Bipolar Lesson From The One Armed Speed Reader

Hey,

I wanted to write you really quick before I head over to
the old gym. It's something I forgot to tell you last week.

Last week, I was out in a store and saw a guy who
had one arm. I was thinking to myself, "That really
is terrible...it must be really hard for him."

So then I wondered how he deals with it, how hard his
life is and things like that.

So me being the shy, introverted person that I am,
I walk over to him and say, "Hey, I wanted to ask you
a question, I am kind of doing some research because
I run a site that helps people deal with bipolar disorder,
both supporters and people with the disorder and I was
wondering if you could help me out, really quick."

IMPORTANT NOTES:
First, you probably think that I am crazy to just go up
and ask a stranger such a question but I must say, through
full disclosure, I use to sell shoes door to door, and lots
of other things when I was a kid so now, rejection, the word no,
people yelling at me telling me to go away, doors being
slammed in my face, have no affect on me. And now, I can
handle people writing me curses like:

"Take me off your list you F$#king A%^hole!!!!!!!!!"

So I have think skin.

So back to the story, he said, "Ummm well I guess so what
do you need?"

Well I said "I notice that you have one arm, and here's
what I wanted to ask you and I think you'll be able to
help several thousand people who deal with bipolar disorder."

NOTE:
Here's the sales person in my coming out. When I use to go
to someone's door to sell shoes, I think I was like 14 or so,
I would say, "I was wondering if you could help me out, I just
got started in this business and I needed some help, I only
need just few minutes Sir/Ms." Then you gently insert your
foot into the door.

I never knew the techniques I used to sell those shoes
would come in handy one day.

Okay back to the story, so I asked him, questions like:

How do you get a long with one arm
What's the key to being able to get a long
Do you wonder why you have one arm?
Etc.

So he told me all this and he said over time he adapted as a
kid and now he doesn't think about it.

Then I asked again, "Do you spend a lot of time thinking about
why you have one arm?" He said, "Oh, no, that's a waste of time.
I can't change that."

I asked, "What would happen to someone who had one arm that
spent a ton of time thinking about why they have one arm?"

He said, "Well, they would go crazy because there is no real
reason it just happened, and you have to move forward and move
forward with the cards God gave you. The question becomes
how can I get along in society with one arm, or do what I
want to with one arm, or accomplish whatever goals I set
for myself with one arm."

I said to him, "Hey thanks, I got it. You're going to help
a bunch of people with your story." He said, "What do you
mean, what did I do? How?"

I told him that so many people dealing with bipolar disorder
spend so much time trying to figure out WHY someone has
bipolar disorder instead of HOW to cope and deal with the illness.
I told him I was going to email my entire list so they could
hear the story.

He said, "Oh that makes sense, so bipolar disorder is like a mental
illness and you are saying that if you have it, you have to learn
how to live with it and not worry about why you got it? Kind of
like I have to learn to live with one arm and not wonder why I only
have one arm?"

NOTE: He didn't know much about bipolar disorder and notice
I said, "why you go it." This is not to suggest that you can
catch bipolar disorder. I just wrote what he said as I remember
it. Make sense? Hope so :)

Back to the story, I said, "Yes, exactly!" He said that made
sense to him and then we both had to go but before he did
I learned he is a speed reader like I am. He actually went
to the same school I did.

It's really odd, I get tons of emails where people ask why someone
has bipolar disorder. I see this in all the groups I volunteer
at. I hear this when I speak.

If you notice in my main courses/system

The course/system for supporters of adults:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11

The course/system for supporters of children and teens:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com

The course/system for those with bipolar disorder:
http://www.survivebipolar.net

I spend very little time on the why of bipolar disorder. Why?
Because first there are a zillion books that cover that. Also
websites.

The question becomes, once someone has bipolar disorder:

How to live with bipolar disorder
How to support a loved one with bipolar disorder
How to find a doctor
How to afford a doctor/therapist
How to develop a system to manage the disorder
How to get employment if you have bipolar disorder
How to raise money to pay for care

So on and so forth. There's a million things to learn but
you get the idea. To many people, spend too much on the "Why."

This is a huge mistake in my opinion. Focus on the how
not the why.

Hey I gotta run to the gym. Catch you tomorrow.

Your Friend,



Dave