kathy...dont' be scared!!! All a diagnosis is...is a way to understand what is happening and then start treating it. I was super glad to finially figure this all out about myself b/c suddenly most of my life made sense.
if he is bipolar it's treatable (not curable, but he can still go on and live successful and happy lives)
And there is the possiblity that his "bipolar" type symptoms may go away once he's been off the juice for a while. It's always hard to diagnose people who are still actively drinking (not that i'm a doc or anything....cus i'm far from it).
Questions:
How old is he? (is he about 20?)
How many years drinking?
Any of his other blood relatives bipolar or have a mental illness?
There are a lot of awsome musicians who are bipolar...i personally know of 3. One being my ex who was also a late stage alcoholic and if he could ever get away from the bottle...he'd be a millionaire. Well...actually he was...he got sober for 2 years and made a million dollars before he decided to start drinking again. I still can't listen to some country songs on the radio because there are several that he's recorded on (lead guitarist)
My family is littered with creativity, mental illness and substance abuse......which obviously also produces a ton of codependency.
Are you in Alanon? If so....many of the readings can be adapted to deal with a loved one with a mental illness (although i'm not saying he is bipolar for sure or not cus i don't know)
Quote:
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Originally Posted by gelfling Like with a lot of things in his life, admitting to the possibility to someone other than me and his dad might not happen. We wonder if he discussed this with the shrink |
Would you mind clarifying please...i dont' understand what it is that he is or isn't admitting to?
Anyway...detaching....that's a very good thing. Try to give it some time...if peeps in his home group are saying it's natural for him to be acting the way he is right now then maybe it is a natural result from the drinking (although....my mind thinks "Well since 85 percent of bipolars become addicts then that means there's a lot of bipolars out there drinking and trying to stop drinking....so what may seem like normal behavior from sobering up...may actually be the mental illness coming through/???????....just my own thoughts cus i really don't have a clue) So i'd just say hang tight and see what happens.
be sure and keep me and everyone else updated on what's going on...k
Hugs,
Jenna
P.S. Your comment made my day....thank you from the bottom of my heart
