Bipolar Supporter Blog

==>>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

Hi,

What’s new?

I hope things are going well for
you and you had a good day
yesterday.

I wanted to write about something
that I don’t think that I have written
about before. But it’s a serious
problem that has to do with bipolar
disorder.

I got an email from someone who
asked, “Can you drink when you
have bipolar disorder”

At first I thought, “What a silly
question,” because you see
commercials all the time on TV
about how not to drink alcohol
when taking this or that medication,
whichever one they’re advertising
for. But then I thought, well, they
never advertise for bipolar ones,
so maybe it’s a valid question
after all.

Either way, I decided to answer
it here, because I’m sure there are
more of you out there with the
same question.

First let me say, I have
never had a drink in my life.
I am not saying that to brag
just to let you know I don’t
speak from experience.

BUT, I haven’t jumped off a cliff either
doesn’t mean I have to do that
to know how bad it would be for
me 🙂

But I have done a lot, and I
mean a lot, of research into
bipolar disorder, as you know, and
along with that, there is a lot of
mention about people who have
the disorder who also have problems
with alcohol abuse.

Even by itself, without bipolar
disorder, alcohol can be a huge
problem. See, alcohol is a
depressant. Which is kind of
funny, because people who are
depressed don’t know that, and
they turn to alcohol to make them
feel better when they’re depressed.

And too many people end up as
alcoholics, with or without the
bipolar disorder to deal with as
well. But since I’m only talking
to people who have the disorder,
I’ll only talk about it in relation
to that.

Let’s just talk in terms of your
medications. There are all kinds
of warnings not to take alcohol
with your medication, aren’t there?

So it’s kind of a moot point to even
ask if you can drink if you have
bipolar disorder because of course
you will be taking medication for
your disorder.

That’s the simplest answer I can
come up with!

Drinking alcohol can be bad enough
in itself, but can be deadly for the
person with bipolar disorder, when
mixed with their bipolar medications.

In addition to this, there are so
many other bad things that alcohol
brings.

It can and usually does cause weight
gain. It causes people to eat more
when they are drinking. It causes
people to engage in relations with
people they normally wouldn’t.
It causes people to say things they
normally would not and get them
into trouble.

It causes them do possibly drive
drunk. It causes people to spend more
money they shouldn’t spend.

The reason why I have this list in my
head because I had this conversation
with a person in the gym that said, “How
come you never ever drink.” I gave her
the reasons.

As much as she wanted to NOT believe
what I said, she had to believe it
because everything was totally true.

This person by the way does drink and
and alcohol has caused many problems
for her.

If you go through my courses/systems
below, you will not find one high functioning
person with bipolar disorder that drinks.
I don’t know of one person at all.

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

And many of the people in my courses USE TO
drink and they indicate it made it almost impossible
for them to get their bipolar disorder under
control.

Oh, I forgot one more bad thing with alcohol.
Some who drink become violent.

I seriously might have 3000 horror stories
of people with bipolar disorder that were
drinking and not stable. If you think that
a person with bipolar disorder who is not
stable is bad, when you add alcohol it makes
it 100 to probably 1000 times worse.

This is going to sound crazy, but I would appreciate
if some people with bipolar disorder that use
to drink would post how bad drinking is on
my blog and warn others.

Now if you have a loved one with bipolar
disorder and that person doesn’t drink and you
the bipolar supporter does, I would recommend
you stop drinking. I would recommend you
get rid of alcohol in the house as well.
It’s just a good policy.

Well, I’m off again! So many places I
have to go.

Catcha.

Your friend,

Dave
–
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.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.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

==>>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

Hi,

How’s it going?

I don’t have much time today because
I have a whole lot of things to do.

Let’s jump into today’s topic.

I have gotten my emails from people
totally frustrated with trying to help
their loved one with bipolar disorder.

One theme that I hear is that nobody
in the mental health system knows anything
about how to help them. People feel
essentially that most people in mental
health are totally clueless.

Ever find yourself in this situation?
You have a bunch of problems related
to bipolar disorder and you just
can’t get answers.

I find that when you are feeling like this,
you have to look at a few things. Here
are some of them:

1. Do you have a list of pressing problems
that needs solutions written down AND prioritized?

2. Are your problems specific?

3. Are you asking the right people?

Most people violate number 1 and
2. That is, they really don’t know which
problems they really have and they are not
prioritized or organized at all.

Finally of the people that do have steps
1 and 2 completed, they are NOT asking
the right people for advice/help.

This is a huge mistake that leads to
a whole lot of trouble.

Many questions get directed to doctors
and many times doctors can only answer
questions related to specific things
about bipolar disorder like bipolar
treatment issues, bipolar medications
or generally questions about bipolar disorder.

But there are so many things that are related
to bipolar disorder that aren’t in the list
I just mentioned.

Things like:

-How to get a loved one to take medication
-How to get a loved one into treatment that doesn’t
want to go
-How to get a loved one on disability
-How to get a loved one a job
-What to do when a loved one has been discriminated
against because of his/her’s bipolar disorder
-How to get out of d.ebt because of bipolar disorder
-How to afford bipolar medication when there is no health
insurance
Etc.

These types of questions, doctors many times don’t
have answers.

I actually should say right now:

I am NOT a doctor, therapist, insurance person,
lawyer and any kind of professional. I am just giving
my opinion. You should question any thing that
I say. I provide opinions that are good starting
points for you to do further research. I never
want anyone to believe that I am a doctor because
I am NOT one and that’s why I say this so many
times.

Okay done with the disclaimer and back to my point.

But I find that frustration sets in when people
wind up asking the wrong people things that
they can’t answer or can’t answer well.
Some people can answer but provide such
complex answers or ones far too vague
to be useful.

The bottom line is, you really need to carefully research
who can help you with the questions that you have.
And you should ask potential people you might
think can help you a question like, “How much
experience do you have with [what ever pressing
problem you have]”

By asking this simple question to who ever
you think might be able to help you enables
you to gauge whether or not they
can indeed help you.

I have also found that many times you have to look outside
the mental health industry to get answers/solutions
to your questions or problems. This is kind of confusing
but let me try to explain.

Okay, there was a time that my mom came home
from the outpatient program and her insurance
ran out. They basically said she was out of the
program and needed to find a new doctor IMMEDIATELY.

As a side note, I will never forget how stressed
out when this problem was dumped on me.

Anyway my dad panicked. He went to the phone
book and looked for doctors. He called 3. Nobody answered.
He left messages.

He waited a hour for a call back and then looked
depressed and said, and I will never forget this,
“I guess there aren’t enough doctors to go around.”

I then panicked. But I said, I have to do something
different. I called around to ask people in the mental
health field how to find a doctor. I heard the normal
stuff. Referrals. Phone book. Etc. People kind of
thought of it as a lottery. Maybe we would get a
good doctor for my mom, maybe not.

Anyway, it hit me that I had a system of finding
a great accountant. I could use this system
to find a great doctor. I outlined my system
to my dad. He thought it was crazy but said
let’s try. I called mental health professionals
and asked them. This one guy, laughed at me. He
ran an entire program. He told me there was
no way it would work.

I asked him if he had a better idea. He told
me to call into the phone book. Let me back up
and say that I actually did try this. I called
every doctor in the phone book. It was a nightmare.
I didn’t find anyone. It’s so hard to keep track
of who you called. In my opinion it’s almost
an “insane” way of finding a doctor but every
always says it as a good way.

Anyway, I adapted my system for finding an accountant
for finding a doctor and it’s was incredibly
successful. My mom had more than 8 highly qualified
doctors contact me and say they could help.

The only reason that I was able to make this
happen was because I had a specific goal in
mind–find a good doctor and I did NOT listen
to the people who could not help me. If I would
have, my mom probably would still not be better
today.

In my courses/systems below, if you got them, you
see how powerful my doctor finding system is.

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

And many people have commented that many of the
ideas and strategies are unheard of in the mental
health industry. The reason is because most of them
were invented by me or borrowed from other
people in other areas and they were adapted into
mental health. When I first started helping
my mom, I found most of the mental health
system made no sense and was backwards. I kind
of felt like it was from the dark ages.

The key decision I made was to never ask the
wrong people for help. Never listen to people
who have no clue and to constantly try to
think outside the box and realize that most of
the common solutions to problems with bipolar
disorder don’t work well at all so you have
to look else where.

Another tip is to find people who have
already learned what you have learned. This is
how I got my start on how to find health insurance
for my mom. I found one lady that had one key starting
piece of information on how to get discount medication.
It was her idea that really helped me formulate my
entire “cafeteria” approach to getting affordable
health insurance.

Well I have to run. I hope this all makes sense
to you.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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.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

==>>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

Hey,

What’s new? Still up in Connecticut coming
home today.

How’s it going today? I was thinking about
something last night that’s been on my mind.

You know, I get a lot of emails and calls asking me
some of the same questions, and one of the biggest
questions I get is what NOT to say to someone
who’s in an episode.

There are two big comments you shouldn’t say to
someone in a bipolar episode. The first one is:
“I know how you feel.” Because they will just
get madder at you and say, “There’s no way you
can know how I feel because you don’t have
bipolar disorder.” Or something like that.

And that’s true. You don’t have the disorder. So
you can’t truly know how they feel. And saying
this can sometimes make them so mad (and even
put them into a rage) that they’ll start screaming
at you, which is what you don’t want.

It would be better if you said something like,
“I can understand why you feel the way you do.”
This way you’re acknowledging they’re feelings,
but you’re not antagonizing them, either.
Especially if you stay calm and say it in a soft
voice.

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

The second thing you shouldn’t say is, “I told
you so.” Even if you warned them against
excessive spending, and they went ahead and
did it anyway, and you feel you have every right
to say I told you so… you still need to bite your
tongue.

Because even though it might make you
feel better to say it in the short run, in the long
run, you’re going to pay for it. Your loved one
will get angry and yell at you for it, and it won’t
accomplish anything positive. It will just make
them madder.

These are just two of the things that you shouldn’t
say to a loved one while they are in a bipolar
episode. Of course, there are many more.

The main thing is not to take it personal when
they’re yelling at you, and to stay calm. That way
you won’t yell back at them and say things you
might regret or things that will just make them more
angry at you.

Hey, I have to take off to get ready. I have
a really, really, really, really long drive
ahead of me.

Oh last night, I got a call from someone on
my cell at 3:31 am asking, “Hey, are you
David Oliver and do you help people who
are helping people with bipolar disorder?”

I don’t even know what I said because I was
so tired. I think 10,000 people have my
cell phone number. Last month. I did 12,000
minutes on my cell phone. That’s crazy.

See you.

Your friend,

Dave
–
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.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.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

==>>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

Hey,

How’s it going? I am actually in upstate Connecticut
this weekend doing some research.

I am heading out but I wanted to write you really
quick.

You see, I get a lot of emails from people who just
complain a lot about being supporters of a loved one
with bipolar disorder, about how it keeps them
from doing the things they want to do, and
having the life they want to have, etc., etc.,
and that bothers me a real lot.

I’ll tell you why that bothers me so much. Because
I know someone else who is a supporter, who never
seems to complain about it at all! She just goes along
with her life as if she doesn’t even have a problem at
at all with being a supporter! And she just has the best
attitude of anyone I’ve ever seen. She’s has this
real positive attitude, not like the complainers I get
who have a real negative attitude about everything.

Which person do you think I would rather talk to?

You’re right! Because the second person lifts me
up when I talk to her, and makes me feel better.

So we have two different people, both supporters,
both with the same set of problems. So what’s the
difference between them? Their attitude!

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

In my courses, I go over this. I talk about how
you need to have a positive attitude, or it will just
bring you down, and then nobody will even want to
be around you, your own health and well-being will
suffer, and stuff like that. In other words, it just
isn’t healthy for you to have a bad attitude or to
complain about being a supporter of a loved one
with bipolar disorder.

So let’s look at the second supporter. If she has a
bad attitude at all, it’s against the disorder itself.
She says she’s not going to let the disorder rule
her life – that she is the one who is going to be in
control, not the disorder. She says that she has a
choice in how she feels, and she chooses to feel
positive.

I think we can all take a lesson in that.

Furthermore, I find that supporters with bad
attitudes wind up driving people away that
can help their loved ones.

Many people can forgive someone with bipolar
disorder saying and doing things that aren’t
right but when the supporter is saying and
doing things that aren’t right, people
wind up saying, “Hey I am staying away
from that person.”

