Hi,

Today’s blog post is special. It is for both people with bipolar disorder and their supporters. Because it’s not just those who have the disorder who struggle with mood problems, their supporters do, too. Maybe not to the same degree, but they do – Bad moods, good moods, happy one minute, sad the next, maybe even suffering from depression themselves.

But the point I want to make is, you can’t be fooled by your moods.

When you have a biologically based disorder like bipolar disorder, sometimes you have no control over your moods – They are simply controlled by the chemical imbalance in your brain.

For supporters, even though you don’t have a biologically based disorder, you can still get

depressed from time to time, can’t you?

But the point is for you, don’t be fooled by this depression, otherwise you might think you’re

“catching” your loved one’s bipolar disorder…And the truth is that you just can’t catch bipolar

disorder like you can catch the flu, no matter what the rumors say. So don’t be fooled by your moods.

The same thing with “elation,” too. Just because you’re feeling extreme happiness or joy, doesn’t mean you’re going into a manic episode, so don’t let that mood fool you either. It has to be for an extended period of time and have other symptoms with it to be an actual manic episode.

Bipolar or not, you CAN have “normal” moods in addition to extremes in moods or mood swings. You can feel sadness and not be depressed. You can feel joy and not be manic. You can feel anger and not be manic as well. Your moods can be extremely deceptive. When you’re depressed, you can think your life is worse than it really is. When you’re extremely joyful, you can think your life is much better than it really is.

In good moods, things don’t feel so hard and problems don’t seem so overwhelming. You might feel like nothing is impossible to solve. On the other hand, in bad moods, you might feel like everything is too hard for you and your problems are insurmountable, and your whole life is overwhelming. This is another way your moods can fool you, so you also have to stay realistic.

When you’re in a good mood, relationships seem to flow and communication is easy. Even if your loved one or supporter criticizes you, you would probably just take it in stride, thinking maybe they just had a bad day, or whatever. You wouldn’t think you’re a bad person or anything

or that they hate you.

But if you’re in a bad mood, on the other hand, you might take that criticism as a dig at your

whole character and become totally depressed for days. This is yet another way that your moods can fool you, so you have to also keep things in perspective.

This means that you have to keep a rein on your thoughts at all times. You have to stay realistic.

Because in a bipolar episode, your thoughts can get jumbled, and become irrational, and that’s why your moods become out of sync with the reality of your normal world.

But if you keep a rein on your thoughts (staying positive, for example), there is less chance of this happening.

So remember…

Bipolar or not…

DON’T BE FOOLED BY YOUR MOODS!

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave