Hi,

I was just reading a f.ree consultation certificate (for
NON medical and NON legal questions because I am NOT
a doctor) that I got from someone who got my course
at:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

This person wanted to know how to find a “good therapist”
he had indicated that he had spent a “fortune” on bad
therapists and thought they were generally crooks and
had no clue.

He wanted to get my opinion on how to find one like
the kind my mom has. He said he had almost given up
on therapists but since I presented a strong case
for one in my course he wanted to have an open mind.

I do agree with most of what he said.

I must say, I have found there are a ton of therapists
with absolutely positively no clue about how to help
someone with bipolar disorder or many other mental illnesses.
I have no idea why they even “market” themselves as having
knowledge they don’t have.

I don’t know why, if they don’t know much about bipolar disorder,
and can’t really help someone, why they don’t tell them no
I wouldn’t be able to help you.

I do consulting for private equity firms that invest in
companies. Every now and then I get a potential assignment
on something I don’t know anything about. This happen last
week. So what did I do? I said “I can’t take this
assignment.”

You should be aware that many therapists that are not
qualified to help with not do this. This is the truth.
And guess what? Since I told you this, I am going to
get a bunch of therapists get all mad at me because
they feel I shouldn’t tell you things like this.

They’ll say what I am telling you is “harmful”, “dangerous”,
“wrong”, “not true”, etc. In the old days when I was younger
and had more energy, I would call and debate with them how
they had no idea what they are talking about and the truth
is important unless you are in a cult.

The last time I said something about how SOME, NOT
all therapists use a strategy that causes people
to pay more money than they need to for help, I got
almost attacked my several therapists.

It’s like, you know many mortgage people are borderline
crooks. We would be kidding ourselves if believed
all mortgage people are honest, tell the truth,
do the right thing. So if you had a kid 18 going
to get a mortgage, would you tell him to trust
and believe everything the mortgage man/woman says
or would you say doubt and verify?

You know, when you tell the truth or the real deal
people get mad at you. It’s really sad. In mental
health it’s completely like this. You rarely get
good information you can use. Over the two years,
I have been doing this, I have received so much
bad information it’s hard to believe. I almost
don’t believe it.

You want to hear something REALLY crazy I was told.
Actually it’s so crazy and disturbing I can’t even
tell you. Just forget it, it’s not important.

I try as best as possible to get real and useful
information.

I setup my sites and courses to do this. I am
lucky that I don’t have to please everyone and
anyone to make this work. I don’t get government
grants. I don’t get money from big giant drug
companies that can control how I write and
what I say.

I think there are a number of people that don’t live
in the real world. Some ask me why I don’t give away
my information for free. I don’t because I have huge
costs and have to pay for things. I couldn’t only
do this if I were getting money from someone or
something thing. If I was, you better believe this
site would not have the kind of information it has
on it now.

It would look like all the other sites out there with
information that is of little to no use for you.

AND before someone sends me an email saying they
know how I can get money or get a grant, etc. Please
don’t send it because you know what happens with this
money? Well eventually they can take it away. SO, when
I started all of this, I said it would be SELF SUSTAINING
and I would not be controlled by anyone and have to
wonder if they money would be there next week.

When you are looking at any information on mental health
always ask, who is funding it? Don’t you think that’s a
good question.

But back to my point of this email.

If you got my courses/system you know I believe
in therapy. I think that it works well for people
with bipolar disorder. I have seen the success stories.
I have interviewed many people who feel therapy
has helped them a ton.

My mom thinks it’s helped her significantly.

My mom actually has a new therapist. She felt that
she had moved beyond her old therapist. I really
liked her old therapist a lot. I don’t know
the new guy that well but I am going to be meeting
with him really soon. I just have been super busy.

The bottom line is people have to pick a therapist
that’s good for them not good for me or someone
else.

I HIGHLY recommend using the same level of seriousness,
you would use to find a doctor, to find a therapist.

In all my main systems/courses, I go over this in fine
detail. I am NOT trying to keep it from you. I can’t
paste 40 pages of written material in here and also
have all the forms I used. Not to mention post audio
in an email so that’s why I can’t go over everything
from a to z in this email. Sorry.

If you are interested in getting more information on
my courses/systems that go over this look at these links:

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

I have to run now.

Your Friend,

Dave

I got up at 6:00am and I am already behind schedule. Anyway, I
wanted to drop you a quick email about something that I wanted
to tell you.

Yesterday I was talking with someone about why their loved one
was “so slow” to get better. I was kind of shocked because I felt
this person was kind of being mean.

Their loved one went into a major episode like my mom and he was
saying how it had already been a month and she wasn’t better.

I said to him, “how long do you think it should take to recover
from a major episode from a serious chemical imbalance mood disorder
like bipolar disorder?” He said, “well when you say it like that
I guess well maybe longer than a month.”

So I told him to listen to “My mom’s story” which is a cd
in my courses/systems. He skipped that cd because he
wanted to get to the important stuff. I explained
I didn’t add filler material in my stuff and that everything
was important. He said that he would go through everything more
carefully.

I hope this isn’t you. If you got my courses/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

I hope you listened to that cd. It should have been the
first one for you to hear. I did that on purpose.

WHY DO I HAVE MY MOM’S STORY ON A CD?

I wasn’t going to have this. But really at the last second
of finishing up my material I decided to include it. See when
my mom was undergoing treatment, I never knew how long it would
take. I didn’t know what to expect. NOBODY would give me any
answers or estimates. It was really annoying. They would give
me the you just have to wait and see.

I felt like if I put exactly what I did to help my mom on
on CD and how long it took, it would help you know what you would
be up against. People love that cd because of this.

Think about this. If you have a loved one and he/she is not
getting better after 6 months you might feel like there is
something wrong. But then if you hear it took many people 12 months
or more to become stable after a major episode you change your
view.

Information is the key and that’s what the mental health community
never seems to offer. They tell you about the 16 medications,
what they do, and all the names of illnesses. They don’t tell
you a lot of the stuff you need to know. Like, it takes time
for a loved one to recover from a major illness.

If I were you, take whatever you are thinking and double it and
plan for it. This way it makes it easier. If your loved one recovers
quicker that’s great.

This reminds me on what something a girl named Lindsey told me the
other day. I was looking at getting a new desk and filing cabinet
for my home office. Right now the files fall out of the filing
cabinet because it’s broken and my desk is broken which is really
annoying.

So I was trying to figure out how big of a desk I could fit
in my room. I also wanted to get a new filing cabinet and
shelves.

I started to round down when I was doing my calculations. Lindsey
said why are you rounding down not up. Then I thought how dumb
that was. It’s kind of like helping a loved one with bipolar disorder.
Plan for recovery to take longer and don’t get mad or impatient if it
takes more time.

Hey I have to run and get some stuff done today.

I will write more 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

I told you yesterday that I was going to give you an update
on my plans in the coming weeks.

1. I am adding a lot of new articles to bipolarcentral.com. They
will all be f.ree of charge and these aren’t going to be
boring articles you find anywhere else. Really good stuff.
Some I wrote and some others have written.

2. There are 17 categories of mental illness. For about a year
I was always annoyed that I could not find one place where
all of them were defined. I found the government site did
an okay job but didn’t have all of them. Plus some of
the information was old.

So I hired a doctor and his staff to spend 4 months writing
10 to 15 page descriptions of each category of mental illness
PLUS real references and footnotes AND illustrations and pictures.
So, now you can read up on a category and then go check the
references and footnotes. AND last thing on this, the references
had to be from REAL medical books, papers, sites, etc.

So you will not see a statement and then it’s referenced to
www.buildyourownsite.com/bobsfamilysite/~familybipolarhomepage

Know what I mean?

3. Since I need a lot of help, I am going to be posting
independent contractor positions from various jobs online
for anyone to apply to. Andrea my webmaster is WAY behind
and suppose to get caught up next week. Actually I need
to get a second web designer so this type of thing
doesn’t happen in the future.

4. I am considering a new program to teach people who want
to build a h.ome b.usiness. I have built several and run
4 right now. I am pretty good at starting and running
h.ome b.usinesses. I am not really good at editing :).
Just kidding. Seriously, tons of people are asking
me about how to start a o.nline b.usiness, a this business,
a that business. Unfortunately, I can’t take the time
to go over this on the phone with one person at a time.

I’ve had a bunch of people use the f.ree consultation
Certificates from my courses/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/

to ask questions about how to increase their i.ncome
or start a h.ome business. These were not suppose
to be used for this purpose but I have let it slide
but I won’t be able to do it anymore. Some asked
me about how to start an e.bay b.usiness quick recently

Currently I am starting an ebay business. I bet within
60 days, I will be doing better than 95% of the people
on ebay. I am not saying this to brag BECAUSE, the
reason it’s going to be so successful is NOT because
of me. It’s this type of thing I want to teach others.

Some people beat their heads against the wall trying
to start a h.ome b.usiness. They do things like
n.etwork m.arketing which CAN work in certain cases.

I have done REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY well in n.etwork
m.arketing but it’s NOT for everyone and the way that
I have done really well is NOT doing what everyone
else does.

Anyway, I am thinking that I am going to do a sort of
coaching program. I am going to setup topics, and then
have a lesson once a week, take questions, record the
call, give copies of the recording, give a transcript,
allow people to fill out a form for me to call them
with additional questions, etc.

This is going to be a PAID program. There is no way
on the earth I can do this for f.ree. It’s going to
cost me a ton to setup. So if you’re gonna get mad
because I am going to charge, I guess you are already
mad.

But of course, I will have a guarantee like I always
do and no one else does. Meaning, think about it. I offer
a guarantee on all my stuff. No one offers any kind of
guarantees in mental health. I often ask Doctors why they
don’t if they are so good. They laugh at me. Give me
that “young kid” you’ve got a lot to learn look.

Whatever.

SIDE NOTE:

Someone wrote me this on my blog:

“I have been reading your emails almost daily now.
I am still trying to figure out if this is a scam.
No offense meant to you. It has been my experience
(so far) that Internet offers usually end up benefiting
the one making the offer financially and leave the consumer
disappointed. I have still not made up my mind. I will
continue to look into what you are offering as I am
in desperate need of help. I believe in letting the
buyer beware. Especially since people who have this
problem in their lives usually have financial issues
and can not afford to spend money with no results.
I hope this is real. Thank you.”

I read this kind of thing, and I wonder, how in the
world come someone think this is a scam. Who in the world
would put this much work into a scam? I really think
that people like this say this almost as an excuse
for failure or lack of success. There is a family
member of mine who says everything is a scam. He
does this so he can basically blame his lack of success
on someone else. It’s really strange.

If I am running a scam, which I am not, I would be the
dumbest scammer ever. I didn’t make a dime last year on
this. I LOST MONEY on this entire thing. How do I know
well if you read yesterdays blog post and email, you
know I went to the accountant. Well he informed me that
this lost money and that he is “concerned” about me.

He thinks I am wasting my time and should focus on “profitable”
things like my other businesses. I told him don’t worry about
it. It’s not about making money. He says he is about making
money and doesn’t like losing money. Oh well, I am the
boss with him so he still has to listen to me :).

Okay let me get back on track because I’ll get 123 emails tomorrow
saying, “I read your email yesterday, I think you have ADD…
Have you been checked for this?”

So the bottom line is I am making some kind of program some way.
I am working with Michele who has bipolar disorder and other
things and Megan who has Depression on how we are going to run
the program. But I guarantee it’s going to be really good. And if
you sign up and don’t like it, you will be protected because I am
that kind of a guy.

5. I will be posting 114 articles for f.r.e.e on schizophrenia. I
will be sending the link out in the next month. Don’t tell my
accountant. He HATES when I post anything for f.r.ee.

6. I am working on some new courses, guides and manuals.

How to afford expenses and high priced doctors/therapists
or ones that are no longer in your insurance plan

How to develop fast cash when
you need it for expenses related to mental health.

How to keep a relationship when you are supporting someone
with bipolar disorder. Actually put together by a friend of
mine.

Bipolar Success Stories Volume 1. In this cd set, you will
hear 6 to 8 of the best success stories of people with
bipolar disorder and 6 to 8 of the best success stories
of people supporting ADULTS with bipolar disorder. I must
say, this cost me a TON to put together. You’re going
to like it.

7. I am going to be posting online video. I don’t know of what
but everyone says that in order to be cool online you have to
post video. The kid who told me looks like he is 5, but
has the brain of a 55 year old, just kidding he
is like 18 or something and knows everything about anything
that is cool. He said that I should post some video for you
guys to help teach some things. He said that he can show me how
to do it and that would be so simple “Even David Oliver can do it.”
He called me “old school” because I don’t have an ipod which
I am getting really soon one day in the future.
He was making fun of me I think.

I am seriously thinking about doing an online video with some
people who have bipolar disorder that have done really well. They
are actors anyway. I just have to catch up with them.

8. I am going to be doing more podcasts regularly.
About one a week. They are going to be f.r.e.e with great lessons
on them. Don’t tell my accountant LOL.

HELP ME OUT.

Hey forward this email to people you think would be interested and
also, feel f.r.ee to link to my site www.bipolarcentral.com

Well, I have to run to the gym, the library and I am going to the
movies today. I will 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,

It’s 7:08am on Saturday and I wanted to write some
important Bipolar Disorder updates.

These last few weeks have been really difficult.
The growth of this organization designed to help
people with bipolar disorder has been staggering.

I never expected so much growth so fast. Also,
contrary to what “experts” told me, people
really like my daily emails.

As a result, I have been working around the
clock to get everything running smoothly again.

Now don’t fall asleep on me, there’s important
Bipolar updates and lessons coming. Hang on..

I run several businesses. Most people just think
I do this. This doesn’t pay my bills. It’s not
designed to. My other businesses do. Fortunately,
I have great people who run them so that’s why
I have so much time to devote to the bipolar
cause.

For example, there is woman named Jenifer that
now handles one of businesses from A to Z and
this has allowed me to save a lot of time
to do other things.

I was thinking last night on a few things while
I was doing my cardio and trying to drop my
body fat from almost 10 percent back down to 7.5%.

I was trying to remember why I was able to get so
many things done so fast with my mom.

If you’ve gone through my courses/systems here:

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

You’ll notice that I did get a ton done. Now
if you get one of my courses/systems it’s super
easy for you because you just follow the simple
instructions and great things start to happen
for yourself or your loved one.

BUT, I didn’t have a system and here’s the one
thing I did that made all the difference. I found
people to help me. If you look at the various
parts of bipolar disorder and the problems it
creates, the number is many.

When I was starting, one of the first things I did
was make a list of ALL the problems I had to deal with.

Then I prioritized which was most important and I worked
on the most important first.

For example, I was looking at my old notes from mom
and when I started helping her. Here’s some of it:

Figure out what she has
Find out how to stop or fix it
Find a doctor to help her
Find some people who have it and stopped it

At the time, I didn’t know really what she had so I called
it “it.” I didn’t know who to make her “normal” again so I had
how to “stop” it.

Obviously as time went on, I figured a lot of stuff out.
But those were some of the first things I was working on.

BUT, when you read the descriptions of my courses/systems
you notice that I talk about research, which I did
a ton of. BUT I also sought and found experts for various
aspects of her illness or problems from her illness.

For example, I had no idea how to buy a car without good
c.redit, no jog and below what the car dealership paid.

I had no idea how to figure out how much a car dealership
paid for a car. SO, I located an expert. I paid him and
he taught me SOME of the secrets. He didn’t know anything
about bipolar disorder so I had so “add on” to his plan
because it was specifically for people with bipolar disorder.

NOW, instead of running around and trying to do it all
myself, I found someone to help and then I did a little
work to make it work perfectly.

This is what I do with this Organization for Bipolar Disorder.

I get a ton done every day and can run so many things
and have done so for 15 years because of these principles.

I am NOT in a 15 to 20 manic episode. People write me
and say, “Are you sure you aren’t bipolar, you do some
much stuff and come out with things faster than I can
read or listen to them.”

It’s called having a team and time management. When I was
a kid my mom wasn’t doing well sometimes. Well many times.
My brother was never around. My dad was never around. My brother
told me to read books and learn to give me something to
do since I was unsupervised a lot. He told me to improve my
skills. He would yell at me if I didn’t.

When I was like 16 or so he demanded that I read books
on time management and project management. He was
really big, like 300 pounds, so I would always agreed.
I am not sure why he did this but it turned out
to be a great thing for me.

There are MANY people that help me make it happen. Probably
15 or so. It’s not just me. This is why we jointly make
the best material and it comes out so fast. It’s because
it’s a BIG TEAM of people.

So this is how I get so much done. Learn from me.
When you are dealing with bipolar disorder, you have
to approach it like a giant project with mini projects.
You build a team over time, but try to do it as fast
as possible. Some people on the team will not be that
good. Then you replace them. That’s that how I did it.
That’s my secret.

This is what you need to do with
bipolar disorder. For example, if you have bipolar disorder
you’ll notice in my Bipolar Success Course/System one
theme that I have is get a great doctor/therapist.

Once you have one, they are on your team. NOW, when
you want to find out about various treatments or what
your possibilities are or limitations are, you talk
with your team. NOW maybe you could go out and figure it
all out yourself but that’s way more difficult and you
will probably make mistakes.

Like today, I am going to my accountant to talk about
all these different taxes. He is on my team and I let
him handle that area. This way he makes recommendations
to me and I can just follow them if I choose. I don’t
spend weeks on end learning all about taxes.

Some people NEVER get anything done with bipolar disorder
because they don’t take the team approach. There are people
on my list and I know that there are several people
that are going to get mad when I say this but
they have spent YEARS trying to figure things out
I don’t think they should be figuring out.

For example, there is one person on my list who is
learning all about medications BEFORE she recommends
her loved one take them. That was two years ago when
I first spoke to her. Her loved one’s life is a disaster
and so is this ladies. BUT she is working hard to figure
it all out.

I asked her why don’t you get a great doctor and leave
that to them. I hear stuff like “Oh I don’t trust
them and they won’t tell me everything.”

Imagine people running major companies function
like her.

Now I know there is one person in particular who is
going to get mad about me saying this kind of thing
to you.

Actually she wrote this to me in an email:

“I read your emails and I feel like you are writing
them with an admonishing tone…these people are
searching for this information because they are in
pain, they are riddled with worry, and confusion and
doubt and fear.

They are less than who they really are because they have
been beaten down by an illness that has taken it’s toll
on their loved one and as a result has killed a part of
them as well…..imagine feeling like that and then
opening your email looking for support to find that
you have an email telling you that you’re blowing it
because you’re not learning fast enough, searching
hard enough, reading enough books or doing the right thing.”

Here’s the deal, I have NEVER criticized people for not
learning fast enough, searching hard enough, reading
enough books, or doing the right thing.

BUT what I have criticized people for doing is being
way off in outer space figuring out stuff they do
not need to be figuring out for themselves or their
loved ones to become stable.

Again, if you want your loved to become stable, you
need to find a great doctor and trust him/her, you
don’t need to figure out exactly the 16 reasons why
medications work or how the human brain functions.

Unless you are a student, professor, researcher, work
for a drug company, etc, there is NO REASON to spend
years trying to figure this out ahead of finding
a doctor/therapist, getting great h.ealth insurance,
determining how you are going to pay for treatment,
figuring out how to i.ncrease your
income to support yourself or loved one, protect your
m.oney, etc.

Make sense? I am not the kind of guy that sits by
and doesn’t say anything when people are wasting their
time and going in a direction I think is wrong.

Remember I am not running for office. I am not
the politician that is going to try to please everyone.

Many people like my material some people don’t. There’s
a remove link at the bottom of EVERY message. Anyway can
use it. My goal is to go to bed at night knowing that I
said what I really felt was important and what people
need to hear not what they want to hear.

For all those who have used my f.ree consultation
certificates (for non medical and legal questions because
I am NOT a doctor or lawyer and don’t play one on
TV) with my courses/systems OR I randomly called
you because you wanted to talk to me (yes I do do that),
I always ask you “Do you want me to tell you what
you want to hear or what you need to hear.” Ever since
I have asked people that 100% of the people have said:

“What I need to hear.”

So that’s the deal. Hey I ran out of room here. I had
so much to tell you. I have to do it tomorrow. I have to
head off and put some stuff in storage and then head
over to the gym to catch some morning cardio. Then
to the library. Then to my accountants. Then to my
computer :).

Check your email tomorrow and I am going to give
you an update on people I am going to be hiring,
new f^ree things to help you, new courses I am coming
out with, a new coaching program I am possibly thinking
of to help you increase your income.

I will talk to you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS

First, just wanted to let you know that yesterday I forgot
to hit send with yesterday’s email. I am awesome with
computers 🙂 Sorry. That’s why
it came late.

Also, I am really close to getting the job descriptions
posted for customer service, admin, etc. position
at BipolarCentral.org. Remember these are paid positions.

I will send you an email next week. Everyone and anyone
is open to apply.

Okay, I have to go. I have a million things to do today. Okay
not a million probably only 15 so I was 999,985 off. Just
kidding.
Here is the current Bipolar Disorder news.

Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews319/

Here are SOME highlights:

Circadian Rhythm Linked to Bipolar Disorder

Police Seek Missing Westwood Girl

WARNING! Girl’s overdose death raises questions

Senate OKs expanded coverage for mental disorders…MUST READ.

Antidepressants May Not Help Fight Bipolar Disorder…BEWARE

and much more

Details, visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews319/

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 to share a really sad story. There
was a person that got my bipolar supporter
course for supporting adults. The one
at:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

He said that he was really excited about
it. Unfortunately his wife, who has bipolar
disorder found out about it and pressured
him to ask for a refund.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not upset about
the refund. That makes no difference to me. I
feel bad this person is going to suffer because
anytime he tries to take action, his wife prevents
it.

My mom use to do the same exact thing for DECADES.

I can remember so many times, that we didn’t do so many
normal family things because my mom was in an episode
and didn’t want to.

