[PrairieCat]

BD – WHAT TO SAY TO A PERSON WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER (HELPFUL)
If you imply these things by your behavior & a few words, you don’t even need to say these things!
1) Remember the great days...those days will come again.
2) You are one of the strongest people I know
3) I'm not going anywhere.
4) If you want to talk or rant, I'm here to listen.
5) I don't understand.
6) This, too, shall pass.
7) Please tell me how you're feeling right now.
8) I love you no matter what.
9) Realize that your illness does not define you.
10) Remember to love yourself.
11) You are not broken or deficient.
12) You CAN do it.
13) Let me pay for your manic shopping spree! Also, isn't your town kind of small for manic shopping spree? Let me buy you ticket to NYC/Rome/place of your choosing (joke).
14) You don't have to do anything. You don't have to be anything for other people. Just live for yourself, **** the others.
15) I admire your bravery.
16) You have had many exciting adventures!
17) You are a person, not a diagnosis.
18) It's ok.
19) I’m here for you.
20) You are such an interesting, intelligent, articulate person.


BD – WHAT NOT TO SAY TO A PERSON WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER (CRAZY-MAKING)
1) Just think positive!
2) Everyone feels down sometime.
3) Pray.
4) Snap out of it.
5. Seriously, you're upset again?
6) Just try to overcome your moods; it might be just a vitamin deficiency and you don't even look like you have any problems.
7) Your depression is another one of those 'teen depressions' or ‘senior depressions.’ It will be gone before you know it.
8) You only think you are low, and that is just because your mind's not busy enough.
9) Get over it.
10) There's nothing actually wrong.
11) You've got a good life, what's the problem?
12) There are a lot of people who have things a lot worse than you do.
13) You should take medication.
14) There's nothing really wrong, it's just in your head.
15) Are you sure you're not just hormonal? (which is what my mom asked when I told her my dx)
16) It is all in your mind............
17) It is your depression talking (no, sometimes it's my Realism talking).
18) If you don't take meds, your brain will dwindle and you will kill yourself.
19) Don’t take those meds, they are dangerous and scary!
20) There is no hope for you with this illness.
21) I know what bipolar is, there's been a report about it on TV (usually referring to two minute sound bite on one of the TV commercials that claimed that "bipolar formerly known as schizophrenia can also be caused by a tick bite". I swear I heard this on Czech TV station). (Or the news referring to the latest school shooting of 27 or movie theater shooting of 52 people by someone who might be bipolar or whatever. Makes people scared.)
22) Bi polar, is that something to do with the Antarctic? (Joke?)
23) I think I may have that.
24) Should you be telling people that you are BP?
25) Can you become violent? (Only when I'm asked stupid questions).
26) I have known you for years, and you never seemed 'nutty' before. Maybe it is the meds you are taking. (No, I just hid it by isolating. Remember all those times I was hard to reach and you thought that I was just busy or I told you I couldn’t talk on the phone right now or please just use email for now?)
28) I am more bipolar than you are.
29) Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps! (Just what does that mean? What bootstraps? I have none. Who has bootstraps? Who does that?)
30) The way to get rid of bipolar is to take vitamins that make upset pigs calm, they are so like us.
31) Just eat right and take jillions of vitamins and supplements and I will tell you exactly how to do it and it will cure you!
32) Does that have anything to do with polar bears? (joke)
33) Having bipolar disorder must be the MOST AWFUL way to live – actually said to me by an inexperienced “therapist.” (How did she get a license? She got a job with a medical insurance co. anyway.)

I JUST HAD TO LIST ALL OF THESE WITH MY OWN TAKE ON THEM AND I ADDED A FEW OF MY OWN. HUGE THANKS TO THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED IN THIS FORUM! I THINK WE NEED TO BALANCE THE 'WHAT TO SAYS' WITH THE 'WHAT NOT TO SAYS.' CAN WE DO THIS A BIT MORE?

[PrairieCat]

Originally Posted by PrairieCat

BD – WHAT TO SAY TO A PERSON WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER (HELPFUL)
If you imply these things by your behavior & a few words, you don’t even need to say these things!
1) Remember the great days...those days will come again.
2) You are one of the strongest people I know
3) I'm not going anywhere.
4) If you want to talk or rant, I'm here to listen.
5) I don't understand.
6) This, too, shall pass.
7) Please tell me how you're feeling right now.
8) I love you no matter what.
9) Realize that your illness does not define you.
10) Remember to love yourself.
11) You are not broken or deficient.
12) You CAN do it.
13) Let me pay for your manic shopping spree! Also, isn't your town kind of small for manic shopping spree? Let me buy you ticket to NYC/Rome/place of your choosing (joke).
14) You don't have to do anything. You don't have to be anything for other people. Just live for yourself, **** the others.
15) I admire your bravery.
16) You have had many exciting adventures!
17) You are a person, not a diagnosis.
18) It's ok.
19) I’m here for you.
20) You are such an interesting, intelligent, articulate person.


BD – WHAT NOT TO SAY TO A PERSON WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER (CRAZY-MAKING)
1) Just think positive!
2) Everyone feels down sometime.
3) Pray.
4) Snap out of it.
5. Seriously, you're upset again?
6) Just try to overcome your moods; it might be just a vitamin deficiency and you don't even look like you have any problems.
7) Your depression is another one of those 'teen depressions' or ‘senior depressions.’ It will be gone before you know it.
8) You only think you are low, and that is just because your mind's not busy enough.
9) Get over it.
10) There's nothing actually wrong.
11) You've got a good life, what's the problem?
12) There are a lot of people who have things a lot worse than you do.
13) You should take medication.
14) There's nothing really wrong, it's just in your head.
15) Are you sure you're not just hormonal? (which is what my mom asked when I told her my dx)
16) It is all in your mind............
17) It is your depression talking (no, sometimes it's my Realism talking).
18) If you don't take meds, your brain will dwindle and you will kill yourself.
19) Don’t take those meds, they are dangerous and scary!
20) There is no hope for you with this illness.
21) I know what bipolar is, there's been a report about it on TV (usually referring to two minute sound bite on one of the TV commercials that claimed that "bipolar formerly known as schizophrenia can also be caused by a tick bite". I swear I heard this on Czech TV station). (Or the news referring to the latest school shooting of 27 or movie theater shooting of 52 people by someone who might be bipolar or whatever. Makes people scared.)
22) Bi polar, is that something to do with the Antarctic? (Joke?)
23) I think I may have that.
24) Should you be telling people that you are BP?
25) Can you become violent? (Only when I'm asked stupid questions).
26) I have known you for years, and you never seemed 'nutty' before. Maybe it is the meds you are taking. (No, I just hid it by isolating. Remember all those times I was hard to reach and you thought that I was just busy or I told you I couldn’t talk on the phone right now or please just use email for now?)
28) I am more bipolar than you are.
29) Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps! (Just what does that mean? What bootstraps? I have none. Who has bootstraps? Who does that?)
30) The way to get rid of bipolar is to take vitamins that make upset pigs calm, they are so like us.
31) Just eat right and take jillions of vitamins and supplements and I will tell you exactly how to do it and it will cure you!
32) Does that have anything to do with polar bears? (joke)
33) Having bipolar disorder must be the MOST AWFUL way to live – actually said to me by an inexperienced “therapist.” (How did she get a license? She got a job with a medical insurance co. anyway.)

I JUST HAD TO LIST ALL OF THESE WITH MY OWN TAKE ON THEM AND I ADDED A FEW OF MY OWN. HUGE THANKS TO THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED IN THIS FORUM! I THINK WE NEED TO BALANCE THE 'WHAT TO SAYS' WITH THE 'WHAT NOT TO SAYS.' CAN WE DO THIS A BIT MORE?

On second thought, maybe we do NOT need to balance! It doesn't take a lot to be supportive. But the stupidity about BD is gigantic.