The Bipolar Disorder Learning Curve
Published: Fri, 07/17/09
Hi ,
How's it going?
I hope things are going ok for
you today.
I have a friend who went back to
college at a later age, and she had
a lot of problems with it.
Seems it's not so easy if you don't
go to college right after high school,
because for one thing, you get out of
the habit of studying.
For another thing, she said, it seemed,
at least to her, that it was harder to
absorb the information.
She was in college with a lot of
young people, and they seemed to get
the subject material much easier
than she did, and it was very
frustrating for her.
She had to study very, very hard.
Eventually, though, after much
hard work on her part, she finally
got it, and went on to get her
college degree.
She said it was one of the hardest
things she ever did in her life.
I asked her if it was worth it,
though.
And she said, "Definitely."
What does this have to do with
bipolar disorder?
Well, I'll tell you.
There is a lesson to be learned
from this story.
There is something that I call
the Bipolar Disorder Learning
Curve.
In other words, just like my friend
in college, they didn't just hand
her that college diploma the first
day of school and say thanks
for coming, did they?
There was a whole lot she had
to learn before she could earn
that college diploma, and it was
hard. Very hard for her.
Well, it's the same thing with
bipolar stability.
I go over this in my courses/
systems. How you have to
learn all you can about bipolar
disorder, first of all. But then you
have to build on that knowledge.
That's the learning curve. Stability
doesn't happen overnight.
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Like I said, you have to keep
learning in order to become
stable with bipolar disorder.
You don't get it right the first
time, or the first day, or even
the first month.
Stability takes time.
It involves a learning curve.
It took my mother 20 years!
It took Michele (who works
for me) 10 years!
I've talked to other people who've
told me it took them many years
as well.
And you have to constantly
work at it.
You can't just assume that it
will take care of itself.
As far as learning about bipolar
disorder itself, new information
is coming out all the time, so you
have to stay on top of it.
You have to stay on top of your
medications, too. And you should
be informed about them.
Work hand-in-hand with your
doctors and mental health professionals.
Learn what they know about the
disorder, the course of it, and how
it relates to you.
When it comes to your doctors
and your therapist, don't be afraid
to ask how you're coming along.
You should learn as much as you
can about what they think about
your progress. You should be a
part of your own treatment, as
much as you can be.
Learn how to communicate with
your supporters. You have to tell
them what you need from them.
Find out who can help with what,
and then let them help you. It's
up to you. They can't help you
if you don't communicate with
them. This, too, is part of the
learning curve.
Learn about yourself. Learn
what your triggers are. What
makes you better and what makes
you worse.
Learn how to manage your bipolar
disorder. Learn how to recognize
when a bipolar episode is coming
on, so you can head it off at the
pass.
You have to respect the bipolar
disorder learning curve, so that
you can get better.
And remember that it doesn't
happen overnight.
Has the learning curve worked
for you?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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