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with friends and family of a person with bipolar disorder

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How did you find out your child is different?

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Well...I still remember one time when I looked at the rearview mirror, I saw that she was really happy, but after a while, she looked very upset and started to freak out about something that had happened a long time ago.

This happened when she was in preschool. I was shocked when her preschool asked me to take her for a psychological evaluation as I had never heard of a three-year-old child undergoing psychological evaluation.

I was blaming myself badly during that time and I did not bring her to any evaluation as I don’t want to label her. However, I realize things won’t go the way I wish when she was in kindergarten. She was being labelled as a bad, naughty kid or a girl that doesn’t listen to instruction.

GreatSchools. (2013, May 2). Raising sadie: My bipolar child [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xKv3FwRhUM

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I was unmarried and I just want to have a child, so I adopted him. He was very outgoing when he was in high school. He went to a small college for drama after graduation. This is the place where he started to show some symptoms.  He had poor hygiene as he didn't bathe and brush his teeth which caused his roommates to move out. He also started to drink heavily, refused to answer calls and skipped classes. Eventually, he dropped out of the school.

Carter, D. J. (2018). Case study: A transactional analysis model for a single mother and her adult child with bipolar disorder. Clinical Case Studies, 17(5), 296–310. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534650118790811

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What had you tried to do to make her feel better?

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When she felt depressed, she always went upstairs as she thought she couldn’t do anything to make the living room clean. So, we helped her to do house cleaning so that she would feel comfortable and stayed downstairs with us.

WebMD. (2017, August 10). Bipolar in the family – Bipolar disorder: In our own words [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pqt_uZHzaA

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How do you know when she is experiencing the symptoms of bipolar disorder?

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Her speech becomes really fast when she is manic. It’s like “I love you. You are so sweet. Everybody loves you”

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Sometimes she talks fast, seems energetic, excited and she does all the chores and starts new projects. She sleeps little and wakes up full of energy the next day.

American Psychiatric Association. (2021). Patient stories. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/bipolar-disorders/patient-story

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What efforts have you made to help her/him?

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I always claim my medical leaves in order to meet her teachers regularly and also accompany her for medical check-ups.

Zylstra, R. G., DeFranco, G. M., McKay, J. B., & Solomon, a. L. (2005). Childhood bipolar disorder: A clinical vignette. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 7(5), 231–234. https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.v07n0504

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We provide daily after-school care to help her in completing her homework.

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I decided to delay a promotion given by my company as I would like to avoid relocation.

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Over time, I learn some ways to help him such as just being there as a good friend and asking him what is the right thing to do. Sometimes he would just say “No, I’m fine, I’m okay.” But after several hours, I will ask the same question again to make sure he is still right and feeling good. If his condition or his mood changes, or something isn’t right, yeah, we know we have to do something, like hang out, break stuff and park trucks on top of cars. Park trucks on top of cars is a fun one!

VICE Asia. (2020, May 20). Mental health: Living with bipolar disorder [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwTf-utlXgQ

with friends and family of a person with bipolar disorder

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