Reader question: son with bipolar disorder

Hi Julie,

My son, age 33, is bipolar and has made bad choices/decisions.  I have tried to assist him over the recent past.  The issue is how do I tell whether I am assisting or enabling.  I am looking for appropriate support organizations or resources to guide me.

Can you advise me?

Thanks,

R

Hello R,

You can look into the family to family program at NAMI- if you go to www.nami.org you can find a location near you.

My book Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder is for couples, but it has great info that you can use as well – the issues of caretaking are the same.

BP Magazine at www.bphope.com has a lot of info for families. I write a column for each issue.

My family uses my Health Cards to help me. They are life savers. You can use them yourself whether your son participates or not.

I need to write [ Read More ]





American Idol

OK. I have to do a shout out for David Cook!

I didn’t have a television for years- it helped a lot in terms of staying stable. I now watch reality shows with my mom- the joyful reality shows that make you hopeful when you’re feeling sick.  It’s also something we can do together that doesn’t involve family issues, weight, worry, work, stress, etc!

So You Think You Can Dance started tonight here in the States. It’s a joyful show.

There really are shows out there that help depression!

Julie

 David Cook!





Posted on May 23rd, 2008 | Category: About Julie

Bipolar Disorder and Paranoia- ick!

Paranoia is a form of psychosis- so there is a good chance that – if you have bipolar disorder- you have experienced paranoia.

Paranoia is a feeling/belief/thought that you have done something wrong and that someone or some organization is upset with you for doing this perceived something!

It’s easy to see what a mess paranoia can cause. I’m sending out a newsletter on this in a few days. If you go to bipolarhappens.com you can sign up for the newsletter.     Paranoia used to really cause me a lot of trouble. I have worked hard so that I can at least recognize it before it makes me do something stupid! So, I’m paranoid today, but I didn’t do anything stupid!

Julie





Bipolar Disorder and Children on the Cover of Newsweek

newsweek cover The interest in bipolar disorder and children never ends. It’s such a tough diagnosis.

I recently did an interview with Dr. Ajit Jetmalani on the topic of childhood psychiatric disorders.  Here is a link to the radio show- it is a great companion to the Newsweek article on bipolar disorder.

Childhood Psychiatric Disorders Radio Show

You may have to download this show onto your computer to listen.

Treating childhood bipolar disorder is complicated.

 Julie





Bipolar disorder, work and jail

Dear Julie, Do you have any information on how to help someone (my brother) with BP who is required to pay child support, but cannot due to his BP condition?  He is headed for jail b/c he is so behind on his child support payments.  There must be some type of justification in the courts that understands that he cannot work enough to make the payments. It is very stressful for all of us. Any information would be greatly appreciated.   Thank you, L.C

 Hello L.C.  Wow, this is quite a question. The justice system is very used to seeing  mentally ill people- but are not always up on what to do. Here are some ideas:

- Get an official letter from his doctor with detail on his diagnosis, the meds he takes and his work ability. Can he get a doctor’s statement that he’s actually not able to work?

- Search your county for [ Read More ]





Write Your Bipolar Self Help Book!

Writing Your Bipolar Story

There are so many books on the market about bipolar these days! Especially memoirs. I write and teach self help classes and often have students who want to write about mental health treatment. I give them this guideline:

Here’s who I am. Here’s what I’ve been through. Here’s the problem. Here’s how I solved it and here’s how I’m going to help you do the same. This is a great way to start a self help book. If you can get all of this information into a well organized format, you can outline your book quickly!

Good luck with your writing!

Julie





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