Bipolar: Do You Agree with This Man?
Published: Fri, 06/07/13
Hi ,
How's your day going?
I hope you're having a great one.
I wanted to share with you a comment I received
on my blog:
"There is a difference between a symptom and a
behavior. A symptom is what is experienced by a
person as a result of an illness. A behavior is an
ACTION that person takes in response to that experience.
Hypersexuality, for example, does not mean being
unfaithful. Hypersexuality is a symptom. It is the
experience of a suddenly or dramatically increased
sex drive. There are many choices as to what to do
in response to a sudden increase in libido. The vast
majority of those choices are not harmful to self or
others, illegal, irresponsible, or regrettable.
So I don't dispute for one minute that in general, there
is a set of symptoms that is typical for a person with
bipolar disorder. Most of us here agree that bipolar
disorder doesn't go away. That means if I have bipolar
disorder, I will have symptoms -- EXPERIENCES of
the illness for the rest of my life.
My responsibility to myself is to think about how I
want to conduct myself, what kind of life I want.
Responsibility means I keep tabs on what I DO. Yep,
I know that typical set of symptoms. What I DON'T
do is ACT just the same as every other person who has
those same symptoms. And therein lies the difference
which some people tend to disregard when talking about
the whole big bunch of us.
I could feel like doing all manner of destructive things.
I could tell you the reason why I feel like doing destructive
things is because of symptoms of bipolar disorder. And I
could be right! At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what
destructive thing I felt like doing, nor does it matter why.
It matters which CHOICE I made."
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So, he is basically talking about the difference
between a symptom and a behavior.
He's defining a symptom as what is experienced by
a person as a result of an illness.
Then he defines a behavior as an action that the person
takes in response to that experience.
He uses the example of hypersexuality (increased sex
drive), which is one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder.
So hypersexuality is something that a person in a
manic episode might experience, because it's a symptom.
In his words, "Most of us here agree that bipolar disorder
doesn't go away. That means if I have bipolar disorder, I
will have symptoms - EXPERIENCES of the illness for
the rest of my life."
I like the way he put that, because it is realistic.
It's not realistic to assume that you won't have symptoms
if you have bipolar disorder, because if you have the
disorder, no matter how long you've been stable, you
WILL have symptoms from time to time.
That's why, like this person who wrote that comment, I
take the realistic approach in my courses/systems.
I go over the symptoms of bipolar disorder as well as how
you or your loved one will experience them.
SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
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So then he goes into CHOICES.
This has to do with what he said in the beginning
of his post:
"A behavior is an ACTION that person takes in
response to that experience."
So you have a symptom, then an experience, then a
CHOICE, then an ACTION (behavior).
Now, some people stop there, and make poor choices,
or impulsive decisions, which cause wrong actions.
So what is the key, does he say?
RESPONSIBILITY.
He says, "Responsibility means I keep tabs on what I
DO."
He uses the example of wanting to do destructive things,
and he concludes, "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter
what destructive thing I felt like doing, nor does it matter
why. It matters which CHOICE I made."
And that would be great if everyone could do it that way.
Unfortunately, when someone with bipolar disorder is in
an episode, their thinking is impaired, and they won't
necessarily be able to make good choices, or exhibit good
behavior.
When they are in an episode, your loved one may throw
responsibility out the window and be unable to control
their impulses as a result of their "symptoms."
At that point, everything this man said is "out the window,"
since the person is "experiencing" a bipolar episode.
At best, though, in my opinion, I agree with what he said.
What do you think?
Do you agree with what he said?
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http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/bipolarsupporterblog/bipolar-do-you-agree-with-this-man-2/comment-page-1/#comment-70207
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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