As others are speaking please be attentive and non-disruptive. Resist the impulse to jump in with your own experience or questions. This is THEIR time, if they want input they’ll ask for it. When it’s your turn you can take your time to ask questions or give input to others. This brings about another important rule: Be very careful giving advice. The word “should” does not exist in this setting. If you want to share an experience, say something; like “when this happened to me I found…” Never tell people they “should” do this, or “should” do that. Put it in terms of yourself. “I discovered…”, or “what has worked for me is…”
Keep it on track. Give the details that are relevant to your condition and your life. Others may disagree with this, as bipolar disorder does impact every part of our day-to-day lives. But sharing with the group minutiae will cause others to lose interest. The point is to keep it relevant and meaningful. So if it was significant to you, share it. You might mention that you changed your meds and have been sleeping more due to the change. You might talk about missing work due to depression, or your struggle to avoid self-medication in the face of increasing mania. If you have been suicidal, it is absolutely appropriate to mention it. But please avoid details that might serve to fuel ideas in others. Don’t worry about emotion, it will happen regularly. If the tears come, it’s only normal. It’s happened to all of us before, and will happen again. The release you get from this will be therapeutic, not only to you but to the group itself.
Other common sense things: Turn your cell phone off or to silent mode, and if you have to take a call leave the room. Keep side conversations to a minimum. Take breaks as a group, don’t sneak off to smoke when others are talking.
And finally when it’s break time, the room will clear in a hurry. Bipolars are notorious smokers. Even if you’re not a smoker, go out and hang with them – it’s the best socialization there is. That is when friendships are formed.
Do you have any input on support groups? Let’s talk about it in the Message Boards.

Thank goodness If you ask they will start you out with one on one therapy appts with a counselor. There is no way I could be talking about anything around a bunch of other people. Especially if they would make comment's and say something I didn't like. OH boy there would be trouble. So who said you have to talk in front of others? You mean you can't even speak to a counselor F2F also? I couldn't either for many many years. It has taken me many years to get to this point. I wouldn't even get on a bus, I would make appts and cancel them over and over again. This happened for many years. Now I forced myself to go and slowly started getting used to the counselor, so now I can share my life story with her and not be judged or afraid. Plus I have been on so many med's I am so tired of that? I am not on any kind now, that's why I felt I could go now MAYBE???
I am not sure if I am doing the right thing's, I was on so many different anti deppressant's I just got so tired of them, I stopped them altogether. I have been feeling pretty darn good, I joined a church and have been attending for the past 7 or more month's. I have given Family Practioner's a break from my life for the last 7-8 months too. The last script's I had been on were Seroquel, and Vicodin for my painful Arthritis in my knee's. Then they stopped giving me this and I stopped going. I will make an appointment very soon. I don't want to but, I need to. Just to make sure that everything's is fine with me now. I am giving all med's a break in my life right now! I told my therapist, I still see her every 2 week's or so. So it's not like I'm not under any care? I am also on Methadone for my addiction problem's for the past 2 years now. I just am trying to see what the future hold's for me. I am so tired of med's and appt's and everything? I don't know what's next for me, I have been feeling so better with Spiritual help from the church for the past 4 months. I will see what my life has next for me in the future. I don't know if it's going to include more med's? I hope not, but I don't know or can't say it will be more med's or just counseling or both. I have hope!
