Bipolar Lesson from Hiking
Published: Sun, 09/18/11
Hi ,
How's it going for you today?
I hope it's a good day for you.
You know what a busy man I am, right?
My friends are always telling me that
I need to relax.
My answer?
I'm too busy!
But every once in a while I get to do
something I love to do.
And that's hiking.
I do it whenever I can get away to do it.
Hiking helps me de-stress from the rest
of my life.
I think everyone should have something
like that.
Don't you?
I talk about that in my courses/systems, how
everyone needs something to help them manage
stress.
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Well, hiking is the way that I do it.
You're probably wondering what all this has to do
with bipolar disorder, right?
Well, I was hiking the other day and I saw this tree,
and it looked really old, like it had been through a
lot.
Kind of like all the things you have to go through
if you're dealing with a loved one with bipolar
disorder.
But it seemed so calm...
And I looked at all the branches.
And they reminded me of each of the things your
loved one has to do to become high functioning
with bipolar disorder and what they have to do to
recover.
Like each branch was something else:
MEDICATION
Your loved one needs to take their medication
every day religiously and as prescribed. There
are ways to learn to manage their medications
if they have trouble with this, and you can help.
Check the Internet for topics on managing
medications if you need to.
TREATMENT
It's very important that your loved one attends
all of their appointments - doctor, psychiatrist,
therapist, and anyone else they need to see. They
also need to realize that they are a part of their own
treatment team. Their doctors are not mind-readers -
they only know what someone tells them. They
need to notify their team if they are having any
problems. You can help them see to this, or even
call them yourself if necessary.
SUPPORT
Your loved one needs to have a support team in
place to help them get better. You can be part of
this team (the primary supporter), but you can't do
it all yourself. If you try to, you will burn yourself
out, and if you can't take care of yourself, how are
you going to take care of your loved one? That's
why it's so important for them to have a support
system - this can be made up of other family members,
friends, a bipolar support group and its members,
church and church members (or other affiliations),
etc.
SELF-CARE
One of the most important ways you can help your
loved one is to keep as stress-free an environment
as possible at home. You can also help them by
helping them stick to a healthy diet by what you
cook. They need to exercise, which is sometimes
hard for them to do, so it might help if you were to
exercise with them. Sleep is very important as well.
They need to keep good sleep habits. One way you
can help is by being a good example. But you can
also see that they go to sleep at the same time every
night and wake up at the same time every morning.
BE SELF-PRODUCTIVE
It's important for your loved one to be self-productive.
Maybe they can still work, or maybe they lost their
job due to their bipolar disorder, but they should still
do something, even if they're just on disability. They
can join a bipolar support group, go to the library, meet
with friends, go to family get-togethers, do projects,
have hobbies, do volunteer work, work part-time, and
maybe even start a home business. You can help your
loved one with this by helping them put together a To-Do
List each day of things they want to accomplish that day.
It's really a boost to their self-esteem when they get
everything done on the list, and even if they don't, it's
ok, they can still do it tomorrow!
The most important thing is that your loved one has
a good attitude - like that tree that lasted through
everything it had to go through.
What do you think?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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