Hi,
I have a friend who’s really into car racing. I think he’s a fanatic. But his girlfriend doesn’t understand the concept of a bunch of cars driving in circles going nowhere, until eventually they’ve driven enough and someone is declared the winner. That’s how she sees it. People driving around in circles. Actually, she said, “And they call that a sport?” LOL But it made me think of going in circles, and how that relates to bipolar disorder. Because you may be doing the same thing – Going around in circles with no destination (goal) to reach. Remember the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. Well, you may be doing that.
Think about it. Do you feel purpose in what you’re doing? Or do you feel like you’re in the same rut day after day? Do you, in fact, feel like you’re going in circles sometimes? Well, that’s what I’m talking about. If you don’t feel like you’re making progress, you might just be going in circles. Why? Because you’re doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same results.
If you or your loved one is going in circles, something needs to change. It could be your loved one’s medication. If you don’t feel it is adequately treating their bipolar disorder, talk to their doctor about it. They may need a medication change or change in dosage of their current medications. If you are going in circles…It could be your environment. If you are in a stressful environment, you need to change that. If when you get around certain people, you get nervous and anxious – Then you might want to consider a different set of friends. If you’re working, it could be your job. You may need to change a part of your job routine so that you don’t feel like you’re doing the same thing day after day. But if the job does entail doing the same thing day after day, having you going in circles, you may have to consider changing jobs. It could be your relationship. If you feel like things between you and your loved one just keep going in circles –
Then you have to change something. Perhaps your communication needs to be clearer.
If your loved one is going in circles…It could be idleness, laziness, or just plain non-productivity. That can lead to depression, and depression leads right back to non-productivity.
Talk about going in circles!
Even if it means that it makes you uncomfortable, if you feel like you’re just going in circles, you need to change. First, take a look at yourself to see what needs to be changed. Then look around at your environment to see what needs to be changed. Then look at your life and see what needs to be changed.
Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
With my current experiences I think Bipolar Disorder is a lifetime cycle. I have recently experienced a manic episode (That’s my opinion. I see the dr. on Thursday) & engaged in some erratic, unusual behaviour (for me), which was very upsetting to my partner of 7 years. He stated how it was turning into a cycle & I told him that’s the nature of Bipolar. No matter how long I’m stable, there’s always an episode lingering. There’s no real pattern to it that I’ve recognized, but it does appear to be a cycle. So I feel like I’m going in circles. I take my medication regularly, & I don’t sit idle doing nothing every day anymore, but I can’t figure out why I keep running around. I keep up with my dr. appointments & my dosages get adjusted, but after a period of time I always hit another episode. Typically now it’s a manic episode followed by a mixed episode, then a depressive episode, & I never know how long any will last each time. My partner doesn’t seem to understand. I don’t expect him to agree with my behaviour & I know I have to be accountable. But getting upset & trying to address the issue while experiencing an episode is counter-productive. I wish I could help him understand the cycle aspect.