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LOVELUKE
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Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hi I'm a loving wife of a husband with bipolar. Looking for others that have husbands with bipolar. I have finally reach out to professional help to help me help my husband but also to look after myself so that I have a healthy mind to be able to support my husband without negative feelings. I know its not his fault and i know that this is the card we have been dealt with and we have to work through it. My lovely husband had to give up work about 4 years ago  as it was really affecting him mentally and couldn't face daily challenges. Its been a very hard few years with the manic espiodes and the very low days(which are the hardest to deal with me personally). So this is the reason I'm seeking professional help. Everyday is waiting till i get home to see how he is as i start work early and he isn't out of bed. Some days he will talk other days you can't get anything out of him. He is doing everything he can to get better Drs Phycolist Counsellor and medication. He has giving up all drinking, drugs and smoking. I'd love to here from others going through same thing. 

11 REPLIES 11

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hi @LOVELUKE, I am also a loving wife of a husband with bi-polar, and like yours, he had to give up work about three years ago. So I am working full time to support the family.

I like your positive, pro-active approach to supporting your husband. This is an illness that can happen to anyone. I would much rather be the carer than the one who is ill.  And like you I also have sought ways to be more supportive.

Years ago I was advised to read everything I could about mental illness and personality disorders. I found this very helpful.  Sometimes just choosing certain words to use can make an enormous difference, once you can hear what they are really trying to say.  

Unfortunately my husband has deteriorated and it now looks like he has schizophrenia. All things considered, he is doing remarkably well and has a number of strategies to help him get through each day, even though we have two adult children who also have schizophrenia.  His medication makes him very drowsy and he needs to spend a lot of time each day in bed. It helps me to remember what he was like when he was working full time as a primary school teacher, and how highly esteemed and deeply loved he was by parents and students alike.

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hello @LOVELUKE, @perseverer 

I am also a loving wife of a husband with bi-polar 11

we are self employed with a very very low income  due to my husband is unable to keep a job

I have tagged you into the thread called  " the ups and downs of my husband`s MI "

@Former-Member, @greenpea

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hi @LOVELUKE
My husband has BPii also, he has not worked for about 5 years and I primarily support him too (he gets a small amount of the DSP as I work 4 day/wk)

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

My husband has been diagnosed with Bipolar for about 7 years now it was only when his dad got the big C word and passed away that husband fell down big time he was looking after his dad while he was sick and his dad was his best mate. We are still dealing with all the court dealings of his will and super and this is 3 years on so it's very hard for husband to try and even get his life back on track with these procedings going on. His mother left him when he was 2 and he moved out to Australia when he was 9 years old with evil step mother who was very evil and mean. Also with his older sister and younger step brother. His sister is a recovering alcholic and his brother is a very selfish person who mainly cares about himself. So husband has not a very supporting family on his side but a very close family on my side which he tends to pull him self away from due to his parnoid thinking. My husband has self destucted many times and in front of me he has been addmitted into hosptial probably 5 to 6 times. Some days i think he is getting better and has a great day then the next he wont even talk to me. My husband coaches football team which is his highlight of the week. He says to me that my son and his footy boys are the only thing that makes him happy, this is really hard to take in but when he muddled and lost i'm the worst person in the world to him. Sorry just having a vent

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

talk away my friend @LOVELUKE , it does help

My husband has had depression all his life , been diagnosed with lots of things in his life and now with Bipolar11

he has nearly ended his life twice , been in hospital twice , yes sometimes they say things that they don`t know they are saying , i have cried over some of the comments

at the moment he is playing yoyo with his meds which is not helping his sleeping , I also have $ step children who are adults now

sending you hugs HeartHeart

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hi @LOVELUKE
Do you have ant supports in place for yourself?

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hi All.

My hubby was diagnosed with bipolar a few months back. He also has an alcohol addiction. Some days we move 10 steps forward and the next it can be 10 back. I know he does his best and he is trying to adjust to life with it and seek help for the drinking. W e are both trying to cope. I sometimes think I’m marking him worse and don’t know how to act. He still works full time which is great. I sometimes think he does need time off to get his health sorted without other stresses. It is hard sometimes as we don’t have any support close by.

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hello @Liverpool10 and welcome to the forum

Yes my husband hs bipolar 11

 and is trying to give alcohol up to see if it halps

sending you hugs and letting you know you are not alone , so keep writting here and say hello to some friends @LOVELUKE, @Former-Member, @perseverer

Re: Seeking help from others of Husband with Bipolar

Hello my husband has bipolar 2 and is currently 5 days no smokes and also trying to cut down drinking, he doesn't work and I feel myself falling into a sad state as he is quite and not really talking to me. He makes me feel bad by stopping him from drinking but when he dose he gets down and who knows what can happen. Feel so alone sometimes.