Bipolar Supporter Blog

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <= Hi, How’s it going to? I hope you are doing well. I probably could write a 100 pages of this
email today. Why?

Well yesterday was a total disaster for
me with bipolar. I clearly LOST the battle
yesterday but NOT the war.

There are so many things I could say today.

If you have been following the story,
I saw signs of a bipolar episode with
my mom about a week ago. Normally her
Novembers/Decembers are bad for
bipolar.

BUT, she does well when there is
a big problem or situation. My uncle
was in the hospital. My mom handled
it REALLY well.

BIPOLAR LESSON-Learn your own or
your loved one’s patterns. They probably
hold true once you figure them out.

BUT, in January he was released and
fine.

At first I thought, “great, we made it
through the holidays with no problems.”

I let my guard down. I kind of forgot
the second part of my mom’s pattern.
AFTER the bad situation or difficult,
a bipolar episode starts many times.

THIS HAS HAPPENED TIME AND TIME AGAIN.

I was thinking in my head back 20 years
and I remember this happen. Before I even
knew what my mom had.

Anyway, in the past week or 10 days
the electricity went out where my
parents live. Why? It always happens.

They live in an area that always has
power failures. No big deal. It’s
been like that forever.

So my mom calls me a bunch of times
to tell me her power if off and she
can’t respond to any emails I send.

I rarely send an email to my mom. I certainly
don’t send anything that is urgent or needs
a quick response.

I knew this was a potential bipolar mini
episode sign.

Then my mom called again.

Now keep in mind that my mom actually
works for me which further complicates
things. She has a REAL job with me
not just a charity job.

So eventually like a few hours later,
the lights came back on. My mom
then said there was a big problem with
the computer.

She called me a number of times, talking
really loud.

I will tell you how I thought:

One part said, “Why is she telling
me about her computer problems?”

The other part of me said:
“Well she is telling me because
she works for me.”

So I listened. But she called many
times and it just didn’t seem to
make sense.

I did believe there was a problem
with the computer but something
was rather strange.

I know from her patterns, when there
is a mini bipolar episode coming,
there are MANY problems. What I mean
is this.

My mom will take something that isn’t
even a problem and make a big
deal out of it. And get others
worked up as well.

So I made a mental note.

Then I got a bunch of calls at like
8:30pm or so this past Friday
night. I was annoyed. Why? Well I knew
they weren’t calls to say hi. I knew
it was some kind of drama.

So I called back and got my dad. He
told me there was a problem with their
computer.

I asked if that’s what she was calling
for because she had already called me
a whole bunch of times.

He said if I knew a computer person they
could call then. I said, “at 8:30pm on a
Friday night, for a non emergency?”

My dad started getting mad at me for not
being helpful.

I must say, as I write this, I can’t
tell you how frustrated I am. Let me try
to explain so you don’t think that I am
a mean person.

Okay, first do you know how many
times that my mom pressured my dad into
doing something about the bipolar
emergency and spending a lot of money?

Well you don’t know 🙂 Anyway, many
is the answer.

Here is how it would go. My mom would
be in an episode and say there was a
big emergency. It could be anything.

It could be the dishwasher didn’t work
right. The lawn wasn’t green enough.
The septic tank MIGHT be full.
The dryer was old, etc. In this case
the computer MUST BE FIXED RIGHT AWAY.
NOW!

My mom would demand some kind of action
to fix the bipolar emergency that wasn’t
even an emergency.

My dad would buy something, hire someone
at a cost that was so much it was a joke.
He wouldn’t even think about it, he would
just spend money to make my mom’s bipolar
happy.

So the reason why I was mad about the computer
question was “Do you know how much it would
cost to get a computer person on a Friday night
for a NON emergency?” A TON!

Is it that important? NO! It could wait until
Saturday.

My dad like normal was giving in to bipolar.
Like he has always done for as long as I
can remember.

See, my mom or her bipolar would not ask
me because they answer is no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, and no.

I can’t be manipulated in this way. No
matter what. I talk about how I do
this in my bipolar supporter course.

Anyway, Her bipolar gave up on me a long time ago.
So it quickly moves to my dad where it
can win an manipulate.

So anyway, the computer had a problem with
the hard drive.

I actually highly recommended they take
the computer to a place up in Sussex County
where I know a person who is honest and fast.

Of course that didn’t happen. I really don’t
know what happen but I guarantee it cost 4
times what it should because my dad
was pressured.

BIPOLAR LESSON:
When you are a bipolar supporter, you
have to stand up to bipolar and say no
a lot. Otherwise, you’ll get yourself in
a lot of trouble.

If you have bipolar disorder, you should
be happy if you have a supporter to do
this for you. Most people don’t care enough
to stop you if you are in an episode and
doing something that is against your own
best interest.

So anyway, basically my dad wound up getting
mad at me when I was talking to him because
like normal, it’s easier to get mad at me
than it is to deal with my mom’s bipolar.

So then, basically I discover a bunch of
other things that have gone wrong.

