Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Tips For Living With A Bipolar Spouse

By Robert Meyer


It goes without saying that falling ill is part and parcel of life. You can develop an ailment even when you have been living a perfectly healthy life. While a vast majority of ailments are easily manageable and go away with medication, others require a lifetime of good care. The situation can at times be unbearable when you have a partner who suffers from a difficult condition and you do not know what to do. The following are some of the things you should do to live a good life together with your bipolar spouse.

The first vital thing to do is ensuring your spouse has the right support to keep living with a positive attitude. Try to get him to join a local support group if you can. If there are other family members who suffer from the same condition, have them meet regularly. The good thing about support groups is they provide a way to let participants express exactly what they feel. This always releases the stress that commonly arises from the symptoms of the condition especially when the strength of the meds starts wearing off.

Next, you must go out of your way to see to it that your spouse receives the best medical care available. When managing bipolar, a good doctor ought to be more than just academically qualified. There are many other important traits he must possess.

In essence, a doctor must also have compassion and empathy ingrained in his character. Empathy means reasoning at the same level as the person suffering. Remember to seek advice from the doctor on aspects such as the best time to administer medication to your spouse to prevent him from losing control.

In addition, it is crucial to get a thorough grasp of the symptoms commonly associated with bipolar in order to manage it well. One of the most common symptoms is irrational thinking. You may occasionally see your spouse abusing you verbally or buying expensive things that he does not really need. If you have lived together for long, you should have an easy time spotting such symptoms and curbing them before they get worse.

One way to prevent this is by ensuring he takes his medication on time. While many people think this is easy, nothing could be further from the truth. Patients always display a tendency to resist medication as much as they can. Talk to the person nicely and if you feel incapable of handling the situation well, there is no harm in engaging your family members.

A patient may also find certain activities calming. It could be an activity as simple as jogging or watching TV. As soon as you identify what he likes, let him partake in it often.

Lastly, you also need to create some time for yourself in order to be in the right mental state. Whenever the person gets off his medication, find something distracting to do. You may go stay with a friend temporarily or take a short trip. In the end, your mental health is just as important as his.




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