Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgar's Mom
Many of you said that you stepped up to do your job as a parent because you had no choice. That you could fight your bipolar and win, gain enough control over it to be a good parent.
When you say it like that, I feel like that means I wasn’t able to parent my children the way I would have liked because I 'chose' not to.
Maybe you had better luck with meds or maybe you are just stronger people than I am.
But I feel that I also didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t control my BP. Sometimes getting out of bed wasn’t an option. Sometimes for me parenting wasn’t an option.
Does this mean I was weak? That I wasn’t committed enough or that I didn’t love my kids enough?
Or does it mean that I have a physical illness that kicked the **** out of me and took over my life?
|
Please remember, we are all only speaking for ourselves. We not commenting on anyone else's situation. I know for me, my ability to keep parenting effectively, was due to several factors. First and foremost, I have an extremely strong support system, particularly in my husband. If I had been trying to parent alone, things probably would have looked much different. Secondly, I received help very quickly and generally responded fairly well to treatment. Mine was not an easy case. I was hospitalized 15 times in a 10 year span, so it wasn't about mine being a milder case or me being stronger, but with the combination of support and fortunately good response to treatment, I was able to continue working, only missing a small amount of work time.
Try to remember when we tell our stories here, they are OUR stories, not comments on you because we don't know you, your life is your own, and everyone's struggle with bipolar disorder is their own journey.