Hi,
Have you seen these new commercials lately? The ones for V-8 juice and for Manwich?
Well, for V-8 it’s about getting your necessary servings of vegetables in a juice. And in Manwich, it’s about how your necessary servings of vegetables are in with the meat. And the thing about that one is that it’s supposed to be “hidden,” sort of – so that you can’t really taste it, so that it’s a “pleasant surprise” or something.
In both cases, the point is the same – to get across that you need to eat your vegetables. However, they do it in a creative way. Not just with the commercials, but in the products themselves. The manufacturers see that the problem is that most people are not wanting to eat vegetables. So they figure that if they give you your vegetables in a way that makes you want to eat them, that they’ll make money! So they come out with these products to do that.
Well, my point is that sometimes you have to get a little creative when it comes to bipolar disorder, too. For example, when it comes to your loved one not wanting to take their
medication.
One creative thing you can do is put their medication in their food. This way, it will be easier for them to be willing to take it (i.e., it will taste better). Another thing you can do is to offer
to take yours (if you take medication too) when they take theirs. Another creative thing to do would be to have a reward set up for if they do take their medication – say, they get to do something they like to do if they have taken their medication all week.
The point is that you may have to get creative and offer incentives if you want your loved one to take their medication. You may have to do the same thing to get them to go to see their medical and mental health professionals on a regular basis.
Like with the medications, you can offer a reward system… You can offer to go to their appointments with them… If they like to drive, you can let them drive to their appointments,
which will make them more willing to go.
Whether it’s medication or doctor/therapist appointments, you need to make it worth their
while to go. You need to make them WANT to go. And to do that, you may need to get creative. You may need to offer some incentive for them to go. Whatever it is that you’re trying to get your loved one to do, if there is an incentive involved, they will be more apt to do it.
You can even do this in a more subtle way. For example, getting them to be more productive.
It may just be a matter of saying something like, “I love when you…” Or, “I would love it if you would…” Say they are painting, you could ask them to paint you a picture. Or if they are working in the garden, you could ask them to get you some flowers (or fruits or vegetables).
Whatever it is, put some creativity into it and you will get further!
Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave