
Family & Friends of Bipolar Support Group
This community is dedicated to parents, siblings, grandparents, other relatives and friends of someone who is Bipolar. The purpose of this community is to help families and friends develop greater patience and understanding, as well as maintain a positive, caring relationships with those diagnosed as Bipolar.

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My friend has been involuntarily committed to a local mental health treatment facility for the 2nd time in 3 years. She calls daily asking me to bring items that I am confident she wants to pass out to others. I do my best to be non-committal, but she is relentless. Also, she called 911 last weekend about sexual abuse, so they put her on 24 hour watch, and now she is claiming it happened again and wants me to call the police for her (her phone privileges have been restricted). She has gone as far as giving out my personal cell and home number to another patient to call me about this issue.
I am trying to support her, but she wont allow me to just listen to her. She wants action on my part. She wants me as an ally to her manic delusions. If I do not respond to her requests, she becomes aggressive. I am racked with guilt because I don't want to visit her. I feel that my visits are counter-productive to her treatment. What do I do?
I am trying to support her, but she wont allow me to just listen to her. She wants action on my part. She wants me as an ally to her manic delusions. If I do not respond to her requests, she becomes aggressive. I am racked with guilt because I don't want to visit her. I feel that my visits are counter-productive to her treatment. What do I do?
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Becoming aggressive when manic is normal behaviour for my mum if I don't meet her requests, I find it easier to nod and agree with her.
In the UK, depending on what section a person is put on depends on the care, it also depends on the hospital. The 1st 3 of my mum sections were section 2's (28 days) she was basically left to her own devices then kicked out without any support. The last 2 (and a different hospital) she has been on section 3 - max 6 months, and has had careworkers/social worker/advocacy visiting her and sorting things out for her resource wise.
Can you email her support worker?, and explain to her.
You could write to her p/doc, I've done this on occasion.
If it is too much, then don't visit. I once visited my mum on a locked ward (for serious cases) and it was a truly terrifying experience - on these wards they are 1 to 1 patient/nurse. I came out of there shaking, not only because of how the ward was, but how aggressive and psychotic my mum was.
Whenever I visited (on an open ward) a nurse would be requested to be with me and her because she was so aggressive. In the end I stopped putting myself through it, and the last 2 sections I have stayed away.
I know that sounds cruel, but it was the only option for me.
Psychiatric hospitals are a terrible place, both for the patient and the visitors.
Give it time as meds are ajusted things will improve
He left on the 11th, called me on the 12th saying he was gonna do himself in if I didnt stay with him. I was sick of hearing his threats and told him to do me the favor and hung up on him. He flew back home the 13th to get checked in. He was livid cause I didnt go with our "friend" to pick him up, he didnt even want me to know when he was coming home. He wanted them to trick me into going to the airport. Ha I was a little wiser than the old owl.
I refused to vistit him! Because I knew if I did to go see him it would give him false hopes on us. I had to make my stand that there would never be anymore us.
While he was the ward, he'd call me on his cell phone. Wanting to fight and argue. I had enough.. While he was in that when he got DX as Bipolar, he wont tell me which level he is. As well as a bird told me he's boarder line Skitzo. I dont believe in boarder line mental illnesses either you are or your not!
Even after we found out what was wrong with him all those years. I stopped and asked myself. "Can I do 9 more years with him?" Clearly my answer was No.
I gave up my life, my freedom, my friends, a lot myself make him happy. I know I am harsh, but I just couldnt handle him and that type of life anymore.
I knew I had to leave to make me and childerns lives better!
The best place for family support is NAMI -- the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Check them out online -- you should be able to find a local chapter from there.