It’s 5:34 am and I have a ton of things to do. But before I take
off for the day I wanted to send you some quick information.

We have been talking about bipolar disorder episodes and things
you need to learn this week.

I get a lot of emails from people asking about treatment options
and preventing or helping someone through a bipolar episode.
This really amazes me because I say so many times I am NOT
a doctor. It’s a doctor who comes up with the treatment plan.

For some reason many don’t know this so I want to say it again.
Doctors come up with treatment plans and what medication a loved
one should take.

AND I will say, everyone should refrain from going and finding
people with bipolar disorder and asking them what medication they
take. It’s useless information because every patient is different
so therefore learning what some other person takes isn’t going
to really help your loved one.

What’s going to help them is getting them to a qualified good
doctor so he/she can get the RIGHT treatment plan. If you are
having problems getting a loved one to the doctor, keep reading.

Okay back to treatment. I want to tell you, and this doesn’t just
come from me, it comes from the National Institute of Mental
Health, they say and I quote:

“But in truth, many lives are ruined by this disease;
and without effective treatment, the illness is associated
with an increased risk of suicide.”*

I will add that in addition to increased risk of suicide,
those without treatment or proper treatment wind up destroying
themselves and others around them in every way possible. That’s
what happen to myself and my family.

I also wanted to add….

Psychological Signs of a Bipolar Episode:

Change in thought content (depression/elation)
Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
Pessimistic/Overly-optimistic attitude
Hallucinations/Delusions
Paranoia
Suicidal ideologies/attempts
Impatient, intolerant, openly combative, aggressive
Highly demanding, violently assertive, highly irritable
Grandiose beliefs
Preoccupied with self/self-pity
Seriously impaired judgment/poor decisions
Difficulty concentrating

Okay, now before I get hate mail, and I will from people
with bipolar disorder that write and say…..

“DAVE, I AM NOT LIKE THAT, WHY DO YOU WRITE STUFF THAT MAKES
ME LOOK BAD.”

I will get something like this from a few people. Here’s the deal. I
have a list that’s like, well I don’t know right now it’s almost
over 90,000 people. I am trying to help everyone at the same
time giving everyone a ton of information and they can use
what they need to use.

It’s really, really, really, really hard to please everyone.
I can’t imagine if I was running for office :).

It’s important to let people know what the consequences of lack
of treatment are and also what the signs of an episode is. If
this doesn’t 100% fit you, someone with bipolar disorder, don’t
be offended. Realize this information is VERY helpful for
the vast majority of people out on my list.

There is so much with episodes I could go on and on which I have
for this entire week. I am trying to give you as much as I can
without sending out 40 page emails which actually I can’t send
out because of limitations with my software.

If you want more information on episodes….
SUPPORTING AN ADULT?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com/

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net/

Well I really do have to run for the day. Actually I should
stop saying that because some people are in different countries
and think that means I am going to go running now. Actually
run for the day means leave for the day.

Have a great day.

Your Friend,

Dave

*http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/manic.cfm

Today I am going to tell you a little known concept that I
guess I kind of invented. It comes from math. I am
really good at math. I am NOT really good at editing
stuff :). But the bottom line is the content is what
is important right?

Oh, don’t worry, you’re on the right list and I am not going
to start teaching you advanced math concepts.

I am going to teach you a secret that VERY few people know.
Not even doctors or therapists. And if they kind of know
it, they don’t really fully understand it.

This is a secret to helping a loved one stay stable
when he/she has bipolar disorder. It’s called, or I call it…

The Bipolar Stability Equation.

Stability is like a mathematical equation. Here are SOME
of the things that can make up the equation. NOTE- I am
NOT a doctor and this is NOT legal advice. Run this past
your doctor, therapist, etc. etc.

Anyway, here are some of the parts I found with my mom:

· Medication
· Therapy
· Sleep
· Eating right
· Exercise
· Reducing stress/low anxiety
· The right job (or Disability)
· A good Support System
· Hobbies
· Relaxation/Meditation
· Watching for triggers
· Etc.

