Quote:
Originally Posted by Cavegirl
Yes, my mother is definitely aware of my father. He still keeps his sense of humor though, he can always make me laugh...even during our times of despondency. I'm now wondering if I explain the symptoms to her regarding the clinical depression aspect of bipolar...if after 49 years of marriage (as of today)...will she better understand him? That's probably asking for WAY TOO MUCH. OOooops, there goes that dumb martyr thing again. 
How close are you to your family? How long have you been hiding away your diagnosis? Yes, with depression people wrongly assume that you are just "sad".
I am so glad I found these forums because I can get a glimpse of what others are feeling. It's given me a lot crying time as well as a lot of healing and A-Ha moments...because I can understand, relate, and empathize.
Please follow up with me...The both of you. I'd like to know how you are doing.
Thank you so much!!!  |
Your mom will probably understand your dad's depression a little better once you explain your illness to her. After all, what is BP without depression?
She might not completely understand BP when you first explain it to her, but I wouldn't expect her to fully understand it anyway. (Most people initially don't.) But, I'm sure over time she will learn more about it and become more aware of it. It'll definitely take some time, though.
As for my family... I'm not super close with them. I only got diagnosed last year when I was 24. I had been dealing with depression ever since I was 11, so I suspect that BP started around then. So, I guess I haven't been hiding the diagnosis for very long, but I don't really plan to tell them either. They've got their heads stuck waaay up their @ss as far as I'm concerned.
But yeah, I do like this forum too. It's nice to have *a* support system because I don't have any in real life. This forum fills the void.