Bipolar Facebook Group Post

Anonymous member of our closed bipolar Facebook group posted:

Your mental health is more important than your career, money, other people's opinions, that event you said you would attend, your partner's mood, and your family's wishes... COMBINED! If taking care of yourself means letting someone down, then let someone down.

My reply:

This is so true. I remember my dad asking if he could live with me when he needed to give up his apartment. It was so hard saying the words, "No, Dad. I have to take care of myself first." We were very close. I could see the hurt in his eyes. It broke my heart, but you have to come first. I put myself first. If I had agreed out of obligation or guilt, it could have caused a rapid bipolar cycling because he was medically needy. Despite that we were close, having my father in my home daily and the responsibility of meeting his care expectations, I knew would lead to overwhelming anxiety and family history triggers all of which could have easily destabilized my self-care plan which is sometimes still fragile.