BIPOLAR DISORDER OR MANIC-DEPRESSION

Here's a note I wrote to a Kingdom Group leader in our church giving advice for how to run a group with participants with bipolar, and I thought it might be helpful to post here also.


With bipolar they are usually either totally down or manic-ly up. Its very hard for them to find an in between. Everything is in extremes. So when they come to KG then they are probably extra "up" and with that comes excessive talking, often not quite making sense or having a point. And also not answering the question or sticking to the issue but letting all the jumbled thoughts in their head just flow out of their mouth. They are child like in this way and need to be helped to stop just like a child would. So don't hesitate to redirect or to say let someone else have a turn or to cut them off and say we need to move on. You may need to go to them in private and say that they are taking up too much of the sharing time and not giving others a chance to share. But at the same time, as they are adults, do it all with as much tact and gentleness and respect as possible. As the leader of KG it will be a challenge, but I know you can do it!