Everyone has to figure out what their own stability equation is,
because everyone is different (so their own stability equation is
going to be different). One person may be able to keep their job,
while another person may have to go on Disability. One person
may be a “morning person,” while another person may go to bed at
midnight every night.

The things listed above are only examples
of what may be in your stability equation – other examples are
Light Therapy, reading, watching a video, sitting and
watching a sunset, walking on the beach/taking long walks,
Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Biofeedback, etc.
The point is, you AND your loved one will have to make your
own list! AND work with your doctor and therapist. I have
found that everyone’s equation is different.

One main thing about people with Bipolar Disorder is that they
need structure and routine to maintain stability. With my mom, I
have found that is just as important to her “stability equation” as medication.

Watching out for your loved one’s known episode triggers is also
very important and try to avoid these triggers.

The thing is, you have to work hard to figure out the equation,
and what to do if something goes wrong in the equation. I teach
this fully in my courses and systems:

SUPPORTING AN ADULT?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

Before I get ready for the day, I want to give
you another warning about bipolar episodes which
will save you a ton of time and money. It’s
something that I thought of yesterday.

I must say, I wish I had this kind of information
years ago. I would have saved a fortune and so much
grief.

When it comes to bipolar episodes, many people
believe that all they have to do is get their
loved one to the doctor and that’s it. The
episodes will never come back. The doctor
will handle everything right? I mean
that’s what they get paid for right?
WRONG!!!!

My dad use to think this way and so do many
other people. Doctors are important, so is
medication and so are therapists. BUT, you
as the supporter are important as well.

Doctors can’t look into your home where
your loved one is. They have limited time
to gather information when/if the patient
comes in. You have to be the person that
fills in the gaps and connects the dots.

IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU TO DO

You should always be on the look out for the
physical signs of a Bipolar Episode which
include:

· Appearance changes (poor hygiene and grooming)
· Increased energy levels/Decreased energy levels
· Increased activity/Decreased activity
· Increased sleep/Decreased sleep
· Elated mood changes/Depressed mood changes
· Opposite behavior activity from normal
· Passivity/Aggressiveness
· Failure to take care of basic self-needs
(pay bills, go grocery shopping, etc.)

When you see the signs you must inform the doctor. PERIOD!
The doctor will not know unless you the support inform
them.

HERE IS ANOTHER BIG ONE. It’s kind of complicated to explain
and I explain it in my courses/systems but once you know
your loved one well, you will know that there are certain
signs of an episode that might not even be picked
up by anyone other than you.

For example, with my mom, she makes random food. In
her second to last episode she made candy apples.
She hasn’t even made candy apples. When I looked
back over many years, most episodes were preceded by
the making of random food. That was one sign.

BUT, be careful. In her last mini episode we caught,
she didn’t make any random food. ONE MORE THING.
Her last episode was very complicated to figure
out because she didn’t display any of her old
signs that she normally did. It’s like her
episodes changes so the signs were different.

If you are new, you might be thinking, “Man Dave
this sounds so complicated my head hurts.”
It’s actually not. It’s a skill.

If you can swing it, take a look at getting
my courses/systems because I go through all
this from a to z. If you can’t get them,
keep reading, I put out a lot of info
but it’s broken up and not all together
because it’s via emails, articles, podcasts,
teleseminars and in person meetings.

Take at look if you want.

SUPPORTING AN ADULT?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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,

Before I head out the door for the day, I wanted
to tell you something. I have a major warning as well.
Read on.

First I just was talking to Michele Soloway
who writes for me and has bipolar disorder and
a few other illnesses. She is high functioning
and does VERY, VERY well.

Anyway, we were talking about how we really
need to make sure that we always keep going over
the basics of bipolar disorder. That got me
to thinking about something. I have gotten
a ton of emails about people asking, what’s
an episode.

At first I was thinking that everyone should
know that but I never knew what an episode was
after being around my mom for 29 years. We use
to call it “mom’s sick.” So, let’s talk about
what an episode is.

What is a bipolar episode?

Bipolar Disorder is marked by extreme mood swings.
There are times when a person with Bipolar Disorder
enters a depressive mood (extreme sadness), and
other times when they experience mania (extreme euphoria).

These are called bipolar episodes. Contrary to what some
people believe, a person with the disorder does not
continually go back and forth between these two
extremes. In between episodes, the person can go
months (or even years) with normal moods.

My mom’s episodes tend to be manic BUT for many
years when I was a kid she was depressed. I remember
my mom being in the bed for YEARS. I think from like
age 10 through maybe 13, my mom was always in the
bed in a dark house.

It made it strange for me because I thought that was
normal until one day a friend said, “where’s your mom?”
I explained she was always in bed and he said that
wasn’t normal. It was at that point I knew something
was wrong because all my other friends had mom’s that
weren’t in bed all day.

Anyway, next question…..

What Happens During an Episode?

Manic Episodes: Symptoms build up over time
with initial symptoms being mild. It generally
starts off slowly but starts getting worse.

When the episode ends, the person will either
enter a depressive episode or will return to their
normal mood. The main symptom of a manic episode
is seriously impaired judgment. Symptoms include:
less sleep, rapid speech, overspending, and risky
behavior involving sex, gambling, eating, drugs,
and/or alcohol.

In my mom’s manic episodes, she spent a TON and I mean
a TON of money. I have never calculated the total loss
but it’s way more than $500,000 that’s for sure.

Depressive Episodes: Many times, the person might
enter a depressive episode immediately after coming
out of a manic episode. Other times, they might go from
a normal mood to a depressive episode. Depressive
episodes are usually marked by feelings of hopelessness
– sometimes even thoughts of death or suicide. CALL
911 or the doctor if your loved one is suicidal.
TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

Symptoms also include withdrawal from family and friends and not participating in activities that the person used to enjoy.

Mixed Episodes: In some cases, the person might
actually have episodes that include symptoms of both
mania and depression. These can be more difficult to
deal with because they are having some of the manic
feelings and some of the depressive feelings in the
same episode.

WARNING!!!!

HERE’S THE BIGGEST SECRET I HAVE LEARNED. This is
one worth a ton to you.

You have to develop a system to PREVENT episodes
and you have to develop a system of what to do
if/when an episode occurs.

You can’t say “let’s just hope one doesn’t occur.”
You can’t just leave it all in the hands of a doctor.
EVERYONE needs to be involved and on the same page
with the same plan.

This is what our family NEVER did. As a result
it created DECADES of problems.

Most people simply don’t plan and prepare, this is
both the supporter and person with the disorder.
For some reason, NOT planning is what people do
when they should be planning and preparing.

My mom started to go into an episode in the last
two months. It got rather bad. In the old days,
her episode would have lasted probably a year
and have done serious financial and emotional
damage to everyone around her.

BUT with proper planning we caught the episode,
and damage was minimal now she is back on
track. Without a system people are DOOMED.

Take a look at what I have, but I am not
pushing my material on you. You can do what
I did, go interview doctors, read all the books,
go to many conferences, meetings, workshops,
talk to therapists, meeting people with bipolar
disorder who are high functioning and make your
own system. One person told me on my list she did
just that because she had plenty of time.

Just do something right away.

SUPPORTING AN ADULT?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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

I got several emails over the last couple of days from
people asking if in my courses/systems, I talk about how
to help yourself or a loved one get a job when
dealing with bipolar disorder. The answer is
yes.

There are a number of great strategies that I teach
in my material where you can get help doing this. BUT,
before a job is looked for, the person must be
stable. It doesn’t make sense to start a job unstable.

