Posted on 01/02/2010 10:00:22 AM PST by YaZhynka
During a recent talk regarding my book, “Blessed with Bipolar,” I was stumped by the question, “How does a person get to where you are now from where you were in the psych ward?” I actually have a 380 page answer to that question. What stumped me was the question behind the question: “How do I get my bipolar daughter into treatment?”
(Excerpt) Read more at articlealley.com ...
Being diagnosed as bipolar just give you a medical excuse to be an @$$hole. Add it to the ever growing list of genetic predispositions.
Many people treat their bipolar condition with alcohol. They feel that alcohol levels their moods.
But then, sadly, they may become addicted to alcohol. These are two very serious conditions: bipolar and alcholic. Each is difficult to treat on its own; treating both at the same time is a real killer.
My son’s wife is bipolar and refuses to get treatment. She seems to flip out during every holiday, as well as some random times. It’s very trying for him and the 3 kids.
Yes. Bipolar may be a genetic predisposition. I have it and I have, indeed, acted like an asshole many times. But that genetic predisposition is not an excuse.
“Many people treat their bipolar condition with alcohol”
I have thought this also. I think the depressive effect of alcohol represses the mania.
I would also caution anybody about laughing off bi-polar disorder. Some folks may just be overly moody, but many bi-polar people can become seriously delusional.
I have a family member (in law for 35 years) that is Bipolar. This piece sounds nice and caring, good in theory. Never worked for us.
One of the problems is that the real hard cases are people that have so much more baggage than the Bipolar-ism.
In the case of the person to whom I refer, if we could medicate away that ailment, she is so dysfunctional (at 53) that she still couldn’t function in society. Maturity level of a 10 year old. Compulsive liar on every front. Lazy as hell. Petty, selfish, whiny. Shall I go on?
Sadly, a person that has been untreated (or unsuccessfully treated) for most of their life has never developed normally on so many fronts that they have no life skills, the capabilities that most of us have had a lifetime to gradually learn and practice.
I suspect that, unfortunately, that applies to a lot of people with this affliction.
bump
My late (estranged) husband put us through so much hell with his bipolar and alcoholic behavior that I still get upset just reading this article. It made bipolar sound so benign. His behaviors were not benign.
He finally took his own life, but at least he didn’t take mine or the kids, which we were afraid he would do.
So your suggestion would be..”just stop being an asshole” ?
Any ideas how these people might go about that?
Dog Bark Tree: I don’t know the basis of your unsubstaniated opinion, but I do know, from personal experience the impact of Manic/Depression, now called bipolar and you couldn’t be farther wrong than you are. Having lived with most of my life and having been under pharmaceutical treatment for nearly 25 years, I’m proof, as rare as it may actually be, that it is so and it’s real, very real.
Dog Bark Tree: I don’t know the basis of your unsubstaniated opinion, but I do know, from personal experience the impact of Manic/Depression, now called bipolar and you couldn’t be farther wrong than you are. Having lived with most of my life and having been under pharmaceutical treatment for nearly 25 years, I’m proof, as rare as it may actually be, that it is so and it’s real, very real.
As someone who has been victimized by mentally ill people in my life, I can sympathize and I fully support you. I am sick of the irony that eccentrics are labeled maniacs while the real crazy people are getting away with murder.
There were times when I feared homicidal possibilities with my mother. Fortunately, she didn’t get to that level of severity until we kids were teenagers and able to protect ourselves against that possibility.
When discussing mental health problems (or any personality/behavioral issues) it is impossible to keep any single variable in isolation. How do you separate some of this stuff? Can’t.
Agree with you, bipolars can be WAY past just being assholes.
The only bipolar I know a lot about, the sister of a friend, would run down the street naked, walk off and leave cars running with the keys in the ignition in strange towns, throw your purse, cell phones out of the car because ‘they’ were using them to follow her, etc.
Couldn’t keep her institutionalized - she didn’t want it - and she ALWAYS stopped taking her meds.
Finally, her mind deteriorated to the point that when a family member would write her a check, she could no longer write well enough or at all to endorse the check.
They originally removed all firearms from her home but she had an unknown gun squirreled away somewhere that, while she still had some ability to reason, she put in a gun safe. She eventually hacked the gun safe open with a hatchet and shot herself.
I agree with you and would add that they don’t really have families they have hostages. My first husband was one and it made life really awful.
You just descibedby ex husband to a t. Add in addiction to anything he could get his hands on and uncontrollable rage and it would be his history. I’m glad I got out alive and very glad I haven’t had to see him in over 25 years!
It has been my experience that alcohol is more useful in the depressive stage, but there is no denying that alcoholism is a major risk for bi-polar people.
My son has an interesting theory. He opines that bi-polar is actually the natural state of predators, but does not fit into an agrarian society.
Used to be, alcoholics were called drunks and bipolars were called moody.
It hasn’t been that long. It still makes me nauseated.
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