Hi,
Happy Memorial if you live in the United States and celebrate it.
I hope you doing great today whether you are or you aren’t.
Actually I have to get going today because I am doing a bunch of things but first wanted to send this out really quick.
You know, there are a lot of hard things in life.
Growing up is hard.
Going to college is hard.
Making a marriage work is hard.
Raising children is hard.
Getting along with difficult people is hard.
Making things meet financially is hard, especially in today’s economy.
Having, coping, and dealing with bipolar disorder is really hard.
But THIS is when it is HARDEST:
Here’s an email I got about it:
“Hi, Dave,
Just wanted to tell you how very
effective your emails are to give
down-to-earth information to many
areas for those who suffer the unasked
for condition of bipolar disorder. I
have a wonderful friend who works
hard daily to made a productive life
for himself but seems to be constantly
punished for his disease especially by
his immediate biological family, who
should certainly know better. They
seem to have targeted him as the
family scapegoat and constantly
remind him that they certainly
aren’t mentally ill. I could smack
every one of them! Andrea Farrell.”
—————————————————–
This has got to be one of the hardest things of all for someone with bipolar disorder to deal with –
When not only does your own family not support you, but they actually BLAME you for your own disorder!
This family is obviously grossly misinformed.
Let me state a couple FACTS right here and right now.
First of all, bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance of the brain.
You don’t get it because of something you did or didn’t do, like having a childhood disease or doing drugs or something.
BIPOLAR DISORDER IS NOT YOUR FAULT!
Second of all, most scientists believe that bipolar disorder has a hereditary element to it.
In other words, that the disorder is passed down through the family.
So these people may THINK that none of them has a mental illness, but I bet if they look, they’ll find someone who – if they don’t have bipolar disorder – at least suffers (suffered) from major depression!
But the main thing here is look what they’re doing to this man!
It’s called STIGMA. It’s very common, and it’s very ugly. And we have to fight it every day with bipolar disorder. That’s why I talk about in my courses/systems below:
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
Look at the words:
“They seem to have targeted him as the family scapegoat and constantly remind him that they certainly aren’t mentally ill.”
That’s STIGMA.
That’s what people do to another person who has a mental illness.
Do you hear the FEAR in that statement?
People generally fear what they don’t understand.
If these people took the time to really understand bipolar disorder, I’m sure they wouldn’t treat this man the way they are.
Especially because he seems to be doing everything he can to manage his bipolar disorder, according to Andrea’s email.
He sounds stable, which is what we all want for our loved one, and we know it isn’t easy.
We also know they need our support.
Can you imagine:
“…but [he] seems to be constantly
punished for his disease.”
What if this were you?
How would YOU feel?
Do you think you would want to get stable?
Or do you think you would just give up?