Hi, how\u2019s it going? Hope you are doing well.<\/p>\n
Ever feel like you\u2019re improving at a snail\u2019s pace? That\u2019s how Margie felt. She had been doing everything she knew how for a long time when she came to me, completely disappointed in herself. She had made some considerable improvements over the past several years, but they had all taken a while to make.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t accomplish anything without effort, and she felt like it should be easier than it was. Wouldn\u2019t that be nice? But, unfortunately, it\u2019s not the way it works.<\/p>\n
I heard something once about weight loss. This bit of wisdom said that if you lose a whole bunch of weight all at once, you\u2019ll most likely gain it right back. But, if you lose a little at a time, then you\u2019re much more likely to keep it off.<\/p>\n
I think the same concept can be said about recovery. Recovery that happens in leaps and bounds is rare, and is as likely to backfire as not. But recovery that happens at a slow, steady pace will have long-lasting effects.<\/p>\n
Have you ever heard the story about the tortoise and the hare? Well, the tortoise was slow and the hare was fast, and they got in a race together. The hare won, right? Well\u2026 The hare was irresponsible and a little irrational, too. He figured that the tortoise was so far behind him that he had time to stop and take a nap. While he was sleeping, the tortoise won. If you\u2019ve ever heard the expression \u201cslow and steady wins the race,\u201d it\u2019s from this story.<\/p>\n
Well, maybe that\u2019s the way we need to be looking at the race against bipolar, too. Slow and steady. Let\u2019s look at the alternative for a moment. That is to say, let\u2019s see what happens when a person doesn\u2019t go slow and steady with their recovery.<\/p>\n
This person is probably manic. They want to recover \u2026 NOW. They work on every coping skill they can possibly think of, and research a few others. Overnight. Then they make an elaborate treatment plan, probably by themselves. It\u2019s most likely filled with goals that are unattainable. After all, they are manic.<\/p>\n
The next morning (since they didn\u2019t sleep much) they show their supporters what they\u2019ve done, expecting to get praise. Instead, their supporters are horror-struck, for obvious reasons. This only serves to anger them, having them believe that their supporters don\u2019t believe in them.<\/p>\n
So they work at it even harder. At first, they even amaze their supporters, because they do make considerable progress. Or so it seems. But they are still manic, and they are using up all of their manic energy.<\/p>\n
Eventually, they crash, realize their goals are unattainable, and go into a deep depression. Any new coping skill they had just \u201clearned\u201d went down the drain. And their supporters realize they were right all along, but that\u2019s not necessarily a good thing.<\/p>\n
So see, wouldn\u2019t you rather have slow, steady progress that actually lasts? There\u2019s nothing wrong with a snail\u2019s pace. They get where they need to go. You will, too. What are your thoughts on that?<\/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
Ever feel like you\u2019re improving at a snail\u2019s pace? That\u2019s how Margie felt. She had been doing everything she knew how for a long time when she came to me, completely disappointed in herself. She had made some considerable improvements over the past several years, but they had all taken a while to make.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t accomplish anything without effort, and she felt like it should be easier than it was.<\/p>\n