Hi, I hope your day is going well.

You know about my goddaughter, because I’ve talked about her before. Well, she loves to go to the zoo. A lot of kids are afraid of the lions, aren’t they? Ever see one at the zoo? Well, there’s a bipolar lesson we can learn from these lions at the zoo.

First, let’s think about lions. They look big when you look at them compared to us. They prowl around, lurking. They’re very intimidating. We’re afraid of them. We don’t know what to do about them. We’re not experienced with them. We think they can spring on us at any time.

They have this big roar that can send us running away.

BUT…

Think about this: They are in a zoo. They are behind a cage, or far enough away from us that we can’t be harmed.

OR…

Have you ever seen a lion in a circus? They can be tamed!!!

NOW…

Now think about bipolar disorder and compare it to that lion we just talked about. Think about all those things I said about it. Let’s take it one thing at a time.

First of all… The lion seems bigger than us. Bipolar disorder can seem bigger than you, too.

You can feel as if it has more control over you than you have over it. Or that it can defeat you, rather than you defeating it. Or like you can never win against such a big thing.

Bipolar disorder can seem to prowl around lurking, too, just like that lion. It’s just always there. You just can’t get away from it. Then, just like the lion, bipolar disorder can be very intimidating to some people, especially when they’re first diagnosed. You might feel overwhelmed by it, even after you’ve had it for awhile.

Sometimes stressful situations can bring on this feeling, too. You might feel as if it is harder than you can handle. And, like being afraid of the lion’s roar, you might be afraid of your bipolar disorder. You might be afraid of what it can do to you. You might be afraid of what you do during bipolar episodes. You might be afraid of what you’re doing to your supporter.

We’re not experienced with lions, like you might not feel like you’re experienced with bipolar disorder, especially in the beginning, but knowledge is the key to that. Learn all you can about bipolar disorder.

Like fearing that lions can spring at any time, you might fear that a bipolar episode can spring up at any time. But remember, that if you do what it takes to be stable, you can control this.

We fear a lion’s big roar that can send us running away. But in spite of bipolar disorder’s big roar, like the lion, IT CAN BE TAMED! You can learn to manage bipolar disorder. If you do the things you need to do to be stable, there is no reason you can’t keep your bipolar disorder in that cage that keeps it under control.

You DON’T have to be afraid of your bipolar disorder!

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave