Comments on: My Boyfriend Has Manic-depression (bipolar). We Talk About Getting Married, What Am I Getting Myself Into?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:01:34 +0000

First of all, you need to join a support group who can help you learn how to support your loved one. But you can NOT take responsibility for his well being, or he will be co-dependent. He must learn to help himself, NOBODY can do it for him. Eventually the pressure and weight gets too much on you, your family, your friends, work, finance, it will eat you alive. But it does not mean you have to give up the relationship, just learn how to be there for him. He has a right to be loved and cared for just like anyone else. I wish I had a nice sweet loving woman like you in my life. But the fight is still mine, wont be yours, or therapist. No one else….

By: Lost_one

Lost_one — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:48:31 +0000

Psychiatry: An Industry of Death
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPUHUpfDVgY
Psych Ward Horrors:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eJmcP5Yml8&mode=related&search=
Psychiatry Exposed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b30iwhEw9ho&mode=related&search=
Psychiatry. Voting on Diseases:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy79C0v8elE&mode=related&search=
Psychiatry is a fake science. Proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwP2PP8CU0Y
Dr. Thomas Szaz speaks out against psychiatry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj7GmeSAxXo&mode=related&search=
Psychiatric victims speak out:
http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/8771
http://breggin.com
http://sntp.net
http://ect.org

By: 2mella@s

2mella@s — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:33:24 +0000

Pretend you have a daughter and she came to you for advise on this very problem… What would you tell her to do?

By: gmonte33

gmonte33 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:01:30 +0000

There are different degrees of severity in bipolar disorder. Some people have severe, rapid-cycling, psychotic episodes and are ill more often than they’re well. Others have mild episodes that are separated by months or even years of normal periods. Then there are people in the middle. Lithium can be a very effective prophylactic medication and can reduce the severity of episodes and often prevent them altogether. I think you’ll be fine. Make sure he stays on his medication and if the side effects are too much for him to handle he should see his doctor because there are several other meds available for bipolar disorder. The best thing you can do is educate yourself about the illness. In particular, learn the early warning signs and symptoms of a possible mood episode.

By: Serinity

Serinity — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:11:38 +0000

You have to know that his mental illness is just a part of him but is not who he is as a person. Dealing with manic depression is a life long thing for him just as if he had diabetes.
I was diagnosed in 1991 with bipolar. I got on prozac and lithium and have been on both all this time, stable most of the time. The lithium helps keep the highs and lows closer together. You have to have blood test every couple months to make sure the lithium is not at a toxic level in your blood.
The long term use of lithium has been hard on my liver but has not caused any permanent damage. It did however kill my thyroid so I take thyroid medication.
I have times where I am manic, talkative, and sometimes I don’t catch it in time. As for side effects I have had the shakes a little. They said prozac would cause a low libido but that never was a problem.
I am a college graduate and a therapist. I have a full time job and a good life. Being bipolar doesn’t run my life.

By: Cloudbro

Cloudbro — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:45:04 +0000

Make sure you learn as much about bipolar disorder as you can. I have a friend who’s been diagnosed with it and he’s a good guy, but sometimes does some weird things. Paranoia, unpredictability, mood swings are all symptoms.
He’ll need all the support you can give him.
Good luck.

By: kyten13

kyten13 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:02:32 +0000

The only advice I can give….
TALK to him.
Every person reacts differently during their episodes. Granted, it would be good to look up info on the subject in general, but only he can tell you how he is during one. And only he can tell you what he needs you to do to help him thought it.
I’m assuming since you have yet to experience an episode with him, that he seems to have things under control…..can you trust him to keep things under control?

By: Julia S

Julia S — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:51:11 +0000

I am manic-depressive and have been since about age 12, married at age 21, diagnosed age 29, now 36. Still married (though in a rough patch right now, though that has a lot more to do with my MIL than my illness!)
1. Every one has some defective genes; no one is perfect. If I could trade my M/D for something else, I wouldn’t do it. Though it has caused me a lot of confusion, pain and fear (mainly pre-diagnosis) it has also brought me joy “normal” people can’t comprehend and stronger connections with some of my friends and family. The stigma of mental illness *is* lessening.
2. M/D for many people is eminently manageable. Your boyfriend has been upfront about it and he takes his medication (and presumably has some ongoing care from a mental health professional.) Huge points in his favor.
3. Children? Well, it’s fortunate he’s the one with the illness. You won’t have to worry about the effect of the mother’s lithium or other drug use on the developing fetus. And I think the child has about a 1/9 chance of being bipolar too. And if he/she is, your husband is ideally placed to recognize what’s happening and help that child cope. Did you know that blood relatives of bipolars are, on average, smarter and more creative than “normal” people? I figure there are good reasons those genes didn’t get selected out of the pool!
4. Great strides have been made just in my lifetime. Psychiatric meds are still no picnic, but they’re not the sledgehammers they once were. Alternative medicine also has a place in managing/treating/maybe even curing these disorders and hopefully that will be more acknowledged in the near future.
So I guess I’m advising you to go for it. Do talk to your boyfriend about danger signs and triggers. He’s been in remission since you’ve known him but eventually the odds are he will have an episode. If you can help him catch it quickly it needn’t be a big deal. Problematic manic behaviors that can emerge in some people include overspending, promiscuity and risk taking. But when the person is aware of what’s happening, it makes all the difference. The mind is truly a beautiful thing.
Good luck!!!