Bipolar Happens Blog – Julie Fast

  This is my amazing nephew David. He’s six. I was pretty depressed yesterday. David came up to me and gave me a hug. I said, “Auntie Wee is sick today.” He said, “I know.”

 Wow. That is pretty insightful. I said, “How did you know I was depressed?” He said, “Because you’re always depressed!” I had to laugh! I’m not depressed very often at all anymore, but when he was very young, I was depressed about 50% of the time.

 I made a decision when he was born that I would be honest with him about bipolar disorder. When I had a tough day, I’d say, “Auntie Wee is crying because she has an illness called bipolar disorder. ” Then I would explain how the illness caused my depression, but that I was fine on the inside. There were days when I couldn’t play with him as I wanted to and he would say, “That’s ok. You can watch me play.”

I really believe we can be honest with kids about this illness. They understand. I never let it get in the way of how I interacted with him. He came first and he still comes first- I just know my limits. I used to get so upset with myself that I couldn’t find the energy to hang out with him on the floor or run around in the back yard- but he didn’t care! All he cared about is that I was there watching him and talking with him!

Now that my depression is so much better and he’s older, I teach him about mental illness and how it affects people- and I always do this in a practical, non scary way. By the time he’s 10 he will be an expert!

 He knows about my treatment plan (the Health Cards) and he will eventually know how to use them himself.

Kids are smart- they know something is going on! 

 Julie