My courses/systems have more information on this:

SUPPORTING AN ADULT
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net

Now with that said, I have some paid positions.
Since this entire organization has grown VERY fast, I need
some help. I am offering several PAID positions.
If you or anyone else you know wants to w.ork from
home part time, please go to this link for complete
descriptions of all the jobs:

Web Design And Light Coding
http://www.leverageteamllc.com/applicationwebdesign

Writers/Editors
http://www.leverageteamllc.com/applicationwriter/

Transcription
http://www.leverageteamllc.com/applicationtranscription

Customer Service
http://www.leverageteamllc.com/applicationcustomerservice

Administrative Assistant
http://www.leverageteamllc.com/applicationadmin

Well I have to take off for the day, have a good
day.

Dave

Here is the current Bipolar Disorder news.

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews322/

Here are some of the headlines:

The Physician’s Guide to Depression and Bipolar Disorders

TROY: Bipolar disorder’s role in Troy shooting case uncertain

Study: Anti-depressants little help in bipolar disorder

Mental health advocate pushes for change in criminal justice system

Missing Fosston teen is bipolar, hasn’t taken medication

View the news by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews322/

My Resources For Bipolar:

Quickly And Easily Explain Bipolar To People
Go here for more information.
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/explainingbipolar

Need Money Because Of Bipolar Disorder?
Go here for more information
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarbusiness

Dating Someone With Bipolar?
Go here for more information
http://www.BipolarCentral.com/bipolardating

Want To Marry Someone Who Has Bipolar?
Go here for more information
http://www.BipolarCentral.com/bipolarmarriage/

Need Affordable Health Insurance When Dealing With
Bipolar Disorder?
Go here for more information
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/insuranceguide/

Problems With Drugs, Alcohol And Addiction?
Go here for more information
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolaraddiction/

Trying To PREVENT A Divorce From Someone With Bipolar
Disorder?
Go here for more information:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolardivorce

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

I have received a lot people writing me about the
Virginia Tech College Killer who killed 32 people–
Cho Seung-Hui.

If you are out of the US, you should know,
this is a big thing.
If you have no idea what I am talking about check
out cnn.com for more information about this.

People have asked, what I think he has. I don’t
know and I am NOT a doctor and don’t make diagnoses
but I would bet that he has something like
antisocial personality disorder.

“Crazy” is not a diagnosis. It will be interesting
to hear what he was diagnosed with but I am not sure
myself.

Anyway, there is a big bipolar disorder lesson to be learned
here.

I am going to tell you some harsh reality today.
It’s about the mental health system. The system
as I like to call it.

Here’s the real deal. This is the deal nobody is
going to tell you but me. The system does
a horrible job of keeping tracking of important
things.

What is the system? The system is everything that
goes along with mental health and your loved one.
It’s the doctors, therapists, hospitals, outpatient
programs, other programs, family members, etc.

Here’s the problem. If a person has a mental illness
over a long period of time, the system loses important
information. Files are lost. Doctors retire. Therapists
retire. The patient moves and new doctors and therapists
are needed. Along the way, 100% of the information is
NOT and I repeat NOT passed along.

So what happens is eventually some people have some
information but no one person has all the information.

You might be thinking, “What the heck is Dave talking
about…what information?” Information like how
the person is, suicide attempts, patterns of
manipulation, threats that were made against others,
ability to work, things that trigger episodes,
reasons for certain diagnoses, situations with
the police, actual violent acts committed, lies
told, the kind of
therapy that works for them, etc.

You might be wondering, “But doesn’t ever patient
have a file?” They are suppose to but what is
suppose to be and what really happens are many
times two different things.

Half the important information that my mom’s current
doctor needed was compiled by me David Oliver not
in her file. I have no idea why it was missing
from the file.

Also, remember there is the lazy factor. Many people
in the system are just too darn lazy to write stuff
up. They let it slide. You’re not going to believe
this but I have a friend, and I won’t tell you
which state, but he is a policeman. He use
to NOT pull over people because he didn’t want
to fill out any paperwork. It was easier to just
let people go so he could get home early.

