Merry Bipolar Christmas!

Hi,

Hope you’re having a great day!

Christmastime is a great time for many people, but not always for a supporter of a loved one with bipolar disorder.

Sometimes, at this time of year, you seem to have the hardest job of all.

With all the stress of the holidays, some people with bipolar disorder get stressed, and tend to show signs and symptoms of their disorder more often than not, and it’s your job to notice these and to keep your loved one from going into a mini-episode, or even a full-blown episode.

During this time of the year, the hospitals are full of people with bipolar disorder more than at any other time, because all the excitement of the holidays cause them to go into a manic episode (especially because all that spending on Christmas presents may turn into “excessive spending.”)

And excessive spending is one of the symptoms of a manic episode that I talk about it my systems and courses listed below:

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

Still, there’s something important I want to remind you today:

Remember to separate your loved one from their disorder, especially on Christmas.

Let today be a good day for the both of you.

Let today be one day full of happiness.

I’m not saying to let their signs/symptoms get out of control.

I’m not saying to let them go into an episode.

I’m not saying to stop being vigilant.

What I am saying is to try to enjoy Christmas.

To remember what this day is all about.

And it’s not about the presents.

It’s not even about the family gatherings.

Because that’s one area where you especially may need to be understanding about. Your loved one may be feeling a little anxious about being around all those people, even if they are just family.

Be compassionate about this, if it is the case. If you do go, try to stay for as short a time as possible to reduce your loved one’s stress and anxiety.

Then spend the rest of the day just the two of you.

Try to stay in the holiday spirit.

And, above all…

Have a very Merry Bipolar Christmas!

FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME
Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials

David Oliver is the author of the shocking guide “Bipolar Disorder—The REAL Silent Killer.” Click Here to get FREE Information sent via email on how and why bipolar disorder kills.

  1. Hi Dave

    MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! Hope you enjoy your day!!!!!!!! …. And Dave hope you feel better!!!!!!!

  2. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.Don’t hitch a ride on the Bi-Polar Express.Hope you feel better.

  3. Merry Cristmas Dave!!!!!!!! Hope you are feeling better..Hope you and your family and friends have a wonderful day..

  4. Hi, Dave,

    How dear of you to take time on Christmas Day to send another of your uplifting and helpful messages. Thank You so very much. Blessings and Best Wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas Day today,
    and please know how much I appreciate all of your messages filled with great tips and hope for all of us.
    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING YOU GREAT JOY, AND GOOD HEALTH. You are a blessing to all of us.

  5. As we face a NEW YEAR, if we don’t LEARN from the experiences we’ve been through THIS year, they will only repeat themselves. Now is a good time to reflect on what went RIGHT, and what went WRONG with us bipolar survivors this year. An honest and real assessment is called for here, and that goes for Supporters, too.

    Above all – have a BLESSED and MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY, HEALTHY and PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!! Anything is BOUND to be better than 2008!!

    BIG HUGS to all bipolar survivors and those who love us. May God bless you real good. I pray for my country.

  6. Thanks for the messages. We are having trouble deciding what the name of the mental health problem is. I have two sons that are having problems. One is 27 and one is 25. They are both living with us. One is fixing to try to go off to school again, but it seems he may not be doing well enough to go. I don’t know whether to keep letting him try, or to try to get him to stay and go to school close to home. He had to come home last semester in the middle of the semester, since he ran out of meds, and they couldn’t get them to him fast enough. He had trouble making it to classes since he felt so bad. I so want them to succeed, so I was really hoping for people to pray for them, and us. They are both male. My two girls seem to not have any problems with this. One of the boys may be schizophrenic, and one may be anxiety disorder, but manic depression may be the problem for both. One seems to get suicidal and one doesn’t.
    I’m at a loss as to what to do for them other than love them. People seem to say for us to make them move out, but everytime they try it doesn’t work out. Anyway, it is good to have you writing encouraging notes so we don’t feel so alone.

    Shirley

  7. i am writing because not all bypolar people hate or have a hard time at christmas ……….i love christmas and i am very bypolar and my problem is christmas just hates me because of the family they have to start with the fighting or the mouth or just something to try and get me started so whats the point in it anyways …………look i know it is about god and i do love him and think of him but if no-one else does then whats the point in it ……..i try every year to be good to everyone and do my part in being nice and doing things for others but i am just sick of it of the trying and the hard work i go through to make it nice for everyone i am just sick of it and i am sorry if it sounds like i am taking it out on you but i just need someone to listen for once in my life so…………..i am sorry i hope you had a good christmas and all and thank you for letting me say what i have to ……………..melissa

  8. hi dave i would have liked it better if u would have said Merry Christmas instead of have a merry bipolar christmas it would have made me feel a whole lot better because im down i did not get to hear from my grandkids im reallying hurting at this point so there is no merry christmas its a stressed one for me i usally hear from them every year but not this one i have been crying my eyes out dont get me wrong i have other grand kids but these are my first grand kids by my daugther it hurts so bad i had my hopes on hearing from them this year just like every year anyway merry christmas to you and yours.

  9. merry christmas dave and office. this has been the best christmas in years. i have a job i love and had a 90 day review since being hired in sept. my boss said this is the highest first 90 he has ever given score. and i can only go up 25 cent on the check tommorrow. then i qualify every month 30 days for more raises. god is good and takes care of those who hang in there the good and bad. the summer vacation i didn’t know if i had a job by the new store or not . had first interview and was in the top for the second interview. and as i say i am glad i have a job. god bless

  10. As a survivor, I don’t know quite what to do with ‘mixed messages’ from supporters.

    I have a family, who, in the past eleven months of this year have been extremely unkind, mean, and hurtful. My family has told me that I am worthless, a ‘loser’ and am ‘unable to help my ownself, … so why should they or anyone else want to help me.” My family has hurt me so much that I felt as though I did not want to live any longer. They made me feel horrible about myself.

    Over the past few months, I have given up on my family and decided that I should no longer seek their help because they continually wounded me everytime I asked for their advice and assistance. I honestly feel BETTER now that I am no longer contacting them.

    They brought over Christmas presents. Although I thanked them, I am honestly having a hard time accepting the gifts. I don’t understand how they can give me gifts and tell me they love and care for me.

    Why do they only love and care about me at Christmas? Why do they want to hurt me eleven months of the year and be nice to me last month of the year? Are they lying to me now when they say they love me, or were they lying to me before Christmas, when they told me that they did not love me?

    I am thinking that maybe my family has a conscious. They feel as though they’ve cleared their conscious by buying me a few gifts and being ‘loving’ ONLY on Christmas.

    At this very moment, I am not feeling their warmth or love. I feel deceived. I am confused. The gifts are sitting on the table. I am thinking about giving them to a homeless shelter or a battered women’s center. I want to give to someone who needs some kindness and loving thoughts in their lives.

    If you love and support someone, it has to be everyday of the year…not just one month of the year. Love is unconditional. If you love someone today, you must love him/her tomorrow. I, myself, do not comprehend my family’s ‘acts of kindness.’

  11. I did not write the above entry to say that I am ungrateful of receiving presents from my family. I do appreciate gifts.

    My point was to say that:

    *** Suvivors need the love and kindness of Supporters all year long. Christmas is not the only time that love should be given; especially via gifts.

    *** Survivors need their supporters to not send ‘mixed messages,’ like my family just did to me. I am betting that if I call them in a month, they will treat me like they did before Christmas.

    *** My family either loves me…or they don’t. They either support me…or they don’t. It has to be one way or the other. It can’t be, “I love you right at the moment…but tomorrow, i may hate you.”

    I need and want supporters who will be there with me everyday. I don’t want to guess what ‘mood’ they are going to be in. I have my own unstable moods to deal with.

  12. This message is to Shirley Bailey, I have you in my thoughts and prayers.
    you just keep doing what you feel is right for your boys,collect as much imformation as you can on the mentel help they may need and keep asking your friends and family to pray for you..
    This bipolar supporter blog has helped me with so many thoughts and feelings that I have and many more supporters too.
    I wish you well for you and your boys you all are in my prayers.
    Merry Christmas.
    Mary

  13. Supporters need all the same things the survivors do. It really is a two-way street. We all have to remember that! ALL of us! Spoken by a supporter whose family member won’t LET her support her…….

  14. TRIED THEM ALL, I totally understand what you’re talking about. People should be honest through the whole year and straight with you. No-one should give anyone false hope. In World War I they even had a ceasefire on Christmas Day, when soldiers were talking and singing carols together and the next day they were killing each other again. Too many families are like that on a smaller scale. A friend, however, is a friend every day.

    DAVE, I hope you are feeling better now and have got rid of your cold.

  15. To tried them all,
    I understand you may have mixed feelings and don’t know how you feel about recieving thoes gifts from your family, but have you ever once thought about how mixed feelings your supporter has too?
    I know having bipolar is a struggle,some day you feel like you love your supporter some day you feel like you can’t stand them too.
    but deep down you really love them unconditionally all the time.
    We as a supporter have struggles too,remember we are there for you through the good and the bad,with bipolar calm or full blown episode and even though we may not show it in a way that you with the bipolar diease think we should.we really love you too unconditionally…. we to are not sure from day to day what kind of mood you may be in…your family may not show you in the way you want them to that they love you but they do or they would not have thought of you at all at Christmas..
    We all have our struggles with something and we can only try to control our own behavior in the best way we can and in order to have peace and to learn from our mistakes, it may take being more forgiving and thinking of everybodys feelings not just our own.
    God bless you,and I wish you and your family peace and happiness.

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