Bipolar Supporter Blog

Hi,

The other day I sent out an email about a person I was
calling the ultimate bipolar success story.

It was about a new resource I have located here:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/ultimate-bipolar-success-story

A bunch of people wrote me and asked why I am calling
this the “ultimate” success story. They also were
asking what’s my definition of “ultimate.”

Actually I think this is the ultimate success story
because the person had 9 more diagnoses besides
bipolar disorder.

The person overcame all kinds of bad events. Serious
ones. The person had virtually no support. With this
said, I feel that it’s the ultimate success story
when I compare all the ones I have read or heard.

Believe me, I have heard a lot since I have 300,000
people who signed up to my newsletter, have many people
that work for me with bipolar disorder, have been
volunteering for years and have gotten over 300 applications
from people with bipolar disorder applying for jobs.

Anyway, for more information please visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/ultimate-bipolar-success-story

Talk to you tomorrow morning.

Dave

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <=

 

Hi,

 

Hope your day is going well.

 

Okay, there is no bipolar news today. Here’s what

happen. We had a person have to resign

for serious medical problems that were

NRTB (not related to bipolar).

 

I do not actually post the news on the internet.

I don’t know HTML and that kind of thing.

 

I am sitting here looking for the news but it’s

not up. I am not sure why.

 

I have to call the person. I guess she had trouble

but it doesn’t make me happy that I wasn’t

notified let’s say yesterday or last night.

 

Anyway sorry. I am REALLY annoyed by

this.

 

I will have it posted hopefully tomorrow.

 

I want to talk to you about something today.

 

It’s about tweaking your treatment plan.

 

You know I work out a lot, right?

 

Well, sometimes I have to “change up” (or

“tweak”) my routine some, or I would get

bored with it, and then I probably wouldn’t

work out as much as I do.

 

This is why I work in about 9 different libraries

and do cardio in many different parks.

 

Well, this is sort of like that, only with your treatment

plan.

 

I mean, obviously, there are some things you just can’t

change (unless they aren’t working).

 

Your medication, as long as it’s working fine, is

something you just shouldn’t mess with.  If you are

having problems with it, or the side effects are

bothering you, that’s something you should tell your

doctor about.

 

That’s NOT what I’m talking about here.

 

Therapy is another part of your treatment plan that is

very, very important.

 

If you’re happy with your therapist, fantastic!

 

But if you’ve been with them for a long time and you

don’t feel you’re getting anything out of therapy any

more, or you just feel like you’re going out of habit more

than anything else, then that’s something you may want

to tweak.

 

First, talk to your therapist.  Tell them how you feel. 

If you’re supposed to be with that therapist, then maybe

you just need a tweak in your sessions (or go down to

less sessions).

 

If you’re not supposed to be with that therapist any

more, then you may have to think about switching

therapists.  Again, this is something you should discuss

with them.  If this is what you decide to do, it would be

good to have them on your side, as they may be able to

give you a referral.

 

In my courses/systems below, I go over all the parts that

make up a comprehensive treatment plan.  Medication

and therapy are just two of the parts:

 

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

 

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarparenting.com

 

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.survivebipolar.net

 

 

Exercise should be part of your treatment regimen,

but if, like me, you get bored with the type of exercise

you’re doing, you may want to tweak your routine. 

 

If you’ve been walking, try swimming instead (or the

opposite).  If you’ve been doing free weights, try the

machines instead (or the opposite).  There are many

options for exercise programs. 

 

If you’ve been exercising at home, consider joining

a gym or use free programs you may find in your area. 

If you’ve been exercising alone, try working out with a

friend.

 

You should be eating a healthy diet as part of your

treatment regiment, but maybe it’s gotten too bland,

and could use some tweaking.  Try some different

cooking ideas.  Buy a low-fat cookbook and try some

new recipes. 

 

Look online for foods you like and make

meals using those foods.  Meals shouldn’t be boring.

If you’ve been eating 3 regular meals a day, try tweaking

that to 6 smaller meals a day.

 

And be flexible!  Instead of thinking of it as “dieting,”

(which everyone hates and is too restrictive), eat what

you want, just in smaller portions, while being health

conscious, and if every once in awhile you want that

small bite of a candy bar, allow yourself that luxury! 

(That way, you won’t want to eat that whole cake later

on and feel like a big “cheater”!)

 

Sleep is still so very important, but can still be tweaked

if you need to.  If you decided on a 9:00 bedtime but still

find yourself up and tossing and turning at 10 pm, just

change your bedtime to 10:00 and tweak your morning

rise time.

 

As long as you are still getting 8-9 hours of good sleep

every night, the hours you go to bed and rise aren’t as

important.  Go to bed and rise according to what works

for you and YOUR body’s internal clock.

