Bipolar Disorder: Trusting Others

It's not so easy to trust others when you have bipolar disorder, but sometimes you just have to do it - like, say, your supporter. This is the person closest to you, so if you don't trust them, who are you going to trust?

I would say that trust was one of the hardest issues I had to learn to face when I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It was one of those "emotional side effects" of bipolar that I had to deal with in therapy, because I really didn't trust people very much.

The first area where this issue raised its ugly head was whether I should tell people I had bipolar or not - who did I trust enough to tell? Who did I not trust, so that I wouldn't tell them I had the disorder?

I found that I really didn't trust that many people at all at first. But graudally, I grew to trust more people, and brought them into my support system.

The more people I brought into my support system, or the more I began to trust people, the more I knew I was beginning to grow, or to heal, from my bipolar disorder - the more stable I was becoming, in other words. The more you can trust, the better you are getting.

It starts with your supporter. First, you learn to trust them. As tehy are closest to you, you start first with small things, and then begin to trust them with bigger issues, like how you are feeling, and with your thoughts, especially when they are not the best of thoughts, and you need someone to talk to about them.

After some time goes by and they show you their support and understanding, you learn to trust them more.

Then you begin to expand this trust to other people, first with the people in your support system, then to other people. This is how you learn to trust others, a necessary part of management of your bipolar disorder.

Learning to trust others shows that you are getting better. As you get more stable, it will be easier to trust other people.

Don't forget to check out my bipolar book at: www.brokenroseministries.com

Wishing you peace and stability,

Remember God loves you and so do I,
Michele