Hi,

How are you today? I hope you are doing
well. I am actually getting ready to
head off to the gym today but I was
thinking about something I wanted to
tell you that’s really important.

I was thinking about it because I had
a friend call me and he was really depressed.
Not go and get on medication depressed but
depressed because something happen to him.

He actually has his own business and
he lost a ton of money. Why? Well it’s
because he was given totally bad marketing
advice. He did this campaign that cost
him a ton of money.

Why did he do a campaign that wouldn’t work
and spend so much money? Was it because he
has bipolar disorder? NO. It was because
he didn’t have foundational knowledge and
this is the mistake I see supporters and
those with bipolar disorder make ALL THE
TIME.

Let me explain.

Foundational knowledge is a term I made up,
to describe a base level of knowledge you
need to have when you are dealing with something.

In the case of bipolar disorder if you are
caretaker, there’s foundational knowledge
like

-The importance of medication
-You can’t cure bipolar disorder
-The bipolar stability equation
-There are techniques to deal with a loved one’s
episodes
-People who have bipolar disorder are not possessed
by the devil (sounds crazy but I get asked this a lot)
-When people who have bipolar disorder get into episodes, they
can frivolous spend money and destroy finances
-Not all doctors are good
-Not all therapists are good
-You should shop for a doctor like you shop for a car
-You need to report signs and symptoms to your loved one’s
doctors

so on and so forth. That’s just a short list of foundational
knowledge you need to know.

If you have bipolar disorder, which I don’t, but I know
the list would include:

You need to take medication
You need to keep your stress levels low
Going to the doctor and following his/her treatment plan is
critical
You should not drink or do illegal drugs
You should set up systems to protect your money
Some doctors aren’t good but many are good
You need to shop for a doctor like you would shop for a car
There are different medications for bipolar disorder
Some medications have side effects
You need to work with your doctor not against him/her

so on and so forth. Again this is a short list.

HERE’S THE PROBLEM I SEE

So many people lack this foundation knowledge and
it makes it almost impossible to cope and deal with
bipolar disorder.

What the heck does this have to do with the friend
who lost a lot of money? Well he should have foundational
business knowledge. I won’t go into that list but
he should have known that running a giant ad in a paper,
with no tracking code, with no offer, etc. would cost
him money and it wouldn’t work. This is the basics.
But he didn’t know it.

Now when you look at bipolar disorder, many people don’t
have foundational knowledge or know the basics. For
example, a supporter may think, “I just need to
get my loved one to the doctor and the doctor will
handle everything and the problem is solved.”

My dad use to think like this for about 38 years. For
DECADES. I was just talking to him about it yesterday
and he said what a mistake that was. He just didn’t
know better. But then he told me there was no internet
so that was kind of his excuse :).

With bipolar disorder you have to strive to get
a foundation of knowledge and this makes things
easier and when you are told something that
is wrong you will know it. For example, if
you have solid foundational knowledge and someone
tells you the supporter, bipolar disorder
is not a real illness and your loved one
is faking it, you will have the foundational
knowledge to ignore this ridiculous assertion
and you will not act on the information.

If you have bipolar disorder, your foundational
knowledge includes but is not limited to:
realizing some mediations may have side effects
but there are lots of options and combinations
but it is YOUR JOB to talk to your doctor
about any and all side effects you experience.

Just that little tip can and has helped so many
people. People are always looking for this
gigantic super big technique or secret but
many times, the simple things are the most
powerful.

I will say it again, if you have bipolar
disorder, report ALL side effects to your
doctor and work with him/her on them. So
many people don’t do this is because
they think there is no hope for them.

This is dead wrong. There is hope. You have
to work with your doctor.

If you are a supporter and your loved one is
not totally stable, foundational knowledge tells
you, you should report what you are seeing with
your loved one to his/her doctor. When the doctor
knows what’s going on, he/she can make a better
treatment plan.

The more foundational knowledge you have
the LESS susceptible you are to totally
stupid and ridiculous things you may
hear related to bipolar disorder. And there’s
tons of them out there.

This a powerful concept even though it’s simple.
I’ve gotten a few emails well about 20 from
people saying my stuff is too simple in my
emails. I don’t
know. There’s a lot of good information I think
and I work hard at it. Today’s is really important
and I hope it made sense to you.

LAST NOTE
I will say one last thing. I actually wasn’t but
I decided to and since this is my newsletter
I guess I can 🙂

The one thing that I do not feel is important
for sure is:

trying to figure out why someone has bipolar
disorder

trying to figure out how medications work and
why

These are two areas people love to focus on
and it’s not helpful. It wastes a lot of time
in my opinion.

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

Okay with that said, I have to run. Have a good
day.

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