I find the worst thing to do and say is
to have a poor attitude. Nobody really likes
a supporter with one. Even professionals who
are trained to cope and deal with such
suppporters secretly have told me how
they dred certain bipolar supporters they
have to deal with because they are
so darn negative.

Well, I’m off to another meeting. See
you tomorrow.

Your friend,

Dave
–
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.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.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,

Here is the current Bipolar Disorder news.

Also, if you have bipolar disorder and haven’t taken
a look at the 7 secrets to living with bipolar
disorder, please do by visiting:

http://www.survivebipolar.net/bipolarsecretsreport/

Make sure you take a look at the news too. I really work
hard to put it together for you :).

To see the news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews343

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:

Manic Phase Of Bipolar Disorder Benefits From Breast Cancer Medication
DO>VERY interesting article

Researchers Test Seasickness patches, other current drugs for bipolar disorder
DO> This is amazing

Cancer drug hints at treatment for bipolar disorder

Breast cancer pill helped bipolar mania: study

Huge Increase in Bipolar Diagnoses in Youth, Study Reports
DO> Do you think it’s because of an over diagnosis or because more kids have bipolar?
Read article then decide.

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews343

My Resources For Bipolar:

Your Friend,

Dave

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

==>>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

Hey,

What’s going on?

I was writing really quick before I head
off to the gym.

Someone asked me the other day on the phone
about why I harp so much on m.oney and bipolar
disorder in my articles.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

I have had to put “.” in words so they
don’t get caught in spam filters. I am not
losing it or going in insane just in case
you were wondering :).

Okay, here we go.

I got an email that also said:

“Dave, I love your stuff but why do you
have a tape called Bipolar and Money?
What’s m.oney have to do with bipolar
disorder? I am totally confused?????
Are you saying m.oney can cause
bipolar disorder?”
—Mary

Actually over the last few months I have
talked about m.oney and bipolar less
because it’s not a problem for my mom any
more. Back in the day, it was a HUGE
problem. The stories I could tell you.
The d.ebt collectors I had to deal with.
It was amazing.

But I am reinspired to write more about
m.oney and bipolar disorder.

The one thing about bipolar disorder is, it
winds up costing many people a ton of money.
The person with bipolar disorder and the people
around them.

One of the major reasons that I spend so much time
talking about f.inances and bipolar disorder because
many times a person goes into a bipolar disorder
episode and spends m.oney without really thinking
it all through. Slowly over time, MASSIVE d.ebt is
incurred. D.ebt that is so large it cripples
the person who has bipolar disorder and all
the people around them.

This happen with my mom. So many people
were suffering that I did a teleseminar
on how to handle this. Actually looking
back that was really cool. I had more
than 500 people on a phone teaching
my methods on how to handle the
situation.

From the teleseminar, I created a course on
h.ow to get out of de.bt faster from bipolar disorder
at:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/debtletter/

If you don’t know how bipolar disorder
can bankrupt someone and then the people
around that person here’s how it works.

Someone has bipolar disorder, he/she
then goes into an episode. Remember
it’s a mood disorder so the person starts
doing things they normally wouldn’t do
and doing many things that are impulsive
like spending money.

The person starts buying stuff with the m.oney
they have and then they can get c.redit c.ards.
Then take out l.oans or find all kinds of ways
to get m.oney to keep on spending.

Then after that they wind up borrowing from
other people close to them and making up
great reasons why they should. People
believe and give more m.oney.

The m.oney starts to feed the mania. It’s
kind of like gas that’s put on a fire
and it makes things worse. The mania
gets worse and worse and worse.

In some cases, people are in episodes
and take out loans, c.redit cards and
other financial vehicles in other
people’s name and use the money.

Then here comes the interest. When you
borrow m.oney you get charged interest.

So the people get into a situation where
the i.nterest is so great they can’t
afford it. They miss payments. Then the
i.nterest rates goes even higher and
it’s more difficult.

Eventually it turns into a super nightmare.

The entire thing is a huge financial mess.

Then it gets worse. All the d.ebt start
to catch up with people and they can’t afford
anything. The stress of the de.bt winds up
causing the bipolar episode to get worse.

By the time someone figures it out d.ebts
can be huge…into the multi tens of thousands
of dollars.

Over the years, I have spoken to millionaires
bankrupted by this process. I have talked to
people who have lost $100,000, $350,000,
1.1 million, 1.5 million. I myself lost
more than $250,000 from bipolar disorder.
It sounds crazy like we (those who have
lost this much) are making it up,
exaggerating or lying. We aren’t. Trust
us. It can happen.

Keep in mind, this is all done with someone
who is in a bipolar episode not when they
are stable. Don’t think that I am attacking
all people with bipolar disorder who are
stable because I am not.

Some people believe that it’s not going
to happen to them.

“Dave, my wife would never do what your
mom did. No offense. She is good
with m.oney.”
Stan

That person stan wrote me more than
2 years ago. He is now b.ankrupt. His
wife destroyed his f.inances. He had
no protection systems. She went into a
super episode and took him down financially.
Before this happen I warned him. He didn’t
listen.

I don’t even know what happen to him. His
phone numbers don’t work. It was really
sad because he was like 60 something.

This is a touchy subject but I want to
bring it up. It’s just so important.

Now, once you have huge de.bts it’s
almost impossible to help someone
become stable. You wind up having no
money for all kinds of things that
require money like, medication, doctors,
therapy, etc.

This problem is so serious I created a program
for people to generate fast cash in this
situation:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarfastcash/

There were so many people desperate for
ways to get money right away for the bare
essentials so that’s why I created that program.

How Do You Stop/Prevent The Nightmare?

There are a few important steps to be
taken to prevent this disaster from happening
to you.

First, you have to get yourself stable
if you have bipolar disorder or if you
are a supporter help your loved one
become stable.

You do this through everything I write
every day or the information 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

If a person is not stable and has bipolar disorder
there is a huge risk of what I describe happening.

After this is accomplished, it’s is VERY important
to setup systems to protect finances because we know
that if you have bipolar disorder, you
could go into another episode and wind up
spending so much money that it bankrupts
yourself and everyone around you.

Finally you have to work to eliminate the
d.ebt that has been incurred. My mom has
been working on this. She racked up over $30,000
of de.bt and now is almost totally de.bt free
for the first time in more than 20 years.

Anyway, I wanted to write why I hard on
m.oney and bipolar disorder. Some thought
I was crazy because I did.

I would appreciate if people would share
stories of what can happen. There are thousands
of people on my list that think what I described
is not possible. Let’s try to motivate them
to know it is possible.

See you tomorrow. Oh tomorrow is the bipolar
disorder news.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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.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

==>>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

Hi,

How’s it going? Hope all is well with you.

I got a very interesting email from someone that
said:

“I am wondering if anyone can help me
distinguish between a bipolar episode and
typical behavior?

Any advice and or suggestions would be
appreciated.”

I get this email a lot. I am actually
going to record a podcast about it
but in the meantime, I wanted to write
an email about it.

Now I will be the first to say, this is
a VERY complicated thing to explain
via email but I will try to do my best.

First let’s take a look at some of the
things that I have learned:

-People with bipolar disorder are allowed to have
emotions (anger, sadness, happiness, etc.)

-Everything isn’t bipolar disorder

-Some things are signs of a potential bipolar
episode and some things aren’t.

First I have found it takes time to figure out
what is bipolar and what is normal behavior.

The first step is to set a goal of trying to
figure out which is which. Some people, my dad
for many decades and currently my brother never
set this as a goal. As a result the struggled
to figure it out.

I set it as a goal about 3 months after my
mom was stable.

The second important point is to realize that
the longer you work on trying to figure this
out, the easier it is. So there is no instant
quick fix.

The next thing you do is when you have something
in question, you ask yourself:

What was the person like when you first met him/her
and how does this compare to what you are seeing
or hearing now.

How did the person act when you first met him/her and
how does this compare to what you are seeing or hearing
now.

How would you act in the situation you think may be
a sign of bipolar disorder.

In reference to the last point I just made, I remember
a few years ago when my brother’s wife’s brother
said something really stupid at Thanksgiving. He said
that people with bipolar disorder “have their wires
crossed.” He then went on to say other stupid
things.

My mom got mad but didn’t say anything at all. I was
SUPER MAD about it. I wanted to confront him but
my mom made me promise that I wouldn’t ruin Thanksgiving.

