Bipolar? Remember This When Planning
Published: Sun, 04/25/10
Hi ,
How's it going?
Hope you are doing well.
The other day I was on my way to a very
important meeting.
I gave myself plenty of time to get there,
just in case something happened like
traffic, or anything else I couldn't predict.
It ended up being a good thing I did that.
It ended up I had forgotten I had very
little gas in the car.
When I got to the gas station, there was
a line of cars waiting to get gas.
I ended up having to wait 10 minutes
before I even got up to the gas pump!
I would have been something like 20
minutes late if I hadn't planned for the
unexpected.
And this was a meeting I could not
afford to be late to.
So it's a good thing that I thought ahead.
That's the thing about planning.
You can't plan for everything, because
you never know what is going to happen.
But if you make room in your plans for
the unexpected, then you can handle it
when something unexpected happens.
That means you can't procrastinate on the
things that need to get done.
If you procrastinate, and you are at the
last minute scrambling to get it done, and
then something else comes up that needs
your immediate attention, you end up
having to choose between the two.
And especially if that other thing is an
emergency, it can really mess up your
plans.
So it is better to get things done ahead of
time, so that if the unexpected should
happen, you can handle it.
It also means allowing yourself extra
time to do something, like what I did with
the meeting.
This may mean leaving early to get
somewhere.
It also may mean keeping a calendar to
keep track of when everything is due or
when events are happening.
If you can see on a monthly calendar
all of your upcoming events, then you can
figure out which of them needs to be
dealt with in what order.
I would suggest using a monthly calendar
for this, as you can see more dates at a
time that way.
So what does this have to do with being
a bipolar supporter?
Well...
Imagine this scenario.
You have a list of things that need to get
done over the next week.
Everything on your list is very important
and can't wait an extra minute.
But you have waited until the last minute
to start working on them.
Your loved one has been depressed lately,
and all of a sudden you realize that they're
suicidal.
That is something that needs to be taken
care of immediately, regardless of how
important those other tasks might have
been.
Now, you may feel like asking "why did
they choose now?"
But the thing is, they didn't choose it.
You, on the other hand, did choose to
wait until the last minute to get those
other things done.
See what I'm getting at?
Let's take a less extreme example.
You've got that task list to do, the one
that you've procrastinated on.
Your loved one ends up going into a
manic episode and is likely to go on a
spending spree or follow some "crazy"
idea if they are not watched closely.
Do you stay home and take care of them,
or do you ignore your duties as a supporter
to get your list done?
You shouldn't ever have to make this
kind of decision.
If you get the things you need to get done
finished ahead of time, then hopefully you
will never have to.
You can't plan for everything, but you
can make the most of your time and take
certain precautions to make sure you
have allowed for the unexpected.
What things do you need to work on when
it comes to this?
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Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
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