For example, I rarely ever saw my dad’s side of the family because
my mom would get all mad so my dad stopped taking us there.
He felt it was easier to just “appease” her than it
was to do what was right.

Let me tell you one thing. Do NOT let bipolar
disorder episodes rule your family. I was talking to
my dad over the last few days and he finally
realized the mistake he made for almost 40
years–he let my mom’s bipolar disorder
control the family.

It proved to be a multi decade disaster.

I really felt bad for the guy asking for
the refund. He was pressured to not
learn about the disorder and help
himself, his wife and his family.

Clearly bipolar disorder is running
his family.

In my courses at:

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

Virtually all the people interviewed
both those with bipolar disorder and
supporters say this was a big mistake.

They said NOT to allow Bipolar Episodes
to control life.

I totally agree. I believe it’s a grave mistake to allow
bipolar episodes to run the show so to speak.

For my dad, mom and my family, it cost
jobs, relationships with many
family members, lots of money, etc.

Well I have to run. Before I go,
I almost have the websites setup for the
job descriptions that I will be offering and
how you or someone you know can apply for them.

Have a great day.

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

I had a new idea a week ago. I would take certain emails/blog posts I got and respond to them orally.

You can read the question and hear my response by visiting:

http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/

Here are the responses I address:

“I can’t find your blog. I just wanted to comment that I feel that you think that only people with bipolar get upset and yell and lie. It seems to be a theme with you. Maybe all of the people who called and screamed curses at you were the families of the people who have bipolar, you know, the ones who drove them nuts? Statistics show that more mentally ill people are abused than abusers. Chew on that, Dave.”
-Debby

http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/
===========================================

“Could you tell me what medication your mom uses? it would help greatly with my daughter.”
-Diane

http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/
============================================
“David, wonder if I might offer a little ‘constructive criticism’. I’ve been at this bipolar thing for a long while myself. My husband was hospitalized twice before I knew him. He spent a lifetime with parents who were of the generation I’m assuming your father is-they didn’t do the right things for him. They just figured that he would eventually snap out of it, see the error of his ways and do the right thing….then along comes Mary-proactive, strong, determined, in love and willing to fight the good fight-we’ve been married over a decade and together for years prior to that-I, like you did the research, read the books, ran a support group-I know this illness inside and out-I also know what it’s like to be married to this illness and to lose oneself in the wake of it all.

I found your webiste while doing some research for a friend. I logged in thinking I might find some interesting things-while I’m not going to pay for your courses, I have been reading your emails and I do find them interesting but I do also, now here is where the constructive criticism comes in-bear with me-find them to be a little bullish. I see that your intentions are noble and I do understand the plight you’ve lived as a child of a bipolar parent-but I read your words and I feel like if I didn’t know what I know and was solely relying on this email to guide me, I would feel guilty as hell for not having the energy to do what I need to do……being a parent or a spouse to a bipolar person is exhausting. It is draining. It leaves us with guilt, pain and shame like no other. In the midst of my husband’s diagnosis I became isolated where before I was gregarious and outgoing. I became depressed and confused because I always had to have my eyes open. I was reading everyday, calling doctors, seeing therapists….I was doing all the right things but I was wasted.

I read your emails and I feel like you are writing them with an admonishing tone…these people are searching for this information because they are in pain, they are riddled with worry, and confusion and doubt and fear. They are less than who they really are because they have been beaten down by an illness that has taken it’s toll on their loved one and as a result has killed a part of them as well…..imagine feeling like that and then opening your email looking for support to find that you have an email telling you that you’re blowing it because you’re not learning fast enough, searching hard enough, reading enough books or doing the right thing.

David, change with this illness does not come over night-a diagnosis doesn’t come overnight-sometimes, like with my husband, it takes years to get the proper diagnosis-Bipolar Illness is one of the most difficult mental illnesses to treat because there are so many components and levels-everyone reacts differently to meds, every ‘caretaker’ has a different level of tolerance, ability and strength and some caretakers are so beaten down by the time a diagnosis is reached that they themselves have lost their own ability to cope…I know that what you’re doing is done with the best of intentions. Who wouldn’t want to share what they’ve learned when they find something that works but is it possible for you to ease up a little on the guilt trips? I get the message you’re trying to convey-we do need to be advocates, we do need to educate ourselves, we do need to find the right doctors the right meds and the funds to finance these endeavors-but we also need to be treated with kindness and gentle persuasion….not everyone operates with the same determination and energy that you did in helping your mom and as I did in helping my husband. I am a strong woman with the thick skin and a pair of brass ones…but I occasionally fell apart and got lost in this illness-it tears us down and rips us to shreds and what we need as those who love one with bipolar illness is not admonishing guilt laden emails but a firm loving push in the right direction…..
I’m just sayin'”
-ME

http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/
==============================================
there you go again, dave. if your mom is a liar, then she is a liar. it doesn’t have anything to do with bipolar. i don’t lie. i don’t spend all of my family’s money. i don’t become violent. you are doing a huge disservice to all of us who do have bipolar and manage it. people who lie, lie. people who have bipolar have bipolar. they may not be mutually exclusive, but I’ll be damned if i am going to be lumped in with a bunch of people who lie just because i have bipolar. i’ll be damned if i’ll be lumped in with a bunch of people who are abusive, too. you are so wrong. so, the people out there who are using someone who happens to have bipolar can go to your site and say, see, that person is the liar, not me, even if the person without bipolar is a pathological liar and a pedophile. thanks for giving people like that ammunition, dave. really nice.
-Deb
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/
==========================================
“If you really cared, you would share your information freely.”
-Sara
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/

==========================================
“Thanks Dave, you have helped me so much with all your information and your course I orderd has been so great for our family”
-Benny

http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/

Hi,

I did something really dumb yesterday. I drove on a 3
mile street for 43 minutes. Dumbest thing I have
done in a long time.

BUT, there’s an important Bipolar Lesson to be
learned.

Here’s what happen. I have this meeting that I attend
once a month. They are really strict about attendance
so I make sure I leave REALLY early. I leave 2 hours
early and it only takes one hour. I do it just in case
something happens and I will get there on time.

So yesterday, things are going along perfectly. I was
late by about 7 minutes which was totally fine
because that would me 1 hour and 53 minutes to get
there.

So I start driving to the meeting. I jump on my
cell phone to call all the people that I didn’t
call back that day. I actually called one person
who used the F^ree consultation certificates
for non medical and non legal questions (because
I am NOT a doctor or lawyer), in this course/system:

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

And helped him with a simple issue which I had a problem
with before. The issue was: How do you fill out the
disability forms for a loved one when the spaces are
so small on the form?

Don’t laugh at him. I had the same problem myself.

So if you are laughing at him, you are laughing
at my by the transitive principle and that’s not
nice :).

Seriously had no idea how to do it myself
back in the day. I made 10 copies and was trying to
write smaller. I failed.

Then I was talking to Pascale a friend of mine who
is SUPER smart (one of the smartest people I know)
and she said, “Dave, retype the question in MS
word and then type your answer over there so
you can have all the space you want. Make sure
you call them and ask if it’s okay.”

I was shocked. Why? Well I was not even thinking
about that. I am not kidding. I don’t think
I would have ever come up with the solution.

I would have spent weeks trying to “engineer
a way to write smaller.”

The strange thing was, I had the answers typed
in MS word but I was trying to transfer them
by hand to the disability form. Because at
the top of the form it said “Please
print neatly” I thought it had to be
written out by hand or maybe with an old
school typewriter (which I didn’t have).

I never thought about typing the question
in MS word with the answer. You might
think that I am a dummy and so is the guy
I was talking to. Maybe we are, maybe
we aren’t.

But, we both shared something in common. BOTH
of us were so close yet so far. Meaning,
he had spent a week trying to figure out how
in the world could he write on one page when
it required like 7 pages of information.

He was stuck and I helped him. Maybe he would
have figured it out. When you call the disability
folks, they just tell you to “write neater” as a
solution. HELLO!!!!!!!!!!! Write neater?

Well that’s what they say.

Keep reading for the lesson.

So back to my story. So I was making great time.
Going faster than normal. BUT, I was going the speed
limit so if you are a police person on my list, don’t get
excited :).

I got right down to the street the meeting was on. I
was really excited because I would be a full hour early
and could get some work done that I needed to do.

So I was driving and something strange happen. I couldn’t
find the place. It’s almost like it vanished. I drove up
one side and then another.

10 minutes went by.

I kept driving and turning around and looking. It wasn’t
anywhere. I saw some buildings that looked like
buildings on the street but I wasn’t sure. I kept
going over and over and over.

The place wasn’t there. I stopped my car, looked at the
sign to see if I was on the right street. I was.

I was starting to get really annoyed. So I drove up
the street again. The thing is, when you turned around
you had to go through all this stuff because of the way
the road was because when New Jersey made roads, part of
the contract was “We need to have 5% of the roads be
really confusing, make no sense to ensure people get
lost everyday to help keep our residents mentally alert.”

Just kidding, that’s not true, don’t call the state and
ask and then get mad at me and say I am a liar.

Okay, back to the story at the same time, I was on the
phone with my friend Maceo.

I kept telling him that I was lost but we kept talking.

After 33 minutes I was getting REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY,
annoyed.

Don’t worry there’s a bipolar lesson here, keep reading.

Then about 39 minutes passed. I said to Maceo “Oh my God. It’s
almost 5:30 I am going to be late. I
am lost, I gotta go and figure this out. I will talk to
you tomorrow.”

He said okay. Then I pulled over and called Scott the meeting
leader and asked him “WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I?” I was really
frustrated. Scott said, “Okay where are you?” I told him
he then said to me “Oh you are on the other side of the street.
You need to go under the underpass and get on the side where
I am. It’s 3 minutes away.”

Boy was I annoyed. Do you know how dumb I felt. I drove on
the same short 3 mile street for 43 minutes. Why? Because:

-I didn’t call Scott right away. I was determined to figure it
out myself.

-I felt like if I just kept looking I would find it eventually. I
was so close so how long could it take me?

-I was too lazy to hang the phone up with Maceo and call Scott.

What’s the bipolar lesson here?

So many of you are so close yet so far to helping yourself
or your loved one.

When I put together this course/system:

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

I did so to help people, help themselves as fast as possible. People
call and write me and say, “I bet that I can get what you learned
in the library.” I always tell them, “You can’t get everything
but you can get some things.” They are all confused.

Then I ask them if they mean can they get what I have in my
courses/systems for f.ree somewhere else? They say “Oh, yea.”

I say probably. If you do EXACTLY what I did to learn it in
the first place.

Then I tell them, how it took me 9 to 12 months and there’s
stuff I am still learning. How I didn’t work for that period
of time. I never spent time with friends. I never did anything.
All I did was “work” on this and look for a solution.

So for some people, if they are into that kind of thing, that’s
okay with me. Meaning they would want to duplicate what I did,
if they could afford it, to prove a point they could do it
all on their own.

