Hi,

How’s it going?

I am going hiking today so I had to get this off early in the morning.

Okay, so, have you ever heard the expression “getting back on the horse”?

People use it when talking about having failed at something and then trying it again.

Sometimes, if you’ve messed up, it’s hard to get back to where you were.

But sometimes it’s CRUCIAL that you “get back on the horse” when it comes to things that you

mess up with your bipolar disorder.

Take, for example, your medication.

It’s easy to forget to take it.

If you do, that’s ok. You just take the next dose when it’s time.

But too many people will just stop taking it altogether, and that is a HUGE mistake!

Because that is almost a SURE way to go into a bipolar episode!

And also because when you’re ready to go back on your medication, it’s like starting at square one again.

Bipolar medication takes time to build up in your bloodstream, so if you’ve been off it for awhile, you have to start at a low dose again and build back up to the level where you were before you stopped taking it.

Some people mess up seeing their doctor, psychiatrist, and/or therapist.

They miss one appointment, then it gets easier to miss another, then another…

Then they stop going altogether.

And that is NOT the right thing to do.

If you miss an appointment, you have to “get back on the horse” and go to the next one.

There are so many parts that can be messed up in a treatment plan, but I’m not going to go into all the parts of a treatment plan here, because I go into them extensively in my courses/systems:

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But I do want to talk to you about what happens when you do start to mess up parts of your treatment plan.

Let’s say you’ve started isolating again.

Isolation is one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder, and one of the top triggers to a bipolar episode.

But if you let this slip, and you start to isolate again, then you are in a dangerous place, and could be jeopardizing your stability.

Now you have two choices:

You can either close down, shut out the world, get all depressed, climb into bed, pull the covers over your head, feel sorry for yourself, cry, and go into a bipolar depressive episode…

OR… you can “get back on the horse” again.

Another example is if you start to slip with your sleep patterns.

Lack of sleep (or too much sleep) is another trigger to a bipolar episode.

But you can fix it if you catch it soon enough.

In other words, you can accept that even though you let a PART of your treatment plan get messed up, your WHOLE treatment plan is still working, and you can still fix it.

First you identify what went wrong. Then you can fix it (“Get back on the horse.”)

It doesn’t have to be anything really dramatic, but even small parts of your treatment plan, if they get messed up, can cause you to go into an episode.

Even if it does cause you to go into an episode, though, you can still recover from that episode and…

That’s right – “get back on the horse” again.

Start back doing the things you were doing before you went into that episode.

What do you think of the idea of “getting back on the horse”?

Hi,

How are you?

Here’s the bipolar news. Enjoy.

To read this week’s news visit: http://www.leverageteamllc.com/bipolarnews440/

How Did Your Doctor Arrive at Your Diagnosis of

Bipolar Disorder?

DO> Interesting article, take a look.

A Documentary Charts Family’s Struggle With

Bipolar Depression

DO> If you can get it, you should.

You Aren’t Bipolar, You’re Just a Jerk!

DO> Hmm. What do you think of this?

Depression Treatment & Types of Antidepressants

DO> Great factual article.

Bipolar Disorder Linked To Genes Of Biological Clock

DO> Another interesting research based article.

For these stories and more, please visit: http://www.leverageteamllc.com/bipolarnews440/

==>Help with ALL aspects of bipolar disorder<<==

Check out all my resources, programs and information for all aspects of bipolar disorder by visiting:

http://www.bipolarcentralcatalog.com

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How are you doing?

Today I have a challenge for you!

I’m just curious.

Answer this question:

What does “living successfully with bipolar disorder” mean?

Ok, I’ll even give you a hint, but then you’ll have to scroll down for my answer!

It’s a combination of two things, for starters. Can you guess? (scroll down for another hint)

They begin with M and T.

(scroll down)

Ok, the first one is medication.

(scroll down for the second one)

The second one is treatment.

Those are only the top two things to living successfully with bipolar disorder, though.

There are more elements to stability than that, and I talk about them in my courses:

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But let’s go over some of what it takes for living successfully with bipolar disorder.

To me, it’s when taking medication, going to all appointments (doctor, therapist, psychiatrist), following a treatment plan, etc., all becomes a lifestyle instead of a chore.

It’s when you have a positive attitude instead of a negative one – where you have totally accepted bipolar disorder instead of resenting it (since there’s nothing you can do about it anyway).

It’s when you have mastered the disorder instead of it mastering you.

I also think living successfully with bipolar disorder involves setting realistic goals (short-term and long-term) and then achieving them.

And since we’re talking about success, obviously, I think I need to throw in here that we’re talking about how each person has to define their own success.

For someone in a bipolar depressive episode, success might mean just getting out of bed that day.

But I’m talking about a different kind of success.

A bigger success with bipolar disorder.

And the things you need to do to get there.

The long-term goal would be stability.

The short-term goals might be:

1. Take medication every day

2. Go to all appointments (doctor,

psychiatrist, therapist)

3. Stick to a good sleep schedule

4. Eat a healthy diet

5. Exercise

6. Be productive

Then, say, being productive might be working at a job, starting a home-based business, taking a

course at your local college, having a hobby, volunteering, etc.

And, say, as far as exercising goes, you may need to have an even shorter-term goal of starting

off slowly and building up.

Then ask yourself, what is your definition of success with bipolar disorder?

Is it NO episodes? Because that isn’t realistic – as long as you have bipolar disorder, you will

have episodes.

The goal here is to have FEWER episodes.

Which, if you do the right thing, will happen.

Is it management of the disorder so that you can live a “normal” life?

YES! That would be a good, realistic definition of success with bipolar disorder, because it means that you are stable.

And that should be your long-term goal.

What does “living successfully with bipolar disorder” mean to YOU?

Hi,

How are you doing?

They say there are two types of people in this world:

Those who see a glass of water as half full…

These people are called optimists.

And those who see the glass as half-empty…

These people are called pessimists.

Not as well known, however, is a third type of people in this world.

Those are people who see that glass of water as simply a glass of water.

These people are called realists.

The reason I bring it up is because the type of person you are will affect the thoughts you have (and vice versa).

The optimist has positive thoughts.

The pessimist has negative thoughts.

The realist has both, and weighs them together.

They say that positive people live longer.

Have you ever heard that?

They say it’s because their health is better.

Why is that?

Because they don’t have as much stress in their lives, they don’t worry as much, and they don’t get angry as often.

So, obviously, they would be healthier – no headaches, upset stomachs, ulcers, anxiety, insomnia, etc. for them!

They are also more productive.

They get more done, more easily, and with a better attitude.

It’s not that a positive person never has negative thoughts – that wouldn’t

be realistic – but it’s that they choose

not to dwell on them.

They don’t act on their negative thoughts, and they don’t let those thoughts bring them down.

In my courses/systems, I discuss the power of positive thinking when it comes to bipolar disorder, and how it can help you to attain stability faster.

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Pessimists are just the opposite of everything I’ve just said.

And pessimists think negatively.

When you have negative thoughts, you have two choices in dealing with them.

You can analyze them (worry, fret, bother), study them, think about them, dwell on them, even obsess over them.

Or you can learn to ignore them, let them go, don’t take them so seriously, etc.  In other words, not let them affect you.

Obviously, taking your negative thoughts less seriously, or letting them go altogether, is the etter

choice for your own sake, and for your own health.

Richard Carlson, M.D., in his (now-famous) book called “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” says,

“When you have a thought – any thought – that’s all it is, a thought!  It can’t hurt you without your consent.”

So that goes along with what I’m saying.  YOU control how a thought affects you, especially a negative thought.

Which is very important, because negative thoughts can actually harm you.

They can cause physical consequences, such as high blood pressure, anxiety and stress, headaches, stomach aches and ulcers, insomnia, and even heart problems!

This is for you AND your loved one.

It’s worse for your loved one, though.

For them, negative thoughts (if dwelled upon) can lead to a bipolar depressive episode.

Then once in the depressive episode, if those thoughts continue, they can even lead to suicidal thoughts, which is when it gets really dangerous.

So it’s important to remember that when you get a negative thought, you have a choice of what to do with it.

Make the right choice and let it go, so that it doesn’t hurt you or your loved one.

How do you handle your negative thoughts?

Do you dwell on them or let them go?

Hi,

How’s your day going?

Yesterday I had a bad day.

I found out that someone who probably is not on medication started a website writing as if they are me.

And the stuff they were saying as if they were me, was totally crazy.

The person also believes they are the President of the United States and Jesus.

They also believe they are many different celebrities.

There sites are totally crazy. I mean super crazy.

This person is really sick and needs help.

It’s really annoying because I had to waste my entire day contacting law enforcement, lawyers, web hosts and other people.

If you have bipolar disorder. Stay on your medication. Otherwise you could do something completely crazy and that gets you into a lot of trouble.

I forgot to tell you this person has videos with himself with no clothes on. It’s disturbing stuff.

This person is going to be in a whole lot of trouble. It’s bad enough what he is doing to me but he is doing it to a lot of powerful people who have an army of lawyers and law enforcement behind them.

I told my friend this and he asked me if I get tired of dealing with crazy people. This made me mad.

The reality is, the vast majority of people who have bipolar disorder are fine, fun, super smart and great to be around.

This is why I have so many people with bipolar disorder working for me.

It’s sad when someone gets off their medication and do so much bad.

Anyway let’s get into today’s topic.

I’m really concerned about something, and I think you need to know about it as well.

You know I volunteer at several places where there are people with bipolar disorder and their supporters, like support groups and such.

Well, sometimes I like what I hear, and then I bring that information to you, because I think you can benefit from it.

But what is really bothering me today is something that I’ve noticed happens at some of these meetings that is NOT a good thing.

I’ll tell you about it:

It’s when people who have NO clue about bipolar disorder give advice on it – even though the advice is sincere, it is still sincerely wrong!

Now people can truly get hurt by this advice, and that makes me mad!

For instance, one person at this support group meeting said, “My friend told me that since I seem to be doing so much better, that I should stop taking my medications.”

Then other people say, “Yeah, my friend said the same thing”…

And before you know it, this one comment is controlling the whole meeting, and it is a totally FALSE thing – a LIE!

Then, when I try to tell them that that comment can’t be true, or that it could hurt them, or at least that they should check with their doctor before going off their medications, they ALL look at me like I’m some crazy person!

Know what I mean?

Or they say their friend told them to stop working and get on disability.

Well, who are they to give that kind of advice?

That’s BAD advice, too!

Another person said that their friend said that another friend said that they should take this supplement on the market instead of their medications, that it worked for their friend’s friend!

In my courses and systems, I teach the difference between the truth and myths that are out there about bipolar disorder:

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But I ask myself, where are these people getting this stuff? And how come people are believing it?

Really, sometimes I just want to walk out of these meetings and just keep going. But then I remember why I am there – to help.

And sometimes that help is just to tell them the truth about what their “friends” have been telling them.

Like with these herbal supplements that you see advertised on the Internet and such.

Now, I know this is real controversial.

I’m not saying they’re bad. But if you do take them, you should ask your doctor first.

And not just take someone else’s word for it.

And always take them WITH your medication, and not INSTEAD of your medication!

But sometimes, like these people at these meetings that act like they’re doctors…

Well, they might say that these herbal supplements are a cure, which is NOT the truth!

Same thing with those “natural remedies.”

Well, that’s just a politically correct way of saying natural cure.

And they get a lot of people to believe them, and it’s still BAD advice.

Not only bad advice, but NOT the truth!

The only REAL truth is that there is still NO cure for bipolar disorder at this time, unfortunately.

No matter what you may hear at a support group meeting.

Even though these people are well meaning, always check with your doctor before you do anything like taking a supplement instead of your medications just because you heard “a friend of a friend of a friend” says it works.

What do you think about all this?

Have you ever heard any of this at one of your support group meetings?

Do you know people like this?

Hi,

How’s it going?

Let me ask you a question:

If I lie, but I tell you it’s a lie, am I really lying?

(I guess that’s a kind of If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it really make a sound? Kind of question, huh?)

No, but seriously, think about that question.

Because Michele, who works for me? One of her sons, when they were little, actually said that to her!

Now, how do you answer that?

The reason I asked you to think about how you would answer that question is because I get a similar question a lot.

I get asked, “How can I tell if my loved one is lying?”

