I post in a few other sections of these boards, but wanted to stop by here too.
My best friend, age 23, was diagnosed as being bi-polar 2 years...I believe it was April of 2003. Since she was diagnosed she has been defiant on not believing she has the disease or the problem. Recently, she became manic again, her second time in 2 years, because she refused to take her medicince. She has been in the psych ward of the hospital for over a month now, and is FINALLY being released on Thursday. It had to get to the point where they had to inject her with her medicine.
My question is, what can I do to help with her first few weeks out of the hospital. What if she refuses to take her medicine again? Is she going to go into a bad depression? Is it ok if I try and talk about the disease with her?
I have some experience with the disease since my grandmother is bi-polar as well, but I am much closer with this friend.
Anyways, any advice would be a help, thanks so much
Last edited by tryingtolose22; 04-20-2005 at 01:47 PM.
Location: Minnesota, just moved from California where I lived my whole life.
Posts: 447
Re: my best friend is bi-polar, have a few questions
Hi There,
I would think that if your friend was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, it was probably of her own free will, or did she threaten her own or someone else's life? If she made the decision to go there, then I would think that she has accepted that she has a real problem, and needs to deal with it when she gets out.
Hopefully, either way, she has a strong support system including family and friends that can help her through this. She's obviously lucky she has you. It's not uncommon for us to be in denial in the beginning that we really need to be medicated and that we are really that sick. It can be a hard thing to accept.
How willing she is to talk about her condition will depend on a lot of things, how comfortable she is with you, and her acceptance of the situation, and how stable she is now that she's been through such a hard time lately.
I had a long manic episode about a year and a half ago, and I really just needed mellow, quiet time to recover, and try and wrap my brain around everything. I didn't really want to talk to any of my old friends, or do much at all in the beginning. It's really hard to say how she may react.
Any of the threads on this board from either Angelblue or Colefort might be of help to you, they are both in relationships with bipolars, and struggling with some of the same issues you will probably be facing.
Good luck to you and your friend, come here anytime, it's a great group!
~~heather~~
Last edited by polarized13; 04-20-2005 at 05:24 PM.
Re: my best friend is bi-polar, have a few questions
she actually did not go in on her own will, her mother ended up calling the police, and they put her in there. I don't know all the details, but I'm assuming she threaten suicide for her to be in there for so long. I also know she was very aggressive with the nurses while she was there.
she sounds 100 times better, but I know she still lies, and is in denial. She was living in Boston but is going home to Ohio to start therapy and get her life in order. I hope all goes well.
I'm going to see her mid May and am very excited. I'm expecting that she will be depressed though, doesn't that usually follow a manic episode?
