=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <=\n\nHi,\n\nWhat’s going on?\n\nToday I want to talk to you about
bipolar disorder and how it takes
time and history to diagnose it.<\/p>\n
Many, many people have written
or talked to me about how it took
them a long time to get diagnosed
with bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
Even though the mental health
professionals (psychiatrists, etc.)
and even the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-IV), which is
the “Bible” that psychiatrists
go by to diagnose bipolar
disorder will tell you that it’s
between ages 17-21 that you
first get diagnosed with bipolar
disorder, most people are NOT
diagnosed between those ages.<\/p>\n
It usually takes more time than
that to be diagnosed with the
disorder, as most of you will
attest.<\/p>\n
Most people tell me it wasn’t
until their thirties or forties
that they were finally diagnosed.
And they tell me (most of them)
that they pretty much knew that
something was wrong with them
long before that \u2013 usually they say
that they knew it their whole
lives, even.<\/p>\n
So firstly, it takes time to be
diagnosed. Mostly because
people who have the disorder
usually don’t come to the
doctor\/psychiatrist when they
are younger, because either they
are scared, or they don’t want to
hear the diagnosis.<\/p>\n
Michele, who works for me
wasn’t diagnosed until she was
45, but then she realized her son
was showing the same symptoms
and got him diagnosed when he
was 12 years old.<\/p>\n
However, she has a 25-year-
old son who secretly admitted
to his girlfriend that he has
bipolar disorder, but he will not
go to a psychiatrist, because he
doesn’t want the diagnosis
confirmed.<\/p>\n
Maybe because he’s scared,
maybe because he’s seen what
his mom has gone through,
maybe because he knows if he
goes to the doctor\/psychiatrist,
it will become real for him.
Maybe because he knows if he
gets diagnosed, he’ll be put on
medication that he’ll have to
take for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n
In my courses and systems,
I talk about this \u2013 it’s called
denial, and many people have
to face it \u2013 they just don’t want
to believe that they have bipolar
disorder, so they put off getting
diagnosed:<\/p>\n
SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER? SUPPORTING A CHILD\/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER? HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER? When these people who have been in The doctor\/psychiatrist will not only So, like in Michele’s case, it was So there is a time element to being But what happens AFTER you’re The first thing is that you have to A treatment plan usually consists of The treatment plan will usually So you will need therapy for Here’s where the supporter It may take time and effort to Most of all, a supporter can Your Friend,<\/p>\n Dave<\/p>\n ===>> Great Resources For You <===\n\nGet Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE =PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES Great Resources For You <\/p>\n
Visit:
http:\/\/www.bipolarsupporter.com\/report11<\/a><\/p>\n
Visit:
http:\/\/www.bipolarparenting.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Visit:
http:\/\/www.survivebipolar.net<\/a><\/p>\n
denial finally do seek help, one of the
things the doctor\/psychiatrist will use
to determine the diagnosis will be the
person’s history.<\/p>\n
ask for a medical history, but will want
a family history as well, because
research done on bipolar disorder does
show a hereditary element to it, usually
passed down the female side of the
family, from mother to child.<\/p>\n
passed from her to her two sons.
Even though one of them is still
in denial, he will eventually have to
face the truth.<\/p>\n
diagnosed with bipolar disorder,
and there is also a history element.<\/p>\n
diagnosed?<\/p>\n
develop a treatment plan, because
without it, you will have no direction
to the management of the disorder \u2013
and if you ever want to manage it
(and it CAN be managed, even if
there is no cure \u2013 believe me, because
that’s what all my courses are about),
you must have a treatment plan.<\/p>\n
medication and therapy. Medication
is SO important. Without it, there
can be no stability at all. Medication
helps to normalize the extremes in
mood that bipolar disorder consists
of. Although it may take some time
to find the right medications and in
the right dosages.<\/p>\n
consist of therapy as well \u2013
especially in the beginning,
because finding out that you
have bipolar disorder may
now interfere with what your
life was like before. You may
even go through a “grieving
process” over your past life.<\/p>\n
all the issues that the disorder
will bring into your life.<\/p>\n
will be such a help to you.
Supporters help their loved
ones in so many ways \u2013
they will encourage you,
help you learn to take your
medications, get to doctor
and therapist appointments,
learn to de-stress your life,
and help manage your disorder.<\/p>\n
find the right treatment plan
for you, but that’s also another
way a supporter can help.<\/p>\n
help someone with bipolar
disorder to realize that they
are still loved and cared for
in spite of having a disorder
that might otherwise cause
them to feel isolated and
alone.<\/p>\n
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http:\/\/www.bipolarcentral.com\/register3<\/a><\/p>\n
Don’t forget to take a look through the
different programs I’ve put together… each
one is designed to help you with a different
area of bipolar disorder whether you have it or
you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http:\/\/www.bipolarcentral.com\/catalog.asp<\/a><\/p>\n
Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http:\/\/www.bipolarcentral.com\/supporterblog\/<\/a><\/p>\n
Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can’t learn anywhere else.
http:\/\/bipolarcentral.libsyn.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"