Bipolar Supporter Blog

Hi,

How’s it going?

I hope you are doing really well.

I just got back from the gym and
was thinking about something.

I heard an expression this week that
I thought was really neat:

“Are you a sane person in a mad world
or a mad person in a sane world?”

It made me wonder, because people
are always calling me crazy!

But it’s almost like asking, what came
first, the chicken or the egg!

I’m sure many of you have been called
crazy just like me, haven’t you?

People fear what they don’t understand,
and people do not understand bipolar
disorder. For that matter, people just
don’t understand mental illness at all.

I wonder if there will always be this
stigma associated with mental illness
or if people will someday learn enough
about it not to be so scared any more?

Have any of you had this same battle?

I had someone ask me once, “Am I
depressed or just more perceptive
and sensitive than those around me?”

And that made me wonder. Because
you know I’m always talking about
how the people who work for me
have bipolar disorder and other
mental illnesses and I’m always
bragging how they seem to be
smarter, more creative, etc.

And that just goes against what
“the norm” say about them.

So, again I wonder, “Are you a sane
person in a mad world or a mad
person in a sane world?”

It’s hard to draw the line sometimes,
you know?

It’s like the expression, “Just because
you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re
not out to get you!”

I’m not trying to make light of this
situation, really, I’m not. I know how
serious this topic is.

In fact I talk about the stigma that
my mother had to go through
in my courses and systems:

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

Maybe the people around you are the
ones who are crazy, who knows?

I know I sure think that way sometimes.

Maybe it’s just that people just don’t
understand not only bipolar disorder,
but mental illness in general.

And maybe educating them is the
answer, I don’t know. Maybe it will
help them, and maybe it won’t.

But either way, I’m not going to
stop trying to educate them.

What do you think?

I have to head off to a meeting. I’ll
catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

===>> Great Resources For You <===

Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter

Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so,
visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

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

Hi,

Did you know that good bipolar
doctors can turn bad?

And did you know that it could be
your fault?

Now, I’m talking to both survivors
and supporters here.

In my courses and systems, I talk
extensively about this subject, and
even teach you about the system I
developed about how to find a good
doctor:

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

But this is something that really can
happen, and you don’t want it to –
that your good doctor would turn into
a bad one.

The way it could be your fault is that
your doctor only has so much time to
see you, so it’s during that time that
you have to get all your “business”
with him done.

So if you “waste” his time by doing
things like lying to him, or not
keeping him informed with what’s
happening with you (and your
medications), if you hide your
symptoms or just don’t tell him
about them… well, then, he is
just not going to be able to help
you now, is he?

And is that going to be his fault
or yours?

You might have the best doctor
in the world, but if you feed him
bad information, or no information,
he is going to be a bad doctor
when it comes to you.

It is YOUR responsibility to do
all the things I listed above: to
tell him the truth, to keep him
informed about everything,
including your symptoms, side
effects from medications, and
anything else that has to do with
your medications, etc.

It’s also important that the
supporter tells the doctor
anything they have noticed in
their loved one, too, in case the
person hasn’t noticed it in
himself.

I’m not saying that the survivor
is lying here, I’m just saying that
his memory and his supporter’s
memory may be different, and
his supporter can HELP him by
“putting her two cents in.”

Your doctor, no matter how good
he is, is still not a mind-reader.
He only knows what YOU tell
Him. That’s the only way he can
help you. And if you do that, he
can be the BEST doctor in the
world for you!

In other words, if you do YOUR
job, he can do HIS job!

Your friend,

Dave

===>> Great Resources For You <=== Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

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

PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS

Hi,

I hope you are doing well.

Why am I sending the bipolar news today?
Well Andrea had a situation where she
couldn’t post it so I wanted to
send it out today.

It’s also going to be sent out this
Friday again as well.

Sorry.

Hey, I wanted to make sure that you
got a f.ree copy of my book
on all different mental illnesses. Did you?
If not get it here:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/overview_of_mental_disorders/

With that said, here’s the bipolar news.

Make sure you take a look. It takes a lot
of time to put the news together so please read it.

To see the news visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews371

There’s some really interesting news stories this week.
Take a look at them. Also, write me some feedback by visiting my
blog below.

