Hi,

I have a friend who, whenever she gets sick, only her mom’s homemade chicken soup will do to get her better. Never mind any antibiotics or modern medicine…Give her Mom’s homemade chicken soup any time! She swears by it! The only problem is…She’s tried to reproduce her mom’s recipe a dozen times, and just can’t do it! Her mom has given her the recipe, and she swears she’s followed it to the letter, but she says it just doesn’t taste the same as Mom’s homemade chicken soup. I’ve heard the same story from other friends. This one’s Mom has a recipe for spaghetti sauce that’s “to die for!” And they say the same thing – They’ve gotten Mom’s recipe and tried to reproduce it, but it never turns out the same way as Mom’s…And they just can’t figure out why. Another friend has the same problem with their mom’s famous cheesecake recipe. And on and on…

So what does all this have to do with bipolar disorder? Here’s my point. I know you’re probably going to think this is corny, but…I think the missing ingredient is LOVE. I know, you’re probably laughing at me right now. But think… I may have a point here. Never discount a Mama’s love!

See…There are many things that you do for your loved one. There’s no disputing that. I know, because there were a lot of things I did for my mom to help her become stable with her bipolar

disorder. And there are a lot of things I still do for her. But never discount your LOVE for them.

And never underestimate the power of that love.

Someone once told me, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” I think that means that you can make a bunch of mistakes, but if love is what’s behind it… if love is your actual motive… then it will all be ok in the end. Like if all your efforts for your loved one are actually done out of love for them, then they’ll turn out all right. Which may be good for you to know, because a lot of

times, supporters wonder if what they’re doing accomplishes anything at all. So much emphasis is put on traditional treatment, that we wonder how much good a bipolar supporter can do in the big scheme of things.

Well…There’s a lot that a bipolar supporter does that medicine and therapy doesn’t do. For one thing, you are closer to your loved one than anyone else. This means that you will see signs and symptoms of an oncoming bipolar episode before their psychiatrist and/or therapist. So you can be instrumental in heading off a full-blown bipolar episode before it actually takes hold in your loved one. A psychiatrist who only sees your loved one every other month, or every 3 months, can’t do that. Or even a therapist, who sees them every other week, or even every week, can’t necessarily do that, either.

So your role is very, very important. Besides, no one loves your loved one like you do. Never forget that. And never underestimate the power of love in the healing process.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave