Hi,

How are you?

First, I sent out an email yesterday.
I want to say my daily emails will not
turn into religious promotion. I just
had a number of requests for information
a resource on bipolar disorder and Christianity.

If you aren’t interested, just don’t visit
the website.

Oh another thing. I think there was a problem
with yesterday’s link. If you are interested
in bipolar disorder and Christianity, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/spiritualjourney/

Okay on with today’s message. There’s a huge
mistake that people make with bipolar disorder
that most people don’t talk about. I am not sure
why.

What’s the mistake? It’s to do nothing and hope
everything works itself out. I am amazed how people
think that a serious illness can work itself out.

I talk to so many people that just do absolutely
positively nothing about their situation. Whether
they are supporters of a person with bipolar disorder
or they have disorder themselves.

I will tell you this, bipolar disorder get worse
when you don’t do anything. I am NOT a doctor or
therapist but I have seen enough examples of people
doing nothing that I can say, when you do nothing
and either you or a person you know are in the early
stages of an episode, it just gets worse and worse.

I am actually doing an interview for the Bipolar Inner
Circle cd of the month that’s going to be super exciting.
It’s with two people at the same time. A husband that
just came out an episode and a wife that was his supporter.

The only reason that he didn’t go into a full fledged episode
where he would have been violent probably was because his
wife took action and he agreed that he had to go to the
hospital. As a result there was virtually no damage from
the episode.

In the past, an episode would get super bad and the husband
would become violent and there would be much destruction.

The wife however took action and followed the principles
that I outline in my material.

But the key thing is, she did something. Now I know what
you are saying, “Well Dave, that sounds good BUT
how do you get someone who doesn’t want treatment
into treatment.”

Okay that’s a fair question. There are many ways. I have
a bunch. But for this email, I am talking to people
who are in the early stages of an episode or bipolar
supporters, supporting people in an early stage of an
episode. And this is a lot of people on my list. These
people generally do nothing and wait. They hope. “I hope
it just gets better.” Then it gets worse and worse and
worse. Once the episode is far enough along, it’s way
more difficult to turn things around. NOTE-More difficult
but not impossible.

So you have to really try to “catch the episode.” Anyway
the interview I am doing with this husband and wife is
going to be really cool. I have never done such an interview.
I will be asking how the husband felt. What the wife was
thinking. And it will be back and forth so you can
know exactly what was going on and it will give you
insight into your own situation whether you have bipolar
disorder yourself or you are a bipolar supporter.

With that said, I want to address one more issue. People
ask me if bipolar disorder get worse with age. First
let me ask again that I am NOT a doctor, therapist,
professional, lawyer, insurance agent, etc.

BUT I do have an opinion and I know some stuff about
bipolar disorder :). With my site being the #4 to #6 site in google
for bipolar (beating out more than 21,000,000 million other
sites), having more than 100,000 people in my list,
and having 8 people who work for me with bipolar disorder,
volunteering a ton for people who deal with bipolar disorder,
and having lots of friends with bipolar disorder I can
say that in general of the people that live, bipolar
disorder get better with age.

Here’s what I mean. First unfortunately a percentage of people
will commit suicide as a result of lack of treatment of
bipolar disorder. Now out of those that live, I have noticed
that the older someone gets, the more he/she gets sick
and tired of having a life of ups and downs and decides
to go to a doctor and get a proper treatment plan.

After a person makes this step, lots of progress starts
being made and the person starts doing better. I have
seen time and time again, major complications with
bipolar disorder are the result of a lack of a
proper treatment plan.

In virtually all my interviews in my courses
below, this is a theme that runs through out.

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

So to recap, the biggest mistake you can make
with bipolar disorder is to do nothing. People
who do nothing wind up having a total disaster
because the illness doesn’t work itself without
doctors care. It gets worse.

Okay, I have to run. Lots of things to do. Hey
some said that we should have a bipolar field
trip. I would be open to that. I am not sure how
we would do it but I think it would be cool
to meet up with a bunch of people and maybe go
to a lake or something. If you have any ideas
on how to set something like this up, drop me
a line.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

==>>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.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

I just got up. It’s 6:47am. Long day yesterday.
Today I really have some really simple to tell
you about bipolar disorder.

First let me tell you the story about what
happen to me. Yesterday I had a monthly marketing
meeting down in Red Bank, NJ.

It’s such a pain to travel some times far
away. Why? Well depending on my goals and
objectives for my training I may have to
bring a big cooler full of food because
I have to eat 6 times a day.

As a side note, the neighbors who live
next to me think that I go on vacation
every day or to the beach because I always
have a cooler :).

Anyway, I got everything into my car, my
brief case, cooler, gym bag, etc. Lots of
stuff. I took off and then had to swing
by the super market to pick up some low
salt turkey.

So I was driving and I got a call from
someone. I would swear someone is giving
out my cell phone number because a person
called me and wanted to ask “just one
quick question” about bipolar disorder.

I know that turns from one to many. But
since I had a long drive I am okay with it.
Did you know that I do sometimes 12,000 minutes
a month on my cell phone :). It’s kind of
out of control.

Anyway so this person got my bipolar
supporter course and she said she doesn’t
understand how to know if her husband
is going into an episode.

I told her how first it’s a skill to be
able to know. That’s the first thing
you have to realize. That at first you
start out not knowing anything about bipolar
disorder, then you know about it, and if
you are a supporter you learn the skill
of how to know the signs of if your loved
one is in an episode.

So I was telling her all of this. She kind
of understood. I told her to fill out the
worksheets in my course and look at them
daily and that will help and be a great predictor
of future bipolar disorder episodes.

She said okay and then she asked me a bunch of
other questions about why I thought my mom’s
doctor was good and exactly what makes a good
doctor.

All of a sudden, I looked down and heard a beeping
noise. I was like what’s that? I thought my door
came up but obviously it couldn’t while I was driving.
I thought my engine was having a problem or something.
I kept looking and looking. I couldn’t figure it
out and at the same time I was trying to drive.

I think the lady who was on the phone thought
I was kind of crazy. She said, “you sound really
busy, I will let you go.” It sounded more like, “
you sound kind of crazy while you are driving,
I will let you go so you don’t kill yourself.”

Anyway all of a sudden after a while, I finally
saw what was beeping. Guess what it was?
Take a guess and scroll down.

DON’T CHEAT. Guess first and then scroll…

I had no gas!!!!! I was super close to empty. I mean
super close. I thought to myself, “how the heck
could I forget to get gas.” I was kind of panicked
because I didn’t know where to get gas right away.

So I was praying that I would find a place because walking
on the New Jersey Garden State Parkway isn’t a whole
lot of fun…not that I have done it but I can imagine
since I don’t see lots of people walking along side the
road, it’s probably not fun.

Then I thought I remembered that if you drive slower,
you use less gas. I am not sure if this even makes any
sense. It probably doesn’t and you are probably laughing
at me or rolling your eyes. I seriously think that I saw
this concept of slow driving equals using less gas.
But maybe that was a trick to get us all to drive slower.

Eventually I found a gas station and let me tell you,
I was close to empty. Super close.

This entire thing that happen to me got me thinking
about probably one of the biggest problems with
bipolar disorder for both those with the disorder
and those who are supporters.

What’s it? You know what? I want you to seriously
try to guess what the big lesson is from this sad
“I almost ran out of gas story.”
Guess and then scroll?

Did you guess? If so, then scroll….

People miss the signs of an episode coming. This is
the big lesson. You see on a car there is a gas gauge.
The gas gauge is designed to send a signal to you
about how much gas you have left. When it’s low, you
get gas. Unfortunately with bipolar disorder, people
don’t have episode gauges that you can simply look
at.

I personally recommend making a list of how you
or your loved one is “normally.” And then you have
to look daily at the list and compare against what
you are seeing. It might sound like a super pain
in the neck which it is at first but eventually
here’s what happens. You start to memorize the
“normal” part and then you can compare that
against what you are seeing.

Eventually you can start to spot bipolar disorder
episodes right away BEFORE they totally get out of
control. Once they are out of control it’s really
hard to get stability quickly.

The goal should be to catch the episode early,
so that modifications to the treatment plan can
be done by a doctor and you or your loved one
doesn’t go too far of course.

The woman who called had my bipolar supporter
course which has worksheets that you can use
to help know when your loved one’s episodes
are coming. MY bipolar supporter course has
similar worksheets but for people with bipolar
disorder.

You can take a look at the links 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

So remember to try to read the signs of
an upcoming bipolar episode.

Oh one more thing. Someone asked me if I was
a doctor. I say this so many times I can’t
believe that someone would ask. I am NOT
a doctor, therapist, insurance agent, lawyer,
professional in the field or dog catcher.

Actually someone wrote me and asked if I am
a dog catcher. I have no idea why should would
like I was a dog catcher. Actually I don’t
even think that there are dog catchers. I think
that falls under Animal Control who catch dogs
and other animals. But I am not in Animal Control
either. :).

Well I have to take off for the day. Have a great
day.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

==>>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.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

How’s it going? Yesterday I was way up in upstate
Connecticut yesterday. It took a really, really
long time to get there but a much shorter time
to get home.

When I was driving I was actually doing some
thinking about something. I was thinking about
what it must be like to be diagnosed with
bipolar disorder.

Just the other day I sent an email mostly towards
supporters of people with bipolar disorder
about how there are 5 stages of handling
the diagnosis of a loved one’s bipolar disorder.
Just to give you a quick recap it goes like
this:

Kubler-Ross defines 5 stages of grieving. These are
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
Let’s say that you have just been diagnosed with
lung cancer.

I think with people with bipolar disorder that many
people who do NOT have bipolar disorder forget
how hard it is to hear “you have a mental illness.”

I really don’t think I know any supporters who
have really thought about what it’s like to have
the following happen.

Imagine this.

You have many years of suffering. You feel good
some days. You feel bad other days. This happens
for years. You have many “relationship problems”
over a long period of time. You are smart
but school bores you. You do well at your jobs
but you wind up losing many jobs. You spend
lots of money.

Eventually you go to the doctor. The doctor
says you may have this or that. You feel
“crazy.” Some even say you are. Fast forward
many years and eventually you are told
you have bipolar disorder. You probably don’t
really know what that is. You ask. The doctor
who already has used up 18 of his 20 minutes
with you says quickly, “it’s a mental illness.”

Take this prescription and then see me next month.
The doctor then says, “okay great, have a great day.”

You don’t get clear instructions, what bipolar
disorder really is, how it’s all going to
work. You’re just told, take this and see
me next time.

This is a recap of what I have heard from about
100 people about what it was like to be
diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Just the other day, I was speaking to this one
friend of mine with bipolar disorder. He said
after he heard he had bipolar disorder he was confused.
He had no idea what that was. The doctor said on the way
of rushing him out the door “it’s a mental illness.”
The doctor then added that he had a chemical problem
in his brain and that he would see him next month.
The doctor added that it was a problem with his
brain.

My friend said he got no further information at
all. He said he was scared and started thinking
that he would have to have brain surgery to fix
his chemical problem in his head. He didn’t know
what to do and also felt like having a mental
illness made him a “screw up.”

As a result he spent years denying he had
the illness and eventually came to terms
with it and now does super well with it.

But he wasted a decade of his life.

I am writing this email today to supporters
of those with bipolar disorder to kind of be a little
easier on those with bipolar disorder and realize
that a) they didn’t ask for the illness and b)
if they are new to learning how to manage it,
most of the time they got little to know instruction.

My mom told me over the decades of having bipolar
disorder virtually no doctors she ever had told
her how to live with bipolar disorder or how to
manage it. As a result, she made a whole lot of
mistakes. Obviously the mental health system doesn’t
work that well in explaining these types of things.

I think that for bipolar supporters, it provides
a level of comfort to know that the reason why
a loved one is doing what they are doing is many
times not because they are doing it on purpose rather
they are doing it because they were never taught
how to manage their disorder.

BUT, I do have major problems with those individuals
with bipolar disorder, know exactly what they have to do
to manage the disorder and still don’t do it. Those
are the people that create problems for all the “good”
people trying to do the right thing.

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

So imagine my friend faced with thinking
that he had to have brain surgery for his
bipolar disorder. You may think it sounds
crazy but it really isn’t. If someone said
essentially your brain was broken or had
a chemical problem, you might think, “hey
I need brain surgery.”

There’s a word called “empathy.” You may
not know what it means exactly but it’s perfect
for this email.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary:

===============
empathy

Main Entry: em·pa·thy
Pronunciation: ’em-p&-thE
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek empatheia, literally, passion,
from empathEs emotional, from em- + pathos feelings,
emotion — more at PATHOS

1 : the imaginative projection of a subjective state
into an object so that the object appears to be infused
with it

2 : the action of understanding, being aware of, being
sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings,
thoughts, and experience of another of either the past
or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and
experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit
manner; also : the capacity for this

===============
Take a look at the second definition. Basically
the word means putting yourself in the place of
another and trying to feel what he/she would feel.

So the next time you get mad at your loved one,
ask yourself, “If I had bipolar disorder, how
would I want my supporters to treat me?”

Hey I have to run. But this is some good
stuff for you to think about if I do say so myself.

If you have bipolar disorder, please make some comments
about what you think about my email. Also if you are
a bipolar supporters make comments as well.

Catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

==>>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.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

How’s it going? Today I wanted
to write about something that’s pretty
darn sad.

Since bipolar disorder is a mood disorder,
it affects a person’s moods and if a person
is not under the right treatment plan, he/she
can do and say absolutely crazy things.

I have the absolute craziest story. Okay
there is a person on my list that has
bipolar disorder. I know her because I have
spoken to her on the phone several times.

She actually joined my list a really long
time ago and it was at a time that many people
had my phone number. Anyway this lady is not
really a believer in medication.

As a result of her beliefs, her life is in
contact turmoil. Yesterday I get an email
from her demanding that I refund her money
on something that she got from you.

THERE’S ONLY ONE PROBLEM.

She never bought a thing from me. She is even
asking for an amount back from me that doesn’t
even correspond to what I sell. It’s even for
an item that is in know way connected to me.

I tried to explain this to her and she totally
freaked out on me. It was really annoying I
must say.

I decided to simply let her go and she has called
and called demanding money or she will report
me to the police, state senator, attorney
general, “the government” and the BBB.

Here’s the thing. Well I have a few things to
say:

TO THOSE WHO ARE SUPPORTERS

You have to realize that bipolar disorder is a mood
disorder and a person can do and say things that is
not normally what they will do or say. So if
you are supporting someone that has bipolar disorder
and he/she decided to say or do something really mean
to you it’s because they aren’t under the right treatment
plan.

Many people spend days and weeks trying to figure out
why a loved one said the meanest and cruelest things
to them.

Just look at the lady in my story. She wants money
back for a product that I don’t even sell and she
didn’t even order from me. This is the type of
abnormal behavior that a person who is not
under the right treatment plan can exhibit.

It’s not just her either. Since I have 100,000
or so people on my list, I get a whole lot of
people saying and doing a whole lot of “crazy”
things.

Anyway, the key is understanding that a person not
under the right treatment plan. This is NOT and I
repeat NOT all people with bipolar disorder. Generally
the ones on no bipolar medication or the wrong
bipolar medication.

It’s easy to forget this so that’s why I am
sending a reminder :).

And one more reminder. Don’t sit and try
to figure out why someone who is not
stable says mean things to you. You didn’t
do anything. That’s the nature of the illness.

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

TO THE PEOPLE WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER

There’s a good reason to see the doctor
when you are suppose to, to take your medication
how you are suppose to and to do the things
that are in your bipolar stability equation.

The first reason is to do it for yourself.
If you don’t want to do it for yourself,
then the second reason is so that you don’t
do and say things that are hurtful to others.

So if you are thinking about not doing the
right thing with your treatment, if you don’t
do it for yourself, do it for others.

Remember if you have bipolar disorder and
don’t follow what your “good” doctor tells
you to do with your treatment plan, then
you are bound to hurt the ones around you.

If my mom got off her medication or even
didn’t follow what her doctors says, she would
hurt her mother, sister, my father, me, people
at work so on and so forth for sure. She 100%
realizes this and this is a motivating factor
for her to do the right thing each day–according
to what she tells me.

There are people on my list that make absolute
total fools out of themselves because they
don’t take their bipolar disorder seriously
and don’t do what they are suppose to.

I show my mom some of the emails sent or
the voicemails left and she says she is
ashamed or embarrassed. I quickly reminder
her that for every person that makes a total
fool out of themselves, there are people
doing great things with bipolar disorder.

On the other hand, I just shake my head at the people
who don’t follow what they are suppose to and think
there is NO excuse for them. There is NO
excuse for someone who has bipolar disorder,
knows it, and knows exactly what they have to do
to be stable and don’t do it. These are the people
that these days, judges in courts are “throwing
the book” at and they should.

Anyway, hopefully this story will motivate the people
on my list with bipolar disorder that aren’t taking
their medication or listening to their doctor to
do so.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

==>>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.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

How’s it going? Hope you are doing well.
I have received tons of emails from supporters
who feel guilty about being mad about a loved
one having bipolar disorder. They feel that
it’s ruined them, taken all their money,
wasted lots of their time and they are just
over all mad.

People ask me if I was that way. I must say
not really. I was a little mad that I lost
tons of money over the years with my mom but
not really. BUT remember I am obviously not
married to my mom so it’s really different.

If I was married to someone with bipolar
disorder and the person wasn’t diagnosed
or on the right treatment plan for many
years, I am sure I would be super mad about
it all.

Is that okay? I say yes. I actually write
about this in my bipolar supporter guide.

I want to take an excerpt from that guide
because I think it’s important for the thousands
probably of people on my list that are feeling
kind of anger or depressed.

Here it is:

As you can imagine, a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder
can be devastating to both the person diagnosed and
the family members of that person. For that reason,
a discussion of how people may initially react to
such information is appropriate.

Think for a moment about a loss you have sustained
in your life. Many of you reading this will have
lost a loved one at some point. Considerable research
has been done to try to identify stages of grieving.
And grieving is a very rational response to a diagnosis
of Bipolar Disorder. Not only does the diagnosed person
have to accept that he or she has an identifiable
“disorder,” the family member most involved with
this person has to internalize this information as well.

Let’s take a look at what we know about the grieving
process today. Of course, each individual case has
its own nuances and twists. As with any psychological
theory, the writer has a responsibility to present what,
generally, may happen in any particular set of circumstances.
Your individual experience may be quite similar to these
“norms,” or it may be significantly different. What
seems to comfort people in these difficult times is the
realization that they are not alone. Others have felt
what they are feeling, and have actually survived.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross may well be the most well recognized
scholar who has written about grief and loss. She certainly
organizes and explains grief responses cogently, and, as
such, will be the person whose work is cited here.
Kubler-Ross defines five stages of grieving in her work,
Grieving? But no one’s dead! Well, grieving can occur
at the end of a marriage, when a child leaves home,
when one retires from the workforce, and at any one
of many, many other times. What Kubler-Ross has done
in her work is to define a commonality to these
experiences of loss. Loss can mean loss of a
relationship, loss of a loved one, loss of your own
physical well-ness, loss of a job, even loss of a pet.
The interesting thing is that the grieving process
has been found to be pretty predictable regardless
of what was lost.

Kubler-Ross defines 5 stages of grieving. These are
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
Let’s say that you have just been diagnosed with
lung cancer. Your initial reaction might be:

Denial: “But I’ve never smoked! This is ridiculous.
The doctor is incompetent. I can’t possibly have
lung cancer.”

Secondly, you will experience anger about your diagnosis:
“These people are idiots. I’m going to sue them all.
Just when my life is going well, this stupid thing happens!”

Third, bargaining comes about:
“God, if you let me get through this, I promise to
pay all my back taxes. I promise to go to church.
I promise to volunteer at the homeless shelter.”

Next comes Depression:
“This can’t be happening to me. I’m going to just
go home and sleep. I’ll stay in bed where no one
can find me. There isn’t any point anymore.”

Finally, there is some acceptance of your situation:
“Well, I need to read about lung cancer, I guess. We
have a couple of great hospitals in town, and I need
to find out which one has treated more cases like mine.
I need to read about alternative therapies, call the
insurance company, and get ready for the fight of my life.”

Please read this part carefully. YOU are entitled to
feel the way you feel. YOU will move through the grieving
process at YOUR own rate. Please give yourself the time
and permission to deal with your feelings in your own way.
You have just found out that the world may not be as you
know it.

You have found out that you don’t have a “Normal” spouse,
or child, or sister. Your loved one has been diagnosed
with Bipolar Disorder. You have a right to grieve
the loss of your perception of your loved one
(or even yourself!) as seen as “normal.” You have
the right to feel “bad” about what you’ve just found
out. You also have the right to pass through the
stages of grieving at your own pace and in your
own order. You may find that you have predictably
experienced Denial, Anger, and Bargaining. But
suddenly, you find yourself angry again.

The key in getting past this mental and emotional
adjustment is to expect the unexpected. Although
Kubler-Ross has done a masterful job of defining
the elusive process of human grieving, don’t expect
yourself to be a textbook case as you move through
these phases or steps. You will proceed at your
own pace, in your own good time, as you should.
==============

Well that’s the end of the excerpt. That’s again
actually from my Bipolar Supporter Guide. You may
recognize it if you got that guide in one of
my courses/systems.

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

The bottom line is however, you have to get to
acceptance eventually. I call it the “first sale.”
The first sale in sales is when a sales person
has to sell him/herself on the product that
they are going to be involved with. If you aren’t
sold and are selling something, you are going
to have a really hard time.

What the heck does that have to do with bipolar
disorder you may be asking? Is Dave crazy? NO!

Think about it. If you don’t sell yourself into
accepting your loved one has bipolar disorder (when
he/she gets a correct diagnosis), you’re going
to have a really hard time with them. An almost
impossible time with them.

Actually I have to take off and this email is getting
kind of long but I want to talk about people who
aren’t sold on their loved one’s bipolar disorder
and actively are looking for anyone to tell them
they have anything but bipolar disorder. This is
super deadly.

I have to take off. Have a great day!

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

Hi,

Here is the current Bipolar Disorder news. There
is some really interesting stuff. It costs me a lot
of money to put it together so I URGE you to read
it.

Take some time now.

Visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews339

There’s some really interesting news stories this week.
Take a look at them. Also, write me some feedback by
visiting my blog below.

Here are some of the headlines:

Its Time To Sue Doctors Who Prescribe Drugs Off-Label Part I

Prayers for a loved one who is bipolar and addicted to drugs

Mom’s behavior a signal for help

Health Tip: Living With Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar friend is too ill to manage safely

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews339

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

==>>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.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

How’s it going today?

What’s new?

What a day yesterday was. I had so many issues
and a number of threats from some really ill people
on my list.

BUT some good things happen as well. My friend
called and invited me to hang out on Friday so
I am going to take off work early for the first
time in a long time (But I will be working way late
on Thursday).

Anyway this friend of mine has a family member
who has borderline personality disorder and bipolar
disorder.

Even though I have known this friend for a really
long time, neither of us ever told the other
about having a family member with a mental illness.