So after Thanksgiving, my mom got home and called her
sister (my aunt) to vent about it. My aunt called me
to ask if I thought my mom was going into another
episode and was this a sign.

I said no because a normal person without bipolar
disorder would have done the same thing. She agreed.
Make sense?

I remember this other time that someone cut
my mom off on the highway. And I guess the
person screamed at her as well and made
mean hand gestures. My mom told my dad and
myself about it and she was mad.

My dad asked if I thought she was going
into an episode. I then reminded him that
he gets mad at people if they don’t use
their blinker and he goes on and on and on
and on and on about it. My point to him
was, if you get cut off, screamed at, and
someone makes weird hand gestures at you,
it will probably make you mad. That’s normal.

Now if my mom had day after day of getting
into conflict or having these situations occur,
I might think that is an episode.

It’s really hard to write how I figure this all
out but I tried. I hope it makes sense.

In all my courses/systems, I talk about this at
length and go into it from a to z.

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

For me, after several years of supporting
my mom it’s rather easy for me to know
which is which these days.

But for my dad, it’s still difficult. I am not
sure why it’s so hard for him. Actually
I don’t think he really has made a commitment
to determine which is which. I think he just
figures he can ask me 🙂

Now another point. When people with bipolar
disorder go into episodes they may misperceive
what is going on and relay things that are not
true…otherwise known as lie.

Now if a person is normally honest but starts lying
then that means that probably is related to bipolar
disorder.

But on the flip side, if someone lies all the time,
then that’s their personality and is not bipolar
disorder.

The final thing you can consider is the bipolar
stability equation. If you look and see if all
the variables in the equation are okay and if
they are, and you are questioning a behavior,
it’s probably NOT related to bipolar disorder.

I hope this all make sense. I spent more than 1
hour trying to relay this in the best possible
way. I hope I didn’t confuse you.

I have to run.

Catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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.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

==>>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

Hey,

How are you today? I hope you had a
good day yesterday.

I want to ask you one simple question
right now. What do you think the single
worst thing you can do with a loved
one who is NOT stable and has
bipolar disorder?

I want to you think long and hard
and then scroll down for my answer.

Don’t cheat. Guess first and then scroll.

It’s to do absolutely nothing. It’s to be paralyzed.

There is a concept that I coined call bipolar
supporter paralysis.

What to do when you experience bipolar
supporter paralysis?

I think there are two steps. You need
to get away and clear your heard. Too
many times when you are trying to help
a loved one with bipolar disorder, you
are so close and so caught up in it
that you simply can’t think of anything
that will help or work.

Where can you go?

-The movies
-A friends
-The Park
-A walk
-In your car for a long drive
-A hotel for a night
-Somewhere that’s fun and gets your mind off things

Then after you have “cleared your head”,
you make a list of potential options
to deal with the most pressing problem
at hand.

SIDE NOTE: Sometimes we get caught up
in insignificant problems like, “I am
mad at the receptionist at my loved
one’s doctor because she lost
my power of attorney form.”

That actually happen to me and
I was so mad but then I was like, “Hey
after I fix the other important bipolar problems,
I can deal with this which is not that
significant.”

So don’t get caught up in the non important
things.

Now after you have your most pressing bipolar disorder
problem, start to make a list of potential solutions.

You get a blank sheet of paper or blank sheets
of paper and you start to list potential solutions
to your most pressing problem with bipolar disorder.

HERE’S AN IMPORTANT KEY

Your list of solutions has to be immediate and
free flow. Free flow means there is no restrictions
on what you write. You just write really fast.

WARNING!!!
Do not worry about grammar, spelling, what you are
saying or even if it makes any sense.

Now after you have your list, read your list,
then go to sleep. First thing in the morning, do
the exercise again. Then read your old and new list
together before bedtime and then do the exercise
again one last time.

If you do this you will find solutions to even
your greatest problems with bipolar disorder.

This technique helps to overcome bipolar supporter
paralysis which causes people.

Now one of the things that you can do is the following.
Get the course/system that is appropriate for you
and go through the entire thing from a to z.

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

Then what happens is the information is stored in
your head and using this process you wind up
having solutions to problems with bipolar
disorder that previously seemed impossible.

If anyone has gotten my course/system you know
I have a doctor finding system. The way I find
doctors was the result of this process. People
laughed at me when I said what I was going to
do but for those of you who followed the system,
you know it works and it works really well. Period.

Well I have to run. Catch you tomorrow. Have a great
day.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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.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

==>>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

Hey,

How’s it going? Hope you had a good day
yesterday.

I got a very interesting email from
someone who said to me:

“Dave, I swear that I am going crazy.
I have a loved one with bipolar disorder
and she acts really crazy. I seriously
had no idea whatt to do about it
until I found your sight…

Here is what she does that drives
me crazy. She says I am the one who
is sick. Everything that I tell her
she is doing, she tells me I am doing
and sometimes I start to think
she is right maybe. I don’t know. I
am so run down and my life is now a
wreck like hers. I need help.
I think I am going crazy
or maybe catching bipolar from her.”
–Jimmy

I have seen this condition when someone
who is a bipolar supporter actually winds up
feeling like they are “losing it” or possibly
even start acting like the person who is
not stable with bipolar disorder.

This is an interesting phenomenon that occurred
me with and my mom. When she was really, really
unstable I wound up like the following:

-Not sleeping
-Not eating
-Not shaving
-Rambling all the time
-Angry
-Snapping at people
-Losing tons of weight
-Disoriented
-Unable to make good decisions
-Not doing well in my day job

Now when you think about it, these are
some of the same characteristics
of someone who is in a bipolar episode.

So there I was, the bipolar supporter
who wound up acting like the person
who was unstable with the disorder.

I have seen so many situations where
the bipolar supporter winds up seeming
like they have caught bipolar disorder
from the person they are supporting.

The turning point for me to avoid this
feeling was when I decided to learn
everything I could about bipolar disorder
and start being proactive not reactive.

When I was proactive, I stopped arguing
with my mom and started to figure out
what she needed: the right medication,
a good doctor, a plan to pay off her de.bts,
a good therapist, a way to manage bipolar
disorder, etc.

If you got 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

You can see that I have lived through it
all and have lots of practical solutions to
virtually all the problems that someone
with bipolar disorder may have, someone
who is supporting an adult with bipolar
disorder or someone who is support a teenager
or child with bipolar disorder.

The thing is, if you aren’t proactive and you
are reactive, you will wind up getting in a
situation where you start to manifest the behaviors
of a person who is NOT stable with bipolar disorder.

This is exactly what is going on with Jimmy
above. He thinks he is going crazy because
right now, his wife’s bipolar disorder is controlling
him. Her bipolar disorder does something and then
Jimmy reacts. So he winds up being led by bipolar
disorder. That might sound confusing but that’s the
situation that so many supporters find themselves
in.

If you feel this is happening to you, start to be
proactive. Get as much information as you can to
get a good doctor, therapist and a way to manage
either your own bipolar disorder or your loved
one’s depending on what your situation is.

If you don’t take action and be proactive,
you wind up second guessing yourself, thinking
you are going crazy, feeling like you have
bipolar disorder and ultimately being so
confused that you become paralyzed and unable
to do anything.

Make a list today of exactly what problems
you are having. Then go one by one and start
looking for solutions but don’t just sit
around and hope things get better because
they won’t. They will get worse and you
could in some cases be in a situation
where you feel like you are catching bipolar
disorder.

IMPORTANT NOTE
I want to say one thing. You can’t really catch
bipolar disorder. It is NOT a contiguous
disease.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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.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

==>>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

Hi,

How’s it going? I got trapped in ez pass
yesterday while driving and I was super angry!

It was this totally ridiculous experience of
trying to drive through the ezpass toll booth.

But the good news is, there’s an important
bipolar disorer lesson for you to learn from my
ezpass driving nightmare.

Here’s what they say ezpass is on their website:

E-ZPass is a remarkable toll collection technology
that makes traveling more convenient, helps you save
money through discount plans offered by many toll
facilities, and helps reduce traffic congestion
for everyone.

Conventional toll collection methods require you to
deposit coins, tickets, and tokens at toll plazas.
This challenges highway capacity because the number
of vehicles that can be processed at toll plazas is limited.

With E-ZPass’ electronic toll collection (ETC) technology,
account information on an electronic tag installed in
your car is read by a receiving antenna at the toll
plaza. The toll is electronically deducted from your
prepaid toll account. Not only does E-ZPass make
toll collection more convenient for you, it helps
achieve a number of benefits for everyone.”

So I as coming up on a toll yesterday and I saw
the ezpass. I wasn’t sure if I should just fly right
through or slow down. There was one of those arm
things that is down and has to raise up so I slowed
down. It worked fine for the person in front of me.

So I was kind of nervous and thinking, “I hope I
put my ezpass thing on right?” Then I was thinking,
“I wonder if my ezpass thing fell off?” “Then I said
maybe I should just pay?”

I had all these negative thoughts since it was
my first time.

IMPORTANT BIPOLAR LESSON COMING UP

So I come up and there’s people behind me. I stop
and guess what? The arm thing doesn’t raise.

So then I am like sitting there and kind of stuck
in ezpass limbo.

People behind me are super mad. I was like, “what the
heck it’s not my fault that this system isn’t EASY?”

So then I panicked. I didn’t know if I would have to
get out of my car or what. I didn’t even see anyone
who worked at the toll booth. And worse yet, people
were stacking up behind me probably thinking, “What
a moron, he doesn’t have ezpass and he is trying
to get through and he doesn’t have it.” People wanted
to hang me. I looked in my mirror and saw a sea
of angry ezpass users.

So finally after some time of beeping, an ezpass person
came out and looked at me and then the arm raised.

Who knows what the heck happen. I was probably get
like a fine in the mail or something.

Anyway, I was mad. I felt dumb like hey
100 million other people can go through ezpass
EASILY.

Then I thought maybe I got sold a bad ezpass
thing that or whatever it’s called that goes
on your car.

I was soooooooooooooooo mad. I wasn’t sure who
to be mad at however.

So I got to my friends and I was mad. My friend was
all excited that I came over to help move a bunch of
stuff around in the house.

After like 20 minutes my friend says, “what’s wrong,
you seem so angry.” So then I said, “I am!!!!!” I told
them the ezpass story and they were like, “well it’s
not the end of the world.”

So then for the next hour I was still mad. But
then, it hit me.

When You Have Trouble In One Area, You Should Spill
It Over To Other Areas.

Then I was thinking about bipolar supporters who
are angry about their loved one’s bipolar disorder
and wind up taking that angry out on anyone and
everyone around them.

Is this you?

I know this has happen to me back in the day. My mom
would scream and yell at me. I had no idea what to
do to help her. I had all kinds of problems. I wasn’t
getting any sleep.

I then would walk into let’s say a store. The person
would say the slightest thing to me and I would take
it out on them.

I did the same with my friends. Slowly, nobody wanted
to talk to me because I was so angry and taking it
out on everyone.

This past Friday I was on the phone with some bipolar
supporters that were super hostile towards me. They
yelled at me. One called me stupid. There was like
5 in a day. It was tough to deal with.

I was so annoyed at one person that I said, “Sir,
please don’t take your situation out on me, I didn’t
do anything to you.”

He had ordered my bipolar supporter master course,
and his wife threw it away. He was mad at me
for well I have no idea. I said “sir I am not sure
what to tell you, I don’t have control over your
wife.” Then he screamed at me, saying I wasn’t
helpful and it was my fault and then he hung up
on me.

I was thinking that this guy is transferring his
anger at bipolar disorder to me and I wonder who
else he is doing this with.

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

One concept that is covered for both the people
with bipolar disorder and those who are bipolar
supporters is how to handle anger from the
disorder.

It’s really important that you do. Because if
you don’t, you can seriously find yourself alone.

There are many bipolar supporters that I know
that nobody wants to be around because they are so
angry all the time. These same people also wind up
getting fired at work, having virtually no friends,
no fun and can’t really have any kind of life.

Back to my situation yesterday, after I realized what
I was doing, I stopped being angry and told my friend
sorry. I then realized that if I did get a fine from
ezpass it’s like $25 and I will fight it tooth and nail
because I paid for ezpass even if the stupid ezpass
thing doesn’t work right.

The big lesson here is don’t let your anger about
bipolar disorder spill over to all areas of your life.

Hey I have to run. See you tomorrow.

Your Friend,

Dave

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.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.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