Uncovering loving ways for doing an intervention

In my years of helping people develop their ability to thrive with bipolar disorder, I have heard horror stories about interventions that were done on them.  As a therapist, I help teach people loving ways for doing interventions. Out of love and desperation, people often do some very hurtful things to get someone to get [...]

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Getting through “emotional rollercoasters” in relationships

It doesn’t matter what you call it “emotional _______”: “…tide”, “…highs and lows”, “…rollercoaster”, “…waves”, “…rubberbanding”, “…disruption”, “…overwhelm”….we all go up and down or in and out in some way (even people without bipolar disorder). So what do you do when you are in a relationship with someone and they are experiencing an “emotional…”? Here [...]

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5 Coping Strategies for loving someone experiencing depression

Suffering with depression is incredibly difficult and painful.  However, the second most painful and difficult position is experienced by the person trying to love their partner, child, parent or best friend experiencing depression. The rejection is heart-breaking. Feeling like your presence (doing anything in your ability to help) makes your partner worse or doesn’t matter [...]

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5 Actions to help someone who has lost touch with reality

When someone has lost touch with reality the words to describe this experience, “psychosis” and “psychotic” often scares people. One automatic response to those words that many people have is “crazy”. Reality is simply created by people agreeing on shared sensory experiences. Psychosis simply refers to someone experiencing things with their five senses that other [...]

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Bipolar Dating Bloopers: Stories About Disclosing Bipolar Disorder on Dates

I feel sorry for the boys I dated when I started dating. I never outright said, “I’m bipolar, you don’t want to date me…do you?” (Hoping they’d say yes.) Nonetheless, this is what my actions said. I remember the very first time I went on a first date…. Within the first 10 minutes I told [...]

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Stories & Lessons Learned from “Coming Out” with Bipolar Disorder

Sharing with people that you are living with bipolar disorder can be a devastating and painful experience. However it can also be one that opens people’s eyes and is liberating for you. In this blog, I will share my own stories including the humor, the successes, and the times when it really hurt to share [...]

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Uncovering reasons why people refuse to acknowledge and support their loved ones living with bipolar disorder

So many people have shared with me the pain that they experience from their loved ones who reject them or refuse to acknowledge that they are living with bipolar disorder. In this blog, I will do my best to expose some of the things that may cause people to reject and deny support to people [...]

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Reasons why people refuse to acknowledge and get help for Bipolar Disorder

Many people find it incredibly difficult to acknowledge and accept that they are living with bipolar disorder….let alone be willing to get help.  They have really good reasons. Here are some perspectives people have shared with me as well as my own experience that I have overcome in order to get to be who I [...]

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5 Ways to help someone who is manic or rapid cycling

Before we get started, I want to help everyone understand why in my writing I use the terms “we” and “us”. The key reason for doing this is because stigmatization, judgment and the fear people have of people living with bipolar disorder can be very isolating and create a great deal of self-shame and self-fear. [...]

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Special for Moms: My Mother’s Story of Witnessing Me Experience Bipolar Disorder

I wrote this with my mom to be useful particularly for moms who are struggling with acceptance for their child struggling with bipolar disorder. My Mother’s Story Witnessing my child experience Bipolar Disorder Written By Robin Mohilner in collaboration with my Mother I never saw Bipolar Disorder coming into my daughter’s life. I believed I [...]

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Ideas for Loving Someone Living With Bipolar Disorder

Loving someone with bipolar disorder isn’t easy, but we sure are loveable. Here are some ideas that may help when the one you love is living with bipolar disorder: 1. A long tight hug will get so much farther than any words. When your partner is agitated or emotional, no words that you say will [...]

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