Bipolar disorder has many types and varied symptoms, and it’s very difficult for someone to deal with-especially alone. However, helping them can be especially difficult without proper knowledge and techniques. If someone you know or a loved one has bipolar disorder and you want to know how to help, this is the place for you. I’m going to share with you 5 of the ways you can help someone with bipolar disorder.
Listen
Sometimes in any situation, all someone needs is for you to listen. Listening to their struggles and their thoughts can help you understand their situation better, and it helps give the person someone to feel comfortable around. It helps to let out the stress and difficulty of their life.
Make a plan
Help to work with someone with bipolar disorder to create an emergency plan for when they experience extreme episodes and can be a danger to themselves or others. You should be prepared with knowing what to do for individual situations and how to help the situation best, from coping methods to emergency situation help and more.
Give reassurance
Reassurance can mean a lot to someone with bipolar disorder. Remind them that they are still valid and can do anything they want to, despite their feelings that the symptoms and problems of bipolar disorder are making them unable to be a part of society and their own life properly.
Educate yourself
It’s important to be educated about bipolar disorder to be able to help someone to the best of your abilities. Each person’s experience is individual and not the same as the general bipolar information you can get, but knowing the terms and what generally can be experienced can help a lot with dealing with individual experiences.
Understand/know their needs
Similar to what I mentioned above about individual experiences being different, you should know what the person’s individual needs are in their personal experience with bipolar disorder. This way you can create specific plans that will help this person and support them in a way that will actually help them not just bipolar people in general.
Have you ever thought of or tried these methods for helping someone through the symptoms and struggles of living with bipolar disorder? If you haven’t, some of these may help ease someone’s struggles. It can be really relieving to have someone trying to assist in easing the struggle of bipolar disorder,or at least trying to understand. Wishing you all health and happiness. Let me know in the comments if you have any other ideas to add to this list!