My dad is like that. He loves telling me how he “NEVER asks
anyone for help.” Finally after hearing this for so many years
I asked him, “How has that worked for you?” Dead silence.
I think for the first time, he figured out, it hasn’t worked
for him and who in the world wants to do things that hard way.

There’s no special trophy, plaque, extra money, away, ribbon
that you get from anyone that I know of when you do things
that hard way.

Take two people. One gets all the information on how to help
someone with bipolar disorder spoon-fed to them, another does
it the hard way. People look at each of them the same as successful.

One is half dead from the stress and “work” she put into it.
The other is alive, happy because she did it the easy way.

The lesson is, if you can get help, and get it right away, do
so, don’t do it the hard way. Like how I was driving to the
meeting. If only I called I would have gotten there 45 minutes
early probably. But I wanted to do it the hard way.

NOW, I am not saying all this to push you to get my courses/systems.

NOW, for many of you, you need to be getting other help from
doctors and therapists. But maybe you are too cheap to
spring for that extra session to buy their time to ask specific
questions about your loved one or yourself.

Maybe you need to be attending family therapy but you figure
“I can figure it all out myself…I know everything.”

These are just two areas that I see people not getting
the help they need to speed things along. Sometimes it’s
because they are being cheap, sometimes it’s because they
just think they can figure it all out themselves. Maybe
they can, maybe they can’t. Sometimes you have to pay
a doctor, specialist or therapist and sometimes it’s going
to cost more than the $19.95 you spent on the TV infomercial
buying something that really isn’t going to help you or
your loved one.

You don’t want to be driving on a 3 mile road for 43 minutes
like me.

Hey I have to run. I have a bunch of research to do in
the library today. Great thing is that my consulting
business requires trips to the library and I can also
look up stuff for this mental health organization at
the same time.

Have a great day.

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

You might think I am crazy but I’m not.

I am going to share something really important with you
today.

First, I wanted to tell you, due to the massive growth
of this organization I am going to be hiring a number
of people.

I am really looking forward to it. Right now, there
are about 15 people who make this entire thing happen
on a daily basis. And that doesn’t include many of
the vendors I use.

There will be new administrative, customer service,
research, writing, reviewing and other positions a
available.

I will be sending a link in the coming week or
weeks where people can apply. It will be
going to my lists of supporters and
people with mental illnesses.

Do you think I am crazy? Well I am not.

Right now I have 8 people who work for me that
have a mental illness. Oddly, in my f.ree consultation
certificates for NON medical and NON legal questions
(because I am NOT a doctor or attorney), you get
with my courses/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/

Want to know this strange question:

“What is it like to work with some many
people with a mental illness?”

At first I thought that was really odd. But
then I thought about it and could understand
why someone would want to know.

Well, it’s no problem. I must say, I have VERY
little problems with anyone that works for me
that has a mental illness. Keep in mind all
these people are stable and doing great.

They actually work hard and appreciate the
work I give.

Some people do require “time off” on certain
days because of some limitations. But it’s
no different than anyone else at another company.

On the other hand, the people that I am currently
moving away from that do my printing have NO
mental illness at all and have missed 80% of
scheduled meetings, make all kinds of excuses,
don’t do the job right, require my mom to be
an adult baby sitter for all of them
and they forget to print jobs all the time.

Look at this statement, the one in the subject
line I sent you:

I stepped on my cat, I can’t come to work today.”

Guess who told me that? Guess and then scroll…

DON’T FORGET TO GUESS AND THEN SCROLL

Someone who does NOT have a mental illness. It’s a person
who handles my printing and that’s what I was told when
she missed I think meeting number 14 or so. Maybe it was 15
or 13. She misses so many I lost track. But it’s not just her,
her boss missing the meetings, her boss’s boss misses them
as well.

It just doesn’t stop with these folks, there are others that I
deal with that have no mental illness that do the same thing.

Time and time again, the people that make stuff happen for
me, the people who are there when I need them, have a mental
illness. It’s the strangest thing.

Take a look at this person as been diagnoses between the ages of
16 and 45:

Depression (also Situational Depression)
Chronic Major Depression (with suicide risk)
Dysthymic Disorder
Panic Disorder
Adult ADHD

Schizophrenia
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder
Schizoaffective Disorder
Substance Abuse
Anxiety Disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder
Psychosis NOS
Bipolar Disorder I (with and without Psychotic Features)
Bipolar Disorder II (with Suicidal Ideologies)
Bipolar Disorder – Mixed Type
Bipolar Disorder – Rapid Cycle
Bipolar Disorder – NOS – with Auditory & Visual Hallucinations

This is someone who works for me, Michele. She is one of the BEST
people that has ever worked for me. She does a great job.

Hey, and you know my attitude. I am not handing out charity
jobs/work. If someone works for me and they are no good
they get fired. Period. So, if someone works for me and
has a mental illness you know they are doing great.

They get treated equal and treated just like everyone else.

Anyway, Michele never misses stuff, makes excuses. If she has a bad day
and she does, she or someone contacts me to let me know.

She doesn’t hide from me like a lot of the other clowns I deal
with that don’t have a mental illness. Like the “I stepped
on my cat and couldn’t come to work that day” woman.

She told me this 2 days AFTER she didn’t show up for a
meeting she was SUPPOSE to be at. She didn’t even bother
to call and let me know ahead time.

Back to the story, when I have MAJOR problems, Michele
is one of the first people
that I call because she has this INCREDIBLE ability to
come up with simple solutions to complex problems.

For all of you in the Bipolar Inner Circle at:

http://www.bipolarinnercircle.com/ (which is not
taking new people now), you are in it because of Michele.

