When you struggle with emotions, you tend to gravitate towards a person to bind you to reality. For the bipolar support group, one person is usually selected as the totem marking the path to reality. For the most part, this burden is something we handle as part of caring for the bipolar sufferer.
The most difficult stage is when the sufferer is struggling in the down period. At this point, there can NEVER be enough attention. The totem MUST be available at all times to keep the sufferer grounded. Even the littlest distraction, such as checking your phone, is seen as abandonment and neglect. This is the burden of the support group.
The sufferer cannot do things for themselves at this time. The sufferer cannot find things to occupy the struggling mind. Instead the sufferer looks for the signpost at every turn. When it is not available, the sufferers sees themselves as unimportant or neglected.
Nothing is further from the truth but it is the reality. Often people think of the bipolar patient alone, but the support group is along trying to help.
Sadly the help is never enough....
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