For any family, managing a life filled with Bipolar Disorder, is extremely tough. The illness creates havoc for everyone, not just the person who has been diagnosed. It will disrupt all areas of your day to day existence, including family life, work routine, school attendance, sleep, and friendships. Even though before the diagnosis, your life was a mess, at least now you have the chance to know why it has been as it is. Just understanding what anyone is going through is very hard as there are many different variations of this illness. All three of my children have been diagnosed as well as my granddaughter, myself and my niece. We all suffer from varying degrees of depression and mania. It was a blessing to know what was wrong with our family, but then came the time to understand why. I purchased every book that I could get my hands on to read, I searched the Internet and scoured the library for any information. So many of the books and articles I found were written for professionals, not for the ordinary, medically uneducated person. At last I found what I consider to be my set of “bibles”, my guides to all of my questions.
The first book that I read was “His Bright Light
“, the story of Nick Traina, by Danielle Steel, his mother. I have always been a fan of hers, so it was an easy choice for my first read. She writes of a life filled with love, pain and so much courage as she and her family sought answers for the problems they were encountering as her son, Nick, was growing up. The book amazed me as I turned each page; it was as if I was reliving my life with my children all over again. She opened up my eyes to the many problems I had dealt with that I thought were just normal for my family. Her story of their lives broke my heart, as I read of all the hurt they went through. The tragic end of her son’s life brought to me a knowledge that I had to do something. Danielle Steel is an incredible author that writes with such clarity that by the time I had finished I knew without a doubt that my children were all bipolar. All we needed to do was to find the proper doctors that would be willing to help us.
The second book that I discovered was a gift to me from my oldest son and it was also a gift to him from his adoptive mother. Yes, we have quite a few stories in our family and my oldest son turned out to be one of the happiest ones. The title of the book is “The Bipolar Child
“, by Demitri Papolos, M.D. and Janice Papolos. The book explains that researchers are discovering that bipolar disorder in children is much more prevalent than ever thought, and that it often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. “The Bipolar Child” takes you on a straightforward journey to discover the opposite sides of this illness. It explains all of the many symptoms, answers a multitude of questions, explains the different treatments, and advises all how to find treatment, and even how to work through the financial maze of the insurance world. The book is a guide that all parents and grandparents of bipolar children should have. My copy is well-worn, well-read, and a cherished book that I highly recommend.
The third book didn’t come to my attention until after the diagnosis of my granddaughter, who at the time was just five years old. We were visiting with out psychiatrist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and she recommended that we purchase a copy to help us get through the rages that my granddaughter was experiencing. The title of this book is “The Explosive Child
” by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D. director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital. Anyone that has a bipolar child (young or old) knows that the simple word “no” can trigger an explosive rage that can last for hours at a time. These children are not flexible ,and need time to adjust to changes in schedules even as small as bath or bed times. Dr.Greene has developed an approach to discipline that is very simple and anyone can utilize his techniques on any child, whether they are bipolar or not. It is simply a matter of putting your eggs, or rather your problems, in the right basket labeled “A, “B” or “C”. We still use the basket technique many days and it give us all a little more peace. The book is easy to read and easier still to put to good use, which I highly recommend.
These three book have given so much peace to my family. We understand what we are dealing with and finding that our lives can be so much peaceful with the right treatments thanks to these three amazing authors. Please take the time to look at these books and know that help is out there for all of us.
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