I remember when my partner Ivan came out of the hospital after a three month manic/psychotic and then suicidal depression mood swing. I was worn out from the months he was there. It was a terrible time. I then had to face that fact that he was far from well when he got home. Sometimes I wonder how we got through it. This time in my life was the inspiration for my book Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder.
I remember the fear, worry and guilt when I didn’t want to go to the hospital. I remember how unaware I was about bipolar disorder. It still astounds me that the staff at the hospital was very kind and yet gave me no tips on managing our lives when he got home. There are many ways to manage this time successfully. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder explains a lot of these. I know that this book is used a lot in hospitals now- what a change!
Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder has sold over 130,000 copies. I never knew there were so many partners out there who need help! If you love someone with bipolar disorder, how are YOU holding up?
Julie
Hi Julie,
I have some serious financial issues i am dealing with. As a person with bipolar disorder I know that handleing finances can be very challenging. Right now I am several months behind on my rent, can’t afford to buy food for my children and myself, can’t afford my medications and a whole host of other problems. Don’t know where to turn. I aslo found out yesterday that I have to go to court for writing bad checks, and I am scared to death. this past year I have been off work on medical disability leave for four months. During that time my disability checks were not being sent to me due to Dr. Office not following up. On top of that I have started gambeling. I know that the gambeling compound my problems because any little bit of money I get I go and try to win more–my thinking is that it is not enough to do what needs to be done with it so i might as well go and SEE IF I can win. I am in so deep and living in fear day to day. Unfortunatly I do not have a good support network. I feel so alone and really doomed. What the heck am I supposed to do? Please help with your words of understanding and wisdom if you can. DESPERATE
Sincerely,
Stepping on my Joy
Hello Joy,
I’ve been there in many ways. The havoc this illness causes in our lives seems to have no limits.
Here are things you can do:
You have written to me. This means you have the free will needed to stop gambling. It won’t get you anywhere. If it’s a gambling problem, call a hotline. They have them for state lottery tickets- ironic isn’t it!
Call a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) hotline in your area. If there is not one, go to http://www.nami.org and find out.
Ask for a mental health court hearing- this is a long shot, but it may work.
Find a support group where you listen to others first and then ask for suggestions about yourself.
Check if you are manic. Some of this sounds manic- I used to gamble a lot when I was manic. It feeds the manic need.
Check your meds.
If you have not received your disability checks yet, go find them.
No more bad checks. They always bite you in the butt. No exceptions. Throw out your check book and go cash only. It will save your future.
Write a bulleted list to the judge explaining why you are in the situation you are in. Limit it to 10 bullet points. Then ask the judge if you can read it when he or she asks what is going on.
Take charge. You wrote me. You are strong and I know you can do it- little step by little step. My motto is that it’s better to get something really small done than feel awful for not getting anything done.
We have all been where you are- down and out because of this illness and our personal choices. There is no reason why you can’t turn this around.
Good luck,
Julie