Bipolar? At a Snail's Pace
Published: Mon, 09/20/10
Hi ,
How's it going?
Hope you are doing well.
Ever feel like you're improving at a snail's
pace?
That's how Margie felt.
She had been doing everything she knew
how for a long time when she came to
me, completely disappointed in herself.
She had made some considerable
improvements over the past several years,
but they had all taken a while to make.
She didn't accomplish anything without
effort, and she felt like it should be easier
than it was.
Wouldn't that be nice?
But, unfortunately, it's not the way it
works.
I heard something once about weight loss.
This bit of wisdom said that if you lose
a whole bunch of weight all at once, you'll
most likely gain it right back.
But, if you lose a little at a time, then you're
much more likely to keep it off.
I think the same concept can be said about
recovery.
Recovery that happens in leaps and bounds
is rare, and is as likely to backfire as not.
But recovery that happens at a slow,
steady pace will have long-lasting effects.
Have you ever heard the story about the
tortoise and the hare?
Well, the tortoise was slow and the hare
was fast, and they got in a race together.
The hare won, right?
Well...
The hare was irresponsible and a little
irrational, too.
He figured that the tortoise was so far
behind him that he had time to stop and
take a nap.
While he was sleeping, the tortoise won.
If you've ever heard the expression "slow
and steady wins the race," it's from this
story.
Well, maybe that's the way we need to
be looking at the race against bipolar, too.
Slow and steady.
Let's look at the alternative for a moment.
That is to say, let's see what happens when
a person doesn't go slow and steady with
their recovery.
This person is probably manic.
They want to recover ... NOW.
They work on every coping skill they can
possibly think of, and research a few others.
Overnight.
Then they make an elaborate treatment
plan, probably by themselves.
It's most likely filled with goals that are
unattainable.
After all, they are manic.
The next morning (since they didn't sleep
much) they show their supporters what
they've done, expecting to get praise.
Instead, their supporters are horror-struck,
for obvious reasons.
This only serves to anger them, having
them believe that their supporters don't
believe in them.
So they work at it even harder.
At first, they even amaze their supporters,
because they do make considerable
progress.
Or so it seems.
But they are still manic, and they are using
up all of their manic energy.
Eventually, they crash, realize their goals
are unattainable, and go into a deep
depression.
Any new coping skill they had just
"learned" went down the drain.
And their supporters realize they were
right all along, but that's not necessarily
a good thing.
So see, wouldn't you rather have slow,
steady progress that actually lasts?
There's nothing wrong with a snail's pace.
They get where they need to go.
You will, too.
What are your thoughts on that?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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