Hi,

I read an article about a businessman who went from almost bankruptcy to come back to be one of the top businesses in the country. You know what his secret was? Here’s what made the difference: PLANNING.

He had Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. I mean, he had plans for everything. He had a plan for if this went wrong or if that went wrong. He had a plan for finances, marketing, advertising, his employees, his products, just about everything he could think of.

He had a plan for everything to go right but he also had a plan for if everything went wrong. And if something went wrong, he had a plan to make it go right. That was the difference. And it made a big difference in his company and in his success.

It’s very important for you to plan as well. You need to make plans so you aren’t taken by
surprise. You also aren’t hurt by things as much, too.

For example: Your loved one goes into a manic episode and starts raging at you, and they say things that hurt you. Well, you can plan in advance how you’re going to handle this rage and what they say. You can plan how you’re going to react, and that you’re not going to overreact.

You can plan that you’re not going to fight back, that you’ll keep your voice low, and that you won’t do anything to escalate your loved one’s rage. What do you think will happen? Don’t you think this will help your situation? Do you think the rage will end earlier than it might have if you hadn’t planned for it?

And what about planning for bipolar episodes? The difference it has made in my mother is
amazing! If you remember, when she had her episode back in 2004, she was so disorganized that
when we needed it, she didn’t even have her doctor’s phone number, and we had to keep digging and looking around until we finally found his card.

Now she not only knows where his phone number is, but it is part of her Bipolar Emergency Plan that if she even feels “off” to call her psychiatrist and decide what to do.

The big difference is that by planning in advance, it could mean just an adjustment in her medication rather than the hospitalization it took in 2004 to help her out of her episode.

You can do the same thing with your loved one. You can plan for bipolar episodes. Sit down with them and discuss what they would want you to do should you notice that they are starting to show signs of a bipolar episode.

The first thing should be that you plan to call their psychiatrist, who may have you bring your
loved one in for an emergency visit.

Or they may have you take them to the Emergency Room at the hospital for evaluation, and possibly even a hospital stay. Or they may even just treat your loved one over the phone by upping the dosage of their medication temporarily to avoid an episode.

You also need to plan for what you’ll do if you need to hospitalize your loved one. You need to have a signed Medical Release Form in your loved one’s files at each of their medical and mental health professionals’ offices. You may even want a Power of Attorney form signed in advance as well.

These things take planning. But planning may be the best thing you can do to help your loved one (and yourself) in the long run.

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave