extreme highs doesn't always mean that they are happy though. They can be manic in that they obsess on things, and when you fight them on it, they get violent. At that point, there is no reasoning with them. When you look at them, you see a glassy look in their eyes, like the person you know and love is not in there, and its because basically they aren't. This is very hard to deal with, and requires great patience. When they are aggressive you can't return it. This only escalates the situation. Depending on how old your son is and his size in comparison to yours, there are some things you can do to help calm him down during the manic episodes, but mostly its just waiting it out. Also, if your son is just approaching his teenage years, then it is likely that the manic side of things is just now surfacing. It has a lot to do with the new imbalance of hormones of adolescence. Give the doctors time, it takes careful evaluation and much time to get the right combination of medication to help your son. Good luck, and if you want or need to chat, feel free to message me!

that sounds typical of a bipolar. the tantrum you spoke of was most likely the manic high and the "going through the motions" would be the depressive low. You've found a great group to get information from also read up on the subject. Currently I'm reading "Loving someone with bipolar disorder" by Julie A. Fast and John D. Preston, PSY.D.

hope it helps

Hi sb116, I checked your profile and saw that your son is 8 or 10, not sure which of your children was the oldest. Anyway, my 12 year old daughter was dx'd bipolar last month during her 3rd hospitalization. The thing is, that child bipolar is different than adult bipolar in many ways. No offense meant to anyone in this community but my experiences have been very different than those I see posted here. My daughter mostly experiences severe depression and anger. The anger being the mania in her case. Unlike a lot of the posts I have seen here, her anger is rarely turned toward anyone other than herself, on the rare occasions that she has lashed out at one of us (Mom, Dad, Brother) she has been inconsolable afterward because she feels so guilty about not being able to control her emotions. She also, on occasion has happy moments but not the "over the top" happy.

I am by no means an expert on any of this but I do understand what you are going through and if you need someone to talk to let me know.