Pretty interesting. Anyway, we were on the subject
of bipolar episodes and how long it takes for
a person to become stable. She really doesn’t study
bipolar disorder like I do but she said to me
that it can take a long time.

I totally agree. If a person goes into a bipolar
episode it can take a long time for the person
to become fully stable again.

But on the other hand it can take a short period
of time.

I must say after talking to lots of people who
have been in episodes there seems to be no
way to predict how long an episode with take
to recover.

Michele who works for me who you may have
heard me mention before went into a really
big episode. One of the worst she said in
her life. When I spoke to her husband,
he said it was “really bad” and that he
had no idea when she would be back to work.

It was interesting because with less
than a month, she was back to work and 100%.

On the other hand, her mom has bipolar disorder
and she is in an episode and has been for a long
time and nothing seems to be really helping her.

Her mom’s episode is more like my mom’s episode
where it just takes a long time to get to
stability.

But then Michele knows someone else who went
into a bipolar episode and it was over fairly
quickly.

But then there are people on my list that I speak
to who have teenagers or young adults who seem
to be in one giant long running episode for
years.

Yesterday I was surfing the internet which
by the way become a huge way to waste a lot
of time. I saw a book that guaranteed
full recovery from a mental illness in
30 days.

I was amazed that someone would make such a claim.
It’s 100% impossible. There is no way on the earth
you can guarantee that someone will be out of
an episode for fully recovered on 30 days or less.

The ad for the book even talked about “cures”
as well.

This person obviously has no idea what they
are talking about.

I want to be clear with my stuff, especially
my foundational stuff here:

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

I nor no one else can tell you how look
it will take either you or your loved one
with bipolar disorder to get stable. It’s
impossible. It might take a few days. It might
take a few weeks. It might takes months. It might
take like a year (what happen with my mom).

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. These are
very complex illnesses. You just don’t know.

What I can tell you this, especially since I have
been doing this for a long time now. You can
do things to help prevent episodes and you can
be 100% prepared as to what to do in the early
signs of an episode which ultimately leads to
recovering from an episode quicker.

Let me explain. You see with my mom, she started showing
signs like in May 2003 with her episode. No one did anything
until like November 2003 (that’s like 5 months). It just
got worse and worse and worse. I really believe when you
let the episodes just go along without any attempts in
treatment changes it become really hard to recover
fast from this. This is a theory of mine.

On the other hand if I would have done all the things
I now know to do when my mom goes into an episode, I think
she would have become stable again much quicker. But you
never know exactly. This is just a theory of mine but
it should make intuitive sense to you.

I wanted to write this email today for those that are
out there and want to know “how much longer until
it’s over.” One really can’t tell. But as a general
rule of thumb, the longer a person went without any change
to a treatment plan or without taking medication or seeing
a doctor the longer recovery takes. This is what I have
found.

When Michele went into her big episode that I personally
thought would require months and months of time for
her to regain stability, it didn’t simply because
her husband stepped in right away and did many of the
things outlined in my bipolar supporter course.

As a result he kind of “caught the episode” before
it could get tremendous “traction” and get worse
and worse and worse.

Make sense? Hope so. Hey I am going to be having a
f.ree. teleseminar for everyone to answer any non
medical or non legal questions that you might have.
Actually it will be a f.ree teleseminar and f.ree
webinar. You will be able to talk to me live,
and hear other people ask questions as well.

I have to take off now, have a great day.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

==>>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.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

I wanted to email a message today about the importance
of hope and faith. Many times with bipolar disorder
it seems like all is lost and there is no hope.

You kind of slowly start to give up hope and think
that you are losing the war and that there is
absolutely positively nothing you can do.

Many times there is. You just have to keep
trying different solutions to whatever bipolar
problem that you have.

Take a look at this email I got sent to
my feedbacktodave@leverageteamllc.com address.

===========
Hi Dave,

Today I persuaded my husband to go with me to
see the psychiatrist and he has agreed to take
medication and to let me monitor his mood swings!
None of this would have happened if I hadn’t had
your e-mails and encouragement. Now I feel there
definitely is hope and that I’m on the right road
although, I’m sure there will still be ‘pot holes’
ahead, I’m ready for them and will keep on with the
plans you suggest, nothing is so daunting anymore.

Just thought you might like to know.

Thanks again
Chris

========================

I am really happy for Chris. Sounds like she is
totally on the right track.

Some days I get up and I feel kind of depressed
because at any one time there are thousands of
people who are suffering either with bipolar
disorder or supporting someone with it.

But on the other hand, at any one time there
are thousands of people who are on my list
who are doing well.

The thing that I want to convey to you
is there is always hope when it comes to
bipolar disorder.

