Hi,

There’s a well-known expression that goes: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.” And that’s true, and I respect that, as I’m sure you do as well. The problem comes when someone “offers” you their opinion. Strongly. Well, not just “offers” it, but expects you to take it. That’s when you can feel sort of strong-armed, and you really don’t like it. I mean, everyone is entitled to their OWN opinion, sure, but it goes without saying that at the same time they should respect that you have YOUR opinion as well. And that you are entitled to your own opinion. Some people are so opinionated that they expect you to take their advice all the time. They think that their way is the only way. I have run across this type of attitude in some of the bipolar support groups that I volunteer at. And, in my opinion, this type of attitude can be very dangerous.

Especially when you’re dealing with people who have just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and aren’t that familiar with the disorder yet. These people are looking for any help, and bad advice can come off as good advice to them, when it comes from someone in a bipolar support group. And I’m not saying that the person means to hurt you or anything…Not on purpose.

Just that they think that their way is right, and maybe it is for their loved one, but that doesn’t mean that it is for your loved one, so that doesn’t mean that you should necessarily listen to them.

For example: One time I heard a woman actually telling a man that he should take his wife off all her bipolar medications and put her on this supplement instead, because this woman had put her husband on it and he had gotten better. Well, whether this woman’s husband got better without

medication or not isn’t even the issue here. The issue is that she is giving out bad advice!

Dangerous advice! I mean, first of all, she is NOT a doctor or anything, so who is she to tell someone else to take their loved one off their bipolar medication in the first place? I’m sorry if I’m getting all up in arms about this, but it is really a sore subject for me, because too many people do this, and I’ve seen too many people go off their medication because they listened to bad advice and went straight into a bipolar episode because of it.

So here’s this woman telling someone else that they should take their loved one off their bipolar meds just because she took her husband off his and he got better. And I’m saying that’s bad advice. Because who knows, it may not even be why he got better. And the thing is, for how long will he stay better? Because when they first go off their medication, some people with bipolar disorder may stay ok for a short period of time, but then go into a bipolar episode. So we don’t know “the rest of the story” yet. We don’t know if he really is “better” on this supplement

instead of his bipolar medication. And the thing is…Even if he was…It wouldn’t mean that it would work for your loved one, just because it worked for this woman’s husband. So she really shouldn’t be passing along bad advice like this.

But it’s like what I was saying about opinions…Everyone is entitled to have one. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they should share it with everyone. Sometimes you need to be careful what you share, how you share it, and who you share it with. The only opinion that should matter to you is the opinion of your loved one’s treatment team. They are the ones who know what’s best for your loved one.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave