I may have mentioned this in earlier blogs, but one of sons (the middle one, age 29) was diagnosed as a child with a pervasive developmental disorder (on the autism spectrum). As an adolescent, he became oppositional, defiant, and harmed himself and others. We got him the proper medical interventions and he has been hospitalized twice for hurting himself. This past weekend has been a blur, because out of the blue, his bi-polar illness became extremely severe. He is blaming everyone except himself for his current situation (no job, no girlfriend, no money) and lashing out at family members (most especially me and my younger son - age 27). I really feel bad for my youngest because he is kind to his brother and gives him money and his time. When I found out the content of a text message that my middle son sent to him, I was flabbergasted -- and determined to get to the bottom of the issue. Needless to say, I felt very strong emotion and experienced cataplexy several times this weekend. The good news is that I was able to connect him to a counseling group and he has an appt today for an assessment and possibly may be seen by a psychiatrist. My husband and I sat around this weekend scratching our heads trying to figure out what is going on in his life that brought out so much resentment and anger. The whole weekend was a sad state of affairs, however, we discussed the fact that HE has to make the changes in his behavior and attitude and nothing we say or do will affect him until he goes back on meds and gets counseling. He lives at home so his constant ups and downs are exhausting. This was my weekend. Let's hope today is a better day.
I can relate to this! My mom has Bipolar and Borderline Personality. It is ABSOLUTELY exhausting. My childhood was not normal due to her mental illnesses. You are not alone!
I can relate to this! My mom has Bipolar and Borderline Personality. It is ABSOLUTELY exhausting. My childhood was not normal due to her mental illnesses. You are not alone!
Thank you for your reply Gretchen. I know how difficult it must have been for you to accept some of the behaviors and mood swings. My mother was generally a very optimistic, happy person. But, my father was explosive. He was a functioning alcoholic and definitely suffered from manic/depression disorder. Looking back, you never knew what kind of mood he would be in when you walked in the door.
I have been able to secure services for my son through medicaid. He will finally meet his new psychiatrist on Wednesday. A wonderful counselor visited our home last Friday and will be managing his behavior management, meds, vocational training, etc. It's been a long time coming, but worth the wait if we can avoid hospitalization and get him on the right path again through home therapies. I am feeling so much better about the future.
I am so glad, Coping. I hope your son does very well with the home therapies. It will mean so much to all of you.