Bipolar: Getting Back on the Horse
Published: Wed, 04/10/13
Hi ,
How's it going for you today?
I hope it's a good day for you.
Have you ever heard the expression "getting
back on the horse"?
People use it when talking about having failed
at something and then trying it again.
Sometimes, if you've messed up, it's hard to get
back to where you were.
But sometimes it's CRUCIAL that your loved one
"gets back on the horse" when it comes to things
that they mess up with their bipolar disorder.
Take, for example, their medication.
It's easy to forget to take it.
If they do, that's ok.
They can just take the next dose when it's time.
But too many people will just stop taking it
altogether, and that's a HUGE mistake!
Because that is almost a SURE way to go into a
bipolar episode!
And also because when they're ready to go back
on their medication, it's like starting at square one
again.
Bipolar medication takes time to build up in the
bloodstream, so if they've been off it for awhile,
they have to start at a low dose again and build
back up to the level where they were before they
stopped taking it.
Some people mess up seeing their doctor, psychiatrist,
and/or therapist.
They miss one appointment, then it gets easier to miss
another, then another...
Then they stop going altogether.
And that is NOT the right thing to do.
If your loved one misses an appointment, they have to
"get back on the horse" and go to the next one.
There are so many parts that can be messed up in a
treatment plan, but I'm not going to go into all the parts
of a treatment plan here, because I go into them
extensively in my courses/systems:
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But I do want to talk to you about what happens
when you do start to mess up parts of your treatment
plan.
Let's say your loved one has started isolating again.
Isolation is one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder,
and one of the top triggers to a bipolar episode.
But if your loved one lets this slip, and they start
to isolate again, then they are in a dangerous place,
and could be jeopardizing their stability.
Now they have two choices:
They can either close down, shut out the world,
get all depressed, climb into bed, pull the covers
over their head, feel sorry for themselves, cry, and
go into a bipolar depressive episode...
OR... they can "get back on the horse" again.
Another example is if they start to slip with their
sleep patterns.
Lack of sleep (or too much sleep) is another trigger
to a bipolar episode.
But they can fix it if they catch it soon enough.
In other words, they can accept that even though
they let a PART of their treatment plan get messed up,
their WHOLE treatment plan is still working, and
they can still fix it.
First they need to identify what went wrong.
Then they can fix it ("Get back on the horse.")
It doesn't have to be anything really dramatic, but
even small parts of their treatment plan, if they get
messed up, can cause them to go into an episode.
For example...
They could let their diet slip.
This could cause them to gain an excessive amount
of weight.
This could cause their self-esteem to go into the
pits.
Which could make them get depressed.
Which could cause them to go into a bipolar
depressive episode.
Even if it does cause them to go into an episode,
though, they can still recover from that episode and...
That's right - "get back on the horse" again.
Start back doing the things they were doing before
they went into that episode.
What do you think?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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