Use PEA for Bipolar Episodes
Published: Tue, 06/09/09
Hi ,
How's it going?
Well, it's Springtime, and actually, a
lot of people do much better in Springtime
and Summer than they do in Winter,
because of being in the natural sunlight.
Really! There have even been scientific
studies to prove this. They say that people
with bipolar disorder have less episodes in
Spring and Summer than in Winter - you can
check it out.
Speaking of bipolar episodes, that brings up
today's topic, which is what I call PEA -
which stands for Post Episode Analysis.
PEA is one of the ways I used to start to
figure out what went wrong with my mom
during various bipolar episodes.
Here's how it works:
You take an episode and then you look
back and analyze every single thing that
you can see and think of as to why it
occurred.
You ask questions like:
Who was the doctor? (and were they good or bad)
Was medication taken? (and did it work or not)
Did your loved one see the doctor regularly?
Did your loved one go to therapy?
Were there any external triggers?
Were there changes in diet, exercise or routine?
Were they sleeping too little (or too much)?
You look for everything big and small.
After you have the list, you start to look
at what you think the problem was and
then moving forward you work to correct
it with your loved one.
Let me give you an example. About a year ago,
my mom started to go into an episode but she and
I caught it. I did do my PEA and discovered the
following:
-She cut way back on her therapy
-She stopped exercising
-She missed church several times
-She started eating sugary foods
-She was going to bed really late
-She was getting up around the same time
each day (which meant she was losing sleep)
.
But after I did this PEA and a lot of thinking, it
was clear why my mom went into the episode.
I have found, that in virtually every case, there
is a cause to an episode and it's not like a lottery
like some people would like to believe.
I mean there is a cause and an effect to every
episode, which you can find through "hindsight"
by using the PEA.
You can find that your loved one does things
that lead to an episode. It may be several
simple things or one big thing. But there are
things done that trigger most (all) episodes I
have seen and/or heard about.
NOTE: I am NOT a doctor, therapist or
"professional" in any way and this information
is not to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
When I ask questions like I am telling you to
ask yourselves in the PEA, the cause of the
episode becomes clear.
BUT I should warn you, many times you
have to dig for the cause or causes. Your
loved one may not even be aware of what
was done.
In the case with my mom that I spoke about,
she didn't even realize that she was doing
several things that would potentially trigger
an episode.
When you look at small things like "eating
sugary food" you may think, "that's such a
simple thing, how does that create an episode?"
Well it's not just that one simple thing, it's
that combined with other simple things that
creates a bigger effect. Like 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
should equal 4 but it really turns out to equal
10 because the sum of the parts is greater
than the whole.
I hope that makes sense?
What do I mean? Well let's say my mom
discovers she can't eat sugary foods, has to go
to bed before 10 pm, take her medication,
has to see her doctors, and has to go to church
each week to stay stable.
Now to some, that might not make sense.
You probably can't find medical studies
that say these concepts are important. BUT,
for my mom, she has done her own
experiments and found it is important so she
has to stick to it even though it doesn't make
100% sense as to why that's true (for her).
Meaning we might not be able to know exactly
why a combination of certain things leads
to stability (or why different combinations
work for different people) but we do know
it does so we just have to go along with it.
Also, NOTE- with whatever my mom is
doing, medication is 100% the foundation
of her stability.
In every PEA I ran, my mom was always
taking her medication. BUT, she can run
into problems even if she is taking her
medication but not doing the other things.
That's why I say in my courses/systems
that medication is SO crucial to stability
with bipolar disorder.
SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11
SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com
HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net
It's kind of strange to me that when I
asked my dad in like 2005 if he ever had
thought about why all my mom's episodes
occurred, he had said, "Not really...
they just do."
I guess the economist in me strives
to figure out patterns and formulas
for why something occurs.
That's what got me started on developing
the Post Episode Analysis, or PEA, to
use after a bipolar episode.
It's best if you can sit down with your
loved one after their episode is over,
and look back over to see what happened,
what went wrong. This way, you can
try to avoid the same things happening again.
You may be surprised that many times doctors
are quick to dismiss many of the "little
things" you may find that cause episodes,
because they are only focused on medication
(which is VERY important, and you know
I believe that, but so are these other things).
Try using the PEA approach BEFORE
your loved one has another episode.
Base it on their last episode, and maybe
you can use it to avoid another episode!
What do you think about this idea?
PLEASE POST RESPONSES TO THIS EMAIL BELOW
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarsupporterblog/index.php/use-pea-for-bipolar-episodes/1852/comment-page-1/#comment-12036
FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME
Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials
Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
===>> Great Resources For You <===
Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3
Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder
Don't forget to take a look through the
different programs I've put together... each
one is designed to help you with a different
area of bipolar disorder whether you have it or
you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentralcatalog.com
View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE
Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/
Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE
Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can't learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com