And here’s where it’s similar.

Many times, in a bipolar manic episode, your loved one may lie to you.

But the problem is, they may absolutely, positively, believe that they’re telling the truth.

So, are they really lying?

Here’s another way where it happens.

AFTER the episode.

Say, you and your loved one are talking about a situation that happened while your loved one was in their episode.

You were both there when it happened. But you both remember it a little differently.

You say that it happened one way, but your loved one absolutely swears that it happened another way.

You say that your loved one did or said something, but they fervently deny it.

Are they lying?

Or do they just totally NOT REMEMBER doing or saying it?

And is that the same thing as lying?

I have interviewed some people for my courses, and they have described this behavior in their loved ones.

I have also interviewed parents with children who describe this lying behavior in their children and teenagers.

Also, in my courses, I talk about bipolar disorder and lying, and that the person with the disorder should not “get away with” the behavior.

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But there’s a difference between lying and taking responsibility for what happened during your bipolar episode, whether you remember it or not.

That’s what you really want after all, isn’t it?

That’s what a lot of the responses I get are about.

There are a lot of angry supporters out there, whose loved one tells lies, hurting them (and others) with their lies.

And it’s not even so much that they lie, but that they get away with it.

That’s what makes these supporters so angry. That’s what made me so angry with my mom, anyway.

She would do all the yelling, manipulating, and lying, and I would get all the blame, and be the one left to “clean up after” her.

I hated that. And I didn’t think it was fair. It really made me angry and resentful.

And it hurt a lot. You may be feeling hurt, too. And the worst part is that your loved one goes along not even knowing that they’ve hurt you at all!

In my research, I found that it is very common that a person with bipolar disorder will not remember what they said/did when in an episode, after the episode is over.

In my courses, I urge people to not take it personally, and that’s why.

I know it’s hard to believe that your loved one is probably not lying to you on purpose, but ask yourself these questions:

Is not remembering what happened during a bipolar episode the same thing as purposely lying?

Is your loved one purposely trying to hurt you?

Or is it part of their bipolar disorder?

The main question is this:

Is your loved one willing to take responsibility for what they did during their episode?

Hi,

How are you doing?

I was thinking about a place where I have found a bunch of people to work for me.

Now I have found some terrible people at this place but I have found some of my very best people from this place too.

For a while I started to think of the place as a bad one and hated it.

Then I thought of all the good people that I’ve gotten from this place.

It made me think of the expression, “You have to take the good with the

bad.”

In other words, what if I had condemned this place, saying that I would never go there again to get any more people to work for me, just because I got some bad people from it?

What if I focused only on the bad?

Then what if the very next person I would have hired from there would have been the best employee I ever would have hired?

I really would have missed out on something good just because I didn’t take the bad with the good.

Just because I judged something without having all the facts.

Just because I was too quick to judge.

And just because I had a few bad experiences, I could have decided to hate the whole thing.

Many people with bipolar disorder do the same thing that I started to do.

They start focusing on the bad.

They don’t take the bad with the good.

They condemn without getting all the facts.

Or they even make decisions before they consider all the choices, or all the consequences.

Like the bad side effects from their bipolar medications.

Instead of thinking that ok, there are some bad side effects, but the medication is good…

Or calling the doctor and telling him about the bad side effects to see what can be done…

They just jump right to wanting to go off the medication.

And in my courses/systems, I talk about how dangerous it is for you to do that, and how important staying on medication is:

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Some people judge a doctor as a bad doctor just because one time he didn’t call back in exactly 30 minutes.

Or maybe he kept you waiting in the waiting room for an hour.

Or maybe you don’t feel like he treated you the way you expected to be treated when he did see you, etc.

You have to take it all into account before you condemn something or someone in the medical or mental health field.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some bad doctors, but you can’t just jump right in there and say that your doctor is one because of one of these reasons.

You have to take the bad with the good.

Just like with the medications – you can’t condemn all bipolar medications just because some of them have some bad side effects.

You can’t expect all medications to work perfectly every time.

Medication isn’t perfect.

But you have to take the bad with the good, because you have to take medication for your bipolar disorder.

You just have to work with your doctor.

But you can’t expect your doctor to be perfect all the time.

They aren’t.

They have bad days just like you do, and what if that day that you felt you weren’t treated exactly the way you wanted to be treated was just a bad day for them?

You have to take the bad with the good.

Just like what if I had expected this source for finding people to work for me to be perfect and to give me absolutely perfect people every time?

And what if I stopped using them just because they weren’t perfect?
Have you learned to take the bad with the good?

Can you give me an example of how you had to apply this principle?

Hi,

How’s it going?

I hope things are going ok for you today.

I have a friend who went back to college at a later age, and she had a lot of problems with it.

Seems it’s not so easy if you don’t go to college right after high school, because for one thing, you get out of the habit of studying.

For another thing, she said, it seemed, at least to her, that it was harder to absorb the information.

She was in college with a lot of young people, and they seemed to get the subject material much easier than she did, and it was very frustrating for her.

She had to study very, very hard.

Eventually, though, after much hard work on her part, she finally got it, and went on to get her

college degree.

She said it was one of the hardest things she ever did in her life.

I asked her if it was worth it, though.

And she said, “Definitely.”

What does this have to do with bipolar disorder?

Well, I’ll tell you.

There is a lesson to be learned from this story.

There is something that I call the Bipolar Disorder Learning Curve.

In other words, just like my friend in college, they didn’t just hand her that college diploma the first day of school and say thanks for coming, did they?

There was a whole lot she had to learn before she could earn that college diploma, and it was hard. Very hard for her.

Well, it’s the same thing with bipolar stability.

I go over this in my courses/systems. How you have to learn all you can about bipolar disorder, first of all. But then you have to build on that knowledge. That’s the learning curve. Stability

doesn’t happen overnight.

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Like I said, you have to keep learning in order to become stable with bipolar disorder.

You don’t get it right the first time, or the first day, or even the first month.

Stability takes time.

It involves a learning curve.

It took my mother 20 years!

It took Michele (who works for me) 10 years!

I’ve talked to other people who’ve told me it took them many years as well.

And you have to constantly work at it.

You can’t just assume that it will take care of itself.

As far as learning about bipolar disorder itself, new information is coming out all the time, so you have to stay on top of it.

You have to stay on top of your medications, too. And you should be informed about them.

Work hand-in-hand with your doctors and mental health professionals. Learn what they know about the disorder, the course of it, and how it relates to you.

When it comes to your doctors and your therapist, don’t be afraid to ask how you’re coming along. You should learn as much as you can about what they think about your progress. You should be a part of your own treatment, as much as you can be.

Learn how to communicate with your supporters. You have to tell them what you need from them. Find out who can help with what, and then let them help you. It’s up to you. They can’t help you if you don’t communicate with them. This, too, is part of the learning curve.

Learn about yourself. Learn what your triggers are. What makes you better and what makes

you worse.

Learn how to manage your bipolar disorder. Learn how to recognize when a bipolar episode is coming on, so you can head it off at the pass.

You have to respect the bipolar disorder learning curve, so that you can get better.

And remember that it doesn’t happen overnight.

Has the learning curve worked for you?

Hi,

How’s it going for you today?

You know the most important part of any movie, right?

It’s not the title.

It’s not the director.

It’s not the actors (even if they are the biggest stars in Hollywood).

It’s the PLOT.

Without a good plot (a good story), it doesn’t matter how good the director is, or even how good the actors (stars) are.

The only way a movie is going to be good is if it has a good plot.

Well, in a way we can compare our lives with a movie in that we are living out a sort of plot as well.

But what if we want to change the end of our movie?

Well, The only way to change the end of a movie is to change the plot of that movie!

That suggests that we have some control over our lives, doesn’t it?

Many people with bipolar disorder and their supporters don’t believe that, unfortunately.

But I have talked to many, many people who HAVE changed the plots of their lives so that they WILL have a happy ending!

These people have bipolar disorder, but have learned to manage their disorder.

Even some of the most hopeless cases have been able to turn their lives around to become bipolar success stories!

For some, stability was just a dream – something that seemed unattainable.

But with concentrated effort and a lot of hope, they finally reached it – they changed the end of their movie by changing the plot of their movie.

How does this happen?

