http:\/\/www.survivebipolar.net<\/a><\/p>\nThe Change Trap is when you are so frustrated with your loved one and their bipolar disorder, specifically when your loved one is not well, that you try to change yourself to change the situation.<\/p>\n
But the trap has you believing that by your changing, your loved one will get better, which is NOT true.<\/p>\n
There’s a difference between changing to adapt to a situation (i.e., learning to adapt) and actually trying to change yourself to change the situation.<\/p>\n
When it comes to bipolar disorder, you cannot change the disorder. It is what it is.<\/p>\n
When it comes to your loved one, you cannot change them. They are who and what they are.<\/p>\n
It’s like the Serenity Prayer:<\/p>\n
Lord, grant me the serenity to<\/p>\n
accept the things I cannot change<\/p>\n
Courage to change the things I can<\/p>\n
and wisdom to know the difference<\/p>\n
Yes, you have control over yourself.<\/p>\n
Yes, you have the power to change yourself.<\/p>\n
But the other things you can’t change, no matter how hard you try.<\/p>\n
See, there is good change and there is bad change.<\/p>\n
Good change is when being a supporter to a loved one with bipolar disorder brings out the caretaker in you, and you become a super supporter.<\/p>\n
Bad change is changing yourself to try to change the bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
The change trap might also cause you to change yourself to try to prevent a situation (like trying to prevent episodes, which are going to happen anyway).<\/p>\n
This can come from past episodes, where you may have thought, “If only I were more attentive [understanding, supportive, a better listener, etc.], my loved one wouldn’t have gone into this episode.<\/p>\n
Then you start overcompensating by being overly-attentive, etc.<\/p>\n
Bad change is letting guilt cause you to change yourself.<\/p>\n
Changing yourself might cause problems in your relationship as well \u2013 Like in that anecdote.<\/p>\n
Your loved one accepts you for who you are.<\/p>\n
They do not expect you to be someone you’re not.<\/p>\n
If you change too much (even though your motive is to please your loved one), they may feel that you’ve become a stranger to them, and then you may have problems with the relationship in general, and communication specifically.<\/p>\n
Your loved one may feel that they can no longer talk to you or open up to you, which can cause further problems.<\/p>\n
You need to stay fundamentally YOU.<\/p>\n
You can change to adapt to the situation (good change), but not change who you are (bad change).<\/p>\n
What do you think of this idea?<\/p>\n
Do you think there is such a thing as good and bad change?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi,<\/p>\n
How’s it going for you today?<\/p>\n
Today I want to talk about CHANGE.<\/p>\n
There’s this sort of anecdote that talks about how a woman married a man for who he was, then immediately started changing him into who she wanted him to be.<\/p>\n
Then she wasn’t happy, because he was no longer the man she married!<\/p>\n
It’s supposed to be funny, but there is a ring of truth in it.<\/p>\n
Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBipolar? Beware of the Change Trap - Bipolar Supporter Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bipolarsupporter.com\/bipolarsupporterblog\/bipolar-beware-of-the-change-trap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bipolar? Beware of the Change Trap - Bipolar Supporter Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hi, How’s it going for you today? Today I want to talk about CHANGE. 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