Hi,<\/p>\n
You know I work out at the gym a lot, right? Well, I was working out the other day and there was this new guy there. We started talking, and he asked me what I do. So I told him about the work I do with people who have bipolar disorder and their supporters.<\/p>\n
He started sharing about him and his wife. This happens to me all the time when I tell people what I do \u2013 they just open up to me and tell me about themselves and their situations, so I wasn’t surprised. I just listened.<\/p>\n
He told me that he has bipolar disorder and that he thought his wife was ashamed of him. He said he thought this because whenever she had an office gathering, she wouldn’t take him or if she had plans with friends she wouldn’t include him either, and he felt left out. There were even times when she would go to visit her family that she would leave him behind, which made him feel worse.<\/p>\n
I asked him if he had talked to his wife about how he felt, but he said he didn’t know how to tell her how he felt, that he was embarrassed. He said that even he didn’t tell people that he had bipolar disorder, because he was afraid they would think he was crazy or look at him funny or think of him as different and treat him different, so he just kept it to himself.<\/p>\n
He wasn’t blaming his wife, he said, but still, he felt like she was treating him like these other people would treat him, and he thought she must be ashamed of him.<\/p>\n
He asked me what I thought. At first I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what could I say? I really only had one side of the story, after all.<\/p>\n
But I told him that sometimes a supporter can feel that way, and the only way to know for sure is to talk to her to find out the truth. I encouraged him to share his thoughts and feelings with his wife, because she really needed to know, and they needed to talk about it, especially if it was true.<\/p>\n
What about you? Are you ashamed of your loved one? Do you exclude them from some of your<\/p>\n
outside activities, even family gatherings, because you’re afraid they might go into a bipolar episode?<\/p>\n
Would it help if I told you that, on average, a person with bipolar disorder only has 4 to 5 full-blown episodes in their lifetime?<\/p>\n
If you’re looking for episodes around every corner, you might be doing your loved one an injustice. If you are rearranging your life and social activities around expected bipolar behavior that may or may not happen, you’re not being fair to your loved one.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if your loved one is experiencing bipolar behaviors and mood swings more often than is normal, it may mean that they need a medication adjustment, and they should see their psychiatrist.<\/p>\n
For the most part, despite the bipolar disorder, you should both be able to live relatively normal lives. You should be able to attend social functions without the fear of a bipolar episode, or something triggering bipolar symptoms or behavior.<\/p>\n
If your loved one is following a good treatment plan, taking their medication religiously, sleeping properly, seeing their medical and mental health professionals on a regular basis and doing all the things they need to do to stay stable, there is no reason they can’t be included in the things that you do.<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi,<\/p>\n
You know I work out at the gym a lot, right? Well, I was working out the other day and there was this new guy there. We started talking, and he asked me what I do. So I told him about the work I do with people who have bipolar disorder and their supporters.<\/p>\n
He started sharing about him and his wife. This happens to me all the time when I tell people what I do \u2013 they just open up to me and tell me about themselves and their situations,<\/p>\n