Bipolar: Time and History
Published: Tue, 09/13/11
Hi ,
How are you doing today?
I hope you're having a good day.
Today I want to talk to you about bipolar
disorder and how it takes time and history
to diagnose it.
Many, many people have written or talked
to me about how it took them a long time
to get diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Even though the mental health professionals
(psychiatrists, etc.) and even the Diagnostic
And Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-IV), which is the "Bible" that psychiatrists
go by to diagnose bipolar disorder will tell you
that it's between ages 17-21 that you first get
diagnosed with bipolar disorder, most people are
NOT diagnosed between those ages.
It usually takes more time than that to be
diagnosed with the disorder, as most of you
will attest.
Most people tell me it wasn't until their thirties
or forties that they were finally diagnosed.
And they tell me (most of them) that they
pretty much knew that something was wrong
with them long before that - usually they say
that they knew it their whole lives, even.
So firstly, it takes time to be diagnosed. Mostly
because people who have the disorder usually
don't come to the doctor/psychiatrist when they
are younger, because either they are scared, or
they don't want to hear the diagnosis.
Michele, who works for me wasn't diagnosed
until she was 45, but then she realized her son
was showing the same symptoms and got him
diagnosed when he was 12 years old.
However, she has a 25-year-old son who
secretly admitted to his girlfriend that he has
bipolar disorder, but he will not go to a
psychiatrist, because he doesn't want the
diagnosis confirmed.
Maybe because he's scared, maybe because
he's seen what his mom has gone through,
maybe because he knows if he goes to the
doctor/psychiatrist, it will become real for
him. Maybe because he knows if he gets
diagnosed, he'll be put on medication that
he'll have to take for the rest of his life.
In my courses and systems, I talk about this -
it's called denial, and many people have to
face it - they just don't want to believe that
they have bipolar disorder, so they put off
getting diagnosed:
SUPPORTING AN ADULT WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/report11
SUPPORTING A CHILD/TEEN WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.bipolarparenting.com
HAVE BIPOLAR DISORDER?
Visit:
http://www.survivebipolar.net
When these people who have been in denial
finally do seek help, one of the things the
doctor/psychiatrist will use to determine the
diagnosis will be the person's history.
The doctor/psychiatrist will not only ask for
a medical history, but will want a family
history as well, because research done on
bipolar disorder does show a hereditary
element to it, usually passed down the female
side of the family, from mother to child.
So, like in Michele's case, it was passed from
her to her two sons. Even though one of them
is still in denial, he will eventually have to face
the truth.
So there is a time element to being diagnosed
with bipolar disorder, and there is also a history
element.
But what happens AFTER you're diagnosed?
The first thing is that you have to develop a
treatment plan, because without it, you will
have no direction to the management of the
disorder - and if you ever want to manage it
(and it CAN be managed, even if there is no
cure - believe me, because that's what all my
courses are about), you must have a treatment
plan.
A treatment plan usually consists of medication
and therapy. Medication is SO important. Without
it, there can be no stability at all. Medication
helps to normalize the extremes in mood that
bipolar disorder consists of. Although it may
take some time to find the right medications and
in the right dosages.
The treatment plan will usually consist of therapy
as well - especially in the beginning, because
finding out that you have bipolar disorder may
now interfere with what your life was like before.
You may even go through a "grieving process"
over your past life.
So you will need therapy for all the issues that the
disorder will bring into your life.
Here's where the supporter will be such a help to you.
Supporters help their loved ones in so many ways -
they will encourage you, help you learn to take your
medications, get to doctor and therapist regular
appointments, learn to de-stress your life, and help
manage your disorder.
It may take time and effort to find the right treatment
plan for you, but that's also another way a supporter
can help.
Most of all, a supporter can help someone with bipolar
disorder to realize that they are still loved and cared for
in spite of having a disorder that might otherwise cause
them to feel isolated and alone.
PLEASE POST RESPONSES TO THIS EMAIL BELOW
http://www.bipolarsupporter.com/bipolarsupporterblog/bipolar-time-and-history/comment-page-1/#comment-29416
FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ME
Visit: http://www.bipolarcentral.com/testimonials
Well, I have to go!
Your Friend,
Dave
===>> Great Resources For You <===
Get Your Own Subscription To This Newsletter
Want your own copy of these daily bipolar
emails sent to you for F.ree? If so, visit:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/register3
Get More Help On Bipolar Disorder
Don't forget to take a look through the
different programs I've put together... each
one is designed to help you with a different
area of bipolar disorder whether you have it or
you are supporting someone with it.
You can see them all and get the details by visiting:
http://www.bipolarcentralcatalog.com
View Past Daily Bipolar Emails For F.REE
Check out my F.ree blog with copies of emails
that I have sent in the past and lots of great
information for you:
http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/
Get Audio Information On Bipolar Disorder For F.REE
Check out my F.ree podcast. Hear me give
mini seminars designed to teach you information
you can't learn anywhere else.
http://bipolarcentral.libsyn.com