Hi,
How’s it going? I hope it’s going well for you.
Yesterday I took some time to speak to many people
on the phone with various questions.
It’s proving to be very hard for me
lately because I am getting sometimes
40 calls in a day.
Andrea H, is helping return calls but
ultimately, although I never wanted to
do this. I am going to have to turn all
bipolar disorder calls over to a call center.
It’s just not possible to answer up to 40 calls
in a day.
Anyway, let’s talk about one thing today that’s
important based on a call that I got from
someone interested in some of my bipolar
disorder material.
One woman called and she was
trying to PREVENT a divorce from
her husband. Her husband has bipolar
disorder and is not stable and demanding
a divorce.
She wants to prevent it. She is getting
my prevent a divorce course at
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolardivorce
She was a
really nice person and she asked me something
like, “what’s the one thing that I can
do right now that can turn it all around?”
Something like that.
I told her I generally have found that
there is really never any one thing that
works with everyone who has bipolar disorder.
There are generally multiple strategies for
the same common goal and you have to try
different ones.
For my own mom, a bipolar supporter strategy
that worked last time for a certain issue
may not work the next time. It’s really annoying
but that’s the way it is. Sorry.
On that note, I must say, there are a lot of things
that are REALLY annoying about having to support
someone with bipolar disorder. But that’s the hand
that we were dealt and we have to make the best
of it.
It’s not that the people with bipolar disorder
are annoying it’s just the illness is. You have
to SEPARATE the two. So there’s a person and then
the person has bipolar disorder. The bipolar
disorder is the annoying part.
Much like Cancer is annoying. Or diabetes is
annoying. Or a bad back is SUPER ANNOYING. And
I have been having major problems with my
back. I was in so much pain that I tried a
home remedy of laying on a baseball and
taking a stick and trying to push up the
knot that I wound up missing the spot that
hurt and hurting another spot.
Which was good in one way because I hurt
myself more than the original pain. So I
forgot about the first spot and only
felt the pain of the second spot. 🙂
BUT the lesson of this is, go to a real
doctor instead home remedies when the situation
is real. Just like with bipolar disorder,
don’t try to treat yourself or adjust
your medications on your own. See
your doctor.
I am following my own advice 🙂
SUPPORTING AN ADULT?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11
SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com
HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net
So remember two things today. There
isn’t one strategy that works for everyone
for everything related to bipolar disorder.
And if your loved one is having problems
with his/her bipolar disorder, it’s the
doctor that will adjust treatment not
you or your loved one.
Your Friend,
Dave
P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/
P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com
Have you noticed that in each and every email, you go into long drawn out stories taht don’t actually tell me anyhting. Like this one. No everyone has the funds for your course(s). There isn’t, its only this much or that much. When people are going to you for real help, you beat around the bush about ever email you publish. I have read every one that you send. I have thought about unsubscribing, but I have been hanging onto the hope that may one of them will give me somehting that I can use. Because my husband who is bipolar wil only go to the doctor that perscribes the medicine and refuses to go to a therapist. So I keep lookin for some guidance and so far, not finding any.
Thanks David, I am a supporter of a loved one with bipolar. my daughter is 22yrs, has just had a baby. had to come off meds whilst pregnant. was on a high for 2 wks after birth then hit rock bottom. now getting back onto meds slowly. it is a very trying time for me and her husband. I work full time so it is difficult to devote enough time to her. I wish I could just be with her and the baby all the time.
hOW COME NOBODY EVER PICKS UP THE PHONE IN YOUR OFFICE?? I’VE LEFT SEVERAL MESSAGES ASKING YOU TO CANCEL MY ORDER, BUT HAVEN’T HEARD FROM ANYBODY SO FAR. WHAT’S GOING ON?? I START TO SUSPECT THIS IS A CON. IF THIS IS THE CASE, I’LL DO ANYTHING DO HAVE MY MONEY BACK, INCLUDING TAKING YOU TO THE POLICE. THE FACT THAT YOU DIDN’T ANSWER ANY OF MY CALLS OR EMAILS MAKES IT EVEN MORE SUSPICIOUS. AGAIN, PLEASE GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK.
You know, every morning these emails come in with my name addressed, just like we are old friends. Today there was a glitch in your system. It says: “Hi ~Contact.FirstName~,”
THIS IS A GIMMICK.
Call center indeed. Dude, you’re raking in the bucks and just another corporate rip-off.
dear dave,
yesterday was a good day with my boyfriend he even said something about wanting to be a “couple” again it a scarey ride in this relationship. i have been trying alot of stratagies i got from the book seventy signs of depression and bipolar disorder. i still need more i think the biggest stratagy is knowing its not me. i wish hed take his meds.
