Hi,<\/p>\n
I have a friend who, whenever she gets sick, only her mom\u2019s homemade chicken soup will do to get her better. Never mind any antibiotics or modern medicine\u2026Give her Mom\u2019s homemade chicken soup any time! She swears by it! The only problem is\u2026She\u2019s tried to reproduce her mom\u2019s recipe a dozen times, and just can\u2019t do it! Her mom has given her the recipe, and she swears she\u2019s followed it to the letter, but she says it just doesn\u2019t taste the same as Mom\u2019s homemade chicken soup. I\u2019ve heard the same story from other friends. This one\u2019s Mom has a recipe for spaghetti sauce that\u2019s \u201cto die for!\u201d And they say the same thing \u2013 They\u2019ve gotten Mom\u2019s recipe and tried to reproduce it, but it never turns out the same way as Mom\u2019s\u2026And they just can\u2019t figure out why. Another friend has the same problem with their mom\u2019s famous cheesecake recipe. And on and on\u2026<\/p>\n
So what does all this have to do with bipolar disorder? Here\u2019s my point. I know you\u2019re probably going to think this is corny, but\u2026I think the missing ingredient is LOVE. I know, you\u2019re probably laughing at me right now. But think\u2026 I may have a point here. Never discount a Mama\u2019s love!<\/p>\n
See\u2026There are many things that you do for your loved one. There\u2019s no disputing that. I know, because there were a lot of things I did for my mom to help her become stable with her bipolar<\/p>\n
disorder. And there are a lot of things I still do for her. But never discount your LOVE for them.<\/p>\n
And never underestimate the power of that love.<\/p>\n
Someone once told me, \u201cLove covers a multitude of sins.\u201d I think that means that you can make a bunch of mistakes, but if love is what\u2019s behind it\u2026 if love is your actual motive\u2026 then it will all be ok in the end. Like if all your efforts for your loved one are actually done out of love for them, then they\u2019ll turn out all right. Which may be good for you to know, because a lot of<\/p>\n
times, supporters wonder if what they\u2019re doing accomplishes anything at all. So much emphasis is put on traditional treatment, that we wonder how much good a bipolar supporter can do in the big scheme of things.<\/p>\n
Well\u2026There\u2019s a lot that a bipolar supporter does that medicine and therapy doesn\u2019t do. For one thing, you are closer to your loved one than anyone else. This means that you will see signs and symptoms of an oncoming bipolar episode before their psychiatrist and\/or therapist. So you can be instrumental in heading off a full-blown bipolar episode before it actually takes hold in your loved one. A psychiatrist who only sees your loved one every other month, or every 3 months, can\u2019t do that. Or even a therapist, who sees them every other week, or even every week, can\u2019t necessarily do that, either.<\/p>\n
So your role is very, very important. Besides, no one loves your loved one like you do. Never forget that. And never underestimate the power of love in the healing process.<\/p>\n
Well, I have to go!<\/p>\n
Your Friend,<\/p>\n
Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hi,<\/p>\n
I have a friend who, whenever she gets sick, only her mom\u2019s homemade chicken soup will do to get her better. Never mind any antibiotics or modern medicine\u2026Give her Mom\u2019s homemade chicken soup any time! She swears by it! The only problem is\u2026She\u2019s tried to reproduce her mom\u2019s recipe a dozen times, and just can\u2019t do it! Her mom has given her the recipe, and she swears she\u2019s followed it to the letter,<\/p>\n