Bipolar Disorder and Self Sabotage
Published: Mon, 08/30/10
Hi ,
How's it going?
Hope you are doing well.
Do you know what self sabotage is?
I've known many people to do this.
It's where they set themselves up for a
failure.
They don't even give themselves the chance
to win.
There was a man once who was a sprinter.
But he had developed a disability that
made him a little bit slower than he used
to be.
He decided to stay in the game, but he
didn't work out as much as he used to.
He became slower still by not working out
and practicing, and he began to lose all
faith in his ability to sprint.
When it came time for a race, he had given
up before he even got to the starting line.
He "knew" he was going to lose, so he
just accepted it.
You know what?
He did lose.
But I'm convinced that it was as much
his bad attitude that made him lose as it
was the disability.
In fact, as fast as he was before, the
disability shouldn't have made all that big
of a difference anyway.
But he let it get to him.
He sabotaged his own efforts.
That man no longer runs races.
How sad is that?
But it doesn't have to be that way for you.
You don't have to sabotage yourself like
that.
Much of the time when we do that we don't
even realize that we are.
We certainly don't do it on purpose.
At least, I don't know anyone who would
set out and say "I'm going to purposefully
lose today!"
LOL.
Yet there are plenty of people who will
still set themselves up like that.
Many of them have a disability that
they allow to discourage them.
My example will obviously be bipolar
disorder.
I bet you didn't see that one coming...?
There are many times when I talk to people
who have bipolar disorder that they will
say something along the lines of, "Well,
I can't do that because I have bipolar."
Well, most of the time they could, with
some minor adjustments.
There are a few things that really can't be
done with bipolar disorder.
Being a trucker and staying up 3 nights in
a row is probably not the smartest idea.
I may be wrong, but I believe the military
doesn't allow anyone to enlist who has been
on psychiatric medications recently.
But for the most part, someone with bipolar
disorder is just as capable as someone
without it - at doing anything they set their
minds to.
Too often do people think too hard into the
label.
There's more to bipolar disorder than just
a label, yes.
But when it comes to limitations, it's just
a label!
As long as you are following your treatment
plan and have gained some stability, you can
do almost anything you could dream of.
And supporters?
Make sure you aren't limiting your loved
one's view of their capabilities just because
you are mistaken about them.
You could be holding them back from the
thing that they really need to be doing.
Instead, encourage them to think about
things realistically, and to plan for what
they want.
Most good things don't happen overnight.
If you can get that across to them, then you
have done well.
What are your thoughts on this?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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