i am glad that you are starting this web site for parents who may have children with bipolar.I am a 27 year old woman who have bipolar and may or maynot have children with bipolar. Reading these articles and comments will really help out alot.

I’m looking forward to info on bipolar kids also… I suspect all three of my grandkids are to differing degrees. Grandson displays severe withdrawal and anger at age 11, 9 year old granddaughter separation anxiety and bedwetting along with control issues, always talking never, ever sits still, 14 yea old granddaughter severe mood swings beyond normal adolescents… talks about sick of life lots… 🙁 I’m newly diagnosed Bipolar II, their mom, my daughter is Bipolar, anxiety, agoraphobia

My son was just released from a child/adole. hospital. His med nurse took him off the Lithum that was controlling his bi-polar episodes and decided to try a drug called Trileptal it may work on some but you see my son had other effects on it defience and uncontrollable mood swings he also started hitting me and threating other members of the family. Have case manager, family advocate, theropist and every source under the sun but it actually to him getting physcial to go to juv. detention for them to do a hosp. analysis been dealing with this since he was 5 yrs. old now 14 hope the med. change agrees with him. Desperately need control and yes bi-polar children need structure and a set schedule and set discipline. Consiquence for action. I just want him to be a normal adult and I don’t have much time. Thank you

To all of you.You are all saying the samething, listen to yourselves, for every time we as bipolar fight our meds for everytime something goes wrong. We are begging you to LOVE US without thought to anything being wrong with us. When YOU make a person feel Different WE will be Different, when they won’t take their meds, show them a smaller person in your family that THEY will be helping if they take their meds, because that one might need THEIR HELP ONE DAY AND THEY MUST BE ALIVE AND WELL TO GIVE THAT HELP. They need to always feel needed, and when they are bored and they jump from swing to swing, put them in one and sit with them and sing OVER THE RAINBOW. It helps, it gives hope. Teens especially need a strong will to live, they have to live to help another. I am bipolar and I started trying to commit suicide at the age of 12 and have never stopped. At times we just hold on to a chair as tight as we can and no one understands unless you wear our shoes. I have been called nuts, stupid, hateful, beat up, and the words go on forever. I must live and live as drug free as possible
BECAUSE I AM AN ORGAN DONOR, TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE WITH ANY PART OF MY BODY LIVE. AND WHAT CAN NOT BE DONATED WILL GO TO FIND ANSWERS.GOD GAVE ME LIFE TO GIVE TO ANOTHER,TO PASS ON. I know, sometimes things happen too late for one but not for another, my sister died FEB.4,2005 of a heart attack but she had a cleft palate,flat hip sockets multiple surgeries all her life, 4 years total in hospitals with complete body casts, on to be able to live 54 years. Three weeks after Susie’s death, they found a gene that will cause bone tissue to replace itself, to fix children with cleft palates,with flat hip sockets that don’t fasten to anything so hip replacement was impossible, with curviture of spines. She lived in pain all her life(my father thinks God was punishing him, I called him a dumb ASS in the prayer room of the Mayo clinic) as my sister was laying in surgery for 6 hours. (How dare he ask God about himself.) She lived 8 years longer than she was given free of a wheelchair,crutches, and hospital rooms. But when God calls he has a place for you.
Susie was the one who had suffered all her life till the stress of the bipolarism in our family and my fathers abuse killed her. We are all sick of life, it takes GUTS. Take your children to a childrens hospital to see the thousands of children born with their arms on backwards that just want to live. Let them see the pain of dying cancer, they must know all of this. Do not shelter them from what you think of are the evils of life expose them with LOVE. You have talked about discipline do it with Love or it will be misinterpreted, Structure is important for all of us, it gives us purpose for life, they must know that no matter what: THEY are needed and if nothing else to spread the word of this disease. And while they are at it, I have found a constructive addiction, it is genealogy. I have traced my bipolarism and am writing it in books and giving it to all relatives, so that they know about what we have and will reach out and get the GUTS to help all that they meet. I have discovered that we are easily recognized no matter what phase we are in, we are all alike, we need understanding giving love. Those are the unending words of repeating for ever. I am 57.And much of the time walking a tight rope, I hang on to a pole it is my husband. My family ignores and is ashamed to have me near them. DON’T GIVE UP. AND MOST OF THE REMEDY IS FREE. JUST LOVE. Thankyou for reading Patsy

I agree with Patsy’s comment about not treating your children as if they are “different”. Especially for the bipolar parents, you know how it feels when the world does it to you? You have to make a strong effort to treat your children the exact way you want the world to treat you.

In explaining to the world what bipolar is, I always through in the true fact that there are many famous people that have bipolar also, i.e. Sally Fields, Winston Churchill, even Robin Williams. That gives those that do not know much about bipolar a very positive first thought. They think of productive people who all have jobs and not to count, make a lot of money doing what they do.

ALWAYS encourage your children, whether they have biopolar or not.

Encouragement, love, structure, and displicine is all that any child needs to grow into a happy, healthy, production adult.