Hello. Anyone experienced with bipolar issues? I have a son who was recently diagnosed as bipolar. This explains some things. Now, I can see where some of his behavior comes from. However, I cannot excuse his behavior.

He’s had problems with the law, steals from us, and abuses drugs and alcohol. My wife and I gave him until the 9th to find a place to stay and/or enter rehab. On the ninth, we will take him to the steps of rehab, tell him we love him, and tell him that he cannot come home until he completes rehab. And then drive away.

I feel I need to do this. Nothing else has worked with him and he continues to cross boundaries, break the law, abuse drugs, and influence his siblings. He is a smart young man and if he makes the right choices then I think he will make it. However, the bipolar mental health issue still confuses me. Even though I think I am doing the right thing I would like to hear from an experienced person and professional.

Blessings
Yes, my wife and I both feel we need to do this.
My son has also been in a few rehabs the last few years i.e. In patient and out patient. He even has a drawer full of coins from NA and AA. He’s never completed treatment nor stuck with a sponsor long enough to honestly go through all 12 steps. Therefore, this is one reason why we are setting a boundary saying that he must complete treatment if he wants to come home. We are dropping him off at Salvation Army and the treatment plan is 6 months.

He still won’t admint that he has a problem even though he’s been in the emergency for OD’ing more than once.
Thank you for the feedback. Yes, this is BIPOLAR. I’ve spent the last hour talking to someone from http://www.dbsalliance.org/.

I would describe more symptoms but there isn’t enough space in here to go into detail.

People with Bipolar Disorder have periods of depression and/or mania. Deviant behavior can be a characteristic of a person who is in a mania state where they feel they can do anything. The BiPolar disorder must be treated before we can effectively treat behavior difficiencies.

Thanks for the feedback. The individial who recommend that I understand and research BiPolar will get my vote.