Hi, how\u2019s it going? Hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n
I knew a man at one time who had a brilliant mind. He could find a solution to any puzzle or problem, and he always had something cleaver to say. This man happened to have bipolar disorder. And, like many with the disorder, he didn\u2019t take his medications. He thought he was doing fine. After all, he wasn\u2019t depressed, and that\u2019s what matters, right?<\/p>\n
Except that he was manic. He ended up spending all of his rent money on things that he didn\u2019t need and were non-returnable. He lost his job because he got mad at work and started ranting about things he shouldn\u2019t have. He burned bridges with family and friends by the things he said and did when he was manic.<\/p>\n
Naturally, he got kicked out of his apartment when he couldn\u2019t pay the rent. He couldn\u2019t go stay with anybody, because he had made them all mad at him. And he couldn\u2019t afford to get a new place, because he had lost his job. He became homeless.<\/p>\n
Since he lost his job, he lost the medical insurance that went with it, which means he lost his ability to see a psychiatrist and get medications. So he stayed off his medications, even when he no longer wanted to be off them. Now he\u2019s been homeless for years, and the man that knew how to fix everybody\u2019s problems doesn\u2019t know how to fix his own.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to think he was a fool, or an idiot. After all, how could he neglect his responsibilities that way? Or even, how could he think he could be off medications in the first place? Unfortunately, though, this is a very common problem.<\/p>\n
Much of the time people who have bipolar disorder think they can go without their medications. And that usually leads to a downward cycle. Sometimes it ends in homelessness. Other times it ends in death, when the person gets so depressed that they take their own life. Sometimes it ends in losing all of the friends and family that a person has.<\/p>\n
This is why it is so important to have and follow a treatment plan. If your loved one has bipolar disorder, then a treatment plan needs to be written with their future well-being in mind. At a time when they can think straight, have them sit down and think about their mentalities when they are manic or depressed. Have them write themselves reminders for those times as to why they should continue to follow their treatment plan even when they don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n
Keep those reminders in a place that is easy to get to. Then, when they get to the point that they don\u2019t want to take their medications or otherwise follow their treatment plan, pull out those reminders and show them to them.<\/p>\n
There are things that can be done to prevent your loved one from becoming homeless. They will need your help with it, because there will be times when they just don\u2019t feel like it. And, since bipolar disorder is a disorder that affects a person\u2019s moods, when they don\u2019t feel like something they are likely to not do it.<\/p>\n
But you can be there as their reminder that they need to follow their treatment plan. If you feel you need to, remind them that many in their situation have ended up homeless, dead, or alone. Let them know that you don\u2019t want them to end up like that, but you need their help to make sure that they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
The aim is always for recovery, but it can be easy to look up so high that we don\u2019t see the rock below that we are about to trip on. What I mean by this is, it can be easy to be so focused on what it will be like when they are in recovery that we forget to take the time to prevent them from getting worse. But it is something that needs to happen.<\/p>\n
What can you do today to make sure that this doesn\u2019t happen to your loved one?<\/p>\n
Well, I have to go!<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi, how\u2019s it going? Hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n
I knew a man at one time who had a brilliant mind. He could find a solution to any puzzle or problem, and he always had something cleaver to say. This man happened to have bipolar disorder. And, like many with the disorder, he didn\u2019t take his medications. He thought he was doing fine. After all, he wasn\u2019t depressed, and that\u2019s what matters, right?<\/p>\n