Has anyone ever thought their loved one was posessed when in a depressed state?

Is there help for us who are the unfortunate ex-spouses of those who have Bipolar Disorder- I’m getting my butt kicked, and now she has a court order that states that I can only have visitation of my kids at HER descretion. HELP! Any legal help would be greatly appreciated. I’m in Michigan, and that complicates things a lot.

Thanks, Richard

DUBI,
My husband was in the army(national guard) he was discharged because he went into mania and they immediatly placed him in the hospital on the base to get him his meds. The most important thing right now is that your son gets his meds, not the army or anything else. His life is more important that anything.

You sound spiritually shallow; trying to reason the issue of Faith, which can only be spiritually disearned. So many are copping the attitude, “Well, it’s OK to have faith, BUT… God’s Word commends that without Faith, it is impossible to please God. I’ll stay w/ God’s Word over man’s word. My wife takes her medication, treating the bipolar symtoms, BUT it is the Sweet Holy Spirit that produces the cure: bipolar is just one more disorder; Christ Jesus is THE ORDER-LC

Thank you for the uplifting e-mail. About 4 months ago I was finally correctly diagnosed as Bipolar Type II, not as severe as Type I, but extremely exhausting to try to wake up and live everyday. No supporter for me. My husband does not really believe in it, thinks everything in life is just a decision. My friends don’t really understand. Most are coming around now that they are seeing the change in me. My husband is now coming around but is horrified that I have put our family into $130,000 in credit debt, not including our home, in the past 7 years. Believe me, you can hide it if you want to. (I had been diagnosed with anxiety 7 years ago,and the medication I was on just made me not care about spending and the bipolar got worse and worse. Couldn’t get out of bed for 24 hrs at a time, or was so happy I bought things for everyone. Now that my meds are in good shape, we are trying to get our life back in order. Living on a cash basis. No credit or debit cards (debit cards can get you in real trouble too). Our credit rating is about to go in the dumper, since we are only paying on the credit cards as we can afford too. My faith is helping a lot. God is carrying me through each day. I am attending Financial Peace University at my church which seems to be helping with my state of mind. Just wanted those of you who might be like me or have a loved one like me, that if diagnosed correctly, your Dr. can probably help with the right medications, God can certainly and absolutely help. And please find someone you can talk to, and relate too. David’s e-mails have been a Godsend to me as I started reading them after I was diagnosed.

I agree that the tools are there for use. Faith provides guidance, wisdom, direction, paths to proper meds, doctors , therapists. Without the guidance of God it is really pot luck.

I have seen so many times that my family has been led to the proper tools. Faith also provides the hope for a complete cure and many times that happens. I have seen it happen. I have seen it not happen. God is in control and sometimes the cure is to be in His presence and await the arrival of their loved ones.

I do not understand why, but I have seen enough answered prayer in the life of my family that I KNOW He is sovereign. I have always been blessed and in good times and difficult times.

I agree with you 100%. When I had my worst episodes I always counted with my Mom and relatives support praying for me everytime, but if not for the right “tools” in the right time,I would never find my way to recover. God is the most V.I.P. that I’ve ever new in my whole life and He gives me health and life through several tools. Thanks Dave!

I was contemplating this subject this morning before I even got the e-mail. I feel like God is working in my life because my question was answered when I pulled up the e-mail. I know that it is only by the grace of God that I am alive after the last 6 months. I had a really bad bipolar episode and it seemed as if I was a totally different person. I am ashamed of all I did during the last 6 months and hope that with God’s guidance that I can overcome my obstacles and get my life together. I lost my beautiful kids during my acute episode and want to stay on the right track so that I can get them back. I believe now that God did provide us with dr’s, medicine etc and I am going to utilize those tools to keep my disorder controlled. I hope everyone can appreciate having faith in one’s life.

I have a question for Suzannewa…what part of washington are you from? I live in Spokane. My sister is always telling me when i’m in a depressive episode that BP people can live strong and happy lives. And I just wanted to say to you that I really am impressed by you. You seem to have your BP very much under control, you have the right meds and you take them accordingly, and you see a therapist. I just wanted to tell you that just reading your comments gives me hope because you seem like a wonderful person who has their BP under control and I admire that. It shows me that people struggling with BP can live normal lives and I see that in you.

What is a cognative therapist? How do I find one? Right now the only medication I am on is paxil and ativan, and it doesn’t seem like my doctor really takes the time to listen to me. But I go to a free clinic. The only therapist they have only allows 20 min visits once a month and that doesn’t seem very therapeutic to me. But right now I am living paycheck to paycheck, sometimes asking my boss for a draw between paydays, and I cannot afford to pay a therapist. But I think it would be really good for me if I could talk to one like once a week or so…any suggestions?

One more question, does anyone have any advice on being BP and having a fiancee who doesn’t really believe in the illness? I mean, sometimes he’s really supportive and skims through the reading material I give him, but sometimes he is really mean and says things like “snap out of it,” or “stop being a drama queen.” Just these sayings alone are huge triggers for me to drop deeper into depression. I try to help him understand it more and I bring home reading materials all the time but sometimes I feel that he just dismisses it and doesn’t want to believe its a real illness. Any suggestions?

Is there an online chat or support forum that anybody knows of? Thanks.

arowejrowe@yahoo.com

I, too, believe in the Serenity Prayer-it has gotten me through many a mess, believe me…

Also, and this hasn’t been mentioned, but God also promises us that He will NOT give us more than we can bear. His burden is lght, and his yoke is easy. BUT – we must take responsibility for our treatment plans.

Religion can be kind of iffy for me. I don’t go to church, because it produces a lot of anxiety for me. When I’m in a manic episode, I truly believe I am Jesus as a woman, and nothing can harm me. I move ONLY as directed by God. I have learned that I cannot read the Bible too literally, or I get in trouble. When things become too easy for me, or when coincidences happen that could only be described as divine intervention, then THAT scares me. The manic episode euphoria lasts only as long as there is “bliss.” Then, the BAD things happen, and I KNOW it’s time to be hospitalized, mainly to regulate my medications, and “bring me down.” It is deceptive to believe God is behind everything that happens to you – it could be the Devil. It takes discernment to identify the difference, and sometimes that’s hard.

Yes, USE the tools – your shrink, your therapist, your meds; AND continue to have the deepest faith you’ve ever had. Faith CAN move mountains, but it can’t CURE bipolar. Like David said, you can ask God to pay your bills, but you have to WORK to bring in the money. Bipolar disorder can be maintained, but never cured. It is a life-long disorder, like diabetes, and should be treated as such.

To the blogger who said her fiancee says, “Don’t be such a drama queen,” I would lose the sucker right now. He won’t change; his opinion of your bipolar won’t change. You’re butting your head against a wall when you give him the information about bipolar, and he dismisses it. He doesn’t love you if he doesn’t want to understand you. My new boyfriend, when he learned I was bipolar, went out and researched and investigated the disorder, so that he can be a REAL supporter in my times of need. He’s seen me through a “cheating” episode, and truly understands why I did it. Now, he is there for me, and I feel very protected. Just a “heads-up” about your fiancee, honey. Lose him.

BIG HUGS to all bipolar sufferers and the ones who love them. God loves you, and so do I.

I am not sure, but I think my 37 year old daughter is BP. It is hard to tell, because in 4 years she has had to have 5 brain surgeries, this is concerning a totally different disease (VHL). My sympathy for that has kept me from pushing her to see if she is BP, and not sure that I could, but she has become very strange, not unexpected, but she doesn’t treat her family like her family anymore, and she surrounds herself with people that are not healthy for her teen age children. Things have changed drastically in the last 3 years. She lies more totally out of character. I am the subject of her verbally abusive attention most of the time, I can’t do anything right, her rules change from week to week. I still hang out at their house once a week just to add some sanity to the kids lifes.. Anyway what I am trying to say is that my daughter has twisted things around… first she sucks people in then she slaps them across the face. She lies about everything. I am so there for her when she has her surgeries and after. My daughter still works, she is very strong… I admire that. I can’t get her to see a physciatrist or to go as a family for the VHL (because my granddaughter has that also). So how do you know if someone is BP, and how do you get them help? Maybe I can get the kids help?
thanks

Rather than saying a person in an “episode” TELLS LIES, why not just say it correctly? When on a swing in moods, bipolars simply misinterpret reality? Once again, wording gets you in trouble because, you are insinuating character flaws in the bipolar themselves. This is the worst thing that one can say about a bipolar. We do not have character flaws such as the LYING you suggest. It is part of the disorder and NOT the person.