Bipolar? Will You Accept This?
Published: Sat, 07/24/10
Hi ,
How's it going?
Hope you are doing well.
I saw something the other day that made
me really stop and think about the
differences between children and adults.
There were two mothers.
One of the first mother's children took the
stroller that belonged to the second
mother.
Now, they just wanted to play with it, but
the second mother needed her stroller.
So the second mother called to the child
and said "Bring it back."
This made the first mother angry.
She said that the second mother shouldn't
be telling her child anything.
Now, this could easily be the topic of
debate, but that's not my point right now.
It made me think of how children don't
accept feedback and criticism very well.
Often times, their parents even protect
them from having to hear it.
But that's where we need to differ from
children.
Feedback and criticism are important parts
of life.
They are things we need to learn to accept
if we are going to progress as much as we
can in life.
Without feedback and constructive
criticism, we can only change the things
that we are aware of.
But what about all of those things that
we are not aware of?
I know one woman who has bipolar
disorder who discovered something about
herself in a way she thought was
surprising.
She never realized how she was when she
was manic, until the day when she met
someone else who had bipolar disorder.
This someone else wasn't on medications.
So she got to see just how a manic episode
looked from the outside.
It made her stop to think about herself.
She told me about her realizations later.
You know what she said?
She said she never realized just how
ANNOYING she was.
LOL.
But it's true.
That, and other things.
She probably never realized just how fast
she talked, or just how poor her decisions
were.
But after meeting this other person, she
started to realize it.
Then she was more willing to accept
feedback as to how to change that.
But do you see how there are things that
we are not aware of about ourselves?
I don't know if you realize this, but most
people who are in a manic episode don't
realize that anything is wrong.
That's when feedback comes into play.
If someone is there to tell you all the
symptoms that they have noticed, and to
help you realize that you are in a manic
episode, then you have a much better
chance of getting the treatment you need.
That is to say, IF you listen.
We're not like children.
We don't need to be protected from
feedback or criticism.
Sometimes the criticism even comes to us
in a harsh way.
Someone might rudely demand to know
why you can never sit still, or why you are
talking a hundred miles an hour.
But you can choose how you take that kind
of criticism.
You can either take it as being rude, and
respond in a like manner.
Or, you can surprise them (and probably
yourself) and instead choose to thank
them for pointing that out to you.
After all, you probably didn't even realize
that you were doing that.
That's why feedback and criticism is so
important.
The more we accept it, the more we can
grow on our way to recovery.
What are your thoughts on that?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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