There were so many problems when I started it, I was going
to shut it all down. I was super mad and it was costing me
a fortune. It was driving me out of my mind.

I went to Michele and asked her to help me compose
a letter saying “sorry, this is going to be shut down” and
she asked me what was the problem.

I went on and on for about 30 minutes. She asked if I could give
her 1 hour and call back. I was like “Well, okay but let’s get
the letter done.” She said to me that we won’t need the letter.

I called back and she had a solution to EVERY SINGLE problem.
Solutions that didn’t cost a ton of money, didn’t require
a degree from Harvard to implement. As a result the Bipolar
Inner Circle is doing GREAT. People love it and it’s really
because of her.

She is just one example of the help I have gotten from
the people that work for me that have a mental illness.

BUT, I don’t want you to think that only the people with
a mental illness help keep this organization going because
that’s not true. There are others as well.

BUT, the point of my email is that people with a mental
illness can do well, and do great, with proper treatment.

Michele told me that NOBODY thought she would be a success.
I mean let’s be honest. If I gave you a sheet of paper and
listed all those diagnoses and asked you, “do you think
this person would do well?” You would think I was crazy.

Anyway, there are sooooooo many people like her out there
that do great things but you don’t even know they have
a mental illness.

It’s virtually impossible to find these people. I have
spent almost $100,000 doing so. I am going to be
sharing their secrets really soon.

I just looked at the clock. 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.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com/

Hi,

This is a message to both those who have bipolar disorder
and those that are supporters of those with bipolar disorder.

I was just thinking last night how tough it is to be a supporter.
My dad had said something that really annoyed me, that I will
get into fully in another email or maybe a podcast because I don’t
have a lot of time.

Basically he suggested that all of the stuff I did he could
have done to help my mom. This is kind of funny because if
he could, he would have done it. It would have been great
to have TWO people working to help my mom not just one.

Last night, I started to say to my dad you know
I had no information or anyone to ask for help. I had to
figure EVERYTHING out myself. It tooks almost a year. I slept
2-3 hours some days.

I have THREE main courses/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

I am not bragging but the bottom line is, these courses/systems are excellent. BUT, I am not trying to sell them to you right now. I want to make a point.

When I got started there were NO resources. Each problem I had
to sit and brainstorm a solution and get books, hire people,
call experts, go to meetings, etc. etc.

There wasn’t a David Oliver that I could use a f.ree consultation
certficate, included in my courses/systems, to ask non medical
and non legal questions to.

There was a $49 ebook that offfered virtually no help at all. On
a side note, people that do get the ebooks and my stuff always say
how much more they got out of my material versus the $39 ebook. I always
laugh and say what do you expect out of a $39 to $49 ebook? :).

Anyway, in addition to just bipolar disorder, I had to deal with
issues related like:

-Taxes. When my mom when into an episode, Internal Revenue Service letters “rained” down on her which were all given to me to “handle.”
-Helping my mom buy a car when she was in an epside, how bad c.redit, etc.
-Finding my mom’s c.redit.
-Disability issues
-Financial problems
-Getting great affordable health insurance
-Setting up a plan for my mom’s retirement after she gave it all a way in an episode.
-Undoing all the lies that my mom said to various people
-Helping my mom paid off her d.ebt
Etc.

You have seen these long descriptions of my courses/system
so you know what I can offer.

I looked at my dad and was amazed that he basically thought
he could have done it all. Anyway, it reminded me how
thankless this caregiver job is.

My mom also told me how hard it is for the person with bipolar
disorder as opposed to the supporter. I think my mom really
believes this. BUT, if my mom can’t remember half if not 90%
of what she said and did, it can’t be that much harder on
her than the rest of the family.

I remember it ALL.

I find that being a caregiver or supporter is like being a
fireman that never really gets thanked. I have many friends
that are fire, I guess I should say persons, because there are
several woman that I know who are involved in these organizations.

Anyway, I asked, “Hey, does anyone say thanks to you?” Many say
not really.

I think if you have bipolar disorder, and I know that I am going
to get a bunch of angry emails but I don’t care, you should say
thank you for the person who is supporting you. It’s way more
difficult than you can imagine. I know that’s hard on you too.
I know. I know. BUT, the vast majority of supporters have
tried so hard to help you the person with bipolar disorder.

They have:

-Spent and lost tons of money
-Lost tons of sleep
-Ruined their health
-Lost out on many opportunites
-Made huge sacrifices
-Been stressed for days, weeks and months at time
-Worried all the time
-Tried to figure out what to do to help you
-Contacted people like me for help
-Searched the internet, books, manuals, support groups, etc to try to help you.

The list is sooooooooooooo long. One guy I knew who had a ton of money,
was flying all over the country to different support groups and doctors just to help his family member.

The vasy majority of supporters don’t mind doing this but I think
that a thank you would make them feel better. SO, if you have bipolar
disorder why not thank the person or persons supporting you?

My mom actually does thank me a lot. My dad, hmmm. I can’t remember if
he ever thanked me. Maybe once. He likes to believe I didn’t do that
much because I think he feels bad knowing he did nothing. My brother has
never thanked me. The rest of the family thanks me all the time.

Now I am not looking for everyone to have a David Oliver holiday but
thanks is nice.

So if you are a supporter, I am thanking you. You’ve done a great
job helping your loved one. Just reading emails helps them. Listening
to my podcasts that I finally figured out how to make. Or the blog
posts that I put up everyday.

I know that you might not get a thank you so you’re getting one
from me. If you have bipolar disorder, thank the people or
persons. Do it today if you can.

Give me feedback to how it works out for you.

I have to run to the gym.

Your Friend,

Dave