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Bipolar Hell

answered 12:15 PM EST, Mon October 15, 2012
anonymous anonymous
My brother is really bad bipolar and he has tried to commit suicide before. He was fine before going away to college but he had a breakdown there and for the last few years it has been really up and down and difficult for my parents. Right now my parents are forcing him to take his medications and to see his doctors. They practically force feed him sometimes. 

He keeps saying the meds aren't helping and that his doctors won't listen . He is stable now but not happy and not his old self. Our house is like a jail and he is the prisoner. Maybe I should be happy that it is not like it was when it was bad but I just want him back like he used to be. My parents say he isn't really able to make good decisions right now but I think they are so scared of him trying to kill himself again that they will do anything to prevent that and that his being happy is way down on the list compared to that no matter how medicated up and miserable he is. It is so screwed up that he can't just be like he was before anymore. He asked me last night if he should leave home and I said of course not. But now that I have slept on it and tossed and turned all night I feel like what he has now is not quality of life. I am 17 and my brother is 22. He is an adult but no one really seems to count his opinion since he is the 'crazy' one. No one values my opinion either. I want to help him but I don't know what to do? He probably can't work and be on his own but what he has here is not good either. Is there somewhere someone like my brother can go to have a better quality of life?

Lita Perna Says...

Lita Perna L. Perna
MA, Family and Community Counseling

The first priority is to keep your brother safe.

If he leaves home anything could happen. He needs the stability of home and family and treatment with therapy and medication.

The best way you can help him now is to listen and be supportive.

Please don’t expect him to be the way he ‘used to be’.

Situations change. This seems like the best situation for him right now.

As far as somewhere he can go to have a better quality of life; yes there are halfway houses and professionally supported environments but he needs to be stable first. Also, there can be considerable expense involved.

You also need to focus on your own mental health through all this.

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Page last updated Oct 15, 2012

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