Do you or anyone you know suffer with manic depression................?

Question

My friends son suffers with severe depression,she is at her wits end to know what to do. For several years he was a drug addict and alcoholic,but went into rehab nearly three years ago. The thing is, he has been completely clean for nearly two years now,doesn't even smoke a cigarette, but suffers terrible bouts of severe depression and is suicidal. He feels there is nothing to live for, as he has spoilt his chances of ever meeting someone and being happy with a family. Nearing his 3Oth birthday,is a red light to his mum,as he has always said if he wasn't settled with anyone by then he would definitely end it all.She is in such a state,and within the last couple of days he seems to be allianating himself from the people he loves and who love him. He has never accepted that anti-depressants would be of a help to him,because of the drugs he has taken over the last l5 years.
His mum has tried to talk to him,he is a much loved person, but he can't see his worth. What can she do?

Answer 1

i understand what he is going through, and my heart reaches out to him.... no one can talk to him and make him understand anything right now...to him life is probably worse than death... meds don't work well when you get this low, sometimes they only make it worse. he will have to find his way, it is only when he reaches rock bottom that he will see that. the only thing his mom needs to watch for is when for no reason at all he is tooo happy....trying to do a lot of stuff in one day, that sometimes means he has made a decision..and not a good one. if that happens then she needs to call for help... im sorry this may not be what you wanted to hear, but i was there once... i am just lucky to be here today... i will pray for him and his mother. God Bless

Answer 2

Sounds like you're all having a rotten time of it at the moment! Are you sure he has manic-depression rather than just severely depressed?
I knew somebody with this diagnosis who had very low points preceded by periods of hyper-mania. At one point he was found walking down the train tracks into the path of an oncoming virgin. When I asked if he'd been so depressed that he wanted to kill himself, he said no - he was so 'high' that he thought he could conquer death!..And there's the difference.
Is there a Community Psychiatric Nurse for you to ask advice, because he/she would help reinforce the fact that he HAS to take the medication to have any quality of life. Its so important. Anti-psychotic drugs have come a long way in development, but sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to get the right dosage, etc. I'm afraid he's gonna need support and keeping an eye on at this critical time. Good luck..............x

Answer 3

This sounds like chronic severe depession more than manic depression because you haven't mentioned any manic episodes. Regardless of what his diagnosis is, he definitely needs help and very soon. Tell your friend to talk to her family doctor and he/she will tell her what her options are. My daughter has tried to commit suicide as she suffers from chronic depression and as a mother in the same boat my heart goes out to your friend.
Tell her to just be there for him and support him in every possible way she can and most of all get to her family doctor for help in this situation.

Answer 4

Really she can't do very much. She can't force him to see a GP or a psychiatrist. She can only wait until he is ready to take steps himself. If someone really wants to commit suicide, they will and there won't be anything anyone else can do about it. He is in a negative thought pattern, with low confidence and self-esteem and these are the things he needs to build up to improve his life. She can only encourage and support him, but not nag him or give him ultimatums, because that will just make him do the opposite.

Answer 5

Manic depression aka bipolar disorder is defined as having extreme highs (euphoric moods, very active etc.) then extreme lows (depression, suicidal thoughts, excessive sleeping etc). He should be seen by a psychiatrist. They specialize in mental disorders and would give him the correct diagnosis. It sounds more like major depression than bipolar disorder to me. With the correct medication he could live a normal, productive life.

Answer 6

yes my grandmother suffers from it. she is very religious muslim and even though her illness leads her to think suicidal thoughts her morals dont allow her to carry them through.

still that is her condition and your friends son is over 50 years younger than her. i agree with the earlier answer about prayer but i also agree with using a tactic where you occasionally address the problem head on and occasionally distract the person's attention from it. that way the person should know you care about their issues but dont just care about them because of their issues (hope that makes sense)

also may be helpful to know that a lot of very famous people have been manic depressives: winston churchill (policitian), spike milligan (comedian), stephen fry (media personality) and loads more that i cant recall right now.

lastly the further the depression goes untreated the harder it is to cure. manic depressives dont want to be cured when they are manic but want a way out when they are depressed.

btw you are a good friend to try and seek her for her and her son - stay the course and i hope you are blessed for it

Answer 7

there's a lot of information on manic depression on the internet, i have two good friends who suffer from it. and i suffered from psychosis.
if it's really going bad, maybe he should see a psychiatrist or spend some time in a mental hospital.
i've been in a mental hospital a few times for several months, i have a lot of criticism on temporary psychiatry, but if you really feel terribly it can help, you have a lot of rest and, what for me was important, you live together with people who have the same "illness" and understand you...
love, kristof (belgium)

Answer 8

taking drugs for so long alters the way you live after you become clean. you can remember how you were b4 u started taking, but it seems like a dream and u dont no how to be that way again. All the awfully painful and embarrising things that he has done wile high will hurt him forever, only he can find his way thro it. taking anti depressants wud help him, but mabey she shud try and get him into therapy. she shud tell him how it is hurting her seeing him like this. anti's will help in the long run. tell him he still has a life, he needs to work at it for it too get good again, it will take time tho. he needs to get his self respect and confidence back and just hold his head up high, he did wat he did and now he no's better. he made a mistake and can admit it and try to moove on. my heart is with you all and i hope he finds his way.

Answer 9

Sounds like a depressive illness as opposed to manic depression.If she has real concerns then she can go to her G.P to get her son put on a section 24 as he would be a danger to himself.This would be reviewed after 24 hrs and if necessary a section 18 applied .after this was reviewed then another section could be applied or if they feel there s no risk then it can be lifted

Answer 10

I sometimes suffer from severe depression due to the illness I suffer from (neurofibromatosis). I found Magic (Tricks) and by showing people a trick and to see the reaction on their face and the smiles of disbelief, that made me feel happy to have made someone Else's day, see if he can find something that he enjoys doing. It could be magic or something else. take my Email and if he wants to talk I'll talk to him, [e-mail]