This is very common. Many people don’t like paperwork,
and they don’t like to answer questions so if
they don’t write certain things or if they don’t
write anything at all, they, in their own minds,
get less hassle. Sad but true.

Let’s look at this example. I have a fairy
good friend who’s wife has bipolar disorder. I
have given him 80% of my materials and he hasn’t
gone through a thing. Why? Well because it’s free
so he devalued it but that’s another story
for another day.

I started telling him things he needs to look out
for with his wife. Everything I know about his
wife suggests she is totally out of control.

He screams, yells, takes her medication some time,
drinks, lies, manipulates, etc. etc. etc.

If you ask my friend if she is that bad, he says no.
At first I thought “well maybe she isn’t that bad.”

But then I got a call from another friend that gave me
the real deal. What his wife was really like. So I asked
him and he said “Well that stuff did happen but well
she isn’t that bad.”

Here’s the stuff that happen to him that he didn’t think
was so bad. She attacked him multiple times, she has cut
him where he has bleed, she drinks and then goes into
fits of rage, he has hit him over the head with a keyboard,
she has thrown a Sony Play Station at him, she has told
his kids terrible things, she has lied to relatives about
him, she doesn’t always take her medication, etc. etc.

I told my friend this was serious stuff. He said that
he knew but he thinks she will get better. I asked how?
If there is no plan, no strategy, how is she going to
get better.

THEN I ASKED THE MAGIC QUESTION

Does the system know all these things your wife did? He said
“well not really.” So the doctor knows NONE and I repeat
NONE of this. Why? Well he covers some of it up and his
wife is really manipulative. She puts on a great show
during doctor visits.

Well, at one point it got so bad that he asked me for some
help. He said he couldn’t talk to the doctor because of
the privacy laws, laws which I have at least 7 LEGAL
ways around. So I advised him out to get around the laws,
legally (PLEASE NOTE, I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY AND DON’T OFFER
LEGAL ADVICE).

Finally the doctor learned SOME of what was going on. Guess
what? The police don’t know he was cut by her more than once.
Guess what? He doesn’t know her history BEFORE he met
her. So right now, there are tons of gaps, of information
because……..

NOBODY IS CONNECTING ALL THE DOTS

Again, I know very little about the Virginia Tech Killer,
but I am pretty sure it will come out that this person knew
this, that person knew that, his family knew this, this doctor
knew that, this therapist knew this, this counselor knew this,
his roommates knew this, the police knew this, etc. etc. but
NOBODY connected all the dots.

Here’s the lesson for you and read this carefully if you are
a supporter. It’s YOUR job to connect the doctors for everyone
because NOBODY is going to do it but you. In my course,
I go into this at length on how to do this and how to connect
the dots fast so you can get it all done in the 15 to 20 minutes
doctors allot for treatment.

Check it out:

SUPPORTING AN ADULT
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com/

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net/

Well I have to run, catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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,

Well it looks like everything is moving along nicely
with my mom and her second episode. Basically
in about 10 days or so she went from doing well
to going into a manic episode. That’s all it
took. I didn’t even really know that was possible.

Actually on this note, someone wrote me via email
and said I act like I know everything. Actually
that person is completely wrong. Unlike most
people I believe I don’t know everything and that’s
why I am constantly learning new stuff related
to this disorder.

The person commented that I act as if, my courses/
systems are perfect and I am all knowing. First,
let me say, if you are going to get my courses/systems.

These:

SUPPORTING AN ADULT
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com/

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net/

And you are doing so, because you think EVERY single
answer to ALL situations and problems with bipolar disorder
is perfectly explained, analyzed and covered, please
don’t get them. Don’t do it. Because if you are thinking
this, it’s not true. With my courses/systems, my emails,
podcasts, articles, etc. I simply try to talk about
things that I think are important and do work well.

BUT, bipolar disorder is indeed a formidable enemy.
Sometimes things come up you just don’t know could
have come up. When this happens, you make decisions
based on all the information in your head. You see
there are certain things that are in my head. I know
a ton of strategies and when my mom went into this
most recent episode, I was able to create a number
of custom strategies for the current situation.

For example no where in any of my bipolar courses/
systems do I talk about a patient undoing a medical
release and you not being informed. That’s what happen
to me and it made it initially very hard to communicate
with my mom’s treatment team. BUT, I used 3 counter
strategies to get around this problem.

I hope this all makes sense? I guess what I am saying
is you get as much information as you can, then you
try to make the best decisions based on the information
you have. If you aren’t moving in the right direction then
try another strategy or get more information and try
another strategy.

Now, the big secret to controlling destructive bipolar
episodes is being proactive. Back in the day, nobody
in my family would ever address my mom’s bipolar disorder.
If my mom started going into an episode, NOBODY did
anything. Nothing. My mom could be screaming, yelling,
spending all the money and nobody said or did anything.

As I kid, I was conditioned to ignore it. Actually I never
even know what my mom had. We just didn’t talk about it.

As a result of this appeasement philosophy or do nothing
episodes that should have been quick and small turned
into huge descriptive episodes.

Today, when we see something, we take massive AND immediate
action right away. No waiting. This is why, with my mom’s
most current episode there was little to no damage done
because of all the systems in place and the first we
took massive and immediate action to get her back on
track.

Dave

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.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,

As you know in the US it’s tax time. I wanted to write
a quick email to help those out there that have
tax and d.ebt problems because of bipolar disorder.

You may know already, but if you don’t know, when
my mom went into her super manic episode in 2004
through 2005, she didn’t pay any taxes. When I was
called in by my dad to help with my mom not only
did I get all of her bills which were 5 feet
in diameter and 3 inches high on her bedroom
floor, I also found out she didn’t pay any taxes.

The first thing I did was look at all the bills.
She had MASSIVE d.ebt. Over $30,000. I made a list
of each bill on one line on paper. I filled 5 sheets
of yellow legal notepad paper. There was a ton.

Then eventually I saw all the letters from the good
old Internal Revenue Service. At first I got
really worried because they were rather mean and nasty
letters.

Before I did anything else I bought ever book there
was on d.ebt, tax problems and called me accountant,
people who were accountants and other financial people.

In 2 days I put together a plan. My plan on how ANYONE
can get out of d.ebt is found here:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/debtletter

As for the tax problems, I decided to call the IRS and
explain my mom was really, really sick. I asked to meet
with them and also to fax information on her illness
and which hospital she was in.

I decided to call the IRS help line at:
1-800-829-1040

At first they were like “too bad so sad, we want the
money NOW!”

The hassled me because they wanted to talk to my mom
not me. Then I had to get a power of attorney to speak on
my mom’s behalf. BUT, I wasn’t an accountant or lawyer so
I was careful what I said. I let them do the talking.

They really weren’t helpful.

But then I discovered a secret number that made all the difference.

There is something called the Tax Payer Advocate. They
help people who can’t get help from the regular IRS people.

They were SUPER NICE and helpful. Actually the lady I spoke
to had a sister or something who had bipolar disorder. She totally
understood the problem.

I wasn’t looking for my mom to not pay taxes rather just to
get on a small payment plan and stop the threatening letters.
This is exactly what I was able to get done.

If you need help and can’t get help from the IRS at the
first number I gave, call the Taxpayer Advocate Service
Case Intake Line to see if you are eligible for help from
them. You can get them at: 1-877-777-4778
or TTY/TTD: 1-800-829-4059.

VERY IMPORTANT

Some people dealing with bipolar disorder, supporters AND
those with the disorder wind up always having tax problems.
Why? Well because they aren’t following a system to maintain
stability.

If you don’t have your own system, can’t figure it out on
your own, you can look at what I have.

