How do I deal with my bipolar girlfriend?!


Question: How do I deal with my bipolar girlfriend?
I've been with my girlfriend for 2 years now, and she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in October.
She has her episodes every once in a while, but when she gets them she's practically out of control.
It's either she's really hyper and talkative and has a really short attention span, or she's extremely depressed and won't get out of bed or eat.

I don't really know what the problem is when she gets like that because she has a lot of mental problems. She was abused sexually, physically, and emotionally pretty much all her life, she has PTSD, anxiety problems, and really bad anger issues. Sometimes she's really clingy and sometimes she doesn't want to be touched at all.

When she gets mad, she'll throw these temper tantrums where she throws things, breaks things, and she's hit me a few times. I never lose my temper with her and just let her scream and cry until she gets tired and gives up.

I'm really worried about her. She gets suicidal a lot and cuts herself. I can't seem to get her to stop, and a couple weeks ago she overdosed on her medication and almost died.
I don't know what to do. I love her more than anything in the world and would never give up on her because she is my everything.
I feel like I'm doing something wrong and don't know how to help her calm down. ( we're both 18 and live together, by the way)

Answers:

This made me seriously want to cry. But I know what you need to do. About the temper tantrums DO NOT let her hit you. Even if she doesn't hurt you it is feeding her behavior. After she has her little fits tell her what she did. Ask her what she would have done if you had freaked out like she did. This will get under her skin and into her mind. I am a girl with a few issues myself and my friends and family have used that on bme before. When she cuts you have to show her what she did. Tell her when she hurts herself she hurts you even worse. And regulate her pill access. Take all the pills and put them in a safe. Only give her what she needs for that day and not a bit more. This will prevent split second suicidal actions. If any of these behaviorsbworsen get her help at and inpacient facility. I will pray for both of you.



I have had almost the same problem, my boyfriend of 3 years is bipolar and he will get into these hyper fits where he can't see enough of me and also fits where he doesn't want to be by me at all. It has calmed down a lot with space; prayer; and medication. Make sure she sees a psychiatrist. It really helps anybody to sit down and talk to somebody outside of the relationship.



It's not your fault, and it's kind of you to worry about her like you do.

I do think that the best thing you can do for her is to talk about these issues with her, and help her when she's sad. Just be there to listen, and if she hasn't started attending support groups, mention that possibility to her. There's a lot of help out there if you just call and ask for it. Try 211.



She needs to check into a mental hospital.
Therapy, Psychologist



tell her that you are here for her and will be supportive! When she sees that during bipolar, she will calm down!



Don't give up on her how about therapy?



I have the same condition as her. It's not severe like hers, more mild, but when i have a mood shift I like to be talked to and have someone talk to me. Even if it's a brief little conversation and not much talking. It doesn't have to be about feelings, small, irelevant words work too.

As for her suicidal and out of control (manic) behavior, I think you should have a talk with her about it. Even if you can't get her to stop the behavior, if you can make her aware of her own actions, then she might be a lot more calm while she's doing them. If she's aware and calms down during an episode, calm enough to talk to her, than she can be comforted. She will never or rarely listen if she's not calm first.

I also think you should find a way to get to the root of her PTSD, i had a PTSD experience and I stopped having bad manias. Therapy would be good for PTSD

Her episodes (mania) are painful, because when manic, thoughts speed up greatly and feel like they are jamming the mind. It can be excruciating in pain sometimes and overwhelms a person. It really does hurt and makes a person feel trapped. It's hard to help someone who is feeling this way but maybe that bit of information helps to know about what's happening to her.

I've been through the same problems

and Therapy may be a good option




The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007-2011 answer-health.com -   Terms of Use -   Contact us

Health Categories