Here are some of the headlines:

Activities for Mood Stabilization
DO> Great article

Does someone you know suffer from mental illness?
DO> What do you think of this?

At-Home Test For Bipolar Disorder Causes Concern
DO> LOOK AT THIS. I TOTALLY disagree with this
concept!

Patients taught about mental health
DO> I like this article, do you?

How lack of sleep may be bad for the brain
DO> VERY interesting article.

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews371

==>> Get 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

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

Hey, I just got back from the gym.

I was just looking at some emails and many
people wrote me they were interested in
finding out how to avoid the bipolar doomsday
scenario but when they look at the page
it was gone. They said they were away for Easter
and asked if I could set it up again.

So I am writing you today to let you know
that I did.

Just in case you have no idea what I am
talking about.

A Bipolar Doomsday Scenario is when a loved one
goes through a Bipolar episode which has an
exceptionally destructive effect on friends and
family.

The final outcomes of Bipolar Doomsday Scenario
may range from a major disruption of a relationship
between a loved one and his/her set of friends and
families, to the entire destruction or separation of
a family and/or friends.

For more information visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolardoomsday

Thanks.

Dave

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <= Hi, How’s it going? The next three weeks are going to
be really, really hard for me. I have
to work out 11 times a week. My “eating
plan” is SUPER strict as well.

Anyway, I have to get going to the gym
and I am already late by 19 minutes.

I am actually lowering my body fat down
in the 6% area over the next few weeks.

BUT, it’s possible that I could slip up with
my program and make a mistake or so.

Will I be all mad? No.

This brings up a super important topic that I
want to talk about and how it relates to
bipolar disorder.

Have you ever known someone who
was an absolute perfectionist? I have.
I know someone who has Obsessive-
Compulsive Personality (OCD), and for
the most part, it actually works as a
positive thing for her, because it helps
her notice the small details that other
people would miss.

But I’m talking about a person so
picky, so much of a perfectionist
that it really bugs you!

The need for perfection and a life
of peace usually are opposite of each
other.

Whenever we absolutely need to have
something be a certain way, we are
usually fighting a losing battle. Rather
than being content with simply having
the item or person, we are focused on
what’s wrong with it/him.

When we are zeroed in on what’s wrong,
It implies that we are dissatisfied or
discontent. And this means that we are
focusing on the negative, instead of the
positive.

Negative thinking, as I talk of often,
is toxic to us. We need to be positive
thinkers, because positive thinking
is healthy thinking, as I teach in my
courses/systems:

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

Positive thinking, or using daily
positive affirmations, just makes
you feel better about yourself,
and, naturally it follows that you
will feel better about others, as
well.

As this relates to bipolar disorder
means that you can be defeated
by the disorder if all you think of
is the negative side of the disorder
and all about what’s wrong with
it.

If you do this, you are being
managed by the disorder, instead
of you managing it, like I always
try to teach you.

Focusing on imperfection pulls
us away from our goal of being
proactive, from becoming high
functioning, being productive,
being supportive, being the
best we can be given the
circumstances.

We need to take the emphasis
off imperfection and focus on
our strengths, and not our
weaknesses.

Too many people think of
having bipolar disorder as a
weakness, when instead it
can be a strength, If you let
it.

Fighting the dragon (bipolar)
can make you stronger, can
increase your bond with your
loved one (if you work together
to fight this disorder), can bring
out the best in you because you
can learn how to appreciate the
smaller gifts that you have and
learn to live life on life’s terms.

The solution is to stop thinking
that you can change things that
you can’t change. You, the
survivor, cannot change the
fact that you have bipolar
disorder. But you CAN change
the way you manage it.

You, the supporter, cannot
change the fact that your
loved one has a disorder that
they will have the rest of their
life. But you can change your
own attitude towards it,
becoming more positive about
it.

As you begin to eliminate your
need for perfection in any/all
areas of your own life, you will
begin to discover the perfection
in life itself.

Okay, well I have to run for the FIRST
workout today. I have another one later
on 🙂

Your Friend,

Dave

===>> Great Resources For You <=== Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

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

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <= Hi, What’s going on? Today I want to talk to you about
bipolar disorder and how it takes
time and history to diagnose it.

Many, many people have written
or talked to me about how it took
them a long time to get diagnosed
with bipolar disorder.

