To my other half thank you for not judging me because I have Bipolar Disorder. You've never held it against me.
Thank you for always being there for me when I'm having a bad day. You were there at the right time when I needed you.
Thank you for ringing me on the odd occasion from work when I have a mega drama. It calms me down.
Thank you for talking to me when I face more discrimination from my family than I ever have since being diagnosed.
Thank you for leaving me alone when I just need five minutes on my own.
Thank you for not getting angry in the night due to my irregular sleep pattern because of my hypomania which as a result sends me off on one spouting sentences of irrelevant crap whilst I bounce up and down on the bed, and not flipping out when I have a nightmare due to my (now rare) PTSD flashbacks.
Thank you for randomly holding my hand, by doing that you're letting me know that you care.
Thank you for letting me fall asleep on you because I'm exhausted from my voluntary work and trying to 'change the world' purely because I can. I'll never let up on the amount I take on.
Thank you for not telling everyone that I'm 'mad' because I hallucinate (rarely) when I'm over tired from having had no sleep.
Thank you for fixing my household goods for example when I feel like the world has ended all because I've totally ruined a tin opener trying to open a tin of corned beef. Times like that I can get so frustrated for no reason and I feel like I could just 'smash a plate' - ridiculous I know.
Thank you for keeping calm when I forget where my safe place is for putting things when I need something important and I get cross with myself as I can't remember where my safe place is due to my memory loss.
Thank you for not raising the roof when I sometimes switch off when you're talking to me as I may not always understand what it is that you are trying to tell me due to my lack of understanding and ability to concentrate.
Thank you for believing me when I say that I can hear things which aren't there, like my mobile phone ringing, and for putting up with my OCD when at its worst.
Thank you for putting up with my three cat's which make you sneeze morning, noon and night and for not laughing at me when I tell you that I can hear my at cat (that passed away) meowing at me to go and light a candle outside in the garden in the lantern above her grave.
Thank you for taking on two of my children which aren't biologically your own.
Thank you for letting me fill our calendar and organising it with things to do in your holidays (from work) without you barely even getting a look in, or by having a chance to sleep in now and again because I am so organised that I plan in advance. I'm on a roll.
Thank you for taking an interest in what I do in the mental health field. It's my passion and nobody will ever comprehend how much it means to me what I will do until the day I die. I have found my niche in life. I live, breathe, eat and sleep it.
Thank you for not getting in my way when I decide to manically clear the house. I know there are things that I shouldn't throw out but I can't help it, I just do. I'm sure I'll regret it later, but at that moment it seems the right thing to do. My mind is racing and I can't possibly be interrupted.
Thank you for always putting others before yourself, your kindness is unreal.
Thank you for putting up with my extreme mood swings as I'm sure they probably give you a headache at times.
Thank you for being you, you're one of a kind, nothing and nobody compares to you due to your phenomenal amount of patience. I'm pleased you don't try to change me and mould me into someone who I'm not.
Thank you for everything. I could go on forever but I won't. You're awesome and just the best.
Unless one has Bipolar Disorder then no-one will really understand the grip of the two word beast which reams off a four letter word from my mouth!
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Twitter: @mebipolarandi
Web: www.mebipolarandi.com
Facebook: Sharon Sutton
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