able to do the things they used to do just because of the aging process itself.

At first there can be a sense of denial, and they might still try to do those things, but then get frustrated when they find that they can no longer do them. There might even be some anger before there is the inevitable acceptance. Or they might experience depression, especially if they have bipolar disorder.

The “Empty Nest Syndrome” can contribute to a bipolar depressive episode, too. As children get older and leave home, your role changes, and that can cause problems, even making you depressed if it’s hard for you to accept the new change and the fact that your children (and you) are getting older.

Physical illnesses beset older people more frequently as well, and that can be a cause for depression. There are normal things like high blood pressure and high cholesterol that older people have to contend with, but there is also the fear of stroke and heart attack as well.

All these things can combine to give a person with bipolar disorder the risk of having a bipolar depressive episode even if they’ve never had one before.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

 

Bipolar and The Complaint Department

Hi,

I’m lucky. My workers are all virtual. That means that they work from home in other places –
they don’t actually work in an office with me here. So I don’t have to listen to complaints like other employers do.

Some employers even put up a Suggestion Box. Unfortunately, most of the time they don’t really get suggestions they can use. The business owners I have talked to tell me that the Suggestion Box is pretty much useless, actually.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t ask for suggestions from the people that work for me. Oh no…
On the contrary. I’m constantly asking them for suggestions on how we can improve things.

And I respect their suggestions, because I respect them. Because they’re not complainers. See…
That’s the thing. You have to know how to effectively state your complaint. Actually, you have to be able to state your NEED.

You wouldn’t like it if all your loved one did was complain all the time, would you? Well…
They sure won’t like that coming from you, either. So you have to do what’s EFFECTIVE. And what’s effective is stating your need instead.

If you state your need instead of just complaining, that will be more effective, and most likely will not lead to a fight.

For example: Say you feel frustrated. And part of that frustration is coming from the fact that you’re around your loved one so much that you feel like their bipolar disorder is smothering you (a common feeling for a bipolar supporter to feel).

So you want some time to yourself. Instead of complaining: “I never get any time to myself!”
You can say: “I’d really like to have some time to myself. I think that would really help me. Would that be possible?”

Do you see the difference? If you were to do it the first way, you would not only be complaining, but you could come off as being argumentative. This could make your loved one feel defensive.
And could very well lead to a fight.

But in the second case, you are just stating your feelings and stating your need. You are actually even asking for their help. This changes things. It actually involves your loved one. It makes them want to help you. And should not lead to a fight.

You can also use this method in reverse. When your loved one says something that comes off as complaining, try to look past the complaint to see what their real need is.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave