Bipolar Supporter Blog

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

You’ve probably heard all of the talk about cancer awareness, and about research to find a cure for cancer. Some people think it’s hopeless. Others think that there is a legitimate chance that they could do the research needed and find a cure for cancer.

Is there a chance? Well, it’s hard to say for sure. I certainly don’t know everything about it. But I do know where I stand on the subject: I think it is a good thing to hope for. But I also think that, since there is no cure at the moment, people who have cancer should not hold off on treatment just because they are waiting for the cure.

Wouldn’t that be ridiculous? “I’m not going to do chemotherapy because I’m waiting for them to find a cure.” Wow. Unfortunately, because of the way cancer works, a person who said that might be dead before they found a cure.

It is worth it to hope. It is not worth it to put everything else off because you are waiting.

The same thing goes with bipolar disorder. There is currently no cure for bipolar disorder. Some believe that there will never be a cure. Others think that it’s only a matter of time and research. I’m not sure what the future will hold.

But I do know that, while hoping is always a good thing, no one who has bipolar disorder should wait for the cure to receive treatment. There are things that can be done in the meantime to put them into recovery, which is by far better than staying “on the roller coaster” that bipolar disorder puts them on. It is never worth it to just wait. By waiting, you could be putting your well-being, and maybe even your life, on the line.

Now, any hope for a cure that we may have requires research to be done first. If you are truly insistent that there will be a cure one day, then there are things you can do to help the process along. For a select few, that means becoming a psychiatrist or psychologist and conducting the studies themselves.

For others, this may mean becoming a donor for science. For some, this may mean taking part in a study. Then again, some may be able to help just by fighting stigma and promoting education. You never know who will hear you and decide to become a doctor themselves.

Depending on your abilities, desires, and what is available in your local area, there are many things you can do to help scientists work towards a cure. If you have the means to suggest something to a scientist that works on those sorts of things, and you come up with an idea for a study that you think would help, then you might suggest that to them and help in that way.

See, there is a hope for the cure, and there are even things we can do to move the process along. But there is not time to wait on treatment.

What are your thoughts on that?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

Have you ever seen a toddler trying to walk for the first time? They usually fall – a lot. But most of the time, they are pretty persistent. Their parents help that along. They encourage their child to get back up and try again.

Have you ever seen a child try their hand at sewing? They generally mess up a lot, and are likely as not to poke themselves with a needle once or twice. And watching them try to thread a needle can be a test of patience. But they keep trying. Eventually, with practice, they will get it right.

Have you ever watched a first grade student learn to write? Often times, at first, they get it wrong. And they always need to ask what letter comes next. It takes a lot of patience to be the one teaching them to write. But in the long run it’s worth it, because they do learn.

One more.

Have you ever seen a child learn to swim? First they test the water. Then they slowly wade in, clinging onto the edge of the pool. Generally, they have a life jacket on and maybe even floaties anyway. But they are cautious, and don’t necessarily want to try it all at once. But their parents keep taking them back to the pool over and over again until they learn to swim.

All of these stories have a couple of things in common. Yes, they are all about children. But that wasn’t *exactly* the answer I was looking for. LOL. For one, they are all about second chances. And sometimes even about third, fourth, fifth… Secondly, they are all about persevering until it’s right.

These are two very valuable lessons for someone who is a supporter of a person with bipolar disorder. People who have bipolar disorder don’t generally give up. And when they do, it’s not for long – maybe just for a period of depression, and then when they come out of the depression they go right back to struggling to make things better.

They don’t always get things right at first. After all, no one does. But if you keep giving them chances, they will get it right in the end. They are willing to persevere. Are you?

Even if you get impatient at times and say or do something you shouldn’t, there are second chances for you, too. Life is full of second chances to learn and grow. It is also full of things to test our perseverance and to make things harder on us.

Remember next time your loved one doesn’t get it right that they need more chances so that they can get to the point that they will get it right. Remember that if you were in their place, you would want someone to give you a second chance.

What are your thoughts on this?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

Last year I let many people know about a new e-report that I have called Bipolar Disorder-The REAL Silent Killer.

Lots of people got this important report but some did not. They were not around for the special offer that I setup.

So I decided to extend my special offer again.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/specialoffer/bipolarsilentkiller/

Also, this new resource comes with a Special Report titled:

“Why People With Bipolar Disorder Are Dying Because of Their Religious Beliefs.”

Talk to you tomorrow morning.

Dave

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

There was a news story that I was following the other day. It said that in the city of San Diego,

California, some shops were posting stickers in their windows that read “Don’t Feed Our Bums.” The news report was asking for opinions on whether this was cruel or a good way to handle a legitimate concern.

They got many answers that went both ways. One in particular struck me: A man saying that no one should ever help homeless people because one of them threw rocks at him. I’ve seen people who weren’t homeless act just as cruel. Does that mean that every homeless person is that way? Of course not!

There was another comment that was left that astounded me, also, but not in a bad way this time. A woman was talking about how she had become homeless because of a series of events that she couldn’t control. She mentioned that she had never pan-handled the entire time she was homeless. Instead, she stayed in shelters where she worked to earn her stay and food.

She went to school while she was homeless, and eventually got a job and managed to get a place of her own again. But she made a very valid point: Not everyone who is homeless is there because they want to be, or because it is their fault.

Here’s another point for you to consider: Many people who are homeless are so because of unmanaged mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Now, many of you have probably heard that many people with schizophrenia become homeless, but did you know the same is true with bipolar?

I knew a girl once who repetitively became homeless for short periods of time, mostly because her mood swings made it impossible for her to stay in one place for very long. Not to mention she would burn bridges to relationships that could have helped her. She had bipolar disorder, and, for at least one period of time, ended up in a homeless shelter.

To this day, she still does not live on her own, but by following her treatment plan and learning new skills and strategies for coping, she now makes a much better roommate than she ever did before.

Usually when a person who has bipolar disorder becomes homeless, they were not on their medications. Or maybe they were taking their medications, but not reporting to their psychiatrist that the medications weren’t working for them.

Sometimes it happens because of money. When manic, they might spend everything that they had for rent, and next thing you know, they’ve been evicted. Sometimes it happens because of relationship problems. This is especially true in roommate situations, or when living with family.

How many times does a person who has bipolar disorder – and is not following their treatment plan – mess up their relationships? Sometimes it is fixable, sometimes not. Sometimes it is enough that if the person was providing them housing, they decide that they can no longer do so for them.

Can you see how any of these different factors could lead to homelessness? So yes, I would say that those stickers, and any attitude towards the homeless that is all-inclusive, is cruel. Not all homeless people act the same way, and it’s a shame if a select few ruin it for the rest of them.

It is a personal choice if someone chooses to help them, and on what level. But at the very least, we need to understand that our loved ones could easily be there. Doesn’t that make you want to go give them a hug and be glad that they’re not?

What are your thoughts on this?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

What’s new? Hope you are doing well.

To read this week’s news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews489/

Here are the news headlines:

Is There a Role for Antidepressants in the Treatment of Bipolar?
DO> Wow, what do you think of this article?

Family Experiences of Bipolar Disorder – The Ups and Downs
DO> Great article, take a look.

Got Bipolar? You’re at Risk for Metabolic Syndrome, Too
DO> Geeze, another issue for those with bipolar.

Attorney Says ‘No Prior Psych Episode For River Toss Mom’
DO> Man this is sad, don’t you think?

Abbotsford mourns killing of five-year-old girl
DO> Really sad article, what do you think?

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews489/

==>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.bipolarcentralcatalog.com

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

I knew a man at one time who had a brilliant mind. He could find a solution to any puzzle or problem, and he always had something cleaver to say. This man happened to have bipolar disorder. And, like many with the disorder, he didn’t take his medications. He thought he was doing fine. After all, he wasn’t depressed, and that’s what matters, right?

Except that he was manic. He ended up spending all of his rent money on things that he didn’t need and were non-returnable. He lost his job because he got mad at work and started ranting about things he shouldn’t have. He burned bridges with family and friends by the things he said and did when he was manic.

Naturally, he got kicked out of his apartment when he couldn’t pay the rent. He couldn’t go stay with anybody, because he had made them all mad at him. And he couldn’t afford to get a new place, because he had lost his job. He became homeless.

Since he lost his job, he lost the medical insurance that went with it, which means he lost his ability to see a psychiatrist and get medications. So he stayed off his medications, even when he no longer wanted to be off them. Now he’s been homeless for years, and the man that knew how to fix everybody’s problems doesn’t know how to fix his own.

It’s easy to think he was a fool, or an idiot. After all, how could he neglect his responsibilities that way? Or even, how could he think he could be off medications in the first place? Unfortunately, though, this is a very common problem.

Much of the time people who have bipolar disorder think they can go without their medications. And that usually leads to a downward cycle. Sometimes it ends in homelessness. Other times it ends in death, when the person gets so depressed that they take their own life. Sometimes it ends in losing all of the friends and family that a person has.

This is why it is so important to have and follow a treatment plan. If your loved one has bipolar disorder, then a treatment plan needs to be written with their future well-being in mind. At a time when they can think straight, have them sit down and think about their mentalities when they are manic or depressed. Have them write themselves reminders for those times as to why they should continue to follow their treatment plan even when they don’t want to.

Keep those reminders in a place that is easy to get to. Then, when they get to the point that they don’t want to take their medications or otherwise follow their treatment plan, pull out those reminders and show them to them.

There are things that can be done to prevent your loved one from becoming homeless. They will need your help with it, because there will be times when they just don’t feel like it. And, since bipolar disorder is a disorder that affects a person’s moods, when they don’t feel like something they are likely to not do it.

But you can be there as their reminder that they need to follow their treatment plan. If you feel you need to, remind them that many in their situation have ended up homeless, dead, or alone. Let them know that you don’t want them to end up like that, but you need their help to make sure that they don’t.

The aim is always for recovery, but it can be easy to look up so high that we don’t see the rock below that we are about to trip on. What I mean by this is, it can be easy to be so focused on what it will be like when they are in recovery that we forget to take the time to prevent them from getting worse. But it is something that needs to happen.

What can you do today to make sure that this doesn’t happen to your loved one?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

I just received an email from a woman who was not happy. She told me about how she got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and her struggles dealing with it. Then she told me that her long-term boyfriend said something recently that really offended her. He said, “I don’t think you’re bipolar because you don’t act crazy like some of the people we’ve met who are bipolar.”

Wow. Isn’t that quite a statement? I can see where she would be offended. After all this time that he was supposed to be there through her struggles, and he wasn’t even paying attention. She asked me how she should respond to this. Well, that’s not the easiest thing to answer, but I’ll fill you all in on what I think would be best in a situation like that.

To start off with, address your hurt. Let them know that it hurt you for them to say that, and let them know why. This might sound something like: “I really wish you wouldn’t have just said that to me – it really hurt my feelings. Now I feel like you haven’t been paying attention to all the struggles that I’ve gone through with this.”

Try to use “I statements” whenever you can, because them getting defensive isn’t going to help you get your point across any better. Then, depending on how they react, you can choose your actions from there.

Ideally, they’ll realize that they worded it poorly and let you know that it came out wrong. If that’s the case, then you might have solved the entire problem already. I would suggest still sitting down to talk about what they do see of your struggles, just to make sure you are both on the same page.

If, on the other hand, they continue with their original point, and are not willing to see that they hurt you (or why they hurt you), then you will have to make it more obvious to them. At that point tell them about the struggles that you’ve had, and that you’re working your way through it. Tell them that it’s disappointing that they should be seeing this from the outside.

But then, I want you to realize something. And once you’ve realized this, you can tell them as well. Yes, it’s sad that they are seeing things from the outside looking in, instead of from the inside helping you out. But if they must be on the outside, then at least they see your more “normal” side first. If they aren’t going to know you as well as they should, at least they don’t immediately think that you’re crazy.

It’s hard, because it’s coming from someone who is supposed to be close to you, but if you think about it, that is exactly how you would want an outsider to see you. That means you’re doing something right. Unfortunately, it still means that they’re doing something wrong.

But you can tell them, that while you’re disappointed that they haven’t been as close to your situation as you had thought that they were, at least you are recovering well enough that you don’t appear to be “crazy.” They shouldn’t be able to argue the fact that not looking crazy is a good thing.

So maybe it will help them to see the struggles that you have been going through. If not, you may need to reevaluate your relationship with them. This doesn’t necessarily mean to stop talking to them altogether. But if they aren’t going to be as close to you as you had thought, then you need to be aware of that for the future.

I hope this helps. Any other suggestions?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi, how’s it going? Hope you are doing well.

There was a girl I knew once who had bipolar disorder. She didn’t have the highest income she could have had, so sometimes it was difficult for her to see a psychiatrist or to get medications. This was especially true since she didn’t have medical insurance.

But she was resourceful. She discovered methods of finding low income psychiatric care and medications that I didn’t even know about at the time. Maybe some of these methods will help you.

If you happen to have a school of psychiatry anywhere near you, or even if you have a school of psychiatry that has a branch in your area, then you can ask if they have a local residency program. This is a program that allows psychiatrists in training to see patients so that they can finish learning. Usually these professionals, albeit still in training, are nearly as knowledgeable and skilled at their work as any practicing psychiatrist. In the meantime, because they are in training, their rates are usually cheaper, or they may even go on a sliding scale.

A sliding scale is something that is important to know about. It is a scale that bases your fees on your income bracket. Each place that has a sliding scale works differently as far as income brackets, requirements, and fees goes. You can ask at your local psychiatrist’s office whether they have the option of a sliding scale, and if so, how their version of it works. After all, it’s not just residency programs that have sliding scales. So it’s worth asking if another place does or not.

Insurance is the most obvious way to get around paying high fees for a psychiatrist. But there are tricks to insurance that you may not have known. Some insurance policies will only allow you to see certain doctors, or may have cheaper co-pays for certain doctors, so you will want to ask your insurance company what their policy is on psychiatric care in specific.

Also, most insurance will not pay for pre-existing conditions until you have been with them for so long. Ask your insurance company if they will cover your condition at all, and if so to what extent.

Sometimes you will find a psychiatrist who functions in a primary care group setting. When you find this, the group may be able to bill your insurance to the primary care group, instead of to the psychiatrist themselves, which will cause it to look different to your insurance company.

You may also find a psychiatrist through a specific program that is free of charge or very cheap, but who will not write prescriptions. In this scenario, you can have him or her recommend a medication and dosage to take to your primary care physician. Most primary care physicians are willing to prescribe psychiatric medications if a psychiatrist has recommended them.

As far as medications go, start off by asking if there is a generic version to the medications you need to take. Generics are usually much less expensive. Also, look for prescription discount programs. Some of these you can find online, if you search for them. Others you can get through a pharmacy, or through your psychiatrist.

Different pharmacies also have different starting prices for their medications. Don’t be afraid to call different pharmacies to “shop around” before you pick one. If you really just cannot afford your medications, then there may be a assistance program through the brand name’s company that will pay for your prescriptions for a certain amount of time. Ask your psychiatrist about this; they will know whether there is one, or at least know how to find out.

You can also find coupons for your medications, or get samples from your psychiatrist. There are many ways of being resourceful when it comes to finding low income psychiatric care and medications. Other options are out there as well, you just have to keep your eyes open for them.

What ways can you be resourceful when it comes to these things?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi, how are you doing? I hope all is well for you.

Earlier I met a fairly young woman who had bipolar disorder. She had a tactic to help her cope with daily life that I think we could all use.

She constantly was making decent, if not good, decisions. She always took her medications and went to therapy, even though she had not had an episode in over a year. She was careful that she didn’t spend too much at a time at the store, and made budgets that she forced herself to follow.

She went to bed at the same time every night and woke up to her alarm set for the same time every morning. She exercised and ate well. She went to work, and never missed a day unless she was genuinely sick. She just generally had her life together.

I asked her what her trick was. How was it that she, a person who had a disorder that generally impairs things like this, had her life more together than even the average person? Her answer was a great one.

Are you ready for this?

She told me that she lived today like she wanted to live tomorrow. Wow. Isn’t that a concept we could all use? And it doesn’t even matter if you have bipolar disorder, or if you are a supporter. Either way this is a good trick to learn.

I read a poem once, that said something similar to this. I don’t remember it exactly, but I do remember it’s sense of irony. Basically what it talked about was procrastinating on everything, and “throwing it to tomorrow.” And then, when the person in the poem got to tomorrow, all this stuff was piled up to do, and in order to stay sane, they had to “throw it back down to today.” LOL.

But isn’t this true? In order to stay sane, we have to do the things we want done, and we have to do them today. Otherwise, they may never get done.

Maybe you are one of those people who procrastinates. Or maybe you know someone like that. I’ve heard someone tell me before “I don’t ‘procrastinate;’ I just work better under pressure.” Personally, it sounds like the same thing to me. But maybe that’s just me.

But I think that this lesson is not just about whether or not you procrastinate. I think that there’s more to it than that. I think it’s also about goal setting and prioritizing.

You have to know how you want to live ‘tomorrow’ if you are ever going to get there. That’s where goal setting comes into play. And then, in order to live like that today, or at least as close as is possible, you have to prioritize your life and set the most important things first.

Some things aren’t possible to do all at once, which is fine. But what you can do in those cases is to live like you need to in order to aim for those goals.

What ways do you want to live in order to get to the places you want to be in life? And what ways can you implement them into your daily life?

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

What’s new? Hope you are doing well.

To read this week’s news visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews488/

Here are the news headlines:

Psychiatrist Calls For More Research Into Combination Treatments
DO> Great article, take a look.

Single MRI Scan ‘Could Help Diagnose Bipolar Disorder’
DO> Wow, great potential innovation?

Stop Using Isolation Rooms At School: Bipolar Boy
DO>Hmm. What do you think of this article?

How Litium Treats Bipolar Disorder
DO> Great article.

Carrie Fisher Talks About Addiction and Bipolar
DO> Great article, take a look.

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews488/

>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.bipolarcentralcatalog.com

Your Friend,

Dave