Bipolar Disorder Forum - Daughter diagnosed with bipolar

Mental Health > Bipolar Disorder Forum > Daughter diagnosed with bipolar

Do you know what bipolar is exactly? And what types of bipolar do doctors classify and diagnose? Learn more basics about bipolar disorder here....

Q: Daughter diagnosed with bipolar

asked by: mandy12 on February 18th, 2008

New User

I recently became re-acquainted with my daughter, now 25, with two small children, who told me she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She has therapy once a week and is on a generic prozac, and after the baby gets older and sleeping through the night they will give her something to help her sleep.

I just don't know how to respond to all of this information. When she was growing up, I knew there was something terribly wrong, and she was admitted to a psych facility for about a month, and put on meds, but no diagnose was given. Taking the meds didn't last as she stated she didn't feel right on them. As the years went by she got harder to handle, and eventually went to live with her father. She graduated high school with honors and went off to college only to fall apart. Wandered the streets for months on end, and ended back with me. After about 1 1/2 years, she started the same crazy making crap and I asked her to leave.

Now, finally, she has admitted she has a problem and is getting treatment.

What, if anything, do I do to help her? She has quite a handful with two small children (2 and 3 months).

I don't want to enable her, as she need to stand on her own, but I don't want to trigger anything unnecessarily.

Replies(3)

Galaxy

replied on February 18th, 2008

Supporter

I think there is no question that she needs help. 'Standing on her own' can come later. Try to help her for now - she has a young baby that may be making greater demands on her than she can cope with. You should also help her put in place some support from social services and anything else she may be entitled to. Good luck.

CarolDiane

replied on February 19th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

I would talk to her as a mother with love and let her know there is hope out there. She just needs to go get it.

Georgia59

replied on February 21st, 2008

Especially eHealthy

I agree with the above-

since bipolar disorder is not any type of addiction or behavior problem, "enabling" isn't something you need to really be worried about. Your actions won't change her illness, for better or for worse. But your support can help her on her own path to recovery.

Things you can do: Invite her and the kids over for meals and such, volunteer to watch the kids (when it is convenient for you) on some sort of a regular basis, once a week, once a month, whatever so she can have some personal time, offer simple emotional support with your kind words, learn about her illness so you can understand her better, and most of all, make sure she is getting quality treatment.

Learn About Us

Get Help

Join In

Do More

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.

The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made. Schizophrenia health sitemap.
This page was last updated on January 1, 2009.
© 2008 eForums, Inc