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

Hey,

What’s new? I actually got a super late start today
and I have to kind of speed things along. I have
to leave work early today because tonight I am
volunteering.

Where do I volunteer? I volunteer at a group
that helps those with various mental illnesses
such as bipolar disorder, depression, borderline
personality disorder, schizophrenia, etc.

Actually as a side note, it’s very rare that
someone with or caring for someone with
schizophrenia comes. hmmm. I wonder if
that’s a marketing problem.

Anyway, tonight I am sure that I will
have a new list of things to talk about
and cover.

Okay let’s jump into today’s topic.

It’s actually as a result of talking
to someone that works for me. We
were talking about all the natural
treatment scams that are promoted
for bipolar disorder. There’s a bunch
of them.

Then the person who worked for me said
to me an incredible alternative therapy
that most people don’t think of and
many don’t even think it’s natural.

You know what it is? It’s therapy.

Why is it shocking? It’s shocking
because people don’t really consider
it natural.

Now before you hit delete and get
mad and don’t think this is as exciting
as I do…read on.

I never really thought of therapy as
natural either but it is. Think about
it. What’s unnatural about therapy?
Nothing. And best of all it works,
and works well.

My mom never use to go t therapy but now
she does. That was part of her plan. Part
of her bipolar stability equation. I must
say, my dad and I have clearly seen
that my mom does really well when she
is regularly going to therapy versus
when she isn’t. No question about it!

I am not sure why therapy doesn’t get
more promotion. I think because drug
companies don’t make any money off of
it. Neither do most doctors. I find that
some doctors feel therapy competes with
them in a strange way. That’s SOME
not all doctors.

I discovered how important and successful
therapy AND medication was and I write
about it in my guide called:
My Findings: Vitamins, Herbs, and Alternative
Therapies for Treating Bipolar Disorder.

Many people have gotten it but if you want
it, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/alternativetherapies/

Anyway, during my research and the doctors I paid
to research it was clear how important therapy
was and is. BUT in my opinion, it must be used
in conjunction with medication. But let
me say for the 1000th time:

I am NOT a doctor, therapist, lawyer,
or other kind of professional. These are my
opinions. You should check out everything
I say from A to Z. I am just providing
opinions not giving medical advice.

Note I am no longer going to add that I am
not a dog catcher like some have asked
before. I think it’s pretty clear.

Anyway, I will say this about alternative
and natural treatments for bipolar disorder,
you MUST tell your doctor about them and
you MUST work with your doctor when you
introduce them. Period.

Many people hide stuff from their doctors.
If you hide stuff from your doctor, you are
a fool. And you are asking for big, huge
problems down the road.

In my opinion you should clear EVERYTHING
with your doctor. My mom learned this the hard
way. She was kind of doing stuff and the stuff
she was doing was making her less and less
stable. As a result, she runs everything
past her bipolar disorder doctor.

Anyway, I really encourage everyone with
bipolar disorder to seriously look into
therapy. It has tremendous benefits. And
I mean tremendous benefits.

In my courses/systems below, I have
done so many interviews with bipolar
supporters and bipolar survivors
that believe therapy helped make a
key difference.

If you want more information, please visit
the links 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

But I really want you to think today
if you haven’t considered therapy
that it has tremendous benefits. If you
haven’t considered it, visit your doctor
and speak with him her.

If you are a bipolar supporter, talk it
over with your loved one. If you loved one
is an bipolar disorder episode, make a mental
note and when he/she is more stable, remember
to mention it.

Lastly, I want to say to the people who think
therapy is a waste of money because you are
paying someone to listen to you talk to them,
it’s totally not true.

I really hope that some people on my list,
post some comments on the benefits of therapy.
If you have a comment, please post it.

Anyway, I have to run. Have a great day
and 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

Hi,

How’s it going? Hope your Tuesday is going well.
Actually some people it’s Wednesday and I think
some people it’s Monday. Well hope your day is
going well. It’s really hard with over 100,000
people on the list now:)

Anyway I got a rather alarming email:

“Hey Dave! I love your information and
thanks for it. It’s been really helpful
to me. I should have written earlier
and said thanks. We found an incredible
doctor that has helped my son. This
doctor is great like I think you say
your mom’s doctor is great. I am so
happy. She is the best and we could
never find anyone else. She’s the only
good doctor that has helped. I hopes
she stays a doctor forever.”
-Jane

Do you know why this email is so alarming?
I want you to really think about it
and then scroll down for the answer.
Think about how I think and what my philosophy
is. I know that some will get it right
but many won’t.

So think now of the answer and then scroll.

Did you think of it? NO cheating. I will catch you 🙂
Scroll down…

Have you answer? Scroll down..

Okay there are a lot of issues here. The first
being Jane has ONE doctor and no backup doctors.
Jane doesn’t think she could get another doctor.
She couldn’t have used my doctor finding system
in full because it’s almost impossible to not
have a whole lot of “good” and “great” bipolar
doctors to choose from.

If you are interested in my doctor finding
system, it’s in any course/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

It’s about 40 pages long and a audio
material.

Anyway, finally Jane is assuming
the doctor will practice forever…not going
to happen. No doctor will stay in practice forever.

Let me tell you a story. When I was supporting
my mom, she had a terrible doctor. He was a total
joke. My mom told me how he would fall asleep
during their appointments. When my mom was
in bipolar episodes it was super easy for her
bipolar disorder to run circles around him.

Anyway, she got really sick, then went to the
hospital and then went to the bipolar outpatient program
where no one helped her. I then had to invent
my doctor finding system because my mom was
kicked out of the program because insurance ran
out and she needed a new doctor.

My dad went to the phone book and looked and
called 3 people. Nobody picked up. He left messages.
No one returned his calls. He said standing in the
kitchen, and I quote, “I guess there just aren’t
enough doctors to go around.”

I was thinking, “What the heck? That’s a bad
attitude.” I knew there were great doctors
but you have to find them.

Anyway, invented my doctor finding system so
highly qualified doctors would contact a person
instead of a person contacting the highly qualified
doctor. It was a strange concept that people at
the outpatient program laughed at and said that
“this will never work.” It did.

Okay so my mom’s current doctor contacted me
and said she could help. She was totally qualified.
Did I stop there? NO! I said to my self, “Self, we
need a backup doctor and I want the ability to
get doctors on demand….if her current doctor
quits, gets sick, etc, we will have backups and
if the backups fail we will know how to get more
super qualified people.”

So as it stands we have backup doctors and we
can easily start the doctor finding system again
to find someone new if we have to. No question
about it.

Jane on the other hand has one doctor. I would
suspect she used 20% of my doctor finding system
and landed on a great bipolar doctor. I would
guess she didn’t use the entire thing. She that’s
why she feel like she is lucky. I don’t like counting
on luck. I really don’t. I hate it. I work to create
systems and techniques that work based no effort
not luck.

Anyway, if you have just one doctor, ask yourself
“Do I have a backup and do I have a way to find a
backup?” If you do, great if not, watch out.

Hey I have to run and do some conference calls
in my consulting business. You have a great day
and I will catch you tomorrow. Oh I have some
great news for you. I have tell 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

Hi,

How’s it going? I am kind of annoyed. My cell
phone isn’t working. I pay so much money
for a cell phone and it never works right?
Ever call Sprint customer service? It’s like
dealing with 100 bipolar episodes.

Anyway let’s talk about what we have to talk
about today.

I have been getting a lot of communications
(via email, phone, blog, letters in the
mail) about how do you know.

First let me say this. It’s a skill to
know what’s part of a bipolar disorder
episode or what can lead up to one
versus what is a person’s normal
behavior.

Today I am going to give you one technique
that you can use to help yourself figure
it out. This isn’t the only technique
but only one.

Here’s what you do. You get a blank sheet
of paper and you write down answers
to when you FIRST met the person that
you are supporting.

How did the person normally treat people
What type of language did the person normally use
How kind was he/she
Did he/she curse
Did he/she curse in a mean way towards you
Did he/she yell at you
Was he/she caring?

I think you get the idea. You write down
these answers.

Then step two is to envision the person
and what they were like when you first met
them. Spend at least 10 minutes thinking
about this.

Now you have a clear picture of the way
the person is and now you take this picture
and the information on your sheet and you
compare or juxtapose it against current
behavior.

If there is a big difference this could
be a sign the person is not under the right
treatment plan or currently in a bipolar
disorder episode.

When I first started supporting my mom,
I use to use worksheets and do a lot of
work to figure it out. But then it because
built into me and I know longer needed
my own self created instructions (the ones
that I just helped you make).

Today I can tell almost instantly what is normal
behavior for my mom versus bipolar behavior.

But I have a number of other means to figure
this out as well. That’s just one technique
I use.

I have more in my Bipolar Supporter Course.
If you have bipolar disorder I have information
in my Bipolar Success Course on what to do
when you feel yourself “going off track.”

You can get more information on them 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

Well I have to run. Have a great day and I
will 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

Hi,

How’s it going? I have a really important bipolar
disorder lesson for you.

I think I am actually going to
start sending the Sunday daily email later in the
day so I have at least one day to sleep in :).

I’ll let you know what I decide.

Anyway, today I have to do a lot of driving
and I noticed that my oil sticker on my car
is almost matching the number of miles that
means that I have to change my oil. So I am
going in on Monday to get the old oil changed.
Sounds like fun, huh?

Let me tell you this story about my oil, my
car and how this relates to bipolar disorder.

Ready? Here we go….

Once upon a time. Just kidding.

A couple of months ago I heard this weird sound
in my car. It kind of ran strange as well. So I went
to the car mechanic guy. He looked at my
car and then he said “you’re low” on oil.
I said, “Hmmm. okay.”

I know nothing about cars. One time this
woman was broken down on the side of the
road. I pulled over to help her. This was
about 15 years ago before cell phones.
Her tire was flat. I said, “Hey I will
help you.” She said okay. I had no idea
how to do it.

I asked her to get the manually. It didn’t
make sense to me. She saw me struggling and
I think she was probably like, “What a sad
kid whose father didn’t teach him how
to change a tire.”

I worked on it for seriously hours. Finally
I thought the tire was on. I was so worried
that it would fall off, I asked the lady
to drive super slow and be prepared to lose
the tire :). She laughed. She did and eventually
we got to a gas station.

Actually that lady wrote a super recommendation
which helped me get into college.

Anyway back to the oil story. Sorry.

He said maybe you have a leak or something.

So he checked it out. Then he looked up
at me and start calling me stupid and
that I was going to ruin my car. Can you
guess why?

Well I kind of forgot well I kind of ignored
the sticker that indicated how many miles
that I had to come in to get my oil
changed. I seriously thought that it was
a ballpark figure. I didn’t know it
was so critical.

It worked all these years for me 🙂

Anyway I got the lecture of my life from
George the car mechanic. Saying how if I didn’t
change the oil when I was suppose to, it
could lead to huge engine problems, my
engine could stop working, it would cost
a ton to fix, the world would fall
apart, my children, if I had any, would
suffer in the future (just kidding).

Anyway, that got me to thinking about
bipolar disorder and something that
many do. First I am going to talk about
what S O M E, I repeat some, I don’t
want to get hate mail from the people
who don’t saying, “hey I don’t do
that stop labeling me”, people
do.

Anyway, the doctor says come in at
this time. They say okay. Then they
take the appointment card and kind of
discard it and say, “I’m doing fine
and will come in when I want.” OR
these people do keep the appointment
card but they never make the appointment.

They are constantly rescheduling and pushing
it back and eventually like some people and
going to the dentist, a really long time
passes before they are seeing the their
bipolar doctor.

I have spoken to people who do this and
like me with my oil they really don’t
think it’s a big deal. Just think of
how I USE TO (before George yelled
at me), my car is fine, I can wait
to get my oil changed even though
I am suppose to.

Some with bipolar disorder think, “Hey
I am fine, I don’t need to go to the
doctor.”

But this leads to seriously problems. Bipolar
medications can’t be fine tuned. The doctor
starts to forget about you (you want the
doctor to remember you and keep you as a
5 percenter NOT a 95 percenter).
Moods aren’t tracked as well and slowly
the system you created which involves going
to the doctor can start to break down.

It’s a big mistake people make.

On the bipolar supporter side, many supporters
actually encourage their loved one to skip
the doctor visit or they go along with a
loved one who wants to keep skipping
appointments. This is a really bad
idea.

I know for myself, when my mom starts skipping
doctor appointments or using excuses to push
them back, it leads to an episode most times.
I also have it on my checklist as a potential
sign of an episode. When my mom is doing well
she goes to the doctor when she is suppose
to. But if she tries to miss appointments,
then I know this could be a sign of a
coming bipolar episode.

In my opinion like how I now feel about
my oil, appointments should NOT be missed.
If you have to, you schedule another one
right away period. No matter what you have
to do. Even if someone has to wheel barrel
you or your loved one their.

In many of my courses/systems below, you hear
people who are interviewed who talk about
how too many missed bipolar doctor appointments
lead to trouble.

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

Don’t let this happen to you. I hope you
enjoyed me story. Oh, people ask me if
these stories are true. They are :).

I have to run. 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

Hi,

How are you? I actually have to go really
soon. It’s 8:05am and Saturday. It’s raining
again in New Jersey. Anyway, I have things
to do and people to see today but before
I left I wanted to tell you a VERY important
lesson that few people talk about related to
bipolar disorder.

Why? I don’t know.

Let me tell you a quick story about what happen
to me. Last night I decided it was time. It was
finally time. What was it time for? It was time
for me to put together my kitchen hutch since
every day that I looked at it, it didn’t seem
to be putting itself together.

I had avoided it for several weeks. I HATE putting
things together.

But this time, I tried something different. Normally
it’s a total night mare. Normally I break part of
whatever I am putting together. Normally it takes
days and days and days. Normally it drives me
crazy–kind of like how bipolar disorder can.

Why was it so easy for me to put it together?
Take a wild guess and then scroll….

Don’t cheat. Did you guess and then scroll…

I read ALL the directions first, call the 800
number and asked questions and went in the right
order based on what the directions said.

As a result I was able to do it. Actually a friend
of mine Lindsey said before I was done, “Are you
like the typical guy that doesn’t read directions?”
I said, “umm, nope I read them all and that’s why
I am the world’s greatest furniture putter togetherer.”

Anyway, what the heck does this have to do with
bipolar disorder. This is super important. Okay
medication is the foundation of success. Period!

There are instructions for taking the medication. Many
people never read the instructions, call the customer
service line and ask questions, or do what the doctor
says. If you or your loved one has bipolar disorder,
it’s critical that the instructions on how to take
the medication are followed. If you have questions,
do not guess ask someone who knows like your doctor,
pharmacist or call the toll free 800 for the drug.

I advise reading ALL the information that comes with
the medication BEFORE you take it. Not some of it.
I bet that most people on my list have never done
this. I bet most bipolar supporters never even thought
of this. I never did at first but I do now. I use
to read my mom’s stuff when I had to (today
I live further away and I am a long distance supporter).

The big lesson here is to read. And if your loved one
is an episode and he/she has to take medication, you
should do the reading for them and do the question
asking. The bottomline is there is a ton of information
that has to be learned and most people are not learning
it and as a result the medication is not working as well
as it should.

It’s like my kitchen hutch, those that don’t read
the directions probably mess it up. Make sense?

I hope it does. I have to run, catch you tomorrow.

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

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.
I also wanted to let you know about the Bipolar
Disorder and Christianity resource that’s
here:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/spiritualjourney/

Anywas as for the news. Make sure you take
a look. We work hard to sort through a bunch
of junk to find the important bipolar
news.

To see the news visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews340

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:

Local writer examines the ‘Strength of a Woman’

Ask Bing: How can I handle my bipolar boss?
DO> Very interesting article

Family: Death frees Boyd from struggle with bipolar disorder
DO> This is a pretty odd way to look at it.

Elie Wiesel’s Attacker Goes To Trial
DO> You can’t run from the long arm of the law.

Armed man said to be harmless
DO> Take a look what happens to some with bipolar
disorder and in episodes

For these stories and more, please visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarnews340

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

Your Friend,

Dave

Hi,

How are you?

First, I sent out an email yesterday.
I want to say my daily emails will not
turn into religious promotion. I just
had a number of requests for information
a resource on bipolar disorder and Christianity.

If you aren’t interested, just don’t visit
the website.

Oh another thing. I think there was a problem
with yesterday’s link. If you are interested
in bipolar disorder and Christianity, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/spiritualjourney/

Okay on with today’s message. There’s a huge
mistake that people make with bipolar disorder
that most people don’t talk about. I am not sure
why.

What’s the mistake? It’s to do nothing and hope
everything works itself out. I am amazed how people
think that a serious illness can work itself out.

I talk to so many people that just do absolutely
positively nothing about their situation. Whether
they are supporters of a person with bipolar disorder
or they have disorder themselves.

I will tell you this, bipolar disorder get worse
when you don’t do anything. I am NOT a doctor or
therapist but I have seen enough examples of people
doing nothing that I can say, when you do nothing
and either you or a person you know are in the early
stages of an episode, it just gets worse and worse.

I am actually doing an interview for the Bipolar Inner
Circle cd of the month that’s going to be super exciting.
It’s with two people at the same time. A husband that
just came out an episode and a wife that was his supporter.

The only reason that he didn’t go into a full fledged episode
where he would have been violent probably was because his
wife took action and he agreed that he had to go to the
hospital. As a result there was virtually no damage from
the episode.

In the past, an episode would get super bad and the husband
would become violent and there would be much destruction.

The wife however took action and followed the principles
that I outline in my material.

But the key thing is, she did something. Now I know what
you are saying, “Well Dave, that sounds good BUT
how do you get someone who doesn’t want treatment
into treatment.”

Okay that’s a fair question. There are many ways. I have
a bunch. But for this email, I am talking to people
who are in the early stages of an episode or bipolar
supporters, supporting people in an early stage of an
episode. And this is a lot of people on my list. These
people generally do nothing and wait. They hope. “I hope
it just gets better.” Then it gets worse and worse and
worse. Once the episode is far enough along, it’s way
more difficult to turn things around. NOTE-More difficult
but not impossible.

So you have to really try to “catch the episode.” Anyway
the interview I am doing with this husband and wife is
going to be really cool. I have never done such an interview.
I will be asking how the husband felt. What the wife was
thinking. And it will be back and forth so you can
know exactly what was going on and it will give you
insight into your own situation whether you have bipolar
disorder yourself or you are a bipolar supporter.

With that said, I want to address one more issue. People
ask me if bipolar disorder get worse with age. First
let me ask again that I am NOT a doctor, therapist,
professional, lawyer, insurance agent, etc.

BUT I do have an opinion and I know some stuff about
bipolar disorder :). With my site being the #4 to #6 site in google
for bipolar (beating out more than 21,000,000 million other
sites), having more than 100,000 people in my list,
and having 8 people who work for me with bipolar disorder,
volunteering a ton for people who deal with bipolar disorder,
and having lots of friends with bipolar disorder I can
say that in general of the people that live, bipolar
disorder get better with age.

Here’s what I mean. First unfortunately a percentage of people
will commit suicide as a result of lack of treatment of
bipolar disorder. Now out of those that live, I have noticed
that the older someone gets, the more he/she gets sick
and tired of having a life of ups and downs and decides
to go to a doctor and get a proper treatment plan.

After a person makes this step, lots of progress starts
being made and the person starts doing better. I have
seen time and time again, major complications with
bipolar disorder are the result of a lack of a
proper treatment plan.

In virtually all my interviews in my courses
below, this is a theme that runs through out.

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 to recap, the biggest mistake you can make
with bipolar disorder is to do nothing. People
who do nothing wind up having a total disaster
because the illness doesn’t work itself without
doctors care. It gets worse.

Okay, I have to run. Lots of things to do. Hey
some said that we should have a bipolar field
trip. I would be open to that. I am not sure how
we would do it but I think it would be cool
to meet up with a bunch of people and maybe go
to a lake or something. If you have any ideas
on how to set something like this up, drop me
a line.

Talk to 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

Hi,

I just got up. It’s 6:47am. Long day yesterday.
Today I really have some really simple to tell
you about bipolar disorder.

First let me tell you the story about what
happen to me. Yesterday I had a monthly marketing
meeting down in Red Bank, NJ.

It’s such a pain to travel some times far
away. Why? Well depending on my goals and
objectives for my training I may have to
bring a big cooler full of food because
I have to eat 6 times a day.

As a side note, the neighbors who live
next to me think that I go on vacation
every day or to the beach because I always
have a cooler :).

