Hi,

I’ve been thinking about something lately, and I just wanted to share my thoughts with you. It’s about what happens when you try to accomplish too much too fast. Think about it. When you try to accomplish too much too fast, you are just setting yourself up for failure, because you’ll never be able to do it. It can also get very frustrating and discouraging for you. Also, if you don’t know how long something should take, you can start to think it’s taking too long.

For example, after an episode. It could take up to a year to fully “fix” the after-effects of an episode. Like the financial ruin – you can’t fix a bankruptcy in just two weeks! But if you were to hear some people tell it, you’d think you can just do it overnight! We don’t rush the stroke victim or even the cancer victim, so why do we rush the victim of bipolar disorder? Thinking that they should be over an episode after just a week or two is just plain having unrealistic expectations sometimes. Would we have that same expectation if they were getting over a physical illness? Then why are we expecting it from them when it comes to a bipolar episode?

In my research, I have interviewed people who are success stories. And they talk about how long it took them sometimes to fully recover from some of their episodes. Some of them say it took a whole year, and some of them say it took even longer!

There are certain things in life that take a certain amount of time to happen. It’s just the way it has to be. Like getting through school, for example. It’s not something that can be rushed. You just have to go through it. Think about things in nature. Like the butterfly – It starts off as a caterpillar…Then it goes into a cocoon… And only after a certain period of time does it change into that beautiful butterfly! It just doesn’t happen overnight. And if you interrupt it at any point in the chain of events, the whole thing would be ruined! Some things just can’t be rushed. Other things just have to take place in a certain order. And still other things have to take place at a certain time.

Wanting your loved one who has bipolar disorder to get over their episode overnight is like wanting them to be that beautiful butterfly without going through the cocoon phase! Some things are just worth waiting for. You just have to be more patient sometimes. And I know that isn’t easy, because it wasn’t easy for me. Sometimes it takes time for your loved one and their doctor to find the right medications for them to be on. It definitely takes time for your loved one to make the changes they learn about in therapy. But as long as they are making strides toward stability, you can be encouraged that someday they will reach it. Yes, it will take patience on your part. But it will be worth it in the end. You’ll see…Your loved one’s stability will turn out to be one of those things in life that will have been worth waiting for.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave