Hi,

My friend George says that I like to talk. I sure do. I don’t know why. I am the guy that talks to you in line, on the plane, in the train, etc. Well, I was in line and I met a lady in the grocery store. She was buying lettuce and I was, too. I picked one up and put it in my cart.

She said, “Hey, what are you doing?”

At first I thought she was crazy.

Then she said, “You’d better learn how to buy lettuce.”

So I listened.

She basically told me what kind of lettuce to buy, how to squeeze it to make sure you are getting the most for your money, and how to store it.

She said, “Remember, son, there’s a process for everything, even the simplest things.”

I laughed and said “Great suggestions! You should start a business.” She said she had a business, painting.

So then she asked what I did. I wanted to tell her about all the bipolar stuff so I did.

She said, “Wow! My friend has bipolar disorder.”

I said “Really?”

She said her friend has a hard time taking her medication.

I asked if the friend is in denial.

She said no, just that the friend has trouble remembering to take the medications and which ones she took.

I said, “Well, you need to have a system. Some people buy these plastic containers and put their pills in them. If your friend takes morning and evening pills, they have containers that have a

place for morning, and a place for evening, so she would put them in each place. That way, if your friend looks and the place is empty, she knows she took her pills for the day!”

I said to her, “See? There’s a process for everything.”

So that’s the bipolar secret I learned from buying lettuce that day: “There’s a process for everything, even the simplest of things.”

Like when I was telling this lady about the processes her friend could use in taking her

medication. There are other processes associated with bipolar disorder as well. Many of them, in fact, if you’re trying to manage your bipolar so you can reach stability. Or, if you’re a supporter, you can use processes to keep from getting too stressed out. Or so you can be a good supporter to your loved one.

The secret is that there are things you CAN do to help yourself!

I’ve been to too many bipolar support meetings only to hear the people complain that there’s

nothing that can be done for them.

That’s not true!

Remember the secret: “There’s a process for everything, even the simplest of things.”

If you want to work on eating a healthy diet, for example, develop a process for it. That

could include working out a time schedule for when you eat, working out the foods you

choose to eat, whether you would include dessert or not, whether you would eat snacks or not, how often you would weigh yourself (or if you would weigh yourself), etc. See? A process.

It’s a secret, but not one that is not workable. You can do it!

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave