Hi,<\/p>\n
How are you today? I hope you’re doing well.<\/p>\n
I saw a cartoon the other day and the last frame of it showed two dogs looking up at a scarecrow with a bird on top of it that was saying: “All our fears are made of straw.” I thought (especially for a comic) that was pretty profound when I thought about it.<\/p>\n
So many people are paralyzed by their fears. In fact, there are whole mental disorders based on fear, like phobias and anxiety disorders. And for people who have them, they can be paralyzing, and awful to have to live with. They even have to alter their lives and their plans to work around their fears. I’m not just talking about fear of spiders or snakes. I’m talking about fear of going out of the house, or fear of being around people, or something called Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Panic Disorder. These people live with anxiety and panic every day, in situations that you and I live with normally.<\/p>\n
Well, people with bipolar disorder live with fear as well. Like the fear that comes with stigma.<\/p>\n
That’s the fear of being different, or “less than,” or “not good enough.” Many people with mental illness feel that way.<\/p>\n
But people with bipolar disorder have distinctive fears.<\/p>\n
Such as:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tFear of being someplace and going into an episode<\/p>\n
This is a very real fear for many people with bipolar disorder. In fact, many will not even make any plans because of it. Even if they’ve been stable for awhile, they are still afraid that they might be someplace and lose control, going into an episode.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tFear of medication<\/p>\n
Some people have heard scare stories from others about how bad medication was for them, and they listen to them, fearing that the same thing will happen to them. Mostly, they fear the side effects, which can sometimes be pretty bad, but in reality can usually be controlled. Still, they are afraid.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tFear of losing control<\/p>\n
Some people, even if they are stable, are still afraid of losing control. They may have been stable in the past and then been in a situation where they were triggered and lost control, so now they are afraid of it. For example, they may have been triggered and started talking fast and a lot in a social situation and got very embarrassed, and now they are afraid that it will happen again.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tFear of being hospitalized<\/p>\n
I know a woman who was so afraid of being hospitalized that she wouldn’t even go to the doctor. She was afraid that if they “locked her up,” she would “never get out again.” She ended up going into a terrible episode and had to be involuntarily hospitalized by her husband.<\/p>\n
\u2022\tFear of other people finding out that they have bipolar disorder<\/p>\n
Some people are so afraid of the stigma against mental illness in general and bipolar disorder in specific, that they are afraid of anyone finding out that they have the disorder. They go to great lengths to keep their disorder hidden from other people, even if they are experiencing signs and symptoms of an impending episode. For example, they will use sick days from work to hide them.<\/p>\n
Some of these fears may not seem so bad to you, but to the people that have them, they are very<\/p>\n
real, and very frightening. Even though you and I know that “bipolar fears are made of straw” and cannot hurt them, people with bipolar disorder hold onto their fears. The only way they can get rid of their fears is by support and counseling (therapy). The more stable they get, the more they will see that their fears are unfounded.<\/p>\n
Well, I have to go!<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi,<\/p>\n
How are you today? I hope you’re doing well.<\/p>\n
I saw a cartoon the other day and the last frame of it showed two dogs looking up at a scarecrow with a bird on top of it that was saying: “All our fears are made of straw.” I thought (especially for a comic) that was pretty profound when I thought about it.<\/p>\n
So many people are paralyzed by their fears.<\/p>\n