{"id":2306,"date":"2009-11-10T07:55:08","date_gmt":"2009-11-10T11:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bipolarcentral.com\/bipolarsupporterblog\/?p=2306"},"modified":"2009-11-10T07:55:08","modified_gmt":"2009-11-10T11:55:08","slug":"bipolar-we-all-make-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.bipolarsupporter.com\/bipolarsupporterblog\/bipolar-we-all-make-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Bipolar? We All Make Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi,<\/p>\n

How are you today?<\/p>\n

Are you having a good day?<\/p>\n

I hope so.<\/p>\n

I wanted to share with you an email I got:<\/p>\n

“Dave, I am a supporter to a sister<\/p>\n

with bipolar disorder. I try to be a<\/p>\n

good supporter, but sometimes I<\/p>\n

make mistakes, and I’m afraid that<\/p>\n

she’ll get worse and it will be my<\/p>\n

fault. Like when she gets in a<\/p>\n

depression, I try to show my support<\/p>\n

by asking her to talk about it, but<\/p>\n

then she just gets angry at me.<\/p>\n

And when I see her not sleeping good,<\/p>\n

I try to tell her that she needs to get<\/p>\n

more sleep. So she gets angry at me<\/p>\n

for that, too. It seems like whatever<\/p>\n

I do, my sister gets angry at me.<\/p>\n

Again, like when I remind her to take<\/p>\n

her medication she gets mad at me for<\/p>\n

that too. I want to be a good supporter,<\/p>\n

but with her getting angry, I don’t feel<\/p>\n

like I am. Am I making mistakes?<\/p>\n

What should I do instead? \u2013Monica”<\/p>\n

———————————————————<\/p>\n

Now, my disclaimer. I am not a professional, so I can only give my opinion from my experiences and from all the other supporters who have talked to me.<\/p>\n

First of all, I would remind Monica (and you) that everyone is different.<\/p>\n

What works for one person doesn’t work with another.<\/p>\n

What I would commend is that this woman is at least trying to be a good supporter.<\/p>\n

And I would re-affirm that some people with bipolar disorder do get angry, even if they’re not in an<\/p>\n

episode.<\/p>\n

You have to watch it, though, because increased agitation can be a symptom of a manic episode.<\/p>\n

What happens when you’re a supporter to a loved one with bipolar disorder is that you have<\/p>\n

to “learn them.”<\/p>\n

And by that I mean that, since everyone with bipolar disorder is different, you have to learn how<\/p>\n

your loved one reacts to things, what works and what doesn’t work.<\/p>\n

Monica has found out that when her sister is feeling down , that she doesn’t want to talk.<\/p>\n

That’s learning.<\/p>\n

It’s not wrong to try to be a good supporter.<\/p>\n

You know the things that your loved one should be doing (as well as the things you should<\/p>\n

be doing as their supporter) so that they can become stable.<\/p>\n

These are the things I talk about in my courses\/systems:<\/p>\n

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?<\/p>\n

Visit:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.bipolarsupporter.com\/report11<\/a><\/p>\n

SUPPORTING A CHILD\/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?<\/p>\n

Visit:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.bipolarparenting.com<\/a><\/p>\n

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?<\/p>\n

Visit:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.survivebipolar.net<\/a><\/p>\n

We all make mistakes.<\/p>\n

That’s just a part of life, and a part of bipolar disorder as well.<\/p>\n

But I don’t think it’s a mistake to show your concern.<\/p>\n

For example, when Monica talks about reminding her sister to take her medication.<\/p>\n

That’s not a mistake, especially if her sister forgets to take it or doesn’t want to take it.<\/p>\n

Medication is crucial to stability.<\/p>\n

Her sister might not get well if she wasn’t reminded to take her medications.<\/p>\n

I’m sorry if she gets angry about it (many people do, because they resent taking their medication<\/p>\n

every day), but it doesn’t mean that it’s a mistake.<\/p>\n

In fact, I think it would be a mistake NOT to remind her, even if she gets angry, because<\/p>\n

she needs that medication to get better, and without it she would go into an episode.<\/p>\n

I think that Monica is doing a good job as a supporter, even though her sister gets mad at<\/p>\n

her.<\/p>\n

What do you think?<\/p>\n

Do you think Monica is being a good supporter?<\/p>\n

Have you had to struggle with your loved one getting angry at you when you’re trying to help?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi,<\/p>\n

How are you today?<\/p>\n

Are you having a good day?<\/p>\n

I hope so.<\/p>\n

I wanted to share with you an email I got:<\/p>\n

“Dave, I am a supporter to a sister<\/p>\n

with bipolar disorder. I try to be a<\/p>\n

good supporter, but sometimes I<\/p>\n

make mistakes, and I’m afraid that<\/p>\n

she’ll get worse and it will be my<\/p>\n

fault.<\/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? We All Make Mistakes - 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-we-all-make-mistakes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bipolar? We All Make Mistakes - Bipolar Supporter Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hi, How are you today? Are you having a good day? I hope so. I wanted to share with you an email I got: “Dave, I am a supporter to a sister with bipolar disorder. 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