What's the best way to deal with a bipolar person?

Question

Her mood swings are driving me insane!! She goes from laughing and having fun one minute to being totally b*tchy the next, and expects me to always deal with it. I HATE drama, and I try to keep my life pretty mellow. I love being around her when she's "level", because she's a very smart and loving person. But I just can't take this drama.

Answer 1

It doesn't sound like classic bipolar disorder. There is a smoother transition with classic bipolar and longer lasting moods. If you find yourself trying to keep things calm constantly it could be a sign that the relaitonship could be turning abusive.

If possible she needs to be on medication which can help to stabilize her, also maybe a shrink could help to speak to her about her issues. It is not your fault she acts this way.

Answer 2

I had a coworker like that, she was so nice on her good days and such a b**** on her bad ones. So many times I promised myself I would never speak to her again, but I always did, everybody in the office knew she had a problem and expected her to go off for the most non consequential things, like one time when the boss made a list of people for something and put it on the bulletin board, she made a big deal of why her name was at the bottom of the list. LOL
She finally transferred to another are and now when I see her I just say hello. It took a lot of the pressure off of dealing with her. You just have to expect the unexpected with these people. i think it's best to not become close friends because you will be hurt over and over.

Answer 3

Find out what makes her tick - and try to avoid it. Don't do things to keep her happy, find out what makes her happy, and what makes her unhappy. Always be yourself around her - don't try to be what she wants you to be - because just like her moods, that might change, too.
It might annoy her that you can stay mellow for hours at a time and she can't sit for 2 minutes. That might get to her, too. Find activities that you can both do - together - and try to keep taking it one day at a time. Some days you gotta take it a couple of hours at a time! Good luck. She will mellow out more when she feels that you are comfortable and want to stay with her. It's like a new puppy -they settle down when the feel wanted.

Answer 4

There is medication that a doctor would prescribe that would help manage her mood swings. It is very hard for you to get her to a doctor when she's high. But the next time she comes down, rush her there. This is a job for a psychiatrist who would make an assessment as to what talk therapy she needs in addition to the meds. This is a tough one to manage with meds. When her moods are under control, you need to talk with her to work out a way to get her to the right treatment when she's running high. She needs to make such a solid commitment to you that all you have to do is to remind her that she made the commitment to get her to the doctor.

Answer 5

There are medications that people with bipolar disorder can take. However, many people who are bipolar do not like to take the medicine because the "manic" part of the disorder is a time of great creativity. If her mood swings are varying on a daily or hourly basis, like you are suggesting, she should see a doctor.

Answer 6

Prayer and patience...plainly put.

My best friend is bipolar and sometimes I want to box her ears and other times I love her to death. She has a beautiful heart and I know that she has a chemical imbalance so much of it is not her. But I also let her know when she is tripping and she needs to bring it down some, meaning she needs to take her meds or something before I go off.

I also took the time to learn her triggers-things that set off her depression or mania. I keep up with her med schedule, as well. If she is slightly off kilter, I know she has forgotten to take her meds and remind her right then to get up and go take them before the situation gets worst. I listen to her and I observe her and I know from body language early in the day how she will be for the rest of the day and I adapt accordingly.

Otherwise...I would box her ears. :) Good luck to you!

Answer 7

We all have a bipolar problem to some degree. Amongst the hardest are those who use you to practice their bipolarity. And for some reason you are with them at the moment, so you must understand how they are and roll with the punches by not allowing yourself the pleasure of subjectivity. Learn to ride their waves and not fall into their ocean of turmoil. If you need to be in their presence, by not forgetting that you also have something to gain. And always manage to keep yourself above such ups and downs. Help them understand their situations and little by little they normalize into rationalities that make you feel right for such patient and painstaking attention.

Answer 8

My parent in laws suggested to their son that he needed to either get help or live on the street. My husband chose to get the help they offered, through counseling, and some prozax at the time.

Believe me, if you met my husband he is the most sweetest, sincere person you will meet. But he told me about his rough times. Your girlfriend needs the same kind of treatment and "leveling out" medicine for her. The biggest thing my husband dealt with was the medicine. He didn't want it because that would make him a legal crazy person. But not true, that medicine helps a person to deal with what they are experiencing and will help them get better. Ask her to do it for you, that you will support her through this rough time of hers.

My husband had his parents to fall back on, I know that if I were in his shoes, I would still be messed up, since my parents were a mess, but let your girlfriend know that she can always count on you through the counseling that she gets. Be her number one friend right now and guide her to the right thing.

Answer 9

The word "bipolar" is simply a label used to categorise a list of psychosocial traits that Psychiatry considers to be improper or abnormal in society. Psychiatry defines these traits as a "mental illness", and promotes it as a "disease" that requires "treatment".

It is not a "disease", despite claims or implications made by certain psychiatric and pharmaceutical organisations. There is NO credible scientific evidence that shows the existence of what constitutes "bipolar" as a biological/neurological disorder, brain abnormality or "chemical imbalance".

"For a disease to exist there must be a tangible, objective physical abnormality that can be determined by a test such as, but not limited to, blood or urine test, X-Ray, brain scan or biopsy. All reputable doctors would agree: No physical abnormality, no disease. In psychiatry, no test or brain scan exists to prove that a 'mental disorder' is a physical disease. Disingenuous comparisons between physical and mental illness and medicine are simply part of psychiatry's orchestrated but fraudulent public relations and marketing campaign." Fred Baughman, MD., Neurologist & Pediatric Neurologist.

"Chemical imbalance…it’s a shorthand term really, it’s probably drug industry derived… We don’t have tests because to do it, you’d probably have to take a chunk of brain out of someone - not a good idea." Dr. Mark Graff, Chair of the Committee of Public Affairs for the American Psychiatric Association. July, 2005.

Symptoms that psychiatry labels as "bipolar" (or it's related disorders), can stem from any number of variable sources. Many people, for example, have overcome "bipolar" through megavitamin therapy and effective nutrition. A growing wealth of evidence supports that underlying nutritional deficiencies can cause even the most severe mental disorders, including symptoms labelled as "schizophrenia" [See source refs]

Bottom line? Psychiatry is a belief-system, a "faith", not a science. Despite the huge marketing strategies, the so-called "research" and all the propaganda thrown at the world, there is not one iota of scientific evidence that proves that "bipolar" or ANY mental illness, in fact, exists as an actual --medical disease--.

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health states: “The precise causes (etiology) of mental disorders are not known” and that “there is no definitive lesion, laboratory test, or abnormality in brain tissue that can identify the illness.”

If you have been told differently then know this: You have been lied to.

For more information, please visit:

http://groups.msn.com/psychbusters
Decoding Psychiatric Propaganda

For information on non-drug / alternative approaches:
- http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/default.htm#B
- http://www.pendulum.org/articles/articles_misc_lisaalt.html
- http://www.truehope.com/_empowerplus/empowerplus.asp
- http://www.mentalhealthproject.com/content.asp?id_Content=1575

Answer 10

It's probably best to just hand her the deck and let her deal. You be the banker tho ;) and don't be surprised if some dice get lost

smoking weed helps me w/ mine

nearly the same or better results than blowing $200-250 on prescription meds every week or two - except of course you need to exercise extreme prudence when/where she takes her "meds"