Bipolar: One Bipolar Day at a Time
Published: Mon, 01/21/13
Hi ,
How are things going for you?
I hope you're having a good day today.
I heard the saddest story about bipolar disorder
the other day.
This girl had bipolar disorder, and she went off
her medication.
She was stable on her medication, and was even
going to see her therapist and psychiatrist regularly.
She was ok for awhile, but then she started to get
unstable, and then went into an episode.
Then she committed suicide.
The thing is, it's not that I'm immune to hearing stories
like this - I'm not, I still feel sad every time I hear one -
it's just that I hear so many of these stories, and I'm
not surprised, because I know that 1 in 5 people who
go off their medications are probably going to kill
themselves.
But anyway, about this girl.
When they talked to her friends and family, and asked
them why she killed herself, they said that she had been
telling them that she was feeling very overwhelmed by
everything lately.
So that made me start thinking about something I want
to talk to you about today.
Feeling overwhelmed.
Whether you have bipolar disorder or not, you can still
feel overwhelmed sometimes.
But there are things you can do about it.
I know this may sound corny or over-used, but take
things One Day at a Time.
That's one of the things I talk about in my courses/
systems as part of managing bipolar disorder.
You take things as they come - you don't dwell
on the past, and you don't worry about the future.
You just deal with today.
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Many people can't handle more than just this one day
(many people choose not to). Some people can't even
handle that, and have to do it one hour at a time (or one
moment at a time).
And that's ok, too. You can build from there.
With bipolar disorder, I call it:
One Bipolar Step at a Time
I got the idea from this movie I watched once with Bill
Murray in it called "What About Bob?" where Richard
Dreyfuss played this psychiatrist who was treating
Bill Murray for these really big fears about everything.
I mean, this guy was afraid to get out of the elevator and
walk into his office! He was so overwhelmed by
everything.
So the whole idea of the movie was this concept called
"Baby Steps."
He taught him how to do everything one step at a time,
or by doing everything in baby steps, and building up
from there.
And eventually Bill Murray's character was able to
overcome his fears and not be so overwhelmed by
everything anymore.
It was a funny movie, but you could take a lesson
from it.
So...
One Bipolar Step at a Time
The idea is not to do too much, or you'll be overwhelmed.
For example, say you're keeping a To-Do List as part
of how you're staying productive.
If you have too many things on that list, and you don't
get them all done today, that might overwhelm you.
Instead, make a smaller list, and you won't feel so
overwhelmed.
In fact, by completing the things on your list, you'll
feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.
Then, in steps, as you can, you can add more things to
your list.
Another example would be if you wanted to go back to
work (first of all, I would advise not doing this without
your doctor's okay).
In order not to be overwhelmed, start with a small, part-
time job with just a few hours a week. Don't try to tackle
a full-time job right away. It may be more than you can
handle, and do you more harm than good.
If being productive is what you're worried about, set a
long-term goal, and then your One Bipolar One Step at
a Time would consist of the short-term goals you would
set and take to reach that long-term goal.
You can do the same thing with projects.
You would decide on a big project you want to do, then
do it a little bit at a time, like the long-term and short-term
goal idea.
If you're wanting to learn how to take on more responsibility
as part of managing your bipolar disorder, then start with
smaller responsibilities (One Bipolar Step at a Time), so you
don't get too overwhelmed, and then build to larger
responsibilities.
If you're in a bipolar support group, you don't start with running
the group right away, you start with setting up the coffee, see
what I mean?
Now, here's my biggest point with the One Bipolar Step at a
Time idea:
If you've been in an episode, and now find that you have
consequences to pay as a result of things you did while you
were in that episode, you might be feeling very overwhelmed
by it.
Take it One Bipolar Step at a Time.
This is very important to your stability.
If you have people to ask forgiveness from and relationships
to repair, take it one person at a time.
If there are consequences to pay (like paying traffic tickets,
for example), do them one at a time.
What do you think?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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