Even though the mental health
professionals (psychiatrists, etc.)
and even the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV), which is
the “Bible” that psychiatrists
go by to diagnose bipolar
disorder will tell you that it’s
between ages 17-21 that you
first get diagnosed with bipolar
disorder, most people are NOT
diagnosed between those ages.

It usually takes more time than
that to be diagnosed with the
disorder, as most of you will
attest.

Most people tell me it wasn’t
until their thirties or forties
that they were finally diagnosed.
And they tell me (most of them)
that they pretty much knew that
something was wrong with them
long before that – usually they say
that they knew it their whole
lives, even.

So firstly, it takes time to be
diagnosed. Mostly because
people who have the disorder
usually don’t come to the
doctor/psychiatrist when they
are younger, because either they
are scared, or they don’t want to
hear the diagnosis.

Michele, who works for me
wasn’t diagnosed until she was
45, but then she realized her son
was showing the same symptoms
and got him diagnosed when he
was 12 years old.

However, she has a 25-year-
old son who secretly admitted
to his girlfriend that he has
bipolar disorder, but he will not
go to a psychiatrist, because he
doesn’t want the diagnosis
confirmed.

Maybe because he’s scared,
maybe because he’s seen what
his mom has gone through,
maybe because he knows if he
goes to the doctor/psychiatrist,
it will become real for him.
Maybe because he knows if he
gets diagnosed, he’ll be put on
medication that he’ll have to
take for the rest of his life.

In my courses and systems,
I talk about this – it’s called
denial, and many people have
to face it – they just don’t want
to believe that they have bipolar
disorder, so they put off getting
diagnosed:

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

When these people who have been in
denial finally do seek help, one of the
things the doctor/psychiatrist will use
to determine the diagnosis will be the
person’s history.

The doctor/psychiatrist will not only
ask for a medical history, but will want
a family history as well, because
research done on bipolar disorder does
show a hereditary element to it, usually
passed down the female side of the
family, from mother to child.

So, like in Michele’s case, it was
passed from her to her two sons.
Even though one of them is still
in denial, he will eventually have to
face the truth.

So there is a time element to being
diagnosed with bipolar disorder,
and there is also a history element.

But what happens AFTER you’re
diagnosed?

The first thing is that you have to
develop a treatment plan, because
without it, you will have no direction
to the management of the disorder –
and if you ever want to manage it
(and it CAN be managed, even if
there is no cure – believe me, because
that’s what all my courses are about),
you must have a treatment plan.

A treatment plan usually consists of
medication and therapy. Medication
is SO important. Without it, there
can be no stability at all. Medication
helps to normalize the extremes in
mood that bipolar disorder consists
of. Although it may take some time
to find the right medications and in
the right dosages.

The treatment plan will usually
consist of therapy as well –
especially in the beginning,
because finding out that you
have bipolar disorder may
now interfere with what your
life was like before. You may
even go through a “grieving
process” over your past life.

So you will need therapy for
all the issues that the disorder
will bring into your life.

Here’s where the supporter
will be such a help to you.
Supporters help their loved
ones in so many ways –
they will encourage you,
help you learn to take your
medications, get to doctor
and therapist appointments,
learn to de-stress your life,
and help manage your disorder.

It may take time and effort to
find the right treatment plan
for you, but that’s also another
way a supporter can help.

Most of all, a supporter can
help someone with bipolar
disorder to realize that they
are still loved and cared for
in spite of having a disorder
that might otherwise cause
them to feel isolated and
alone.

Your Friend,

Dave

===>> Great Resources For You <=== Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

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

Hi,

I got a lot of feedback about my little bipolar
explanation booklets. People really love them.

I wanted to write you something. The truth about
bipolar disorder is that it’s hard to verbally
explain.

This is why I made these little yellow booklets.
Some people have asked me if I really used
them with my family. YES.

Actually the first person I sent them to was
my grandmother. I found it hard to talk to
her about my mom’s bipolar disorder or her
daughter’s bipolar disorder. My grandmother
loved the booklet and said it helped her
really understand.

She shared a bunch of them with some other
people she knew that were dealing with
bipolar disorder.

I think that there are like 10,000 or
so in circulation. I am not sure exactly
because we really didn’t use to have a good
record keeping system when this first
started.

If you would like help explaining bipolar
disorder, please visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/explainingbipolar/

Talk to you tomorrow.

Dave

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <=
Hi,

What’s new?

Today I have a challenge for you!

I’m just curious.

Answer this question:

What does “living successfully with
bipolar disorder mean to you?”

Ok, I’ll even give you a hint, and
I’ll tell you my answer, how about
that?

To me, it’s when taking medication,
going to all appointments (doctor,
therapist, psychiatrist, etc.), following
treatment plan, etc., all becomes a
lifestyle instead of a chore.

It’s when you have a positive
attitude instead of a negative one –
where you have totally accepted
bipolar disorder instead of
resenting it (since there’s nothing
you can do about it anyway).

It’s when you have mastered the
disorder instead of it mastering
you.

I could go on and on, but I
think you get the idea.

Now, how about you?

I’ve talked all about this
in my courses, so some of you
might even cheat!!

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

Ok, but all teasing aside, for those
who haven’t gotten my courses and
can’t cheat —

I’ll give you another hint –
It has to do with setting goals and
achieving them. Realistic goals.

And since we’re talking about
success, obviously, I think I need
to throw in here that we’re talking
about how each person has to define
their own success.

Now, I’m not trying to be a male
chauvinist pig or anything –
I think women and men are the
same here, really I do. So don’t
send me any hate mail! J

But I think it would be interesting
to see in the responses how men
define success against how women
define success. Maybe there is a
difference, I don’t know.

Especially as it regards bipolar
disorder. Maybe bipolar makes
it so that there isn’t a difference
at all. What do you think?

Your friend,

Dave

===>> Great Resources For You <=== Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

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

Hi,

How’s it going?

Today is suppose to be the bipolar news.
But, Andrea who sets it up is on vacation.
I thought she was going to set it up
even though she was away. I am not sure.

Maybe she is running late. So I had to type
up this daily bipolar email instead.

You might get the news tomorrow or Sunday
I am not sure.

Sorry if this messed up your schedule.

It’s been really tough to keep track of
this ever expanding organization.

I actually spoke to some really smart people
yesterday who gave me some great ideas.

Ultimately soon, I am going to be hiring an
operations/admin person. I don’t just want
any old person but someone who I can
really work with and trust. I will send more
details later on this coming week.

Okay, you know, I’ve talked in the
past about stigma, and the
problem that people who have
bipolar disorder have with people
who stigmatize them, or pre-
judge them without knowing
them.

People who have bipolar disorder
get mad at those people who
pre-judge , or stigmatize them.

Well, good old Webster in his
dictionary defines prejudice as
“preconceived judgment or opinion”
or “an irrational attitude of
hostility directed against an
individual, a group, a race, or
their supposed characteristics.”

Wow! I sure don’t want to be
accused of being prejudiced
against anyone if it means
that, do you? I mean the
attitude of hostility part.

Well, it actually says an
irrational attitude of
hostility. I don’t think that’s
any of us.

In fact, I don’t think it’s really
true of those people who are
prejudiced against those
who have bipolar disorder.

I think, really, that they fall
into the category of
“preconceived judgment or
opinion.” Don’t you agree?

It’s like me saying, “Just give
me a little time – I’ll grow on
you!” J

But seriously, what I wanted
to bring out is that it’s not just
that other people are prejudiced
against people who have bipolar
disorder, it’s also that people
with bipolar and their loved ones
sometimes get just as prejudiced
against doctors, therapists and
mental health workers and assume
they are bad.

I’ve tried to address this problem
in my courses/systems, where I
talk about the problem of good and
bad doctors, and teach you how to
find a good doctor or therapist:

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

But I really encourage you not to
pre-judge your doctor or therapist.
Yes, there are some bad doctors and
therapists and psychiatrists out there,
but there are also some good ones.

I would encourage you not to
judge yours on, say, just one
visit. You may have just caught
him on a bad day or something.

You know how bad it feels to be
pre-judged. Try not to pre-judge
anyone else, because that would be
like reverse discrimination.

Your friend,

Dave
–
===>> Great Resources For You <=== Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

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

Hi,

If you need help explaining bipolar disorder, then
you must take a look at my little booklets.

have gotten lots of people who have written me that
they need help in this area.

If this is you, please visit this site:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/explainingbipolar/

Dave