Buddy the Bipolar Bug
According to statistics as many as 50% of people with bipolar disorder also have problems with substance abuse. It is one of the reasons that so many people relapse after substance abuse treatment. If you stop trying to medicate your moods, but nothing happens to help you cope effectively with moods that are often out of control, then regardless of the threatened consequences, you will most likely return to trying to medicate your moods. Our jails are full of people who are living testament to this truth.
The story below was originally written for a group of adolescents with alcohol and drug problems to use as a focus in group therapy. Ironically more than one of these kids were also bipolar. The bipolar kids did as well as any in treatment. After treatment they were the first to get back in trouble.
The story I have discovered also exists on another level. It is a description of someone in a manic phase who has no problem in finding good reason to do whatever he feels like doing regardless of the consequences to himself or others. On an even broader level it is a description of all of us. All of us have “poisons” we don’t want to give up on. All of us confuse doing great with feeling good and have the ability to pursue “feeling good” to the point of self destruction.
So with all that here is “Buddy the bipolar bug.”
Once there was a big green bug. His name was Buddy. Buddy liked to eat. In fact it seemed like he was always hungry. He loved anything that tasted good and it seemed like he just couldn’t get enough. Buddy told himself, “There is no such thing as too much of a good thing.
His parents tried their best to tell him that everything that tasted good wasn’t always good for him. Buddy knew that wasn’t true. That seemed like a stupid thing for anyone to say. He couldn’t believe his parents would tell him that.
Feeling good was good. Anybody could see that. Maybe, he thought, his parents were just old. Maybe they had forgotten what it felt like to feel good. He was glad he wasn’t old. He never wanted to forget what it felt like to feel good. He didn’t want to get that old.
Now Buddy was also a brave bug. His friends all told him that and he was sure they were right. He would do anything to get good tasting stuff—no matter how dangerous it was. He knew humans were dangerous. After all they would just smash bugs for the fun of it. But he wasn’t afraid of them. He would run right out in front of them and grab anything that looked good to eat. He was just too fast for them he told himself. After all they had never even came close to smashing him. Buddy was sure they never would.
His dad stopped him one day on his way out the door. He really looked worried. Buddy didn’t know what to think. He had never seen him this way before. “Son, the humans are out to kill us, each and every one of us. They have a new food called poison. It kills!!! Please be careful and stay away from them. It looks good and smells good and even tastes good—but don’t be fooled! They think we are stupid and only think about our stomachs. They think we will fall for their tricks. Please be careful.”
Buddy wasn’t scared at all by what his dad said. In fact, he was excited. He knew immediately that he had to get some of this new stuff. Anything that tasted that great had to be worth the risk. He just didn’t believe his dad. His friends were even talking about having a party. He decided to go and get some poison.
He went up to the human kitchen and right away saw it. They had put it out in plain sight. It was shiny and sweet smelling like nothing he had ever seen before. He was more excited than he had ever been. He just couldn’t wait.
Several of his friends were already there. They had stuff all over their feet and hands and big, big smiles on their faces. They said it was the greatest thing ever.
Well Buddy dived right in. They were right. It was great!!! Nothing had ever felt so good. He couldn’t believe his dad had tried to tell him to be careful. It was fantastic!
He decided to take some home with him. He wasn’t taking any chances on not having some poison when he wanted some. He knew he was going to want a lot more of this.
When he got home he carefully hid his stuff. He knew his dad wouldn’t understand. He didn’t want to take a chance on anybody messing with his stuff.
When his dad asked him why he seemed so happy Buddy lied. After all, what choice did he really have?
They found Buddy and his family dead the next day. The bug newspaper said the poison did it, but nobody knew exactly what happened. Everyone was very sad.
At the funeral the bug preacher told the bug community not to forget Buddy and his family. Remember, he said, the lessons that this teaches us:
Bad things come frequently disguised in good taste.
A good life doesn’t always taste great and great taste is not the same as a good life.
To fall asleep in the face of danger is the surest way to die.
When life tastes bad we all seek good taste. The real challenge is to remember that good taste and great food are not always the same thing.