Anyway, I got everything into my car, my
brief case, cooler, gym bag, etc. Lots of
stuff. I took off and then had to swing
by the super market to pick up some low
salt turkey.

So I was driving and I got a call from
someone. I would swear someone is giving
out my cell phone number because a person
called me and wanted to ask “just one
quick question” about bipolar disorder.

I know that turns from one to many. But
since I had a long drive I am okay with it.
Did you know that I do sometimes 12,000 minutes
a month on my cell phone :). It’s kind of
out of control.

Anyway so this person got my bipolar
supporter course and she said she doesn’t
understand how to know if her husband
is going into an episode.

I told her how first it’s a skill to be
able to know. That’s the first thing
you have to realize. That at first you
start out not knowing anything about bipolar
disorder, then you know about it, and if
you are a supporter you learn the skill
of how to know the signs of if your loved
one is in an episode.

So I was telling her all of this. She kind
of understood. I told her to fill out the
worksheets in my course and look at them
daily and that will help and be a great predictor
of future bipolar disorder episodes.

She said okay and then she asked me a bunch of
other questions about why I thought my mom’s
doctor was good and exactly what makes a good
doctor.

All of a sudden, I looked down and heard a beeping
noise. I was like what’s that? I thought my door
came up but obviously it couldn’t while I was driving.
I thought my engine was having a problem or something.
I kept looking and looking. I couldn’t figure it
out and at the same time I was trying to drive.

I think the lady who was on the phone thought
I was kind of crazy. She said, “you sound really
busy, I will let you go.” It sounded more like, “
you sound kind of crazy while you are driving,
I will let you go so you don’t kill yourself.”

Anyway all of a sudden after a while, I finally
saw what was beeping. Guess what it was?
Take a guess and scroll down.

DON’T CHEAT. Guess first and then scroll…

I had no gas!!!!! I was super close to empty. I mean
super close. I thought to myself, “how the heck
could I forget to get gas.” I was kind of panicked
because I didn’t know where to get gas right away.

So I was praying that I would find a place because walking
on the New Jersey Garden State Parkway isn’t a whole
lot of fun…not that I have done it but I can imagine
since I don’t see lots of people walking along side the
road, it’s probably not fun.

Then I thought I remembered that if you drive slower,
you use less gas. I am not sure if this even makes any
sense. It probably doesn’t and you are probably laughing
at me or rolling your eyes. I seriously think that I saw
this concept of slow driving equals using less gas.
But maybe that was a trick to get us all to drive slower.

Eventually I found a gas station and let me tell you,
I was close to empty. Super close.

This entire thing that happen to me got me thinking
about probably one of the biggest problems with
bipolar disorder for both those with the disorder
and those who are supporters.

What’s it? You know what? I want you to seriously
try to guess what the big lesson is from this sad
“I almost ran out of gas story.”
Guess and then scroll?

Did you guess? If so, then scroll….

People miss the signs of an episode coming. This is
the big lesson. You see on a car there is a gas gauge.
The gas gauge is designed to send a signal to you
about how much gas you have left. When it’s low, you
get gas. Unfortunately with bipolar disorder, people
don’t have episode gauges that you can simply look
at.

I personally recommend making a list of how you
or your loved one is “normally.” And then you have
to look daily at the list and compare against what
you are seeing. It might sound like a super pain
in the neck which it is at first but eventually
here’s what happens. You start to memorize the
“normal” part and then you can compare that
against what you are seeing.

Eventually you can start to spot bipolar disorder
episodes right away BEFORE they totally get out of
control. Once they are out of control it’s really
hard to get stability quickly.

The goal should be to catch the episode early,
so that modifications to the treatment plan can
be done by a doctor and you or your loved one
doesn’t go too far of course.

The woman who called had my bipolar supporter
course which has worksheets that you can use
to help know when your loved one’s episodes
are coming. MY bipolar supporter course has
similar worksheets but for people with bipolar
disorder.

You can take a look at the links 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

So remember to try to read the signs of
an upcoming bipolar episode.

Oh one more thing. Someone asked me if I was
a doctor. I say this so many times I can’t
believe that someone would ask. I am NOT
a doctor, therapist, insurance agent, lawyer,
professional in the field or dog catcher.

Actually someone wrote me and asked if I am
a dog catcher. I have no idea why should would
like I was a dog catcher. Actually I don’t
even think that there are dog catchers. I think
that falls under Animal Control who catch dogs
and other animals. But I am not in Animal Control
either. :).

Well I have to take off for the day. 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

Hi,

How’s it going? Yesterday I was way up in upstate
Connecticut yesterday. It took a really, really
long time to get there but a much shorter time
to get home.

When I was driving I was actually doing some
thinking about something. I was thinking about
what it must be like to be diagnosed with
bipolar disorder.

Just the other day I sent an email mostly towards
supporters of people with bipolar disorder
about how there are 5 stages of handling
the diagnosis of a loved one’s bipolar disorder.
Just to give you a quick recap it goes like
this:

Kubler-Ross defines 5 stages of grieving. These are
Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
Let’s say that you have just been diagnosed with
lung cancer.

I think with people with bipolar disorder that many
people who do NOT have bipolar disorder forget
how hard it is to hear “you have a mental illness.”

I really don’t think I know any supporters who
have really thought about what it’s like to have
the following happen.

Imagine this.

You have many years of suffering. You feel good
some days. You feel bad other days. This happens
for years. You have many “relationship problems”
over a long period of time. You are smart
but school bores you. You do well at your jobs
but you wind up losing many jobs. You spend
lots of money.

Eventually you go to the doctor. The doctor
says you may have this or that. You feel
“crazy.” Some even say you are. Fast forward
many years and eventually you are told
you have bipolar disorder. You probably don’t
really know what that is. You ask. The doctor
who already has used up 18 of his 20 minutes
with you says quickly, “it’s a mental illness.”

Take this prescription and then see me next month.
The doctor then says, “okay great, have a great day.”

You don’t get clear instructions, what bipolar
disorder really is, how it’s all going to
work. You’re just told, take this and see
me next time.

This is a recap of what I have heard from about
100 people about what it was like to be
diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Just the other day, I was speaking to this one
friend of mine with bipolar disorder. He said
after he heard he had bipolar disorder he was confused.
He had no idea what that was. The doctor said on the way
of rushing him out the door “it’s a mental illness.”
The doctor then added that he had a chemical problem
in his brain and that he would see him next month.
The doctor added that it was a problem with his
brain.

My friend said he got no further information at
all. He said he was scared and started thinking
that he would have to have brain surgery to fix
his chemical problem in his head. He didn’t know
what to do and also felt like having a mental
illness made him a “screw up.”

As a result he spent years denying he had
the illness and eventually came to terms
with it and now does super well with it.

But he wasted a decade of his life.

I am writing this email today to supporters
of those with bipolar disorder to kind of be a little
easier on those with bipolar disorder and realize
that a) they didn’t ask for the illness and b)
if they are new to learning how to manage it,
most of the time they got little to know instruction.

My mom told me over the decades of having bipolar
disorder virtually no doctors she ever had told
her how to live with bipolar disorder or how to
manage it. As a result, she made a whole lot of
mistakes. Obviously the mental health system doesn’t
work that well in explaining these types of things.

I think that for bipolar supporters, it provides
a level of comfort to know that the reason why
a loved one is doing what they are doing is many
times not because they are doing it on purpose rather
they are doing it because they were never taught
how to manage their disorder.

BUT, I do have major problems with those individuals
with bipolar disorder, know exactly what they have to do
to manage the disorder and still don’t do it. Those
are the people that create problems for all the “good”
people trying to do the right thing.

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 imagine my friend faced with thinking
that he had to have brain surgery for his
bipolar disorder. You may think it sounds
crazy but it really isn’t. If someone said
essentially your brain was broken or had
a chemical problem, you might think, “hey
I need brain surgery.”

There’s a word called “empathy.” You may
not know what it means exactly but it’s perfect
for this email.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary:

===============
empathy

Main Entry: em·pa·thy
Pronunciation: ’em-p&-thE
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek empatheia, literally, passion,
from empathEs emotional, from em- + pathos feelings,
emotion — more at PATHOS

1 : the imaginative projection of a subjective state
into an object so that the object appears to be infused
with it

2 : the action of understanding, being aware of, being
sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings,
thoughts, and experience of another of either the past
or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and
experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit
manner; also : the capacity for this

===============
Take a look at the second definition. Basically
the word means putting yourself in the place of
another and trying to feel what he/she would feel.

So the next time you get mad at your loved one,
ask yourself, “If I had bipolar disorder, how
would I want my supporters to treat me?”

Hey I have to run. But this is some good
stuff for you to think about if I do say so myself.

If you have bipolar disorder, please make some comments
about what you think about my email. Also if you are
a bipolar supporters make comments as well.

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

Hi,

How’s it going? Today I wanted
to write about something that’s pretty
darn sad.

Since bipolar disorder is a mood disorder,
it affects a person’s moods and if a person
is not under the right treatment plan, he/she
can do and say absolutely crazy things.

I have the absolute craziest story. Okay
there is a person on my list that has
bipolar disorder. I know her because I have
spoken to her on the phone several times.

She actually joined my list a really long
time ago and it was at a time that many people
had my phone number. Anyway this lady is not
really a believer in medication.

As a result of her beliefs, her life is in
contact turmoil. Yesterday I get an email
from her demanding that I refund her money
on something that she got from you.

THERE’S ONLY ONE PROBLEM.

She never bought a thing from me. She is even
asking for an amount back from me that doesn’t
even correspond to what I sell. It’s even for
an item that is in know way connected to me.

I tried to explain this to her and she totally
freaked out on me. It was really annoying I
must say.

I decided to simply let her go and she has called
and called demanding money or she will report
me to the police, state senator, attorney
general, “the government” and the BBB.

Here’s the thing. Well I have a few things to
say:

TO THOSE WHO ARE SUPPORTERS

You have to realize that bipolar disorder is a mood
disorder and a person can do and say things that is
not normally what they will do or say. So if
you are supporting someone that has bipolar disorder
and he/she decided to say or do something really mean
to you it’s because they aren’t under the right treatment
plan.

Many people spend days and weeks trying to figure out
why a loved one said the meanest and cruelest things
to them.

Just look at the lady in my story. She wants money
back for a product that I don’t even sell and she
didn’t even order from me. This is the type of
abnormal behavior that a person who is not
under the right treatment plan can exhibit.

It’s not just her either. Since I have 100,000
or so people on my list, I get a whole lot of
people saying and doing a whole lot of “crazy”
things.

Anyway, the key is understanding that a person not
under the right treatment plan. This is NOT and I
repeat NOT all people with bipolar disorder. Generally
the ones on no bipolar medication or the wrong
bipolar medication.

It’s easy to forget this so that’s why I am
sending a reminder :).

And one more reminder. Don’t sit and try
to figure out why someone who is not
stable says mean things to you. You didn’t
do anything. That’s the nature of the illness.

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

TO THE PEOPLE WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER

There’s a good reason to see the doctor
when you are suppose to, to take your medication
how you are suppose to and to do the things
that are in your bipolar stability equation.

The first reason is to do it for yourself.
If you don’t want to do it for yourself,
then the second reason is so that you don’t
do and say things that are hurtful to others.

So if you are thinking about not doing the
right thing with your treatment, if you don’t
do it for yourself, do it for others.

Remember if you have bipolar disorder and
don’t follow what your “good” doctor tells
you to do with your treatment plan, then
you are bound to hurt the ones around you.

If my mom got off her medication or even
didn’t follow what her doctors says, she would
hurt her mother, sister, my father, me, people
at work so on and so forth for sure. She 100%
realizes this and this is a motivating factor
for her to do the right thing each day–according
to what she tells me.

There are people on my list that make absolute
total fools out of themselves because they
don’t take their bipolar disorder seriously
and don’t do what they are suppose to.

I show my mom some of the emails sent or
the voicemails left and she says she is
ashamed or embarrassed. I quickly reminder
her that for every person that makes a total
fool out of themselves, there are people
doing great things with bipolar disorder.

On the other hand, I just shake my head at the people
who don’t follow what they are suppose to and think
there is NO excuse for them. There is NO
excuse for someone who has bipolar disorder,
knows it, and knows exactly what they have to do
to be stable and don’t do it. These are the people
that these days, judges in courts are “throwing
the book” at and they should.

Anyway, hopefully this story will motivate the people
on my list with bipolar disorder that aren’t taking
their medication or listening to their doctor to
do so.

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