Psychological Support

I've dealt with bi-polar disorder for some years, and have also been taking lithium treatments for some years. I never have any problem talking about it.
Two things that really suck about it :
1. Not just that I went through extreme highs and extreme lows, but the fact that when I was incredibly happy and feeling great, is was considered a disease. So its kind of like "oh.. so, if im happy, i must be ill.. I cant just be happy?"
2. When people find out that you actually have a disorder, they treat you SO differently, it becomes extremely awkward.

Well, thats my story!

I believe my brother has bipolar disorder...although my father is in denial...he says its just an anger problem from being a teenager. None of my friends ever acted that way, even my guy friends at his age. Just the other day he asked if i would make him a grilled cheese because i was already making some. i said nicely that i was in a hurry and only had time to eat mine then had to leave for work, but that i would leave the stuff out and pan out if he wanted to make it. instantly he started screaming, calling me a F***ing B**ch and that i only cared about my self and no one else. then he got nice again and was interupting my phone conversation. i politely said wait a second kyle, im on the phone. then once again erupts the screaming and curse words. is this normal??? does he have bipolar disorder??? this all seriously happened in like 10 minutes and it seems to happen often. help please?

lindley wrote:

bump...no ideas or suggestions or help?

it's too bad that your dad is denial that there is a problem. other than suggesting that someone take him to a doctor for an assessment, i don't think that there is much else that can be done ... 

it would be impossible for anyone on here to assess whether or not your brother has bipolar disorder because there are soooo many other things that could be going on ... he could be taking drugs, be suffering from one (or more) other psychological disorders, he could be extremely stressed out about something else, etc.

i am not saying that any of these things are the case--only that there are so many things that could be going on (and no one here knows your brother at all, let alone well enough to venture a guess).

i would suggest that you keep talking to your dad about getting him to see a physician--if you are persistent enough, maybe he will relent? good luck with everything! 

you're welcome, Lindley! i hope that it all works out ... and you are still free to vent your frustrations, of course! :-)

i am curious if you brother has ever gotten violent, though ...?

that IS pretty scary! i hope that he can get help before something violent happens (i'm not saying that it WILL happen). a lot of psychological disorders have a genetic link. bipolar disorder is one of them. schizoprenia is another.

does your brother exhibit any other unusual behaviour (other than the outbursts)? i can recommend some websites if i know a bit more about what is going on ... that way, if you can find some info that seems to describe your brother's behaviour you can show it to your dad and maybe it will help convince him to do something ...?

anyway, you can send me a private message if you don''t want to discuss this here--either way is fine with me. i will check back. :-)

Last edited by StormyLlewelyn (06-14-2008 02:22)

he was 15 at the time i forgot to mention that