SUPPORTING AN ADULT
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net

Hey I have to run for the day. Have a good
day.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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

I wanted to write you a quick email today about something
I got via email. Someone wrote me, “Dave, you do so
much, don’t you get burned out helping your mom so much?”

Okay, let me address that right here. Here’s the deal.
I am tired for sure. But it’s more because I am running
4 businesses, body build non competitively, have a social
life AND support my mom.

Let me clear up one thing. BEFORE two weeks ago, my
mom was operating on her own. I did not enable her
or fix any of her problems. She was self and high
functioning. So she wasn’t a burden.

She was following the system outlined in my course/system
for those with bipolar disorder at http://www.survivebipolar.net

People with bipolar disorder can do well, and really well
if they follow a system. I have 8 people with mood disorders
who work for me. They all do well.

With that said, this last mini episode which could have
turned into a major long episode was draining.
But because I have a lot going on.

BUT, I do see many supporters get what I call, caregiver
fatigue. This occurs when you are totally burned out
when you are supporting someone with an illness like
bipolar disorder. There are unfortunately thousands of
people on my list like this (I have almost 90,000 people
on my list).

In my supporter courses, I have a cd that talks about
burnout and all the ways to avoid it.

SUPPORTING AN ADULT
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

How do you stop this kind of fatigue or burnout? There
are several ways.

I think the number one thing people can do is do the
right things. Burnout comes when you are doing the wrong
things and/or not getting any results. For example,
in 2005 when I was figuring out how to support my mom,
I would argue with her. I would try to convince her
about things that she needed to know. She would say
my dad threw a fork at her. I would try to convince
her it didn’t happen because I was watching.

I did this for days and days at a night. One day I spent 9
straight hours arguing with her and it never changed her
mind.

Then one day it dawned on me I should stop doing this.
If she would say something “crazy” to me, I would ignore
it. This reduced the burnout.

I also notice burnout is a result of lacking information
on what to do strategically. Like:

-How do you find a good doctor/therapist?
-How do you get a loved one on medication?
-How to you know when a person is going into an episode?
-What is an episode?
-How do you prevent new episodes?
-How do you nicely make doctors give great care?
-How do you find a therapist?
-What do you do when it looks like your loved one is getting sick
again?
-What do you do if the doctor won’t talk to you?

and things like this

These are all strategy questions. The wrong strategy produces
burnout. I will give you a recent example with myself and my
dad. Okay first keep in mind, my dad has read probably 1%
of the material I have. Maybe that would be overestimating. I
am dead serious. He has NO information. Probably because I
do all the work for him. On a side note, I have given him
a July 1, 2007 deadline to read it ALL and go through
ALL cds. He is going to now.

Anyway, my mom was going into an episode. I wanted to test
him. I asked what do you think we should do. He said,
“Let’s take her to the hospital.” I told him this
would be a HUGE strategic mistake.

The reason is because my mom wasn’t bad enough to get admitted
anyway. Plus she hates the hospital. I know this. We would
have spent probably days figuring out which of the 21
techniques would get her to agree to the hospital. We would
have gotten there and they would have let her out fairly
fast in my opinion. Lots of time would have been wasted.

I choose the contact her doctor route even though my
mom took away my ability to speak to her doctor. I countered
with a loop hole in the legal system and my mom was able
to get treatment fast. The entire thing took one day and
not more than 30 minutes of my time. My dad’s method
would have taken days, gotten no results and created
HUGE burnout for us.

So, much of being a good supporter is about using the right
strategy. NOW, I am NOT saying I know everything. I don’t.
My mom’s bipolar actually beat me 7 days in a row last week.
It figured out a way to undo all the medical releases
that were signed so I could talk to people. BUT, I countered
with a work around and loop hole in the system. It’s like a
game of chess.

So the bottom line is, you have to think about caregiver
burnout and fatigue, because if you get to tired or
you fall apart, you won’t do your loved one any good.

Hey I have to run. See you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.S Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.