There are times in life when you stumble across something in a haphazard way, and it turns out to be an inspiring moment. This is true for my discovery of Polar Warriors, the videos site belonging to Robert Whittaker. In his video “7 Milestones of Bipolar Disorder,” he says so many things that I relate to, that I feel he is the newest member of my “bipolar neighborhood,” the authors, advocates, and professionals that I seek out for inspiration on living well with bipolar.

His priority in this video is to encourage others to keep moving forward on their bipolar journey, because for many of us it does get better. He has a similar story to mine in terms of diagnosis. He too was diagnosed with depression and given the wrong medication, which sent him into mania. His journey to diagnosis took longer, he had to be hospitalized a few times before they figured out that he was bipolar. My psychiatrist recognized it the first time I had mania, so my process of discovery was a lot less painful.

There is so much information I relate to in this video that this could be a very long blog entry if I shared my excitement over all of it. I will just pick out a few things that I related to. Before I begin I will summarize by naming the Seven Milestones:

1. Asking for Help
2. Opening up to a therapist
3. Finding a treatment that works
4. Having a new relationship with the illness
5. Stop blaming suffering on something else
6. Forgive myself
7. Set boundaries

A new “ah-ha” moment for me was with step number five, “Stop blaming your suffering on somebody else.” I always thought I was pretty good at taking responsibility for my actions, but the way he described it, I could see how my thought process at times goes at first to the outside source instead of bipolar. When I was having difficulty in my job, I blamed it on difficult co-workers, student behavior, and a stressful schedule, when indeed it was my bipolar making me unwell. If I could have acknowledged that sooner, I may have been able to adjust my treatment, so I could continue working, or at the very least, leave the job from a position of healthy decision making instead of resigning in shame.

Step number six, Forgiving myself, would be a great topic to work on with my therapist. I often have little “video clips” that run in my head showing me the mistakes I have made while being in a mood state, the people I have hurt, and the sadness and anger I have caused others.

Step number 7 is also one I need to own and it is a work in progress. Robert sates he is a people pleaser, as am I, and he would tend to draw the attention of the takers. He has worked on communicating his boundaries and learning how to make requests of others by being specific as possible.

This is really a re-discovery and I really appreciate his openness, rational thinking, and truth sharing. I found his videos several months ago, watched a few, and forgot to add him to my rotation of sites I visit. It’s good to have him back.