Hi,

How are you doing today? I hope your day is going well.

Let me ask you a few things:

If you don’t pay your power bill, can you just assume that your electricity will stay on?

If you don’t pay your water bill, can you just assume that when you turn on your tap that water will magically come out of the spout?

If you don’t make your car payment, can you just assume that they’ll let you keep driving that car indefinitely?

If you don’t make needed repairs on your home as they come up, can you just assume that your house will still be standing ten years from now?

If you don’t pay your bills, can you just assume that somehow they’ll get paid?

No.

If you don’t take care of these things, they just won’t get done, will they?

You can’t just assume when it comes to important things. You have responsibilities, and you have to take care of things, or no one else will.

Well, it’s the same with bipolar disorder. You are a bipolar supporter, and there are some things you just can’t assume. Just like with your bills, assuming that if you don’t pay them, that somehow they’ll magically be paid… You can’t assume that without your help that your loved one will magically get better. Your loved one needs your help.

Take, for example, their medication. You can’t just assume that they’re taking it all the time, as prescribed. You may not like this, but it might be a good idea to check up on them.

I know a man who just assumed his mom was taking her medications because he saw her pill bottles at her bedside, so he thought she had a system. Again, he just assumed. Until he looked closer. And he noticed that one of the bottles had too many pills in it for the date on the bottle.

It turns out that she had just been “forgetting” to take that medication.

Upon closer inspection of all her medications, the son found out that she had no system at all, so they worked one out.

You also can’t just assume that your loved one is going to all their doctor, psychiatrist and

therapist appointments, even if you see them marked on a calendar. You may want to call these people and follow-up to see if these appointments have been kept. You may even need to attend some of these sessions with them to make sure they are going.

You also need to keep a close watch on your loved one’s signs and symptoms. You can’t just assume that because they are “quiet” one day that nothing is really wrong. Check with them.

Talk to them. Do a feelings check to make sure that they are not feeling depressed.

If you do this when they first show signs of it, you may be able to avoid them going into a full-blown bipolar depressive episode.

Or if you notice that they seem to be “talkative,” or showing more energy than usual, it’s the same thing. Talk to them about it. It may be the early signs of a bipolar manic episode.

Keep tabs on their spending habits as well, as this can be another sign of a manic episode.

It can’t hurt to take a look at the credit card statements and the checking account register too. Just to be sure.

Remember that when it comes to bipolar disorder, just like with your bills, you can’t just assume.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave