My Brother Ed Talks About My Bipolar Mania (and it’s not fun to hear what he has to say!)

I had a live mental health radio show in 2007. 

Andy Behrman, the author of Electroboy was one of my favorite guests.  It was a fantastic interview as it’s always great to two people with bipolar disorder to discuss the illness!

In order to prepare for the show, I asked my brother to tell me what it’s like to have a sister with bipolar disorder.  I did the same with my friends- if you listen to the show, you can hear the letter my friend Karen wrote explaining how she helps me stay stable when I get manic.

Here is what my brother wrote when I asked him about my mania:  That’s him grilling his freshly caught salmon!

 

Hmm…How to Deal with Julie’s Mania

Simple, blunt and to the point…

It’s hard to look for the signs that Julie has taught us with the Health Cards. Even after all of these years, a conversation with my mom about something Julie did will have me saying, “Of course! How could I not have noticed the tell tale behavior of the week!”

If I were a casual friend, then I would probably never bother with it and would write off our friendship as too much work. It takes a special (unique!) person to care, learn and follow through on what Julie needs from a good friend. Actually, as an older, middle age adult, I care more about relationships and other people’s feelings.  I think I would be willing to put up with what Julie needs from a friend. As a young man. No way!

Julie’s qualities are worth it though! If it weren’t for those, I could see where some people with mental health issues would be out of luck!

Ed

**

Hmm.  It’s interesting (and sometimes painful!) to read an honest assessment of your own behaviors.  Ed and I have worked on our relationship for a long time. It took him a few years to even understand how the Health Cards work and why they are so essential to my health! He is a good brother.

This was written five years ago-  it’s different now. I don’t have much mania any more. I’ve learned to manage it a lot better- especially with my new meds.  I believe that his honesty is good for all of us who have mania.  It we don’t manage it ourself- we wear people out!  I don’t want to show his words to people- I feel like they make me look out of control! Of course, that is not what they say at all- and my behavior has not been out of control for many years.

It’s good to see that I have changed a lot since then.  How about you today as compared to 2007?  A loved one?

Julie

PS:  You can hear my interview with Andy Berhman on itunes.  If you go to the store and type in my name, all of the radio shows will come up. They are great!

 

Related posts:
A Difficult Evening with My Brother
Listen to Andy Behrman on the Julie Fast Radio Show
My brother Ed