I actually had to contact my mom’s
treatment team but I forgot to do ONE
thing so I created a problem for myself.

The reason was, I just did it without
reading my material on what to do.

Then after I realized this, I was mad
at myself for making a mistake so I
wound up doing nothing yesterday.

One thing I was thinking about was:
I wonder how all the people out there
deal with bipolar that have little
to no information on how to really deal
with it.

In my courses/systems 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

I go through real strategies to handle all sorts of
situations whether you have bipolar or
your are a supporter.

Then I thought about it and figured out
what they do. Supporters either leave,
throw money at the problem, or spend their
entire life being controlled by bipolar.

Those with the disorder have decades of
problems and never really reaching
their full potential.

When I think about this, it makes me
feel bad because there are MILLIONS
of people suffering from bipolar
when they don’t need to be.

It’s really sad stuff. I will say this,
bipolar is really tough to deal with.
If you don’t take it seriously and have
strategies to deal, you’re doomed.

It sounds dramatic but it’s true.

Another thing that is odd is this. I can
have 20 good things in one day and my
mom’s mini bipolar episode could erase anything
positive from those 20 good things.

I guess the moral of the story for today
or the lesson is for those with bipolar
to immediately contact your doctor/therapist
when you feel the signs of an episode.

For those that are bipolar supporters, realize
that you have to be vigilant and have
to look for the signs and then take action
right away.

If I do nothing I run the risk of this
going into a huge bipolar episode eventually.

Well I have to run. I have outlined a plan
for the day including a serious of if/then
strategies. What’s that? Well if this, then
I will do that. I basically brainstorm
all possibilities and what my counter will
be.

If you have my bipolar supporter course,
it’s everything in there. Actually the
reason why I am sending this email out
so late is because this morning I was
reading my manual again and also listening
to some of my success interviews to build
my strength for what effectively will
be a counter attack against my mom’s
bipolar disorder which clearly beat me yesterday.

ANOTHER BIPOLAR LESSON:
Get mad at bipolar not your loved one and
separate the bipolar from your loved one.

As it stands now. I feel that my mom
is on the road of a bipolar mini episode.
She is NOT there yet.
What’s the road of a bipolar mini episode.

Well it’s a long road that leads to
the state of a HUGE bipolar episode. If
someone turns take an exit on this
road it leads right to a bipolar mini
episode and then the next town is called
bipolar huge episode. That’s the kind
of town people don’t want to be in 🙂

However, there are lots of “exits” on that
road. One of the exits is the town called
“stability.”

So with the right choices and right
supporter, I feel that this will not
escalate to a huge bipolar episode.

It’s funny when I write these analogies,
people write me that I am crazy or
this or that. But I am sure you understand
what I am talking about and the point
that I am trying to make.

Hey, I have to run.

Tomorrow is the bipolar news as well.

Your Friend,

Dave

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

P.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.P.S. 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/

P.P.P.P.S 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, How’s it going? I hope you are doing well. Well I have to make it short today. First, I have posted 25 podcasts for
you to listen to. They are on specific
topics and are F.ree.

You can listen to them here:
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com

I put a TON of work into this so
I hope you enjoy.

Also I was excited to learn that
Medical News Today is now promoting
my Ten Greatest Lies About Bipolar
Disorder.

See their write up:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/93862.php

Okay, a few days ago, I was sent
an email that’s really sad:

“Dear DBSA colleagues:

It is with great sadness that I inform my
DBSA NJ colleagues that my brother Martin
Max Siegel of Lowell, Oregon was killed by his
son on Monday January 7th. He was 57 years old.
His son is 20.

It is the most horrific thing that I have ever
experienced. I am shocked, numb etc. etc, The
family had always been a model family for the world.
My brother was best buddies with his son. They had
moved last year to Oregon from San Diego and together
my brother and his son had made a joyful trip up the
coast (after going back for Christmas) from with the
last of their belongings to their new home in Oregon.

My nephew had been diagnosed at age 16 with a serious
emotional disorder. He went off his medications for
about 10 days (a friend convinced him he didn’t need
them) and had just started them again the day before
the event (on the insistence/advice of his mom).

The combination of being off his meds and then not
sleeping for 3 nights is of course not good for
someone with a emotional disorder (it can trigger
a psychotic disorder). My brother and his wife had
been warned that if Andy missed a dose-he could
have an episode. ..but ultimately he had made that
decision to not take his meds. He tried to save his
father and called 911 first but it was too late when
the ER team got there.

All of the family members will convene on Friday the
18th for a long weekend and A Celebration of Marty’s
Life. Hopefully we will have time to all take a hike
in honor of Marty who loved Oregon so much in the
brief time he was there. He had retired from his
position as a director of engineers for the civilian
Navy in San Diego and had taken a job recently in
Oregon with the Army Corp of Engineers. He absolutely
loved his new job which required him to be outside in
the woods of Oregon.

I intend to find a way to make something positive in
the world around this (maybe help people with emotional
disorders to be more aware of how important it is to
stay on their medications.)

