Bipolar Disorder/Bi-Polar Disorder

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Expert: - 7/30/2010


Question
I beleive my husband has BiPolar Disorder. How do I mention this to him and ask that we get him some help without getting him mad or upset?

Answer
Hi Tanya . . .

The situation that you mention is a difficult if not impossible one. When someone is in the depressed phase of a mood disorder it is often relatively easy to get them to accept help as they are often miserable. The difficult thing is getting someone who is in a manic or hypomanic mood to accept help. In those states people feel "better then well" and they are unable to grasp that they are experiencing the symptoms of a psychiatric illness.Sometimes talking about how it might be a good idea to see a mental health professional because of "marital difficulties" works, but more often than not even such a suggestion is rejected.

Best regards . . .

Ivan
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Bipolar Disorder

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Ivan Goldberg, M.D.

Expertise

I am a psychiatrist/psychopharmacologist with many years of expereince in treating individuals with depressions, manic-depression (Bipolar Disorder), other mood disorders,. I am especially interested in the psychopharmacologic treatment of individuals with so called "treatment-resistant" syndromes.

Experience

I have been on the staff of the National Institute of Mental Health, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. I am currently in full-time private practice in New York City.

A.B. Johns Hopkins University
M.D. N.Y.U. College of Medicine

I am the creator of Depression Central:http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.html

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