Well, when your loved one is first diagnosed, they will be put on a treatment plan.

That treatment plan should include medication and therapy.

Those are just the basics, though – the foundation of their treatment plan.

They also need to do some work themselves to get better.

During their “movie,” both of you will have “parts” to play.

So will other people, as your loved one develops a good, strong support system.

They cannot get better by themselves, which is one of the points I make in my courses/systems:

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

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Your part is the role of the supporter.

You need to be patient and understanding.

You need to be supportive, without enabling your loved one (doing things for them that they can do for themselves).

If you are living with your loved one, then you need to keep as stress-free an environment for them as possible.

But you also need to remember to take care of yourself first, because if you’re not healthy (physically, emotionally and spiritually), how can you take care of your loved one?

Your loved one has a role in this “movie” as well.

Their “role” consists of:

– taking their medication

– seeing a doctor, psychiatrist and therapist

– sticking to a good sleep schedule

– eating a healthy diet

– exercising

– being productive

– etc.

Taken all together, it is a recipe for stability, which is the happy ending of the movie for anyone with bipolar disorder.

What about you and your loved one?

What have you done to change the plot of your “movie”?

Can you tell me some of the “tricks” that have worked?

Hi,

How’s it going today?

Many of us have heard the expression, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.”

But think about that…

“Anything worth doing…”

Have you ever had to ask yourself if what you’re doing is worth doing?

Like going to school perhaps?

Or doing the job that you’re doing?

Or being in the relationship you’re in?

Or training or keeping that pet?

Or driving that car?

Or living in that house?

Or following that dream?

Now look back at those questions.

Some of them, well, you just have to answer no to.

Or, at least, you’ve had to answer no to in the past.

Some people have had to drop out of college because it just wasn’t worth it all that time and effort to get that degree, when they could make more money in a lucrative career without it (or start their own business).

Some people switched jobs because it wasn’t worth the hassle in the job where they were, or it wasn’t worth the pay, or… well, for whatever reason, it just wasn’t worth it.

Some people have been in relationships that may have started well enough, but then got so complicated that it just wasn’t worth the energy they had to put into it to sustain that relationship.

Some people, and I know this may sound cruel, but for some people it’s just been necessary, have had to give away animals because it just wasn’t worth all the time and money they had

to put into them to try to train and keep them, so they had to make that tough decision.

Some people have had to sell their cars (actually, a lot of people) because the maintenance on the car just wasn’t worth the money they had into it, and it was just cheaper to buy a new one.

You know, the same can be said of computers these days, as well.

Unfortunately, many people have had to sell their houses, because so many things started going wrong that it just wasn’t worth it after awhile, and it was better to find another house instead.

And some people have even had to give up their dreams because it just wasn’t worth it after awhile to pursue them in light of reality, or in light of all the time and money and energy they had to put into making those dreams come true.

So how does all this relate to bipolar disorder?

After everything I’ve just pointed out, let me ask you to think about this question:

Is it worth it to continue to support a loved one with bipolar disorder, who may not be getting better?

Who may be going into episodes, and you can’t help them?

Or they don’t seem to even want your help?

Is it worth it to keep hanging in there with a loved one who has horrible mood swings?

Who has acting out behavior from their bipolar episodes?

Where you have to deal with the consequences of what they do during their episodes?

I’ve written all about mood swings, bipolar episodes, and the consequences of those episodes, as well as how you can cope with them in my courses/systems, because I know what it’s like from what I went through with my mom.

And I had to ask myself if it was worth it, too.

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.survivebipolar.net

Is it worth it?

Is it worth it when your loved one doesn’t want to take their medication?

Or go to the doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist?

Or sleep right, eat right, or exercise?

Or do the things that will keep them stable with their bipolar disorder?

Well, it was worth it for me with my mom.

And today she is stable, happy, productive, and successful.

And so I challenge you:

IT IS WORTH IT!

If it was worth it to me, it can be worth it for you, too.

If your loved one can learn to manage their bipolar disorder like my mom did…

Then there is every reason to believe that your loved one can become stable, happy, productive, and successful, too!

Then it will all have been worth it!

Just hang in there, it will be worth it.

Do you agree with me?