How to help someone with severe mood changes:

If you know someone who is having severe mood changes and may need help, here are some things you can do:

* Tell the person that you are concerned about him or her.
* Share this booklet with the person.
* Talk to the person about seeing a doctor.
* Take the person to see the doctor.
* If the doctor offers the name and phone number of a psychiatrist or someone for "talk" therapy, call the number and help the person make an appointment.
* Take the person to the appointment.
* "Be there" for the person after he or she starts treatment.
* Contact any of the places listed under "For more information" in this booklet.

For more information:

You can call or write any of these organizations for free information about bipolar disorder. You can also find more information on their web sites. "Free call" phone numbers can be used free by any-one, anywhere in the United States.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Office of Communications
6001 Executive Boulevard
Room 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
Free call: 1-866-615-6464
Local call: 301-443-4513
Fax: 301-443-4279
Hearing impaired (TTY): 301-443-8431
Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-3042
Free call: 1-800-950-6264
Local call: 703-524-7600
Free call – hearing impaired (TDD): 1-888-344-6264
Web site: http://www.nami.org

Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)
730 N. Franklin Street – #501
Chicago, IL 60610-7224
Free call: 1-800-826-3632
Local call: 312-642-0049
Fax: 312-642-7243
Web site:http://www.dbsalliance.org

National Foundation for Depressive Illness, Inc. (NAFDI)
P.O. Box 2257
New York, NY 10116
Free call: 1-800-239-1265
Local call: 212-268-4260
Web site: http://www.depression.org

National Mental Health Association (NMHA)
2001 N. Beauregard Street, 12th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22311
Free call: 1-800-969-6642
Local call: 703-684-7722
Free call – hearing impaired (TTY): 1-800-433-5959
Web site: http://www.nmha.org

Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
1187 Willmette Avenue, PMB #331
Willmette, IL 60091
Local call: 847-256-8525
Fax: 847-920-9498
Web site: http://www.bpkids.org

a big a$$ leather belt

FIrst of all, it appears that you have been trying to deal with such an enormous problem by yourselves, which is why you feel so overwhelmed and alone. There are resources out there for you and your son, so here goes. I did a search on
"support groups bipolar children" and here's some of what I turned up.
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=na…
Here are a few of the resources I found there.
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
http://www.dbsalliance.org/info/bipolar.…
Psych Central : Bipolar support groups http://psychcentral.com/resources/Bipola…
Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
http://www.bpkids.org/site/PageServer
This group advertises itself as "A page for finding information to help parents deal with BiPolar Disorder in their Children and Teens"
http://hometown.aol.com/DrgnKpr1/BPCAT.h…
Discussion and support group for parents of bi polar children
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Par…
Homeschooling appears to be taking its toll on your family. By law, public schools are responsible for educating ALL children, regardless of their disability. You should contact the head of the Special Education of your local school system to see what services they offer. If they offer any, the system is required to find something that would work for your child.
Good luck and God bless you!

i wish you the best

I'm honestly shocked at how rude and inconsiderate some of these responses have been.

I wish I could help you but I've never experienced that. It sounds like you and your husband are doing a wonderful job with your child, and I hope you find the support you need and deserve. I would reccomend going to a therapist/counselor/psychologist with a family to discuss what you experience, and a good doctor to regulate his medication. Good luck.

merlot—-if hat don't work adoption

There are advice and support groups… Speak to your doctor or check online… I think there is a national database of groups

Hi. I also suffer with bp. i wasn't diagnosed until i was 31. it took many years to find the right medications. your son is lucky to have been diagnosed so early. he will be able to grow with it and understand what he needs to do to reduce the stress before a cycle hits.

i know that there are support groups for people w/ bp or a loved one who suffers from bp. the biggest is NAMI. I believe that Kaiser also offers some support groups. If you call some psychiatric hospitals they will also be able to refer you to local support groups. i know that on-line there are numerous chat sites for bp suffers.

i have been w/ the same psychiatrist. in the beginning for many years i kept a detailed journal of my diet, my sleep pattern, my mood swings, and any event that was unusual in my daily living. i went to therapy weekly and was in an outpatient program learning behavioral skills. all of that is what has led me to finally live a productive life again.

since your son is so young he is not able to go about and gather information. but you can. and you should learn as much as you can about bp. and you also need to learn as much as you can about the psychiatric medications, what they do and how they work. but i know, that anti-depressants for bp patients can trigger cycles or rapid cycling if it is not taken w/ a mood stabilizer. and it might be a good idea to go to a therapist who deals primarily or only w/ bp. your son needs you to help him figure out his pattern. that's all bp is. a wave, or cycle, a pattern. it comes and it does go. that's what really helps me when i'm cycling. i always remember that this is just a wave and it will pass. if you'd like to e-mail me, i'm at linscaeskimo@yahoo.com. good luck

I am looking now to see what I can find. Do you belong to any support groups? I know it must be exhausting and in these groups they often can network to get and find help. Contact your local hospital too sometimes you have to get pushy to get anything. My upstairs neighbor has three kids the 12 year old is bipolar and has ADHD ADD etc a real handful. Where you live would help me research (just the town,city,country thanks) ~A~
I will add you to my prayer list, in our thoughts hang in there! Remember you are not superhuman,its ok to need support, quite natural. I know you are a wonderful caring parent ,you just need some deserved time off.
http://health.dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/H…
http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=ush-an…

PS please ignore the rude comments anyone can answer here and do so sadly. Any other inapropriate advice is do to the fact they just can't to comprehend where you are coming from,no life experience to compare to. "but by the grace of God go I"
Hope you find what you need in these links let me know,
~A~

http://www.nami.org

this website has a lot of information that will help you…including ways to find support groups in your area. Most likely you are right about the ADHD…it in my experience comes with Bipolar Type 2.

Now how to get a break…behavioral theraphy…check with your local mental health clinic if they have anyone or know of anyone who does behavioral theraphy or even dialetical behavioral theraphy (DBT). As a last resort…I repeat LAST RESORT…admit him to a psych hospital for a couple week of observation and medication to figure out what meds work best.

You also need to give him a hobby…something that he perhaps alway loves…that he can do. If he loves books then get him some books on tape that he can listen to. If he's into horses, then find a ranch that offers lessons and take him there. If he loves to swim, swim lessons and life guard lessons may be the thing for him. If he like to draw or paint, get him some art supplies, and teach him. Boy Scouts could also help…and Big Brother programs. All this is to give him something to concentrate on…even if its only for a few minutes at a time….it will help him now and in the future.