Bipolar? Do You Agree With This Man?
Published: Mon, 07/13/09
Hi ,
How are you today?
Yesterday there was a daily email
but it was never sent. I have no
idea what happen to it. It's a mystery.
It vanished.
Anyway I have to try to figure what happen
but in the meantime let's jump into today's
topic.
I hope you're feeling fine.
I wanted to share with you a comment
I received on my blog the other day:
"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."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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?
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
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 about you?
Do you agree or disagree with what this
man wrote?
PLEASE POST RESPONSES TO THIS EMAIL BELOW
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarsupporterblog/index.php/bipolar-do-you-agree-with-this-man/1961/comment-page-1/#comment-12840
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Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials
Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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