It may be difficult to find bipolar supporter articles, although you can find some if you look hard enough.  Bipolar articles are plentiful on the Internet—all you have to do is go up to the Google search bar on your computer screen and type in the words bipolar disorder, and click on GO.  Then sit back and wait, and soon you will have more bipolar articles to choose from than you can imagine!

If you are a supporter to a loved one with bipolar disorder, you are undoubtedly going to run across problems that you will have to solve.  Following are 12 steps to effective problem solving if you are a supporter:

Many of us (supporters) have found it difficult to communicate with our loved ones when they aren't in an episode, much less when they are in one.  Because of the unpredictability of their responses, many of us have even given up trying to communicate with our loved ones when they are in an episode, which just leaves us frustrated and sometimes angry, among other feelings.

If your loved one has bipolar disorder, there may be times that they will feel depressed.  You may not know what the right thing to say or do is during those times, and you certainly don't want to make things worse for them.

Laughter can be just as important to successful treatment as medication.  In fact, the Bible says, “A cheerful heart does good like medicine.” 

Laughter can be just as important to successful treatment as medication.  In fact, the Bible says, “A cheerful heart does good like medicine.” 

Some people downplay their loved one's depression (often unintentionally) by saying something trivial, thinking that will help their loved one, as if that is the one thing they needed to hear. While some of these thoughts have been helpful to some people, the majority of them are not, and can even make things worse.

Summertime is here, and many parents of children with bipolar disorder are getting ready to send their children to camp, so checklists are on the minds of many supporters at this time.  This made me think of the following checklist.