Hi,<\/p>\n
You know what a busy man I am, right? My friends are always telling me that I need to relax. My answer? I\u2019m too busy!<\/p>\n
But every once in a while I get to do something I love to do. And that\u2019s hiking. I do it whenever I can get away to do it. Hiking helps me de-stress from the rest of my life. I think everyone should have something like that. Don\u2019t you?<\/p>\n
You\u2019re probably wondering what all this has to do with bipolar disorder, right?<\/p>\n
Well, I was hiking the other day and I saw this tree, and it looked really old, like it had been through a lot. Kind of like all the things you have to go through if you\u2019re dealing with a loved one with bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
But it seemed so calm\u2026<\/p>\n
And I looked at all the branches. And they reminded me of each of the things your loved one has to do to become high functioning with bipolar disorder and what they have to do to recover. Like each branch was something else:<\/p>\n
MEDICATION<\/p>\n
Your loved one needs to take their medication every day religiously and as prescribed. There<\/p>\n
are ways to learn to manage their medications if they have trouble with this, and you can help.<\/p>\n
Check the Internet for topics on managing medications if you need to.<\/p>\n
TREATMENT<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very important that your loved one attends all of their appointments \u2013 doctor, psychiatrist,<\/p>\n
therapist, and anyone else they need to see. They also need to realize that they are a part of their own treatment team. Their doctors are not mind-readers \u2013 they only know what they\u2019re told. Your loved one needs to notify their team if they are having any problems. You can help them see to this, or even call them yourself if necessary.<\/p>\n
SUPPORT<\/p>\n
Your loved one needs to have a support team in place to help them get better. You can be part of<\/p>\n
this team (the primary supporter), but you can\u2019t do it all yourself. If you try to, you will burn yourself out, and if you can\u2019t take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of your loved one? That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important for them to have a support system \u2013 this can be made up of other family members, friends, a bipolar support group and its members, church and church members (or other affiliations), etc.<\/p>\n
SELF-CARE<\/p>\n
One of the most important ways you can help your loved one is to keep as stress-free an environment as possible at home. You can also help them by helping them stick to a healthy diet by what you cook. They need to exercise, which is sometimes hard for them to do, so it might help if you were to exercise with them. Sleep is very important as well. They need to keep good sleep habits. One way you can help is by being a good example. But you can also see that they go to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning.<\/p>\n
BE SELF-PRODUCTIVE<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important for your loved one to be self-productive. Maybe they can still work, or maybe they lost their job due to their bipolar disorder, but they should still do something, even if they\u2019re just on disability. They can join a bipolar support group, go to the library, meet with friends, go to family get-togethers, do projects, have hobbies, do volunteer work, work part-time, and maybe even start a home business. You can help your loved one with this by helping them put together a To-Do List each day of things they want to accomplish that day. It\u2019s really a boost to their self-esteem when they get everything done on the list, and even if they don\u2019t, it\u2019s ok, they can still do it tomorrow!<\/p>\n
The most important thing is that your loved one has a good attitude \u2013 like that tree that lasted through everything it had to go through.<\/p>\n
What do you think?<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi,<\/p>\n
You know what a busy man I am, right? My friends are always telling me that I need to relax. My answer? I\u2019m too busy!<\/p>\n
But every once in a while I get to do something I love to do. And that\u2019s hiking. I do it whenever I can get away to do it. Hiking helps me de-stress from the rest of my life. I think everyone should have something like that.<\/p>\n