Bipolar Symptoms

Living with someone with bipolar symptoms?

Much has been said on this blog about drug addictions, mental illness, symptoms and treatments.  However, sometimes we leave out the part about the people who help, care for, and love those struggling with these issues.  That is to say, for most people who struggle with a chemical dependency or a mental illness (be it bipolar symptoms or any other struggle) or any type of addiction, there is most often a concerned parent, sibling, friend, or companion who has possibly pointed out the struggle and continues to live with it in order to help.

Living with someone who has an addiction, chemical dependency, and/or mental disorder can be both challenging and exhausting.  You care deeply for the person who is struggling, yet you have to be careful to have boundaries and limits that individual can’t cross.  Sometimes you feel like a policeman or a mother when those aren’t the roles you want in the relationship.  It can be confusing and overwhelming and at times we wonder if it is worth it.

Further, living with someone with bipolar symptoms can be especially trying.  These symptoms of dramatic and unpredictable mood swings between mania and depression leave us feeling vulnerable and edgy as we attempt to deal with a depressed individual who was happy and energetic and productive (to the extreme) the day before.  It’s confusing and relentless.  We may discredit their behaviors and have a hard time believing one person can act in two different ways that are so dramatically distinct.  We can’t often trust our relationships with them because their feelings toward us seem to swing back and forth as well.

I can say with confidence, however, that no matter how we are treated, it is my firm belief that those struggling with illnesses, bipolar symptoms, addictions, or other dependencies, appreciate us.  It may be hard to feel that from them at times, but I can’t imagine going through what they go through and facing the days they face all alone.  We are an important part of their success.  As someone who is constant and stable and always predictable, it is an extreme test of patience to be with someone who behaves one way and then behaves differently shortly after.  But I can say, that it brings me joy to know that I may be making a small difference in the life of someone who lives with an internal struggle — an internal war per se – of bipolar symptoms every day of their lives, and I wouldn’t trade places for anything.