The love that my family and other loved ones all have
for each other will see us through this.”
-Lynn

This is really sad. The worse part of it all is
that if the son stayed on the medication, this
probably would have never happen.

I talk to and meet far too many people who
play the bipolar medicine game–not taking
it all all or taking it when they feel like
it.

This message should serve as a reminder how
serious bipolar disorder can be when you are
not taking your medication.

In my courses/system 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

Virtually everyone who is a success story
talks about what happens when they don’t
take their medication–really bad things
happen.

People who are calm and gentle turn
into different people and do really
bad things.

I spoke with a doctor the other day
that told me she got off her medication
and wound up assauling someone and
doing other reallty bad things she
never would have done.

I could go on and on with horror stories
of people not taking medication. Don’t
let this be you.

Your Friend,

Dave

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

P.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.P.S. 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/

P.P.P.P.S 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 just wanted to send a quick friendly
final notice about my material on
bipolar disorder an addictions.

I do this so people don’t get
mad when the offer is gone.

I have a special going on for
28 people if you are looking for
guidance in that area. It sends
Tuesday,January 15, 2008 at 10:00pm

Take a look at:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolaraddictionsale

Thanks.

Dave

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

How’s it going?

I hope you are doing well.

What a nightmare it was for me yesterday.

The second after I sent out my daily bipolar
email, I started getting calls from my mom.

I thought, “oh geeze.”

I was suppose to go to the library and
do some serious work.

I am actually working on a book on
investing for private equity funds, hedge
funds and investment banks–really technical
stuff.

So anyway, I was suppose to a lot of work
in this area in addition to some work
on bipolar disorder stuff.

Plus I had a lot of meeting scheduled.
Also, I have so many people now working
on projects, I have to keep track of them.

I have some amazing people who get things
done so fast and so right, the problem
is me and approving projects and moving
on to new ones.

I have given extremely complicated things
to some people and they get it done
so fast weeks or a month ahead of time.

Then they wait for me to look it over.
I had to do a whole lot of that yesterday.

These are all bipolar related projects.

So my mom called and she was talking
really fast and I knew that she was
stressed and currently manic.

I thought in my head, “I just don’t
have time to deal with this right
now.”

She basically she told me how her computer
was messed up but she was fixing it with
my dad. I asked where he was and she said
he left. I knew then, she wasn’t well.

How did I know? My dad rarely leaves
the house before 9:00am. He does that
when my mom isn’t well to avoid having
to do anything. He has done this my entire
life.

As a kid, I remember my mom not doing
well, my dad at work and my brother taking
care of me. Sometimes when I think about
it, I feel bad for him when he was a kid
and had to deal with it all by himself.

But anyway, I knew that my mom wasn’t
doing well because anytime she isn’t doing
well, my dad leaves the us really early
and comes home really late.

So anyway, basically my mom started
getting mad at me.

So I put my foot down and said, “mom
you sound like you are manic or getting
manic and you need to make the right decision
and help yourself.”

She then got mad at me and said:

I am not manic stop telling me that.

If I am manic, because you made me manic

You’re going to put me into an episode

On and on and on. I just listened and
didn’t argue.

NOTE-Don’t argue with someone who is
attacking you.

In my courses/systems this is a key
strategy for both bipolar supporters
and bipolar survivors.

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

So I said, “Mom, here’s the deal, I don’t
have time for this. I have to go to the
library and then I have a HUGE gigantic
consulting client to talk to today and
I have to be ready and I can’t sit and
argue with you. I will not let bipolar
disorder screw up yet another thing
for me. I am expecting that you’ll
do the right thing. You know what you need
to do so I am confident that by the
end of the day you will do it.”

Then my mom said, “you want me to
go to the hospital???????”

I said, “I have to go, I am confident
that you’ll make the right decision
and do what you need to do before
it gets totally out of control.”

So I hung up.

Here’s the deal. These days, I refuse
to stop my entire life and miss out
on stuff because of bipolar disorder.
I did that for so many years and will
not do it again.

I could have driven to see my mom, cancelled
everything hurt my reputation in consulting
but I chose not too? Why? Well I have tried
that kind of thing and it never
worked.

I said to my mom that she knew what she
had to do and would make the right decision.
That’s where my focus was.

What’s the right decision? To call her doctor
and therapist and go and see them.

So we will see what happens. I really don’t
know what happened. I had too many things
to do yesterday to check.

So might think this sounds mean but
after years and years of jumping
every single time there is a problem
and spending every last dime I ever had
on problems, I refuse to do it again.

If I am a betting person, and I am not
because I don’t believe in gambling,
my mom will call her doctor and therapist.

I am confident my mom never ever wants
to have a huge episode again.

We’ll see.

Here is what I could have done and why
I don’t think it would work:

I could have defended myself when my
mom or her bipolar tried to blame me.
Why not? It never works.

I could have stopped everything and
driven over to see her.
Why not? It would have told her bipolar
that basically it can manipulate me. I have
tried them probably 100 times in the past
and failed 100 times.

