Bipolar Violence
Living With A Bipolar Spouse or Person
Bipolar disorder has somewhat noticable symptoms from very (manic) highs to extreme (depression) lows.The disease generally starts displaying symptoms in late adolesence up to early adult. The severity of the mood swings most often affect someone's ability to function with their daily routines. Quite a number of patients cannot keep their employment without medication. It can be the type of disease that progresses over a period of time. One of the sad consequnces of this disease is that the variant mood swings causes a patient to treat loved ones and friends in a violent manner. One of the key things for those trying to manage the disorder is the ability to identify "triggers" that will start a mood cycle. If you suffer from the disorder or know someone who does, it is important to seek help from health care professionals so that the triggers can be identified, minimized or even avoided.
In writing this article I learned that many domestic violence abusers are diagnosed as being bipolar. My former father-in-law suffered from the disease, and when he was on a manic high, sometimes he would just pack a bag and leave town for several days. Other days he was miserable as hell, violent to the point of throwing things, destroying property and physically abusing family members.When he felt fine, he would not take his medication. .. howevera trigger would set him off, often times thinking the family was out to get him.One time he put his fist right through the wall, breaking his fingers. So what do you do if you find yourself in this situation? Unfortunately, there's no one-size fits all answer for this. My family had to make this decision, but everyone stayed. But if you are in an abusive relationship and the person will not attempt to get help, you must take care of yourself and protect your safety.
If you think the abuse has bipolar disease, do your due diligence and obtain as much information as you can. When the time is right, talk to them and tell them how you feel and your concerns.You can offer to help them when they are not in a cycle. However, if they refuse to make any effort to get treatment or help, you must watch out for yourself and remove yourself from an unsafe situation.