 

Enjoyment is an important part of everyone’s life (bipolar

or not).  If you aren’t having enough fun in your life,

perhaps that’s an area that needs to be tweaked.  Now,

don’t go so far as to get manic or anything, but make sure

you include enjoyment as part of your treatment regimen. 

Remember not to neglect your supporter, either, as that is

very important.

 

“Date Nights” are a great way to keep your relationship with

your supporter close and let them know how much you

appreciate what they do for you.  (Maybe this is an area

you need to tweak?  Intimacy is very important.) 

 

Make sure you are taking care of your mental health – things

like stress reduction techniques and relaxation exercises are

also important in management of bipolar disorder.  If you have

been slacking off in these areas, maybe these are a couple of

those areas that need to be tweaked.

 

Get back to basics.  Maybe you’ve gotten away from some of

those things that worked in the beginning, but that you stopped

doing.  You may want to go back to doing those things.

 

Maintaining a good treatment plan is crucial for good

management of bipolar disorder.

 

Sometimes all it takes is some tweaking!

 

 

PLEASE POST RESPONSES TO THIS EMAIL BELOW

 

 

FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME

Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials

 

Your Friend,

 

Dave

 

===>> Great Resources For You <===

 

Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter

Want your own copy of these daily bipolar

emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

 

Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder

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

 

View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE

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/

 

Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE

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

 

 

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <=

 

Hi,

 

How’s it going?

 

Thanks to everyone for wishing my dad well.

Like I said, he had a stroke.

 

I went to see him. He is doing okay.

 

He has to stay in the hospital until

they figured out why his blood pressure

is so very high. They have no idea why

it is.

 

My mom, did not take it well. She actually

got very little sleep, which triggered her

being super angry at me (of course). She wound

up screaming at me and hanging the phone up

on me.

 

I didn’t even bother saying anything.

 

But then she followed the system that we setup

ahead of time in the doomsday scenario

and now she is doing much better.

 

I spoke to her last night and she is back

to her old self.

 

But if my dad gets worse, that’s going to

act as a major trigger for a potential

bipolar episode.

 

In addition, someone who works for me,

went into a bipolar episode and now is in

the hospital.

 

In the past few weeks, I have had one person

get into a car accident, one person diagnosed

with cancer (had to resign), one person has

other serious medical problems not related

to bipolar disorder (had to resign), my main

computer is not working, my mom’s medication

has changed, dad in the hospital and some other

issues.

 

So it’s not been a good past few weeks.

 

BUT, I have a strategy to deal with these types

of situations. You may have read about it in articles

I posted online for f.ree.

 

Okay, I was talking to Michele yesterda and

she was having a tough day.

 

She had a bunch of bad things going on.

 

So then she spoke to her mom who told her

to remember the good things going on instead:

 

Like that she has a husband who loves her, a

beautiful home, a great job, her bills are paid,

her car runs good, she has 3 healthy sons, and

she is stable with her bipolar disorder.

 

When Michele did that, her problems didn’t

seem that bad!

 

We were talking about it, and I told her that I

have to do the same thing.

 

There are nightmare days for me. Or weeks

like I just told you.

 

But I train myself to think about the good

instead of the bad.  And there were lots of

good things, too.

 

With bipolar disorder, too many people just

focus on the negative.

 

That’s why, in my courses/systems, I teach

people about positive thinking.

 

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

 

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarparenting.com

 

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.survivebipolar.net

 

It is SO important to balance the bad with

the good, or else your bipolar disorder can

become WORSE!

 

If you don’t, you begin to think negatively,

and negative thoughts lead to depression,

and depression for too long leads to a bipolar

depressive episode.

 

See why it’s so important to think about the

good things, too?

 

Michele’s mom was right, and know how she

came up with her little philosophy?

 

She has bipolar disorder just like Michele does!

 

And she’s been stable for a long time because

she does what she told Michele to do, and what

I told you that I do.

 

No matter how things seem, you can always find

some good in it.

 

If you’re struggling, there are good things you may

not even have thought of.

 

Even if it’s just the little things:

 

Like, you found this website.

 

You’ve learned about bipolar disorder, more than

you knew before, which means you’re getting

help for your disorder.

 

You have people that care about you.

 

You have a roof over your head.

 

You have food to eat.

 

You probably have a car to drive.

 

If you have children and they are healthy,

count that as a good thing.

 

If you are physically healthy, count that

as a good thing, too.

 

If you’re having a “good bipolar day,”

that’s a REAL good thing!

 

These are just some examples.

 

I know you can come up with more.

 

I’d love to hear about them.

 

FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME

Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials

 

 

Well, I have to go!

