Hi,

Have you ever thought about the cereal that you prefer? I’m sure you have a preference, like everyone does. Many people even still eat the kind they ate as a child.

There are all kinds: There is hot cereal, like oatmeal or Cream of Wheat. Then there is cold cereal, and that’s where you get into every kind under the sun. With fruit or without fruit…Fruity tasting…Graham cracker-ish…Frosted…Sugary or not…Flakes or not…With almonds…With oats…Chocolate flavored…Or other flavored…Bite sized or regular sized…Made for kids or made for adults…

And now they even push for added vitamins and minerals and even antioxidants and other things
good for your health!

Many times I talk about how eating a healthy diet can help with your loved one’s stability with bipolar disorder, and a good choice in cereal can be a part of a healthy diet.

But, like I was saying earlier, many people still eat the same cereal that they ate as a child. Do you? The point is that many people choose one thing and then stick to it because they hate to change. That’s one of the problems that your loved one may be experiencing with their bipolar disorder.

One of the first things that their therapist will ask them to do is to change. Usually, to change the way they think. Like, the way they approach things. Even the way they look at life.

For example, they may look at life and see it not for the way that it is, but for the way that they would like it to be, and that can cause them all sorts of problems. It can cause them problems not only with their bipolar disorder, but with other things as well.

And especially cause them problems in a relationship. Say they’re in a relationship with you. And they see you not as you really are, but the way that they would like you to be instead.

Well, that’s going to cause problems, because you will undoubtedly let them down, because
you can’t possibly live up to their expectations of you, because you’re not perfect. And this can even lead to fights, or cause them not to communicate with you, or to not tell you how they feel or what they are thinking when their moods change or they are being triggered into a bipolar episode.

But another thing that can happen, whether you have bipolar disorder or whether you are the
supporter to someone who has it, is that you can fall into a rut (like still eating the same cereal you ate as a child).

If this happens, it means that you’ve been doing the same things over and over again for awhile, and you’ve probably been getting the same results, too. And probably not the results you want, either.

That’s the common definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting
different results.

So what can you do about it? Change your routine. Change your cereal, in other words (but that it were that simple). Make some changes in your life, like your loved one’s therapist is asking them to do.

It can even be simple ones. Like…If you normally take your shower in the morning, take it the night before. That way, you can spend more time with your loved one or the children in the morning, or just more time getting yourself ready, or just relaxing with the morning paper or extra cup of coffee, or whatever.

Or…Say you or your loved one have been isolating too much. You can change that routine by adding more days where you spend more time with friends and family, say, by going to lunch or dinner or going out for coffee with them or otherwise just spending time with them.

Can you see how making changes can change your routine and ultimately change your life?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave