Bipolar? Choosing the Lesser
Published: Mon, 07/26/10
Hi ,
How's it going?
Hope you are doing well.
I was talking to someone who called in the
other day who had a concern.
They had bipolar disorder, and they were
also having trouble with housing
circumstances.
See, they had wasted all of their money
while they were manic, because they
weren't on their medications at the time.
They had thought that they could go off
of their medications because they didn't
feel bad.
But now they had started to realize that
they needed to be on their medications
all of the time.
But even though they realized this, they
were still living with the consequences
of their actions.
They were essentially homeless.
They had two options.
They could either stay at a homeless
shelter, or they could go move in with their
family.
Now, immediately, one might assume that
their family would have to be better than
a homeless shelter.
But there was a catch:
Their family did not approve of them taking
medications for their bipolar, believing
that they should just be able to will it
away.
So, while it may seem better to be living
with family, it may actually be better to
stay at the homeless shelter so that they
can take their medications and get
themselves back on their feet.
There is a phrase, "The lesser of two
evils."
Basically what that phrase means is that
there aren't always easy choices to make.
When you're facing a difficult choice,
you have to choose the best option, even
if it's not a good option.
Unfortunately, in life, there aren't always
good options.
But we can make the best of what we can.
This can be applied to all sorts of decisions
that we have to make.
For example, if you cannot afford a regular
psychiatrist or therapist, and you have to
choose between whatever the option is
in your area for people with lower income,
or not having a psychiatrist or therapist
at all, then you have to choose the lesser
of two evils.
When you are in a crisis, and you have to
choose between inpatient and outpatient
services, then you have to look at both
options carefully and figure out what is
the lesser of two evils for you in that
situation.
This will be different for everyone in that
sort of situation, because everyone is
experiencing different circumstances.
For some, there may not be outpatient
services that can handle that sort of
crisis situation.
For others, they might have the opposite
problem.
There are a lot of situations in life where
you will have to choose the lesser of
two evils.
There are some important things to
remember when you go to make a decision
like this.
First of all, don't be rash.
Make sure you think over your decisions
carefully with a clear head.
Secondly, don't be afraid to get feedback
about your decision.
It may be that someone can see things from
a better perspective than you can at this
particular point in time.
Thirdly, try to make the most of whatever
you decide to do.
It may not be the best option you can think
of, but it is the best option that's available
at the moment, so there's no point in
sulking about it.
After all, when choosing between sulking
and being happy, I think being happy
is the lesser of two evils. :P
Do you have any thoughts on this?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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