I could have argued with her.
Why not? Arguing never works. I have tried
probably 1000 times and failed 1000 times.

I could have started yelling back.
Why not? It never ever works. Escalation
never works. De-escalation works much
better.

I could have called and ask my dad
what was going on.
Why not? He never given valid information.
It would take me an hour to get him to
tell me the truth. He would say “she’s
doing great.” He never admits what’s
going on unless I ask 50 times in 50
ways and take about 1 hour and I don’t
have time for that kind of thing.

So that’s that.

Even worse yesterday I had a lady get
my cell phone number and call over and over
again right before I was to talk to this
huge investment bank. She was demanding
that I fire a person named Jerry. I don’t
even have a Jerry that works for me.
It made no sense.

Then I had another lady who left threatening
voicemail messages.

Yesterday was one of those days that I said,
“What did I get myself into.”

I was bipolared out for the day. Imagine
you have to do consulting with an investment
bank and mintues before some one is threatening
you about total nonsense.

I have to go now. Catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

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

P.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.P.S. 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/

P.P.P.P.S 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?

What’s new?

Hope you are doing well.

Want to hear something funny. Yesterday
a friend of mine found me on the internet
and decided to call me up and read my
bipolar blog entries to me on the phone and criticize
my grammar.

After 10 minutes of this, I started to get
annoyed and ask, “So, how many websites do
you have? How many articles do they have
on them? How many people do you have on
your mailing list? What have you done
for society?”

The person has no websites, no articles
and no mailing list, etc. Anyway, it was
pretty darn annoying to me.

The thing is, these daily emails are obviously
not edited. There would be no practical way
to edit them and that’s why they are not.

The goal is to get them out fast first thing
in the morning. It some times takes me
1.5 hours to complete the entire task.
EVERY DAY.

Someone asked me the other day if it was
a computer that made them. I laughed.

Speaking of laughing, that moves us
into today’s topic.

There is a person who posts on my blog
under the “handle” or nickname

“BPSerenity”

This person actually posts some great stuff.

One thing he/she (I don’t know him/her), posted
was something about laughing. It was posted
yesterday and I want everyone to read it:

Just wanted to share this information I
found on the internet: I truly believe that
“LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE”

Mental Health Benefits of Laughter

Humor enhances our ability to affiliate or
connect with others.

Humor helps us replace distressing emotions
with pleasurable feelings. You cannot feel
angry, depressed, anxious, guilty, or
resentful and experience humor at the same time.

Lacking humor will cause one’s thought
processes to stagnate leading to increased distress.

Humor changes behavior – when we experience
humor we talk more, make more eye contact with
others, touch others, etc.

Humor increases energy, and with increased energy
we may perform activities that we might otherwise avoid.

Finally, humor is good for mental health because
it makes us feel good!

Keep laughing life is way too short. 😎

==================

Many bipolar supporters (generally not those
with bipolar unless they are in depressive episodes)
rarely laugh. They are almost always unhappy and
miserable. They are super serious. I can understand
why.

BUT, I don’t want you to fall victim to this
if you are a bipolar supporter. I don’t want
you to be so unhappy and never laugh
that eventually you become miserable.

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

there are parts in
the success stories or even on the cds,
that myself or the person being interview
laugh a lot or make jokes.

I remember there is one person who I
interviewed who went into a super bipolar
episode. He became delusional. As he told
me the story he said how he was running
through traffic and cars were beeping
at him and he didn’t get hit luckily.

He then said, “Man, if only I had that
kind of talent in high school I could
have played football” and then he laughed.

It was really funny the way he said it.

Now, some say, “bipolar is no laughing
matter.” I find the “bipolar is no laughing
matter” people do the worst with bipolar.

They wind up being miserable and having
the illness control them and their loved
ones.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Stacy Adams sends me lots of funny mental
health jokes all the times. One time, she
sent me one from her son. He make a cartoon
about mental health or something. It really
didn’t make a whole lot of sense but
the stick people he drew and the simple
dialogue between the stick people was
really funny.

If you are a bipolar supporter, ask yourself,

Are you seriously ALL the time?

Do you ever laugh?

Do you do anything fun besides deal with bipolar disorder?

When’s the last time you went to a comedy show?

When’s the last time you watched a funny movie?

I noticed over the years, and I have NO study to back
this up, only observations that people who are
dealing with bipolar disorder who have no fun and are
always serious wind up getting divorced, losing lots
of friends and people avoid them. I have seen this
time and time again.

There’s no question bipolar disorder is serious. It
can be deadly serious. BUT, you have to have balance
and have a life and have some fun as well.

I am glad that “BPSerenity” posted and reminded
me of this.

Hey I just thought of something. I volunteer
in three places. One place is a real drag
and the other places are really fun. I just realized
one realize.

In the places that are fun, people laugh, are upbeat,
and excited. In the one place, after three years,
no on ever laughs and everyone is, really, really
serious. I am talking about the people who run
the place. I can understand why those who are
attending are down but the people running the
place shouldn’t be? I just realized this right
now. Hmmm.

Hey, I have to run and head off to the library.
Catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

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

P.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.P.S. 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/

P.P.P.P.S 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 are you?

Yesterday I sent out an email
and then I was planning on going on
out but I was way too tired so
I just watched a movie on TV.

You know what is kind of strange.
I must have 200 channels and there
is never anything on. Ever notice
that?

Now there are channels like History
Channel 1, 2, 3, etc. and there
still isn’t anything ever on
really.

I have been working hard these
days on a number of projects.

Many people think that I work way too
hard.

Actually, I have friends that make me
look super lazy.

My one friend John, I wrote him
the other day and asked how he was doing:

From: John
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 3:14 PM
To: David Oliver (The Leverage Team, LLC.)
Subject: RE:

Been working a lot – sometimes til 3 or 4 am.

Other than that nothing.

John

=============

He’s a super hard worker. He has focus. I have
lots of friends like this and they get a whole
lot done and fast. John’s goal is to
make I think $1 million dollar this
year and then help his parents out who
are disabled. He was previously in
d.ebt of more than $250,000 and he
paid it off this past year.

Anyway, I have to make new systems to
handle all these projects
and the growth that I have going
on. It’s hard work but fun work.

I was actually talking to
someone new who works with
me. This person has bipolar
disorder and some other
things I can’t remember right
now.

Actually as a side note, the person
was misdiagnosed for a long time
with schizophrenia and now has
the right diagnosis.

I was telling him about my situation
I am having with expanding everything.

I told him how Andrea, who works
for me has so many projects to do
and I worry that there are just
too many for her.

Anyway I told him might plight
and he said, “okay, I am going
to be your marketing therapist
for today.”

The amazing thing is, I have
been thinking of a solution
to this problem (which it’s
hard to write about but it’s
just a big problem with the number
of websites, keeping track of
them, expanding them, etc.)
for a long time. A long time.

Within 5 minutes of me telling
him. He thought about it
and had a solution that I am
99.9% sure will work.

I was really amazed how simple
the solution was.

I had told other so called
experts I hired from consulting
companies and all they did
is want more and more and more
money to “figure it out.” He
figured it out within
5 minutes.

I must say, there is differently
something about people who have
disorders such as bipolar disorder–
there is no question in my mind
they are smarter, more creative
and here’s a big one, able to
take the complex and make it simple.

It’s one of the reasons that I
have been able to grow this so
fast and so big. It’s because
the systems have been setup
by people who are way smarter
than me.

After I spoke to him,
I actually got a call from
my mom.

My mom shows signs of POSSIBLY
going into a bipolar episode.

It’s possible. I am not 100%
sure.

Here’s what happen. Okay, if
you follow my story, you know
my mom doesn’t do well in November
and December. Last year, she didn’t
do well in December or the year
before or the year before.

This December, she did great. No
problems.

So I was super happy about the
entire thing. Finally a good
December.

But remember, my mom does well
when there are tragedies or
big problems.

What I am saying is, if there
is a big problem, crisis, my
mom will handle it well. She
has NEVER gone into a bipolar
episode during a period like
this.

It’s always AFTER.

Well, you might remember or
maybe you didn’t know. My uncle
had a heart attack. He was
in the hospital. My aunt
worried about my mom and the
stress.

My mom handled it perfectly
fine.

BUT, now my uncle is fine and
recently I saw a few things
that indicate a possible episode
occurring. I almost missed
it however.

Let me try to explain my thinking
process so it helps you.

November/December normally bad
BUT, uncle has heart attack, mom
does well in November/December. So
the heart attack could have offset
the normally bad November/December
period

After the problem or crisis, the
episode would happen historically.
BUT, my mom has a great system now
to prevent this.

Here are the signs I saw:

-Random phone calls to me
in the day that didn’t fit a pattern.

-Phone calls made about NON urgent
things but my mom felt they were URGENT.

-My mom talking really fast and loud during
these days. However to be fair, she was on a
cell phone so that could have made her sound louder.

-My mom called me late one night
after 9:00pm. She normally is in bed
this late.

-My mom said to me how her
doctor and therapist told her
she has never been so stable
ever.

NOTE-I don’t believe this. This is
the bipolar talking. What are the
chances that her doctor AND therapist
said the same thing during the
same time period. Also, why would
they say that? She isn’t any more
stable than she was 6 months ago,
14 months ago, etc.

In my opinion, and I know I will get
people who think I am crazy but, in
my mind, this is a setup by my mom’s
bipolar to get me to think she is stable
so it can hope I let my guard down. Sounds
crazy but I am just telling you how
I think. You know what? When I write this
stuff, I know people will think I am
insane but that’s okay I tell you these
things so you know how I think and how
you could think in your own situation.

If I think she is stable then I won’t
check up and then it’s easier to create
more problems right? If you were bipolar
disorder, wouldn’t you do that if you
wanted create some problems???

-My mom had a problem with her computer.
She called me late to tell me. She knows
this is a no, no. I told her she had
to fix her own problems or at least really
try. The fact she called after 8:30 on
a Friday night is not a good sign.

-When I called back I was talking to
my dad warning him of what I was seeing.
Of course, like normal I might as well have
been telling you what was going on because
my dad simply goes into hard core denial, “I
don’t want to believe what he is saying” mode.

My mom took the phone out of my dads hand
and said, “we think we know what’s wrong with
the computer and said, ‘I gotta go..bye’ and
hung up on me. This is a bad sign. I can’t
explain via email her tone. But I know for
sure it was her bipolar talking. Because my
mom’s tone changes when she is going
into a potential mini episode.

The reason why she took the phone is because
I believe her bipolar was starting to worry
that I would convince my dad to watch out
and monitor her closely. It didn’t want
this to happen so it had to go so to speak.

-Also, my dad wound up getting mad at me
on the phone. EVERY SINGLE time my mom
is going into a mini episode, my dad gets
mad at me. Why? Who knows. It’s easier
for him to get mad at me than do anything.
That’s the reality. It does amaze me how
he operates.

So this is what I have seen so far. If
I were to guess. My mom is slightly manic.

It will be interesting to see what happens:

Will she contact her doctor/therapist and
get her treatment?

Will my dad step in?

Will she go into a mini bipolar episode?

In my head I am not worried? Why because
I have systems in place.

In my course/systems below, I talk about
how to handle all of this stuff.

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’s no question it can be a pain in
the butt but it’s doable. You can get
all the same systems and tools that I have.
This is what I use myself.

I actually filled out my own worksheets
to compare to figure out if I thought
my mom was going into an episode.

Someone that I mentioned this to who lives
by me asked if I was worried. I said no. I
can’t think of one thing that could happen
that I don’t have a plan for.

UNLESS her bipolar comes up with something
radically new. If so, I still will win
anyway so I am not worried.

If I had to guess. My mom will get more
manic. Then I will mention it to her.
She will get mad. Then she will call
her doctor/therapist and get her
treatment altered.

My mom does NOT ever want to have a
huge out of control episode again. I know
this for sure.

This is my guess today. But things change
fast. I will keep you posted.

The worst thing you can do if you have
bipolar disorder or are a bipolar supporter
is deny there is a problem. Pretend everything
is okay or attack the messenger like my
dad does.

The entire reason he had so many problems
over the years is because he took no action.

The amazing thing is this. Back in the day,
it was my brother who was the one who
took her to the hospital most of the time.
He didn’t even know what he was doing
really. He didn’t have a book but he
knew she wasn’t well and the hospital
made people better and he would take
her there.

I remember one time my dad asked her
to go she screamed no. My brother said
she was going and he got the car
ready. She never questioned him. I think
her bipolar was scared of him. My brother
at the time was 6 foot 3, 315 pounds at
his peak when he played football.

He is bigger than me, I was only 6 foot 1
282 pounds at my peak 🙂

Anyway, back to my dad. Soon I am going to
seriously ask him why he does this. If I
could figure it out, I could help lots of people.
I seriously have no idea whatsoever why he thinks
the way he does about bipolar.

It’s almost something in his personality that
takes no action. It’s the same reason my amazing
fat burning system sits on his shelf unopened,
unread. I just can’t understand it because I am
not like this.

NO one in the family can figure out my dad
way, including my mom. She herself has thanked
me many times for standing up to her bipolar
and not letting it get out of control.

In the best case scenario, I am totally
100% wrong and my mom is totally fine.
I sure hope so. But, I have to be vigilant.

Hey, I have to run. Catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

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

P.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.P.S. 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/

P.P.P.P.S 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?

Hope you are doing well.

Before I get started, I wanted to
tell you that I have recorded 30 podcasts
for bipolar supporters and bipolar survivors
and I am going to be posting them
on my podcast site. These are F.ree
mini lessons on bipolar disorder that
you can listen to on your computer
or on your mp3 player or ipod.

I will let you know when I have
posted them. It took me half
the day yesterday to record
them all yesterday.

Also, I am strongly considering
offering some f.ree coaching
sessions on people that want
to start a b.usiness and are
dealing with bipolar disorder. Not sure
how I am going to do it but
I have a few ideas.

Will let you know.

Okay, oh, one last thing. Something
funny. You’re going to laugh.

Yesterday I was in the supermarket shopping.

There was a man a woman who were there.
The woman was pushing the cart and the guy
was trailing behind her. I noticed
that he was taking cookies out of
the bin and eating them. One by one.
I saw him look around to make sure people
weren’t looking.

This little girl saw him and “screamed
MOMMY…that man is stealing!!!!”

The girl’s mom looked at the guy who
had a cookie in his mouth and the little
girl said, “MOMMY..he’s stealing cookies.”

The mom said, “shhh. Stop it. Be quiet.”

The little girl then said, “mommy stealing
is bad!!!!!.”

The mom said, “I know, but we have to have
our inside voice on in the store.”

It was so funny. The guy then was all red
and said, “umm. Oh, I am going to pay for
those.” His wife gave him one of those, “you
just wait until we get home….you’re going
to get it looks.”

