=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <= Hi, Happy Memorial Day if you celebrate it. For our international readers, here is
a quick description of what this day
is:

Memorial Day is a United States Federal
holiday observed on the last Monday of May
(in 2008 on May 26). Formerly known as
Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and
women who perished while in military service to
their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers
of the American Civil War, after World War I,
Memorial Day was expanded to include casualties
of any war or military

Since today is a day in the US that focuses
on the military, I was thinking about
all the military people I know.

They all believe one thing–they have
power.

Did you know that you have POWER?

You DO!

You have power over your own
thoughts, feelings, and actions!

There is a relationship between your
thinking, the way you feel, and the
actions you take on the way you feel,
and that’s where your power lies. You
have power over your own thoughts
so you have power over the way you
feel and your actions/choices.

We are all constantly thinking. And
it’s worse for someone with bipolar
disorder, because sometimes their
thoughts don’t stop when they go to
bed – they aren’t able to turn off their
brain, and their thoughts just keep on
going.

Thinking is subconscious. It’s like
breathing. Unless you’re aware of it,
you don’t know that you’re doing it.
Because you’re always doing it, it’s
easy to forget.

Unlike breathing, though, with a
person with bipolar disorder, forgetting
that you’re thinking can cause serious
consequences, because not all thinking
is good thinking. Your thoughts can
become distorted and cause all kinds
of bad things to happen.

There are even some types of bipolar
disorder where thinking becomes so
distorted that it leads to hallucinations
and delusions.

Forgetting that you’re thinking can
cause some serious problems in your
life as a supporter, too, such as
unhappiness, inner conflicts, anger,
and stress.

In my courses/systems, I teach about
having control over your thoughts,
which helps you to have control over
your thinking, which in turn helps you
have control over your actions:

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

Your thoughts are directly related
to your feelings, and your feelings
are directly related to your actions.
In other words, you can’t feel angry
before first having an angry thought.
And you can’t react in anger without
first feeling angry.

The truth is, in order to experience
a feeling, you must first have a
thought that produces that feeling.

Unhappiness doesn’t and can’t exist
on its own. Unhappiness is the
feeling that accompanies negative
thinking about your life. Without
that thinking, the unhappiness
(or stress, anger, etc.) can’t exist.

So you have to change your thoughts,
because you DO have the power
to change them!

“As you are, so your thinking is”
is the old adage. Knowing you
have the power to change your
thoughts, you also have the power
to change your thinking and, so,
your actions.

There is nothing to hold your
negative feeling in place other
than your own thinking. The
next time you’re feeling upset,
take the time to notice your
thinking – I bet it’ll be negative.

Then remind yourself that it’s
your thinking that’s negative, and
NOT your life! You may not be
able to change your life (your
loved one will still have bipolar
disorder), but you CAN change
your thoughts about your life!

You can change your negative
thoughts into positive ones.
This is something you DO have
power over.

You can’t change your loved one’s
thoughts from negative to positive.
This is something you do NOT
have power over.

So stick to something you CAN
control – your own thoughts,
feelings, and actions. Use your
power to change yourself. And
maybe, by a positive example,
your loved one will begin to
change as well.

Your Friend,

Dave

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Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder
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

View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE
Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/

Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE
Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

*Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day