Living with a bipolar disorder individual in the home can be a stressful problem for the family as they witness their loved ones engulfed in episodes of mania and depression.
The same factors that would pose threats to peaceful family life for any family pose greater risks when living with a bipolar individual. Alcohol and drug abuse, lies, reckless spending, rage, depression, hypersexuality, suicidal inclinations, and hallucinations all have the potential to upset family peace and integrity.
To minimize risk family, friends and sufferer need coping mechanisms. This usually boils down to rather more in the way of routine, organization, forward planning and a sense of humor than normal. There is no disputing the power of laughter to improve ones sense of wellbeing to elevate the mood and help keep things in perspective.
Bipolar and drug abuse
Hypersexuality
It is important to know that few bipolar patients are dangerous so there is no need to feel physically threatened. Assuming they have been correctly diagnosed and are monitored by health professionals the disruptions to normal family life will be minimized.
Disruptions are more likely if the person has not yet been diagnosed, or misdiagnosed, or for whatever reason doesn't take the prescribed medications.
The best course of action for any support team is to seek help as soon as possible if the behavior of the individual is beyond what could be considered reasonable or normal even if the individual denies there being anything wrong and sees nothing unusual in their behavior.
Identify triggers i.e. stressful life events that are likely to spark the episodes of mania or depression. These might be memories of events like deaths, anniversaries, traumas, or the like. Keep a record of such events in your journal and learn to insulate your bipolar family member from them.
Living with bipolar disorder requires fighting not only your own irritation but also, and more importantly, the fears of the bipolar person. They have a craving for being in control of situations which is rooted in their fear of losing control and the attention of the family. With a lot of patience love and care family and friends can help abate these fears and provide help and support in social situations.
Bipolar research
Other
Resources
Manic episodes with psychotic features like hallucinations (voices, sounds etc) can occur with bipolar 1 individuals. What seems real to the patient might be construed as nonsense or bipolar lying to others. It is important to understand that "reality" is different for the sufferer who is simply recalling the experience as perceived. Acceptance of this relativism of reality goes a long way to curbing anger in such situations
Friday, December 27, 2013
What is Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. In some individuals a chemical imbalance occurs in the brain affecting mood, energy levels and ones general ability to perform normally. Exactly why and how this happens is still under review but there seems to be both heredity and environmental components. Characteristic of bipolar is the oscillating between opposite ends of the mood spectrum. The severity duration and consequence of the mood swings allow for numerous variations within the bipolar spectrum the most well known of which are bipolar 1 and bipolar 11. From the manic highs through the milder hypomania to the depressive lows there are many in-betweens.
We all have periods of elation and despair, a natural part of living but different from these normal ups and downs, the bipolar symptoms are severe and the ramifications can be widespread and potentially damaging to the individual, their relationships, job or school performance etc.
Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first symptoms of depression during childhood, and some develop them late in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life. The risk of suicide including teen suicide is high in untreated cases.
The bipolar disease does not seem to discriminate on the basis of gender, age, race ethnic groups or social classes. However there seems to be a genetic component as bipolar runs in families. Most sufferers having other close relatives with either unipolar or bipolar depression.
Some things in life we don’t get a choice in like whether or not we are genetically predisposed to bipolar disorder but there is an awful lot we do have control of which can have a very beneficial effect on the outcome. There will be aspects of day to day living complicated by bipolar but certainly not insurmountable and there will also be many benefits from the exceptional gifted abilities of many bipolar disorder individuals.
The aim of this site is to provide those interested with the knowledge of potential pitfalls. If you know what might happen you and your loved ones working as a team can put coping strategies in place in advance to minimize any damage.
We all have periods of elation and despair, a natural part of living but different from these normal ups and downs, the bipolar symptoms are severe and the ramifications can be widespread and potentially damaging to the individual, their relationships, job or school performance etc.
Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first symptoms of depression during childhood, and some develop them late in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life. The risk of suicide including teen suicide is high in untreated cases.
The bipolar disease does not seem to discriminate on the basis of gender, age, race ethnic groups or social classes. However there seems to be a genetic component as bipolar runs in families. Most sufferers having other close relatives with either unipolar or bipolar depression.
Some things in life we don’t get a choice in like whether or not we are genetically predisposed to bipolar disorder but there is an awful lot we do have control of which can have a very beneficial effect on the outcome. There will be aspects of day to day living complicated by bipolar but certainly not insurmountable and there will also be many benefits from the exceptional gifted abilities of many bipolar disorder individuals.
The aim of this site is to provide those interested with the knowledge of potential pitfalls. If you know what might happen you and your loved ones working as a team can put coping strategies in place in advance to minimize any damage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)