 

Your Friend,

 

Dave

 

===>> Great Resources For You <===

 

Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter

Want your own copy of these daily bipolar

emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

 

Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder

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.bipolarcentralcatalog.com

 

View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE

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/

 

Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE

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

 

 

 

Hi,

If you want to know the ultimate bipolar success story,
I have a new great resource for you.

Wait until you see the before and after of this person.

Take a look by visiting:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/ultimate-bipolar-success-story

Have a great night.

Dave

P.S. Thanks for wishing my dad well. I will update you tomorrow
on his condition and my mom’s condition.

 

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <=

 

Hi,

 

I hope you’re having a really great day.

 

I have some bad news for myself. My dad had a

stoke yesterday.

 

I have to take off and head to the hospital.

 

Actually I have two problems. My mom was NOT

sleeping well over the last week BEFORE this

happened to my dad.

 

Last night my mom was sending me emails after

11:00pm. The fact that my dad had a stroke will

probably make things worse.

 

In addition, my mom’s worst period of the year

for bipolar is November through early December.

 

I have to think long and hard and plan for the worst.

I have to think of all the possible ways that

bipolar could get the upper hand.

 

I have so many systems in place, I don’t think

it’s possible. BUT, bipolar is smart and sometimes

there are small cracks in the system that it can

slip through and create an episode.

 

After using my own Doomsday system, I don’t

think this is possible anymore.

 

I told my mom to make sure she takes care of herself.

 

My dad called me late yesterday from the hospital

and did NOT want me to tell my mom to avoid

worrying her.

 

I told my dad that would not be possible because he

if did not show up at night she would then worry more.

 

He said, “ohh, that’s right.”

 

So she was told.

 

Hmmm.

 

We will see I guess.

 

You know I talk to a lot of people about bipolar

disorder, right?

 

It seems like everywhere I go, I run into someone

who has bipolar disorder, knows someone who has

it, or is a supporter to a loved one with the disorder.

 

Well, the other day, this supporter was talking to

me about her loved one’s bipolar disorder, and she

seemed really troubled.

 

She said:

 

“I know you’re going to think I’m a really selfish person

for saying this, and I know there’s a lot of people out

there who have it worse than I do, but I really don’t care

about them.  All I care about is my husband and his

bipolar and helping him get better, and that takes all my

time and energy.  Does that make me selfish?  Do you

think I’m a terrible person?”

 

——————————————————————-

 

Well, what do you say to something like that?

 

First of all, I assured her that she wasn’t the first

supporter to express those kinds of feelings to me,

because she’s not.

 

Then I assured her that just because she feels that way

does not make her a terrible person.

 

When you have a loved one with bipolar disorder,

your world can become very small to the exclusion

of everything (and everybody) else.

 

Your problems can seem so overwhelming to you that

it takes all your time and energy to deal with them.

 

Your life as a supporter is definitely not an easy one.

 

When I asked this woman, “What about your support

group?”

 

She said:

 

“It’s almost the worst there, because mostly all they do

is complain.  I mean, some of them I feel sorry for,

because they have as many problems as I do, but the

rest of them I resent.  Their loved ones are doing better

than my husband, and they’re the ones who complain the

loudest.  They don’t even try to help me.  Maybe I’m not

the selfish one – maybe they are.”

 

I didn’t know what to say.

 

Bipolar disorder or not, everyone has problems.

 

And to them, their own problems seem worse than

everyone else’s just because they’re happening to them.

 

That’s why, in my courses/systems, I teach problem-solving

techniques, because they’re so important, not just for the

person with bipolar disorder, but for their supporter as well.

 

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

 

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.bipolarparenting.com

 

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?

Visit:

http://www.survivebipolar.net

 

There’s a difference between being selfish and “taking

care of your own.”

 

If this woman was truly a selfish person, first of all,

I don’t think she would’ve been so concerned about it.

 

And second of all, if she were really selfish, she would

be off doing things she wanted to do instead of

taking care of her husband and being a good

supporter to him.

 

But these are just my thoughts.

 

What do YOU think?

 

Do you think she’s being selfish?

 

I’d really like to know.

FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME

Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials

 

Your Friend,

 

Dave

 

===>> Great Resources For You <===

 

Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter

Want your own copy of these daily bipolar

emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

 

Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder

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

 

View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE

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/

 

Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE

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

 

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <=

Hi,

Hope you’re having a good day.

About 12 days ago, my mom started noticing some
things that were “off.”

She wasn’t feeling too well, so she asked a
friend to describe what she noticed about
changes in her (my mom’s) recent behavior.

She thought she might be going into a
depressed episode.

Well, I’ve told you before that my mom
has systems in place.

So the first thing she did was call her therapist
and ask her for an emergency appointment,
and she was able to see her later that afternoon.

Then she made a list of the symptoms her
friend had observed, and she took that list
with her to her therapist.

Her therapist said that my mom was in a
“rapid cycle” of bipolar disorder.

In my courses and systems, I talk about the
different types of bipolar disorder. Rapid
cycling is not a type of bipolar disorder in
itself, but it just means that your episodes
happen more frequently than usual.

SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net
In my mom’s case, this is her “bad time”
of the year anyway, so we watch her
more closely than usual.

That’s why she was using her system.

And she did the right thing, that when she
noticed that something was “off,” or didn’t
feel right, she called her therapist and
then went to see her.

By doing that, she avoided a full-blown
episode.

These are what we call “mini-episodes,”
or “relapses.”

But now my mom feels as if she’s failed.

So is a relapse a failure?

NO.

Especially if you’ve followed your system
and done everything right.

Remember that with bipolar disorder, there
are things you can control, and things you
can’t control.

You can’t control the chemical imbalance in
your brain.

But you CAN do something about it when the
chemicals fire off unexpectedly.

You can do exactly what my mom did.

She didn’t fail. She did exactly what she should
have done. And that’s not failure.

In fact, it’s just the opposite.

I’m proud of her for the way she handled
the situation.

There was a time in the past when she
didn’t have a system, and she would have
gone into a full-blown episode.

But because of what she did this time, it
shows me that she is following her system,
and did the right thing.

We can call this rapid-cycling, or we can
call this a mini-episode, or we can just say
that my mom just experienced a phase of
bipolar depression.

But the point is, she did NOT go into a
bipolar depressive episode.

Because she followed her system.

Your loved one should have a system in
place as well. And you should be a part of it.

You can help them by watching for signs and
symptoms of an episode. Even if they don’t
notice that they’re “off,” you can, and you
can point it out to them, and encourage them
to seek help (early).

And as long as they follow their system, they
shouldn’t be going into episodes, either.

At least not as often as they did before their
systems were in place.

But you can’t predict what their bipolar
disorder is going to do.

Because there still isn’t a cure for the disorder,
episodes are going to happen from time to time.

They can be minimized, though, and mini-
episodes, or relapses are NOT failures.

Relapses should actually be expected, but
if you catch them early (by watching for
signs and symptoms of episodes), you can
keep your loved one from going into a
full-blown episode.

Odd. Guess what?

Hey, I just checked my email and my mom sent
one that said how she wasn’t sleeping so she
a) scheduled with her therapist b) called
her psychiatrist and scheduled an immediate
appointment.

My mom said that she is confident that
a major gigantic episode like what happened
in 2004 will not happen again because of
all the systems we have in place.

What do you think?

FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME
Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials

Your Friend,

Dave

===>> Great Resources For You <===

Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3

Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder
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

View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE
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/

Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE
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

Hi,

The other day I sent out any email about my new
guide:

“Bipolar Disorder–The REAL Silent Killer”

located at:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarsilentkiller

People are writing me and basically saying
“If what you say it’s so true, why doesn’t
the media talk about this or drug companies?”

That’s a great question.

The truth is, I have no idea. I really don’t
know.

I wonder that a lot. Why doesn’t society
care more about mental illness???

Other questions to ask are:

Why doesn’t society talk more about mental illness
in general?

Why don’t drug companies give much more information
about the consequences of not taking medications
for mental illness?

Why is there so much shame around mental illness
when so many millions suffer from it? It’s not
like only a handful or a couple of people do.

Why don’t doctors, drug companies and therapists
sell patients on how serious bipolar disorder is
and what happens when it’s not managed?

Why don’t doctors, therapist, drug companies
talk about how important bipolar supporters
are to a bipolar survivors success.

I could go on and on.

I was talking to my friend who is a top
guidance counselor in a school and we
were talking about something unrelated to
bipolar disorder.

He said to me he tells parents:

“just because the message is negative
doesn’t mean it’s wrong and you shouldn’t listen
to it.

In addition to his quote that he came up with,
I think there is another good quote that
has been around for a long time.

It’s “Don’t shoot the messenger.”

I deliver the message, don’t get mad at me. I am
working to try to improve things. It’s not easy
that’s for sure. It’s hard to get through to people
when so many other people aren’t saying the things
that I am saying.

It’s sad. But unfortunately, the lack of information
about bipolar disorder is causing a whole lot of
destruction all around the world.

If you want more information on the guide:

“Bipolar Disorder–The REAL Silent Killer”

please visit:

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarsilentkiller

But remember if you hear valid information from
anyone, don’t shoot the messenger, just use the
information.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Dave

P.S. Don’t spend too much time getting angry
about not hearing or learning the information before
either. That’s a big waste of time.