Bipolar Fears Are Made of This
Published: Tue, 05/11/10
Hi ,
How are you today?
I hope you're doing well.
I saw a cartoon the other day and
the last frame of it showed two dogs
looking up at a scarecrow with a bird
on top of it that was saying:
"All our fears are made of straw."
I thought (especially for a comic) that
was pretty profound when I thought
about it.
So many people are paralyzed by
their fears.
In fact, there are whole mental
disorders based on fear, like phobias
and anxiety disorders.
And for people who have them, they
can be paralyzing, and awful to have
to live with.
They even have to alter their lives and
their plans to work around their fears.
I'm not just talking about fear of
spiders or snakes.
I'm talking about fear of going out of
the house, or fear of being around
people, or something called Generalized
Anxiety Disorder or Panic Disorder.
These people live with anxiety and
panic every day, in situations that you
and I live with normally.
Well, people with bipolar disorder live
with fear as well.
Some of these fears I discuss in my
courses/systems, like the fear that comes
with stigma:
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That's the fear of being different,
or "less than," or "not good enough."
Many people with mental illness feel
that way.
But people with bipolar disorder have
distinctive fears.
Such as:
- Fear of being someplace and
going into an episode
This is a very real fear for many people
with bipolar disorder. In fact, many will
not even make any plans because of it.
Even if they've been stable for awhile,
they are still afraid that they might be
someplace and lose control, going into
an episode.
- Fear of medication
Some people have heard scare stories
from others about how bad medication
was for them, and they listen to them,
fearing that the same thing will happen
to them.
Mostly, they fear the side effects, which
can sometimes be pretty bad, but in
reality can usually be controlled. Still,
they are afraid.
- Fear of losing control
Some people, even if they are stable,
are still afraid of losing control. They
may have been stable in the past and
then been in a situation where they were
triggered and lost control, so now they
are afraid of it.
For example, they may have been
triggered and started talking fast and
a lot in a social situation and got very
embarrassed, and now they are afraid
that it will happen again.
- Fear of being hospitalized
I know a woman who was so afraid of
being hospitalized that she wouldn't
even go to the doctor. She was afraid
that if they "locked her up," she would
"never get out again."
She ended up going into a terrible
episode and had to be involuntarily
hospitalized by her husband.
- Fear of other people finding out that
they have bipolar disorder
Some people are so afraid of the stigma
against mental illness in general and bipolar
disorder in specific, that they are afraid of
anyone finding out that they have the disorder.
They go to great lengths to keep their disorder
hidden from other people, even if they are
experiencing signs and symptoms of an
impending episode.
For example, they will use sick days from work
to hide them.
Some of these fears may not seem so bad to you,
but to the people that have them, they are very
real, and very frightening.
Even though you and I know that "bipolar fears
are made of straw" and cannot hurt them, people
with bipolar disorder hold onto their fears.
The only way they can get rid of their fears is
by support and counseling (therapy).
The more stable they get, the more they will see
that their fears are unfounded.
Does your loved one have bipolar fears?
How do they deal with them?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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