(don't know if I'm welcome to post but anyway) Yes irritability & hair-trigger temper are definately ways bp can manifest itself particularly when high or mixed. Medication can definately help with this. I've heard sometimes this is the extent to which highs present themselves, in temper.

Welcome to the group Chandler. From what i have seen when my wife is manic she has a snap trigger temper. Also when she is in a mixed state. If she is depressed she usually doesn't have a temper.

I have spoken at length with my therapist on how to cope with this and her suggestion was fairly easy and simple. Believe it or not there are simple things that must be observed. Call them boundaries of behavior if you will. Basically come up with 5 de-escalating things to say. The first is simple like saying, "I am really sorry that you are upset but could you please not take it out on me." Say it very calmly. Do not raise the level of your voice but act calmly. By doing that it helps de-escalate the situation. Try and come up with some simple things to say that it is not cool that he is doing that while not completely shedding blame. Just simply stating that you do not have to put up with it.

I hope that helps some. It has really helped with my wife as she is able to see that the emotions getting her frazzled are not real they come from the BP side and then she can calm down.

BTW Don't be scared off the topic earlier today is very unusal to have gone on so long and the best thing is to not even referee, just stop reading it and posting.

In a way that is kind of how you deal with the temper issue too.

my mother had a massive problem with this, yet since being medicated is a different person, much easier to be around.

Yep Lou, I have seen it mainly when my wife is having a high. I never could understand how the temper would be so quick when riding a high but maybe it is because the brain is in overload?

tranquillisers are also handy, tranquilliser darts, even better, haha.

I thought the same thing myself too when it came to my wife. I never knew that such rage was part of bp disorder. My wife is not affecting though by losing board games or from the TV. She usually loses her cool when she starts thinking that someone might have said or thought something about her. She sometimes loses her cool when she remembers something that has happened long ago. Sometimes she goes off for who the hell knows what.

We give my daughter Klonipin as needed (orally, haven't tried the dart gun thing yet;-) when she needs it, she can usually identify the irritability early on and let us know if she is doesn't feel like any of her coping skills are working. But you have to be careful with this as it can be addicting.

anti-psychotics are good too, especially if there is a tendency to paranoia.

Yep, she's on Geodon too.

May I ask how old your daughter is? Do you have to hold on to her meds? that must be difficult.

My brother was dx as manic depressive 25+ years ago, he was about 25 and I was in high school. For many years I felt the need to do what I could to be there for him. He was also married and had 2 small children. He always had *different* ideas, would get into religion, then call himself a pagan, then a wiccan, then back to being a *better* Christian than the rest of us, etc. Through all of it, I tried to be supportive and give him someone to talk to who could be respectful of his ideas, even if I did not buy into all of them. Over the years, he has gone off meds, req. hospitalization each time, he gets very delusional, and also very angry, and at worst times violent.
The whole family would have to walk on eggshells not to trigger his anger during family gatherings, etc., but after years, that got tiresome. He gets totally pissed off if anyone dares to point out that he is talking delusionally, or doesnt think his assertions are brilliant.
Its very hard to deal with.

She's 12 and yes, I give her all of her meds.

okay, so a hairtrigger temper is not nessiarily a Bi-polar thing?

it can be any mood? how can you tell when someone with BP is in a high or low?

my mother has other complications involved, so it is difficult for me to understand when she is on the verge of snapping. Sometimes she can smile and be very calm till we are in private as well... does this ability to control it mean that she is less bi-polar then i am thinking? [it would only be for a few hours at most]



Chanlder, does your brother play sports?
i have read a few articles recently discussing the effect of full contact sports on the brain. Also regaurding the use of steriods....the wrestler beniot i believe?
and there was a football player as well

hablur,
that de-escalating sentence was really great!!! Would you mind sharing the other 4?

yes, when manic people are usually very resistant to the idea that they are unwell, why you must enlist support and intervention of doctor.

I'm not sure you can tell when it comes to irritability as that can come out in a manic state or a depressed state. The rages though are usually mania induced i.e., my daughter was manic on Tuesday night and kicked a whole in the wall. This is very different from her depression induced irritability where she is argumentative and negative but not in a rage.