I have seen the worst cases turn around. My mom
was a really, really, really bad case and she
has turned her entire life around. From finances
to everything. The only thing that has not been
turned around is the fact that my brother still
doesn’t speak to her from her and he doesn’t
speak to me or my dad. But that’s okay. Other
than that, in a relatively short time, my mom
has come a long way.

Back in the day, some suggested there was no
hope and she would be permanently institutionalized.

If you are feeling discouraged right now if you have
bipolar disorder or you are supporting someone remember
the solution or success can be right around the
corner. You really have to just keep trying different
things.

That’s how I did it. Fortunately I was able to take
off work and spend a ton of time figuring it all
out.

I put together my material and especially my
foundational courses here:

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

Not to make a fortune but to help people.
I know that people think that I am just saying
that but people who work for me or know me
know that I really work hard at this and spend
a lot of time and it’s not about the money. I have
to charge for stuff because I have a big payroll
and huge advertising expenses. If I didn’t advertise
you wouldn’t see me. Remember however you found
me was the result of an ad that I paid for.

Anyway, in my material I work super hard to
give you the how to or solutions to virtually
every problem that I had to deal with concerning
bipolar disorder. And I have even gone further
by getting solutions that I didn’t have to
deal with and making a course for children/teenagers
and also for those with bipolar disorder.

The one thing that I haven’t done however is
talk about how important it is to have faith
and hope that either you or your loved one
with bipolar disorder can get better.

For many like Chris above you are just right
around the corner for a breakthrough. It might
seem like it’s just so far away but it’s probably
closer than you think.

I just wanted to send this because I have had a
number of emails of people who are rather depressed
that things are moving as quick as possible and
they were asking whether or not they should give
up.

I can’t tell you via email whether you should
or shouldn’t. I could teach a class on when it’s
time to cut it off with a person with bipolar
disorder but I found when I talk one on one
people are so close and just have missing gaps
of information that will make all the difference.

Many just have to hang in there long enough until
they figure it out.

Anyway, I have to run. I will catch up with you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

==>>Would you like to master bipolar disorder?<<==
Check out all my resources, programs and information
by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

How’s it going? I hope you are doing well.
Yesterday I got an email from someone that
talked about how her doctor didn’t care about
her and that he only took minutes to see
her each and every time and many times the
doctor didn’t even remember what was going on.

Actually this person got one of my courses
that talks about a concept called the 95/5
rule with bipolar disorder.

Let me explain what it is.

When I first started helping my mom,
eventually I discovered that most people (95%)
that were going to see a psychiatrist
were getting what I called “assembly
line treatment.”

That’s when you go in and the doctor is like
“hi, how you doing, have this problem, how
are you feeling, okay see you next time.”

If you get this kind of treatment you are
probably in the 95% category.

If so, I call this assembly line treatment because
the person is almost going through an assembly line
where the doctor is not really caring all that much
about the person. It’s done in a mechanical kind
of uncaring way.

Now I know I am going to get some hate mail from
doctors that say this isn’t true, I don’t know
what I am talking about and so forth but it
is true.

It’s not only with psychiatrists but also with
all kinds of other professionals.

If you have bipolar disorder, there’s another reason why
I strongly encourage you to have a friend OR family member
become involved in your treatment so you can
get 5% treatment or become a 5 percenter.

Let’s kind of review the math.

Basically, out of every 100 patients a doctor has,
I believe 95 receive assembly line treatment. The
doctor comes in, looks briefly at the chart, asks a
couple of questions, writes a prescription, and then
moves on to the next patient. The doctor doesn’t give
these patients a second thought once he leaves the
examination room.

The other 5 patients, however, receive extraordinary
care. The doctor is attentive to them, listens to their
questions, explains things carefully, tries to reduce
their concerns, works closely with the families, and
thinks about their conditions even outside of the office.

Every person deserves to receive the “5 % care,” but
that’s just not the way the world works. Unfortunately,
even the best doctors are going to focus the majority of
their attention on a minority of patients. Obviously,
you want to be in that minority with your doctor and
other medical professionals.

The only way to avoid assembly line treatment is for
you AND your loved one to become actively involved in
the treatment process. Your loved one should periodically c
heck in with your doctor to ask about your condition,
drop by to chat with your therapist, and stay in touch
with your pharmacist. Every one of your medical
professionals should know your loved one’s face,
voice, and name almost as well as they know yours.

With my mom, I always called the receptionist, I went
in to see my mom’s doctor. My mom and I did joint reports
of how see was feeling. We emailed them, faxed them. We
were serious people. As a result everyone started to remember
us and we started to get into the 5% group.

You might think this is “crazy” but it totally works.

The reason this approach works is that it lets the
doctor know that someone is watching out for you—and
making sure that he doesn’t mess up. He knows he’s
going to have to stay on his toes, so he won’t take
sloppy shortcuts when it comes to your treatment since
he knows it could come back to haunt him if he does.

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

Many times, people who don’t have anyone else watching out for
their best interests (when they aren’t stable) or who
try to keep their treatment secret from their family
members or friends are the ones who end up in the 95.
Hands-on involvement is the only way to keep medical
professionals in line and to ensure that you get the
best treatment available at all times.

Well I have to take off now. I hope you have a good
day and I will catch you tomorrow.

PLEASE POST RESPONSES TO THIS EMAIL HERE

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

==>>Would you like to master bipolar disorder?<<==
Check out all my resources, programs and information
by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

Hi,

How’s it going? I hope you are doing well.
Can you believe summer is almost over? Boy
time sure goes fast, huh? It seems like it
was just the new year the other day.

Oddly, my mom has been solidly stable now
with bipolar disorder for several years now.
So all the things that I put in place clearly
are working. If they weren’t she would have
gone into a major bipolar episode again.

Speaking of episodes, that brings up to today’s
topic which I like to call PEA which
stands for Post episode analysis.

What’s that? Well one of the ways I started
to figure out what went wrong with my mom
during various bipolar episodes which was
something that I called the post episode analysis.

Here’s how it works. You take an episode and
then you look bad and analyze every single
thing that you can see and think of as to
why it occurred.

You ask questions like:

Who was the doctor
Was medication taken?
Did your loved one see the doctor regularly?
Did you loved one go to therapy
Were there any external triggers
Were there changes in diet, exercise or routine?

You look for everything big and small. After you
have the list, you start to look at what you think
what the problem was and the moving forward you
work to correct it with your loved one.

Let me give you an example. About a year ago,
my mom started to go into an episode but she and
I caught it. I did do my PEA and discovered the
following:

-She cut way back on her therapy
-She stopped exercising
-She missed church several times
-She started eating sugary foods
-She was going to bed really late
-She was going to bed at around the same time each day

And a few other things that I can’t remember right now.
But after I did this PEA and a lot of thinking, it was
clear why my mom went into the episode.

I have found, that in virtually most cases, there
is a cause to an episode and it’s not like a lottery
like some people would like to believe.

What do I mean? I mean there is a cause and an effect. You
can find that people do things that lead to an episode. It
many be several simple things or one big thing. But
there are things done that trigger most episodes I have
seen. Actually, in all cases that I have heard about

NOTE=I am NOT a doctor, therapist or “professional”
in anyway and this information is not to diagnose,
treat or cure any disease

when I ask questions like I am telling you to
ask, the cause of the episode becomes clear.

BUT I should warn you, many times you have to
dig for the cause or causes. The person with
bipolar disorder may not even be aware of what
was done.

In the case with my mom that I spoke about she
didn’t even realize that she was doing several
things that would potentially trigger an episode.

When you look at small things like “eating sugary
food” you may think, “that’s such a simple thing,
how does that create an episode.”

Well it’s not just that one simple thing, it’s that
combined with other simple things that creates a
bigger effect. Like 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 should equal
4 but it really turns out to equal 10 because
the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.

I hope that makes sense? But on the topic of making
sense, I have found that many things with bipolar
disorder don’t make sense but they become rules
that you have to follow once you figure out
it’s important.

What do I mean? Well let’s say my mom discovers
she can’t eat sugary foods, stay up past 10:00pm,
and has to go to church each weak to stay stable.

Now to some, that might not make sense. You probably
can’t find medical studies that say these concepts
are important. BUT, for my mom, she has done her
own experiments and found it is important so she
has to stick to it even though it doesn’t make
100% sense as to why it is what it is. Meaning
we might not be able to exactly know why a combination
of certain things leads to stability but we do
know it does so we have to just go along with it.

Also, NOTE- with what whatever my mom is doing,
medication is 100% the foundation of her stability.
In all my cases, my mom is always taking her medication.
BUT, she can run into problems even if she is taking
medication but not doing the other things.

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

It’s kind of strange to me that when I
asked my dad in like 2005 if he ever had
thought about why all my mom’s episodes
occurred, he had said, “Not really…
they just do.”

I guess the economist in me strives
to figure out patterns and formulas
for why something occurs. Or to make
what economists call a “model.”

That’s what I have done with much of my
material is make a model of what’s going
on. It’s odd to me that many doctors don’t
even do this.

I will say one more thing about doctors.
You may be surprised that many times doctors
are quick to dismiss many of the “little
things” you may find that cause episodes.

I have personally found that most have not
really sat and thought long and hard about
this subject and really just focus on
medication–which is 100% important.

I have found more therapists who are in
tune with all the things that go together
to create stability.

I just thought I would add that just in
case you are talking with your loved one’s
doctor and he/she is not “getting it.”

Well I have to run. Have a great day.

Your Friend,

Dave

P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp

P.P.S. Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

P.P.P.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com