Mental Health

What does it mean to be in recovery from bipolar disorder?

To answer that question, we sat down with Dave Wise of Dave Wise Matters, a blog focused on sharing the truth that people matter.

Did you know that living with PTSD is something often discussed yet little understood? It might be used as a joke to describe a person’s reaction to seeing their grandma in a bikini. However, PTSD is not a joke, it is not lighthearted, and it is not funny.

What is your passion? What gives meaning to your everyday life? What are your aspirations? What gets you out of bed each day? What are your talents? Are you willing to share your gifts with the world? Bottom line: What is your purpose?

Here's a sobering fact: Suicide is final.

If i get fired from my job, I’ll get another. If my wife divorces me, I can remarry. If i total my car, I’ll buy another. But suicide is game over. Permanently.

So sit on that thought for awhile.

As the rates of suicide increase, psychologists are faced with discovering more effective ways in which to deal with it.

For many, life becomes unmanageable at times. One thing is certain – pain is inevitable. This pain can gnaw at you - tossing you into addictive habits, making you believe that there is no hope, and cause you to feel raw, worthless, and hopeless.

For many people the loss of a parent, child, relative or other loved one is an earth shattering experience. The loss of a job, moving away from familiar stomping grounds, or having a child leave the nest can also be jarring and disorienting. What was once routine, what brought us strength, love, and a reason to live is gone - leaving a hole which was once so full.

Many, many people in recovery from alcohol or substance abuse or other addictions often come out of rehab treatment feeling energized and full of hope. They have detoxed and removed substances physically. They likely received a lot of support with individual and group counseling sessions. At the end of treatment, it's easy to feel uneasy without this support and slip into bad habits or behaviors. 

"Refund? Refund?" - Mr. Stoller, Breaking Away

If you're familiar with this classic movie, you may remember the reaction of our hero's father when he learned his son Dave had the audacity to stand behind their product and word with regard to the used cars they sell. Dave was an idealistic, unspoiled teenager working in his dad's used car business. It seemed absolutely natural and just the right thing to do to offer customers something that worked. And if it didn't work, bring it back. This nearly caused his dear ol' dad to have a heart attack. It simply was not the way the business works, he told his son. 

In the mental health and addiction treatment field it is not uncommon to meet resistant clients during therapy. How we handle this resistance can assist or deter the client. With a resistant client, they have met an internal impasse. The client's basic personality is threatened by the mere thought that they are going to be dominated and changed against their will. With the client identifying so strongly with that dominant force within them, what is a therapist or counselor to do to address and get beyond this resistance?