It was really funny.

Today I want to talk about setting
boundaries for bipolar supporters.

Yesterday I was on the phone with
a coaching client.

He was really mad about something.

He told me that his wife winds up
going into mini episodes all the time
and then calling him over and over
and over about urgent bipolar emergencies.

He said, “it never fails, whenever I am
doing something important, my wife calls
80 times and says there is this or that
problem and I must deal with it.”

He told me how he was tired of dealing
with bipolar emergencies and that it
was making him have anxiety.

I listened for a while. He went on
to say this has been going on for
years and years. So long, he can’t
remember when it started.

I then told him, he needs to
set boundaries. He also needs to
stop feeding the mania.

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

I talk about how people can feed mania or make
bipolar disorder worse. There are so
many ways, I can’t even list them
all in this email.

Anyway, this use to happen with my mom
for YEARS. My mom always had an
emergency. And guess who always got
the call? ME.

I would be right in the middle of something
super important and my mom would call
and say this or that happen. Or she
would tell me bad news of some kind.

Did you know that so and so got killed
in an accident. Or that this bad thing
happen. Half the time, I would be right
in the middle of a meeting and I would
be all worried about what emergency
this was.

My dad on the other hand wouldn’t return
my mom’s calls. Neither would my brother.
I always wondered why but eventually after
I got out of college, bipolar emergencies
went to me. My dad and brother must have
been thinking, “better him than me.”

Like my coaching client, I had the same
problems and they were really annoying.

Eventually several months after my mom
had her big episode I said, “I am not
dealing with these emergencies anymore.
She can fix her own problems.”

I told my mom how I wasn’t going to
solve her problems any more and I didn’t
want to always hear bad news from her.

I told her that I wouldn’t pick up the phone
after 7:00pm, EST. I also warned her
that she had alienated most family members
by only calling with bipolar emergencies,
urgent issues or bad news. People in the
family equated her call with trouble and
therefore the avoided her calls.

BIPOLAR SURVIVOR LESSON:
If you have bipolar disorder and you have
done this over the years because of manic
episodes, you correct this by calling
people with good news and non urgent
things over a period of time. You retrain
the people around you to no longer equate
your calls with bad stuff. Make sense?

My accountant, use to have the same problem.
His wife had bipolar disorder and wasn’t
in treatment. She would call him 20 times
a day. I saw one day, while I met with him,
his wife called, over and over and over
to scream at him. He actually would take
the calls. Many of his clients were NOT
understanding like me and left and thought
he and his wife were crazy. Sad but true.

If you are a bipolar supporter, you have
to set boundaries with your loved one
and not get caught up in bipolar emergencies.
If you find what I just described happening
to you all the time, ask yourself the question:
“when you responded to the emergencies, did
you ever resolve anything?” Probably not,
so doing it in the future probably won’t
either.

Let your loved one know when to call,
when you with respond and let them know
that you aren’t going to be fixing
all their problems. It’s not good for
you or them.

Bipolar emergencies run people into
the ground. If you don’t set boundaries,
you’ll wind up losing it, having no
life at all, developing anxiety and
many other bad things, if you are
a bipolar supporter.

Hey, I have to go to the gym. I will
catch you tomorrow. Have a great day.

Your Friend,

Dave

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

P.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.P.S. 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/

P.P.P.P.S 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,

What’s new?

Hey, I am taking off to go to the library
to do a whole lot of research for the
day.

Here is the current Bipolar Disorder news.

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

To see the news visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews360

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:

Teen worries that her anger is a sign of bipolar disorder
DO> Today the internet has enabled people to do
some self diagnosis. This may be good but it
can be bad. What do you think?

Judge says man accused of decapitating daughter was insane
DO> Sad! This is the kind of thing that happens when someone
doesn’t have the right treatment.

Pros and Cons of Giving Adult Drugs to Children
DO> Very interesting article. Actually I don’t
even really having an opinion yet on this issue. Can you
believe that????

Britney may have bipolar disorder: reports
DO> Old news but still in the news.

Bright light therapy helps some with bipolar depression
DO> We have been saying this for years at bipolarcentral.com

Poor Britney Spears: Does she need Dr. Phil?
DO> In my opinion she does not. What do you think?

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews360

==>> 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,

How’s it going? I have had
a lot of people ask me about how
they can help a loved one with
bipolar disorder and an addiction.

I have a special going on for
28 people if you are looking for
guidance in that area. It sends
Tuesday,January 15, 2008 at 10:00pm

Take a look at:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolaraddictionsale

Thanks.

Dave

Hi,

What a day yesterday was. I had so many
bipolar emails, letters, phone calls all screaming
URGENT.

Sadly, I really see how mental health
places just collapse and so many
quit the field. It’s amazing how demanding
people can be.

I must say it’s starting to get overwhelming.

In addition to questions, I had a whole group of people
write me about this one said that
on my blog and someone said this
that and the other thing and they are
mad.

It’s so odd to me, but I think people
really just imagine that I have nothing
going on all day. That I am just
sitting around.

It’s amazing the kind of clear,
concise questions I get from
those who use my f.ree consultation
certificates.

When I get calls, f.ree consultations
certificates, etc. that ask:

What three questions can I ask
to qualify a doctor, that’s a great question.

How do I find a local support group

How do we deal with a doctor
that won’t talk to us

How do we find a great doctor?

These are GREAT specific questions.

When I get:

Help.

Do you know how many times I see
this a day? Know how many voicemails
I get that say, “help.” Keep in mind
these are almost from bipolar supporters.

I could see a person with bipolar
not being clear.

It amazes me. I just would
never say, “help?” I think in my head,
how in the world can I help them
if there is no specific question?

Or even worse than just help is someone
who tells me a really, really, really, really
long story and then really has no question
at all and just wants to vent.

The thing is, if I spend 45 minutes listening
to the story, I could have helped 4 to 7 people
with specific questions. See the problem?

Another thing that drives me crazy is someone
who hears a bipolar rumor and believes it.

The bipolar rumor is when one person
hears something about bipolar disorder
that is not based on truth about a rumor.

Here is how it generally goes.

I get an urgent, you need to talk to
so and so right away. It’s incredibly
urgent. URGENT. URGENT.

So I contact them.

Actually let me give you a real story.

I spoke with someone. This person started
yelling at me. She said:

You tell us to go to a good doctor and
that person will help get me on the
right medication, right?

I say, “Yep.”

Then this person said, “Well, I heard
that there is a cure for bipolar disorder
and I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

I heard this and I was like here we go
again.

So I find out this person heard, from

NOTE-You are going to think I am lying
but this is how it was.

heard from, a friend of a friend, of a friend
of a friend, of a friend of a friend, that his
friend had bipolar and now is cured.

NOTE there was so many friends involved
in the chain of information it was amazing.

The woman indicated that the person
took some kind of natural something or
another.

I said, “how do you know it’s true?”

Did you interview the person

Did you talk to their doctor/therapist?

Did you meet the person?

How long have they been “cured?”

Have you checked their finances?

Can they hold a steady job and be
in stable relationships?

Etc.

The person was like, “well, I don’t know
all that.”

I hear this all the time. It drives me
crazy.

Bipolar rumors are a huge problem.

The worst is when the rumor is spread
is the truth. In this case, this person took this bipolar
rumor and they tell someone they know about
someone they know who knows someone
they know who was cured of bipolar
disorder.

I once was volunteering and a BIPOLAR
SUPPORTER told me he heard that
people with bipolar disorder can lose
their arms from treatment.

I thought he was kidding. He said his friend
read it online and told him. He told me
his friend never lies that’s why he believed
him.

It’s crazy. Once people hear stuff,
they tell others.

Then they tell someone who tells
someone else who tells someone else…

Get the picture?

It reminds me of that commercial on TV
awhile back for some shampoo that
said (and showed), “And they’ll tell 2
people…and they’ll tell 2 people…and
they’ll tell 2 people…” and on and on
and on…

And all this telling people is all based
upon a RUMOR to begin with!!!

In my courses, I talk about how there
is no cure for bipolar disorder at this
time, but that doesn’t stop some
people from seeking out “alternative
therapies.” I even expose some of
these supposed “cures”:

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

It’s important to me for you to know
that there really is NOT a cure for
bipolar disorder at this time. That is a
sad fact, but at least there is treatment
for the disorder. It is NOT a death
sentence!

But for people to claim some
miraculous cure should be illegal!
In fact, it is unethical, if not illegal,
when some company tries to sell you
some product that claims to cure
bipolar disorder, you should KNOW
that it is bogus! It will never be able
to say that it is backed by the FDA,
and that is what you should look for.

When I read and see this is DRIVES
ME CRAZY. I get more mad than
I get about even the Britney stuff
I was writing about.

But these bipolar rumors are super dangerous! I know of
one woman who believed in this rumor.
She believed in it so much that she
stopped taking her medication, believing
that she was cured of bipolar disorder.
8 months later, she took a gun and
killed herself.

What was worse was that she not only
claimed this “cure” for herself, she told
MANY other people about it. They,
too, went off THEIR medication! And
they, too, went into bipolar episodes!

Luckily, they didn’t kill themselves,
because they had good supporters, and
they realized they really weren’t “cured,”
but just think about what could have
happened to them!

There really is NO CURE for bipolar
disorder at this time. And anyone
who claims that there is, is NOT telling
the truth – they are only spreading a
RUMOR. A potentially deadly RUMOR.

If you have found yourself in this
situation, I BEG YOU NOT TO
LISTEN TO THIS RUMOR! Please,
please, DO NOT GO OFF YOUR
MEDICATION, no matter what you
hear!

Thanks for listening. I really hope
you do listen.

I have to go, because I have a whole lot
of stuff to do today.

Catch you tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow is the bipolar
news.

Your friend,

Dave

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

P.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.P.S. 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/

P.P.P.P.S 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