Bipolar Support: It Takes Skill to Be a Supporter

As a supporter, don't you sometimes feel unappreciated? Underrated? Taken for granted?

There's a commercial circulating on TV right now for an insurance company whose slogan is, "So easy even a caveman could do it." Wouldn't that offend you?

Many people think it's so easy to be a supporter of a loved one with Bipolar Disorder. If only they knew...

Remember when your loved one was first diagnosed with the disorder? You felt lost and confused...you knew nothing about the disorder. The first thing you had to do was become educated about Bipolar Disorder. Because knowledge is power.

The more you learned about the disorder, the more you became empowered, and the better able you were to help your loved one. But it took time, didn't it. It wasn't easy to make your way through all the information out there to find what applied to your loved one. Certainly not an easy task!

You had to learn the signs and symptoms of Bipolar Disorder that went with your loved one's diagnosis, and you had to learn to recognize them, so that you could tell when your loved one may be going into an episode. You had to learn what your loved one's triggers were as well. Now you can tell earlier, so you can avoid the episode. But this didn't happen overnight, did it?

You had to learn about finding the right professionals - your loved one needed a doctor, psychiatrist, and therapist, just to start with, as well as other medical professionals. And you probably learned that not all medical professionals are good ones - it was tricky to find the right ones for your loved one, and not an easy thing to accomplish.

You had to learn about different medications, and about which was the right one for your loved one. Then you probably had to deal with side effects, and what it means to try different medications, working with your loved one's doctor, riding the "medication merry-go-round" until you found the right one - which can be a very difficult ride in and of itself. And that is only one component to treatment!

You've learned about managing money; however, the lesson was probably not an easy one to learn. It probably took a manic episode or two where your loved one plundered your family's money and you were forced to take over the checking account and charge cards and to get yourselves out of debt.

You've learned a lot of things about managing your loved one's Bipolar Disorder the hard way, haven't you? And all these things have taken skill on your part. Things you didn't know in the beginning. Each episode has taught you even more than you knew before. So, to those people who think this is so easy, I say, "Try living my life just for one day and then let's see how easy you think it is!"

Being a supporter of a loved one takes more than love and care. It takes skill.