Hi, how\u2019s your day going? I hope it is a good one.<\/p>\n
I had a good day today. I went to a class on disability awareness, and they did an interesting demonstration to show us how it felt to have a disability.<\/p>\n
First they had us try on glasses that had been painted black, and carefully walk around the room. So we got a small taste of what it is like to be blind.<\/p>\n
Then they put earplugs in our ears and had us try to understand what other people were saying, just by reading their lips. So we got to understand what it might be like to be deaf.<\/p>\n
Then they did something that I didn\u2019t expect. They gave us mirrors and told us to put them next to our papers, so that we could see the paper in the mirror. Then they told us that we could only look in the mirror to see what we were writing. This was a very difficult task. When we were done, they told us that this was a small taste of what it was like to have dyslexia.<\/p>\n
These were great exercises, and it was wonderful that it was promoting disability awareness.<\/p>\n
It got me thinking: what would it be like to look through the eyes of someone who has bipolar disorder? Is there some trick I can do that would show me even a little bit of what it\u2019s like? I don\u2019t think there is anything that could be done to show exactly what it\u2019s like, but maybe there are things we can think about, that will help us to understand better.<\/p>\n
Bipolar disorder is a disorder that is based on a person\u2019s moods. How many moods do we have throughout a day? I mean, if we were really to count exactly how many times our moods change in a day, what number would we end up with?<\/p>\n
Most of the time, we don\u2019t react to all of our moods. Our moods change a little when we see a sad commercial, or think of a funny thought, or get irritated by something that we know isn\u2019t that big of a deal. These little moods usually get ignored as we go about the rest of our day.<\/p>\n
What would happen if we had a pressing urge to act out each of those emotions? We would end up in tears every time that sad commercial came on the television. We would laugh hysterically at that funny thought, even though no one knew what we were laughing about. Every time we got irritated, even by something little, we would become angry, maybe even irate.<\/p>\n
How would we handle this turmoil of emotions? Sometimes it is easy to think that if we had the disorder we could do better. But could we really do any better than our loved ones already do?<\/p>\n
Many of our loved ones have learned to adapt to the change of their moods. They may have learned to follow their treatment plan so that they can live the best life that they can. They may have learned who they can go to for help when things get out of hand. There are many things that they do to adapt.<\/p>\n
Could I have done better? I have to say I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
I am just so glad that there is hope for a good life when their treatment plan is followed. I am so glad that I can be part of my loved one\u2019s life and support system.<\/p>\n
What would it be like to see things through your loved one\u2019s eyes?<\/p>\n
Well, I have to go!<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi, how\u2019s your day going? I hope it is a good one.<\/p>\n
I had a good day today. I went to a class on disability awareness, and they did an interesting demonstration to show us how it felt to have a disability.<\/p>\n
First they had us try on glasses that had been painted black, and carefully walk around the room. So we got a small taste of what it is like to be blind.<\/p>\n