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Bipolar disorder and how it affects families |
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Family
dynamics are always very complex. Add to the equation a mentally ill
person and families often disintegrate under the stress and pressure of
managing the patient. There are several mental disorders which can
affect people. Of these, mood disorders like Bipolar disorder not only
affect the individual but have serious consequences for the entire
family. A person with bipolar disorder typically swings between mania
and depression. These mood changes come about suddenly and can each
episode can last for up to months, adversely affecting the person's
behaviour and actions. In severe cases of mania the person experiences
hallucinations and delusions and in severe depression there is suicidal
ideation. In either of these situations, the patient becomes very
difficult to manage and there is a breakdown in communication and
relationships. If someone has bipolar disorder, it affects families to
a very large degree because the person's behaviour is abnormal and not
what is accepted in society. This takes a toll on the families. For
example a depressive episode will make the person lethargic,
uncommunicative, and withdrawn, lose confidence and self worth, and
become irritable and even suicidal. Since these people avoid meeting
anyone, or if they do, seem disinterested and very sad, they make other
people uncomfortable. In a manic episode the person becomes socially
inappropriate by becoming overly aggressive, talking
loudly and very
fast, becoming reckless with the spending of money and risk taking
behaviours, becoming argumentative, engaging in inappropriate sexual
behaviour etc. Bipolar disorder seriously affects families because
there is an added emotional, mental and physical stress that comes
along with taking care of an ill person. It is very taxing to see a
loved one go through the hell of a mental disorder. This becomes
especially difficult when the families don't completely understand the
disorder and are caught unawares. If there is a family member with
bipolar disorder, families are affected negatively also because of the
entire stigma attached to mental disorders. Families live with fear and
guilt about how others will look at them. A by-product of what society
thinks about mental illness is also apparent in the facilities and
infrastructure provided for those affected by them and their families.
This adds to the stress of taking care of someone with bipolar disorder
because there is no real institutional help apart from hospitalisation
which is a last resort and expensive at that. Families are also
affected badly if an earning member has bipolar disorder. This person
may end up making bad decisions as a result of the condition, like
impulsively quitting a well paying job, or deciding to sell the house,
and thus affect the whole family.
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