==>>Help with ALL aspects of bipolar disorder<<==
Check out all my resources, programs and information
for all aspects of bipolar disorder by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp
Hi!
Hope you’re going to have a great
day.
I wanted to say a few things
before we get into today’s
topic.
1. Check your email later on
today for the new information
on how to have a great and low
cost Christmas with Bipolar Disorder.
I’ll send it out later today.
Andrea is putting it up today.
2. I wanted to remind everyone
to mark your calendar to
see the new weight loss program
I am putting out for those with
bipolar disorder.
Mark your calendar the
December 21, 2007 at 10:00am.
You should go to
www.bipolarcentral.com/weightloss
Remember I am only taking the first
50 people.
3. Someone wrote me yesterday and
said:
“You must be crazy. How could you
hire people with bipolar disorder
and how in the world can your company
really work right if all the people
with bipolar disorder are running it.”
I have gotten a few responses like that.
First, I find that comment insulting to
people with bipolar disorder. Secondly,
I don’t think some people get it. The
person who is stable with bipolar disorder
is capable of doing great things.
I think people get caught up thinking
that everyone with bipolar disorder is
not stable. This is NOT the case.
I am actually going to be releasing
an article next year titled:
Why every company needs more people
with bipolar disorder to survive
in the coming future.
I am going to be sending it out to
all the business publications in the
us.
Well, let’s move on. It’s super cold
here. Yesterday it snowed, than sleeted,
then rained and now it’s all frozen.
It’s a total mess. So I have to hurry
up so I can get my car ready to go
pick up some stuff.
On to today’s bipolar disorder lesson:
I’ve been thinking about something,
and wanted to share my thoughts
with you. It’s about what happens
when you try to accomplish too
much too fast.
Think about it. When you try to
accomplish too much too fast,
you are just setting yourself up
for failure, because you’ll never
be able to do it. It also gets very
discouraging for you.
Also, if you don’t know how long
something should take, you can
start to think it’s taking too long.
For example, after an episode.
It could take up to a year to fully
“fix” the after effects of an episode.
Like the financial ruin – you can’t
fix a bankruptcy in just two weeks!
But some people think you can
just do it overnight! We don’t rush
the stroke victim or even the cancer
victim, why do we rush the victim
of bipolar disorder?
Thinking that they should be over
an episode after just a week or two
is just plain unrealistic expectations.
Would we have that same expectation
if they were getting over a physical
illness? Then why are we expecting
it from a bipolar episode?
In my courses, I interview people
who are success stories, and
they talk about how long it took
them sometimes to fully recover
from some of their episodes, and
some of them say it took a whole
year, and some even longer! You
can read about this and hear
about it in the interviews in my
courses:
SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11
SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com
HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net
There are certain things in life
that take a certain amount of time
to happen. It’s just the way it has
to be.
Think about things in nature.
Like the butterfly – it starts off
as a caterpillar…then it goes into
a cocoon… and only after a
certain period of time does it
metamorphose into that
beautiful butterfly! It just doesn’t
happen overnight.
And if you interrupt it at any
point in the chain of events, the
whole thing would be ruined!
Some things just can’t be rushed.
Other things just have to take place
in a certain order. And still other
things have to take place at a
certain time.
Wanting your loved one who has
bipolar disorder to get over their
episode overnight is like wanting
them to be that beautiful butterfly
without going through the cocoon
phase!
Some things are just worth waiting
for. You just have to be more
patient sometimes.
Well, I have to run. See you
tomorrow!
Your friend,
Dave
–
P.S. Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each one is designed
to help you with a different area of bipolar disorder whether
you have it or you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/catalog.asp
P.P.S. Check out my Free 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.P.S Check out my Free podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com
I haveto admit when I tell people that I have bipolar they are surprized because I do so well. (I can hold a job and support my childern) Plus I am smart at learning systems and coming up with ideas.
Please as i shake my head hard for months they have seen how I interact with othersect and now they handle me with kid gloves so to speak “just in case” very insulting but they don’t get it.
So I just have to forgive thier ignorance and move on.
BP2 signing off or is that taking off?
I would like to be amoung the fifty for the wieght lose group
First, thank you, David, for your ongoing efforts and support for the many who live with bipolar disease.
Second, some people I know who suffer from BD are among the brightest, most creative & sensitive human beings I have had the privilege to meet personally and/or work with professionaly.
Shame on anyone to assume otherwise.
Lastly, your comments about the natural progression of recovery and transformation are so true. We live in a culture that wants everything quickly, now and perfect.
Life just doesn’t work this way.
Thanks again for your hard work,
Cheers!
Debra O., LCSW
Regarding the Weight Loss program, that’s 10 a.m. of December 21 in what time zone?
Do you have a program that addresses rapid hair loss associated with BPD medications?
Most people I have spoken with concerning bipolar disorder have no idea what it is. They don’t seem to get anything that has to do with the mind and how it works. 🙂
Hurray for you, David!! I am keenly interested in your weightloss program!!
Clarification: What is the time zone? I live in CA. Is 10 AM the correct time? mindful
Dave,
That was most encouraging. Thanks for being so insightful and encouraging. I am so happy that I found your support system. We all need to know that progress takes time.
I also want to address the issue of ignorant people’s reactions to BD. I think that there are as much unstable BD as stable, hence people equate BD with the mayhem that goes along with it in its phase of instability. I had the pleasure of meeting the most wonderful and remarkable man named Jim…. I call him Gem, who really touched my life. He got treatment for his condition and has been stable for 15 years. Kid gloves? Why? He is a wonderful person with worth. Please. If there are any new bloggers that are new to BD as a supporter, please be educated. There is enough ignorance in the world today; too much. There is no reason to be ignorant about BD. Dave has a wonderful priviledge to be working with some of the best talent out there. My loved one is extraordinary when he is not ill.
Peace,
LaLa
Dave, i believe having people with bp work in companys and such is a great idea. I know when i worked i did a good job. Also i know it sounds stupid but it takes me about 6 months to get over an episode. Thats when another hits. If not sooner. I know things take time and i agree with you on the whole butterfly phase.
So So True Dave, Thanks I need this reminder sometimes. It took my husband almost two years to get where he was which means it can take him two years to back to where he should be. It is a timely process and it can be so hard to be patient. this can be hard because it can play right into the depression piece. At this point we are begining to see that butterfly emerge. although it has been hard to support my husband with all of this our relationsip is growing even stronger.
Thanks, that’s just what I needed to hear. I’m in a hurry to not be having to question all of my emotional responses.
Gratefully, I don’t need the weight loss program for a change. My latest Manic phase seems to have taken care of that problem temporarily!
I am still growing into my potential. One day at a time! I live this journey in good and in bad as long as I have someone who loves me I will make it.
Take care of your loved ones while they suffer and know that you help in the best possible way to make them better. Thank you all for helping.
I watched that movie “Pay it forward” I had of course seen this on Oprah before. But it was a wonderful thing to see on television at this time of year when so many are struggling with this disorder as well as addiction. Have faith, even if you don’t think it is working it really is you just don’t know it yet.
Dave, so so true about time to recover! And the things that happen after an episode can be different every time. My daughter wanted to come off her med (the only one that seems to work) and I went to the psych with her. He addressed her concerns of sleeping 40 of 48 hours a week after getting back on it. He explained that the brain needs time to recover after an acute mania…. news to me and I’m a nurse! My duaghter was always told she is “Gifted” and is a very talented writer and creative with crafts. She was tested as genius at age 12 but I believe her BD kept her from reaching her full potential. She now is focused and back in school, and I just keep encouraging her, I know she’ll make a huge difference in this world!
For the last 3 weeks I have been worried about my bipolar boyfriend (for want of a better word, as he is not behaving like a boyfriend right now), who has been acting very strangely. Soon after I moved to the other end of town he has been spending more time with an ex-girlfriend than with me. I didn’t worry at first, as he did the same thing around his birthday 3 months ago for 2 weeks and then they fell out again.
He tells me he loves me and is very affectionate, though we haven’t made love for weeks. He looks sad, seems very down and tells me defiantly that he is very happy. Yesterday he told me that he (not his doctor) has decided to cut down on his medicine, especially anti-depressants, and some time in the new year he is going to try and do without them completely and see how it goes. I am absolutely horrified.
His ex-girlfriend is known to be bossy and manipulative and seems to have him totally under her control. Just over a year ago, before i knew him, she got him off his medicine, which resulted in him being hospitalised for a month after a manic episode.
I noticed that he smokes much more than he used to and when I say something about it, he gets angry and tells me to stop interfering. I have no proof, but possibly he smokes dope, as I know she does regularly. When we meet, or communicate by phone or text, he says strange things like “I miss you, and miss the fun we had” and “I want to be with you, but I can’t get away right now.” Why? Is she holding him prisoner? If he is worried about her getting him hospitalised again, the last thing he should do is stop taking his medicine.
He has a great creative talent and currently says he doesn’t want to do art anymore, as he knows he’s no good. It appears that he prefers to be dragged down and treated badly to being loved and encouraged. I have seen my ex-husband go through the same. Is this common with bipolar? I love him and I’m genuinely concerned about his well being, but I feel totally powerless.
How right you are, Dave! After all my hospitalizations for manic episodes, my Mom took me home, where I was allowed as much time as I needed to recover. Sometimes a year; sometimes, more than a year. And the way I knew that I had had enough of “taking care of,” I got a job!
The last hospitalization was different, though. I had just bought an apartment house, and was required to take care of the house AND the tenants, AND get a job. I was on unemployment benefits for as long as they lasted, then took the first job offered – Department Secretary to the University School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering – a subject I had NO interest in at ALL – but – it was a job.
I wasn’t allowed sufficient time to recover; I was thrust into two jobs at once – being a landlady, and holding down a 9-5 job at the same time. I think all of this contributed to my year-long clinical depression.
I isolated myself with everything outside of the job and the house. I would go to work depressed, and come home depressed. Yes, I did my job, and did it well. I took as many breaks as I wanted (there was very little real “work” to do), but I was terminally sad…
I finally went to the local Community Mental Health center, where I was put on antidepressants, and came out of “it” in three weeks! Of course, I needed follow-up care, which has continued to this very day.
I HIGHLY encourage any bipolar survivors to take as long as it takes to recover FULLY from their episode, whether it be manic or depressive. It can only lead to something much worse if they don’t. The only reason I left the mental hospital IN a depression, was that my insurance ran out. I had to “tough it out” or sell the house and move back with my Mom. NOT a very good alternative. As a matter of fact, I kept the house for 30 years!
BIG HUGS to all bipolar survivors and those who love them. My prayers are with you. Stay sane, and have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I’m very new to BP. I was hospitalized in March of this year and it took me probably 7 months to get stable even when my daughter, in anger says, “So you call THIS stable???” I appreciate this website and all those who contribute to it. It really helps to see that others have some of the same struggles and to know that what I am experiencing
“normal” for BP.
Thanks so much to those who have shared their hearts. It really does help me to stay positive.
Jennifer
it is great!a good way of expressing ourselves in society.