Hi,

Remember the movie, “What About Bob?” It came out several years ago and starred Richard Dreyfuss as this psychiatrist who was being continually harassed by one of his patients, played by Bill Murray. Remember it now?

Well, I was just thinking about it the other day. I was thinking about the plot — how this guy

Bob, he’s just a regular guy (well, not regular, really, he’s actually pretty neurotic) – he is so

afraid of everything that he goes to this psychiatrist to help him.

The main theme is “Baby Steps.” (That’s the name of the psychiatrist’s book in the movie and the type of psychiatry he pushes.) So I was thinking about it and thinking about you and how the two go together. So this is how I see it:

So much of the time I talk about the “heavy” issues associated with bipolar disorder and your

loved one. And maybe some of these things are too hard for you (or your loved one) to deal with right now. Maybe your loved one has just been diagnosed, for example, or maybe they’re in denial, or maybe they are medication non-compliant, or maybe they’re just hard for you to deal with, or whatever. So some of the things I talk about are hard for you to apply to your situation.

So today I want to talk about BABY STEPS. Celebrating small victories.

When I talk to people, I talk in the very beginning about medication, setting up a strong support system, following a treatment plan, etc., but it is in the implementing of these things that the small victories come, in the beginning (for some people, even in the later stages, as well!), the baby steps.

For example, if you’re struggling with your loved one just to get them to take their medication, and you finally “win the battle,” that is a small victory! (in the big scheme of things), a baby step.

Or if you’re just trying to get them to get out of bed because they’re so depressed, and they’ve been in bed for a week… and then one day you’re able to get them out of bed (finally) – that is a small victory, a baby step!

Celebrate small victories! Remember: BABY STEPS

What if your loved one doesn’t want to go to their doctor’s appointment, but you talk them into it,

or even go with them? That’s a small victory (baby step).

What if they don’t want to go see their family? Many people with bipolar disorder have problems with their families because they have pushed them away, or they have done things during bipolar episodes that have hurt them, or whatever. But what if you convince them to let their family come to see them to start working on making up? That’s a small victory (baby step).

What if your loved one refuses to go to their bipolar support group one night? That can be a problem, because one night can easily turn into two nights, and pretty soon they stop going at all.

But what if you talk them into it by agreeing to go with them? That’s a small victory (baby step).

Celebrate small victories! Rejoice in baby steps!

What if they go one month without an episode? That’s a small victory (baby step)! What if they go 3 months without an episode? That’s an even bigger victory (bigger step)!

So you go from baby step to baby step, and pretty soon you get to where you want your loved one to be. And, along the way…That’s right! You…Celebrate small victories! And rejoice in baby steps!

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave