Insights and advice on caring for, living with and relating to a person with bipolar disorder and tips for taking care of yourself. For family members and friends.

• What Does Support Really Mean?
  Advice from consumers, friends and family members on what 'true' support really is.
• Principles of Living a Balanced Life
  There are positive actions that can be taken to make life more bearable when a family member has a mental illness.
• Communication Guidelines
  Why is it necessary to practice good communication skills?
• Empathetic Guidelines
  Respecting and protecting our loved one's self-esteem.
• Does Your Relative Suffer From Depression?
  Important things to know if your relative suffers from depression.
• Pointers
  Pointers to help a spouse live with mental illness.
• Taking Care of the Caregiver
  Dedicated to those family members and friends who are primary caregivers of a loved one or friend with mental illness.
• Coping Tips for Family Members
  Tips for coping with bipolar episodes.
• Coping Methods for the Family
  No one is to blame and you cannot cure a mental disorder for a family member.
• Mental Illness - Information for Family and Friends
  Family members and friends of those affected by mental illness share many similar experiences.
• Do's and Don'ts
  Suggestions for difficulties arising from bipolar and depression.
• Loving Tough
  It's often pretty rough trying to cope with a manic-depressive loved one.
• Handling Guilt
  Nearly all relatives of the mentally ill feel guilty
• Handling Your Mentally Ill Relative's Anger
  If your relative is angry and you are not, learn coping mechanisms
• Why People Resist Accepting That They Are Ill and Resist Taking Medications
  Why won't your loved one be compliant in their care?
• How Caregivers Can Help with Medication Compliance
  Strategies for helping people with bipolar disorder manage their medications and maintain medication compliance.
• A Guide for the Bipolar Caregiver
  Caring for someone with bipolar disorder can be overwhelming. Read about ways to cope effectively.
• Dealing with Bipolar Mania: Help for Caregivers
  What caregivers need to know about symptoms of mania, medications to treat mania and caring for people with bipolar disorder.
• A Member of Your Family Is Mentally Ill - What Now?
  Fifty-four million people have a mental disorder in any given year.
• When Someone Close to You Has a Mental Illness
  Effective ways of coping.
• The Other Half - Spouses of Bipolar Sufferers
  Spouses are often caretakers and caregivers in the relationship.
• Effects on Family
  The family of someone with bipolar disorder will be affected in many ways.
• Coping Tips for Siblings and Adult Children of Persons with Mental Illness
  Most siblings find that mental illness in a brother or sister is a tragic event that changes everyone's life.
• Advice for Children from Children
  Advice for children from others who have "been there."
• Living with a Loved One's Mental Illness
  Who takes care of the caretaker?
• What to Say
  Learn things to say that may be helpful to a person suffering from Bipolar Disorder.
• What Not to Say
  Learn what things that, when said, could be demeaning or degrading to a person suffering from Bipolar Disorder.
• The Role of Family and Friends
  The challenges of living with bipolar disorder are not limited to those who have the disease.
• Helping a Depressed Friend
  How to recognize depression, how to help a depressed person know that they are depressed, what to do, and what not do to concerning helping the depressed person.
• Twelve Things
  Twelve things to do if your loved one has depression, bipolar disorder, or some other mood disorder.
• The Effects of Bipolar Disorder on Family and Friends
  Mood disorders affect not only the lives of the victims themselves, but also the entire social setting in which he/she moves; marriage, family, friends, job, society at large.

next: What Does Support Really Mean? ...comments from bipolar consumers, their friends and family members