A child who has a parent with a mental illness often feels blindsided by the symptoms their mom or dad experiences and has no idea what to do. Bipolar disorder can prove particularly challenging for children because of the unpredictable mood swings the parent goes through. While minors should seek counsel from adults about how to cope with a bipolar parent because they are not old enough to take on this responsibility, the same is not true of adult children. San Diego Coastal Mental Health explores the subject of parents with bipolar disorder, how it affects the family, and what can be done to help everyone. We provide structured residential care to help people minimize their bipolar symptoms and learn to live a more focused life.
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What is Bipolar Disorder?
Bipolar disorder is a mental health disorder that causes serious mood changes that the individual cannot control. They cycle from the depths of depression to manic highs anywhere from a few times a year to several times. This mental illness often causes discord between the person who has it and their loved ones. Others may blame them for not controlling their moods, but they are unable to do so without seeking professional treatment.
How Do Parents with Bipolar Disorder Act Differently?
Because bipolar disorder affects a person’s thoughts and behaviors, this will show up in their parenting sometimes. For children who don’t know their parent has a mental health disorder, it can be offputting, baffling, and sometimes scary. They don’t know how to cope with a bipolar parent and suffer through their mood changes. A child may see their parent in what feels like a wonderful mood when they take their child shopping and shower them with affection, but the next day the parent is moody, sullen, and unresponsive to their child.
When a child lives in an unpredictable environment and doesn’t know what mood their mother or father may be in daily, it creates a sense of fear and rejection. Children of bipolar parents are often anxious and blame themselves for a parent’s depressive cycle. They also don’t trust that the manic cycles will last, which makes the joyful feelings fleeting.
How Does Having a Parent with Bipolar Disorder Impact Their Children?
Children with a bipolar parent live in a constant state of worry and uncertainty. They don’t know if their parent will be in a good or bad mood and wonder why they can’t influence the parent’s mood. Children typically feel embarrassed by how their parent acts, which may lead to them not inviting friends over or participating in social events or sports that would require a parent to be present. This isolates them and intensifies their feelings of loneliness and vulnerability.
A child who does not know how to cope with a bipolar parent often carries the trauma into their adulthood. They have trouble trusting people and forming lasting healthy bonds with romantic partners and friends. Many children develop depression or anxiety during childhood that lasts well into their adult years.
What Adult Children Can Do To Help Repair the Damage Done by Coping with a Bipolar Parent
A parent who has kids at home and lives with bipolar disorder needs to get targeted help for their condition. However, even if their children are grown up and may have moved out, they still require a program that understands their condition and how to treat it. Family therapy can help a great deal toward making amends for the past and assisting children to understand how to use boundaries and support their parents as they move through their treatment program.
The parent needs to acknowledge the pain their mental health disorder has caused and work on making amends wherever possible. Doing this helps their children process their parents’ ongoing behavior and emotions, as well as their own reactions to them. A parent wanting to make amends should also commit to completing a treatment program and take any required medication regularly.
How is Bipolar Disorder Treated?
How bipolar disorder is treated depends to some degree on the type the person has. The different types of bipolar disorder include Bipolar I Disorder, Bipolar II Disorder, Cyclothymic Disorder, and Substance-Induced Mood Disorder.
People with bipolar disorder respond well to individual therapy and group therapy. Psychiatry also can achieve wonderful results with the combination of talk therapy and prescription medications. Holistic therapy can also help a great deal by addressing a person’s physical, spiritual, and mental health. Many people with bipolar disorder respond well to Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). Finally, Red Light Therapy can offer relief from some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder. An assessment with the person’s treatment team will determine which types of therapy will bring about the best results.
Find Help For a Loved One With Bipolar Disorder
Do you have a parent with bipolar disorder and want to help them find a skilled facility to provide effective treatment? If you are at a loss for how to cope with a bipolar parent, San Diego Coastal Mental Health can help. We offer a sanctuary for private mental health treatment in our comfortable residential program. Our team of licensed mental illness experts meet each person where they are in their disorder, help them understand how to minimize their symptoms, and set goals for their time with us.
Contact us now if you would like to know more about our program. Bipolar disorder doesn’t have to hold control over a person’s life. Let us show you or someone you love how to feel better.
