Hi, how are you doing today? I hope you’re having a good day.

Do you remember the game Monopoly? We played it when we were kids. You may even play it with your own kids or grandchildren now. The thing about Monopoly was that it took soooo long, remember? If you were going to play the game right, you had to plan to play it for HOURS!!! And that’s a LONG time to a kid.

Did you ever play a game of Monopoly, and you were winning, and all of a sudden everyone else wanted to quit? Where did that leave you? Frustrated, huh? Disappointed? Maybe even angry?

Because you were winning the game when all of a sudden everyone else decided to do something else. They “changed the rules” on you. In order to win, you have to play the game the whole way through, so you might have felt gyped of your win. And you wouldn’t like that, because you felt entitled to that win!

You did the work for it… You played by the rules… You put in the time… You played well… And you were supposed to win. But children (and some adults) don’t always have the patience to make it through a whole game of Monopoly. They might already be onto the next activity, and you’re sitting there pouting! Which, of course, will get you nowhere except left out of the next fun activity of playing. It just doesn’t seem fair to you.

Well, that’s kind of like how bipolar disorder works. Things may change on you unexpectedly.

You could be doing everything right… You could be playing by the rules… Doing everything you’re supposed to be doing… Putting in all the time and effort to “win”… And all of a sudden the rules change on you! All of a sudden the things that you’ve always done aren’t working this time!

You see signs and symptoms of an episode approaching. You better do something quick! No, this isn’t what you expected. No, this isn’t what you wanted. But just pouting about it isn’t going to get you stable. And if you’re a supporter, just pouting about it isn’t going to help your loved one a single bit.

It isn’t fair! You might want to exclaim. No, it isn’t fair. But it is a reality you have to deal with. Just because the rules change in mid-game, doesn’t mean you stop “playing” it. You have to continue to do the things that make you stable. Just like a supporter has to keep doing the things they normally do to support you.

By both of you working together, you can come out of the episode faster.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave