Hi Ivan

I am sorry to hear about your sister. She is having a really tough time with this disorder her-self, just as much as you are.

Is your sister still taking medication like she should and seeing her psychiatrist? The fact that she uses marijuana will undoubtably have a bad effect on her and might even be increasing the problem.

The fact that she explodes at certain times is also not strange. You get different types of Bi-Polar...one where it strikes every so number of months and one that is called "Rapid-Cycling" whereby your mood shifts (in the extreme) from one hour to the next.

The other contributing factor might be that she does not feel confident enough to talk to your Mom/Dad about problems she is having and/or the difficulties she is facing (especially due to her condition) and ends up "bottling" it up untill she eventually can't hold any more and "explodes". Regular visits to a psychiatrist will help a lot, even when she isn't feeling bad. It will give her someone "impartial" to talk to and vent against.

To be able to learn manage her condition on her own and to keep an eye on her medicine and wether it needs adjustment, she needs to keep up visits to a psychiatrist...It is unfortunately not something that will eventually "go away". It will always be there and her quality of life and how she handles it, depends on her managing it correctly with medication and help from medical professionals.

Give me a shout if you have any questions and/or other concerns.

All of the best to you, your family AND your sister. I know how hard this condition is on the person and theyre families...just ask my sister how I treated her as a kid...And I was her YOUNGER brother to boot...

Ivan,

It is very hard to have a family member ill with a condition like bipolar disorder and be unable to help them. I have a brother that refuses to get help for his disorder. This past weekend he caused chaos at a family gathering due to his instability and raging.

Spring time marks the change of season. The days get longer and the weather warms up. People with bipolar disorder often become unstable at the change of seasons. This may account for some of the changes you see in your sister.

Your sister needs some medical attention. Your family can have her placed in a hospital psychiatric unit to have her evaluated and treated for her disorder. Anyone that makes threats against another or themselves can be forced to get treatment. Your parents should talk to her doctor. She can be made to get treatment. Her doctor would be able to assist your family on how to proceed to getting her help. She is independent and an adult but if she is viewed as a threat she can be forced into treatment.

I hope your sister gets the help she needs. You are not responsible for her or her disorder. I wish I had an answer for you as to how to best help her. You need to take care of yourself. Your options may be limited and you may not be able to do anything for your sister.

Thank you very much for your posts and it is a sigh of relief to know that we aren't the only ones out there with this problem.

Now, my sister she has been through medication, doctors, psychologists and counselors. She was apart of a government research, but then pulled out, At the start she did take medication, but has stopped now, but still will sometimes take it, she is overweight which is sign from the tablets.

Now she doesn't like the tablets, or doctors or psychologists and counselors. One thing with her, she doesn't like a big crowd around her and doesn't like people telling her what to do. And also when she starts yelling at the family, you must not reply back to her because things just get worse.

But one thing that she depends is marijuana, she cant be without it. We usually don't contact her due to her request having nothing to do with us.
Last night we received an sms saying "I have no marijuana, I am bored, Give me money." So me and my brother dropped off $200 in her mailbox. She was upset for Christmas 2007 because she had no marijuana and came to my other sisters house, and caused chaos. I really don't see her getting off the stuff. Its affecting her.

And also her suicidal thoughts, on Christmas 2007 she said that she stood in front of a train and pulled out the last second, I mean weather this is true or not, we cant take it as a joke. She does write suicidal letters.

But what most worries me is the threats towards the family, would she carry out such an act against the family, would she kill one family member, that is something that scares me so much, she has been saying threats for the past 3 years, but what if that day comes if really does it, that is my biggest fear, and there is no knowing what she will do because she is sick.
And Ive witnessed her behavior for the last 8years and I know every single moment, its been hard, its been painful, i am only 17 years old, But this is the worst Ive ever seen her, she needs help and quick, and the question is how do we help her? When we've already helped her, but she doesn't want to be helped, Is the some way out there how we can help? I mean either though I hate her, i just want to help her and quickly, yes she might have disorder for the rest of her life, but just some sort of help out there. Please help me.

Hi Ivan

One major concern is the on/off basis on which she is taking medication. Anti-depressants and/or sychotheraputic medication is advised to be taken on a regular basis. It takes a while to start working and a while to wear out, so taking it on an on/off basis doesn't help her at all. She needs to take the medication on a constant basis.

As for her weight gain, she can find help from a dietrition to assist her with the effects the pills is having on her.

She would hate everyone who is trying to help her...especially with the marijuana.

The best advice I can give you, is to get your parents to talk to her doctors/psychiatrist. If they can't reach them, they can talk to any other psychiatrist to assist them. Like Antigone said, if she proves to be a threat to either those around her or her self, for that matter, they will more than likely get her into an institution, which:

1. Would get her taking her medication on a constant basis.
2. Assist her with her weight gain.
3. Help her get over her addiction to marijuana.
4. Give you and your family peace of mind, that she is being taken care of.
5. Ultimately, not cure her, but at least teach her to manage her illness correctly so that she herself feels better as well.

Initially, it is going to be EXTREMELY difficult as she will hate the people around her even more for putting her in a mental-institution under protest. But with the proper treatment, you would not be able to believe the 180 degree turn a person's personality and/or feelings towards others can change. This is why BiPolar is called a "Mood Disorder". It affects her moods and feelings towards others, herself and even life.

I also suffer from "social-anxiety"...it's not something you can control on your own. The only way for you to have control over it and learn to cope with it, is with medication. Once you have started to cope with it, in a lot of cases, the medication would not be necissary any more. Crowds disturb me utterly. The point is, I know EXACTLY how she is feeling and what she is experiencing. I can't see the impact side of my disorder, but I can tell you one thing...this is an illness that I would not even wish on my worste enemy...

As for the threats, 80% of the time it is a means to get others to REALISE you don't feel right and that you WANT help...even if you don't admit it your self. It does not often excalate to realisation but has to be carefully watched and assessed.

I really wish you all of the best.

This is a hard burden for someone of your age and like Antigone said, please take care of your self as well. We don't want to see you having a break down because of this nasty illness...it's enough that your sister suffers under it's reighn of terror.

Kind Regards

Seraph

Thanks for the posts once again this is giving me an understanding and is well appreciated. I thank you very much.

There is a slight problem in Australia where I live, there is no mental institutions, they got rid of that 15-20 years ago. I am really not sure what this country has more to offer, I mean like I said we have been through doctors, psychiatrists, counselors and government research program, but the problem is, my sister will talk into the psychiatrists and then straight walks out and they don't stop her, it makes me sick, I mean yous are from different countries and what I can see is their is effort into bipolar in your countries. I really don't know what to do, I think they will only act if something bad happens, I mean my sister has attempted to stab my father and he managed to block it off, thank god, and police was called, but nothing was done. It makes really sick, how do I get these specialists to listen and keep her and set her on the road for stabilization. Maybe possibly I could do it with a court order. I really don't know whats for offer in Australia for bipolar sufferers, it doesn't look bright, I just want to help her, yes I do hate her but still she is my blood, she is my sister, she is born like that, and we have to help someway. Its tough times.

Hi! my name Is Manuel,am a 25 years old veteran of OIF, i'm Bypolar! Well, I wasn't vipolar until i came back from war is hard to say when the disorder started but i can tell u one thing! Since i got back from war my life went to the drain! I lost my wife,my house,my car,lost all my money buying stuff i didnt need and ended in jail! i cant even see my older kid ever again! this condition drain all the good aut of me and when i was happy i felt like i had won the lottery!!!When i was sad i felt like doing bad things to me and others! I wansnt my self anymore i felt alone! Now i'm not alone!! From the begining,step by step little by little i got better! All i can say is that some times we need someone to see whts happening around couse we cant see clearly! My famly placed me in a mental hospital against my will there they helped me out a lot! i thank them for theyr help! i didnt understand at the time but now i really apretiate all they did!
If u can do it help that person u love dont let them go in this path alone! They need u even when they dont admit it!

Just dont give up!
At the end all we got is each other and love!
Ask your self this question!!!
"Would you want to be left alone if it was you the one with the disorder?"