First of all. I must say, that who ever this other Sherry person is, I am not her. My name is Sherry, but my comments are very, very different. The only thing that I do agree with this other Sherry is that not ever one, myself included. Can afford the funds for this course. I am disabled, and I am on a very, very fixed income. I just get SS, and SSI. And by the time I finish paying all my bill’s, I am lucky if I have a couple of dollars to myself. But I did so very badly want to join the BipolarInnerCircle, but I don’t have that kind of money. And I do not have any credit cards. And I do read all of your emails, and I find them, very, very interesting. And God Bless You fo all the hard word you are doing. I myself also have bipolar disorder, and does my oldest son,who will be 32 years ld in August of this year. And he has cut off all ties with me. He has gone so far as to have his home phone changed to a non published number, so that I can not evn call him. And that is one of the reason’s why I wanted to diessperaly to join this group.But I do not have the funs to do so. But you just keep up the wonderful work you are doing. And again I say, God Bless You. Your Friend Sherry Emery
I need some help.My son’s doctor said he has bipolar disorder and i can belive this because he is only 4 yrs.I think he has ADHD because he is hiper and has mood swings but Im no doctor.So if you can e-mail me about this please do.I just dont no how to handle him he is alway’s getting in to thing.He destroyes my kitchen and living room dayily.when Me and my other child wake up that is 1 we have to start cleaning and i just dont understand.Please help me to understand hoe to help him.Sometimes i feel as if I’m going crazy inside. christie
TO CRIS,
I got three emails from you today. I have left 2 messages on each of your lines and also emailed you back. Please call me about your situation as soon as you can. The number is on your voicemails and also in your email. Thanks.
Dave
Hi David,
I know you’re super busy so I’ll make it quick. Your friendly e-mails really brighten my day and help me cope.
My husband has bi-polar disorder and you’ve given some great advice. He is rapidly cycling and I have found the “choose your battles” advice especially helpful. If I can control my own emotions and just “give in” to him and be super sweet and loving to him, it generally diffuses what I call his “mini-episodes”.
Thank you for all you do and don’t forget to take care of YOU!
= )
Maria Atkinson
TO AMANDA,
First let me say, it’s really kind of annoying for you to post that I am some kind of scam when I am simply trying to help people. What you think that you have “caught me” doing is using something called mail merge. When I send emails I use a command that merges a person’s first name with the message.
This is not a scam rather a command in many different software programs for about 20 years or so. MS word has this company along with dozens if not hundreds of programs that contain databases.
As for raking in the bucks you are really mistaken and way off base.
But I think it’s funny you called me “dude” most of my friends where I weight train use that word all the time but they are powerlifters, body builders or stongmen. Funny.
Dave
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Hi, Dave. My husband was diagnosed as Bipolar 2 years ago. He takes medications for this ailment. I’m not sure if it working or he needs to change. He decided to try to hang himself 2 weeks ago. he had a very angry argument with my sister who lives with us. Fortunately, I found him before he accomplished his plan. I was frightened and ANGRY AT HIM. This is not the first time he’s has attempted suicide. He wad hospitalized the 1st time & released to attend anger management class. I’m not sure why I am writing this but how do I get through to him what this is doing to me emotionally. PLEASE HELP US. Linda G
Hi David,
My situation certainly has its uniqueness and indivualilty. 4 years ago I got out of a relationship with a girl who had bipolar disorder and would yoyo her medication (3 days on, 3 days off, and so forth). I had to end up putting a restraining order on her to get her to leave me alone. 5 months later I started seeing a girl I had know since the 4th grade who had a 2 and a half year old son… I later find out that she has bipolar disorder. Everything’s going fine (while she’s on her medicine), then once she gets pregnant and has to go off of her medicine it still was no big deal although her increased edgyness made me want to leave. Once the baby was born she was supposed to have gone back on her medicine… but she wasn’t taking it. Before I go on lets do a little back tracking, when she was a teen her mother never wanted to get her diagnosed and denied everything. She was diagnosed ADHD and she was getting treated and started taking medications for it but it wasn’t until a few YEARS later she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now if you’re as familar and done as much looking as I have on both those together you’ll know that treating the ADHD first and alone will worsen the bipolar and many doctors will make this mistake by just simply overlooking it. Now, back up to date, she had the baby, was supposed to have gone back on her medication but quit taking it. Now that our daughter is 2 and her son was diagnosed with ADHD one year ago when he was 5 (the dad had ADHD, tarrot’s synodrome, we don’t know everything but the list goes on and on and on). He was originally diagnosed in California and we kept trying to tell them that he still got in trouble alot and would tell really bizarre stories which we knew weren’t true at all. We lived their for 6 months, and yeah, basically they wouldn’t listen and said it was all just part of growing up. Now that we’re living in Missouri (closer to all the family) we have just gotten him started seeing therapist, his behavior at school and freuquency of getting into trouble has dropped significantly. At first we thought it was just because he hadn’t been able to see his dad because every time he did he would come back completely out of line and not listening to a word that anyone would tell him. Recently he had been wanting to see him and I was on course to get a CDL (I would have been able to take him out with me to get him to California once he reached the right age)… but it all got ruined. One day he came home with a bruise on the right side of his face (mother was up that morning and didn’t see it but they’re rejecting that notion). He told us that a kid pushed him down at school but they’re dening it, it was even in the testimony that he first told them that. (At the time we were unaware of what was going on else where) Two days after we noticed it, he had been put in the corner (by both of us, mom was at work when I did it and he had been left their longer) for doing the same thing. The next day he went in and changed his story and said I did it. We all know it’s not true but that’s where we’re setting and we’re completely lost. I’ve been doing lots of research and have found something (he loves doing things just to get reactions from others and will laugh about it)… ODD defines him like a dictionary (Opposional Defiant Disorder). All of our funds have been completely washed away in the past month and a half, they got me going through all kinds of stuff and I have no background at all. I’m not even allowed to see the kids, my whole family is being treated unjust and everyone we know says that the cop behind the curtain is crooked…
Yes the illness SUCKS but I love my husband. It can be so hard sometimes.