Wow. Thank you for sharing this. Victims spoke up on another thread called Crushes. That's why I wrote this. My wife bears deep scars. First, from me and then from our kids both of whom were hospitalized for suicide attempts related to bipolar, anxiety, and depression. My wife was diagnosed with PTSD this year. And it all starts with me. I believe I made my family sick with my mania, depression, and alcoholism. My daughter, unbeknownst to me until recently, found a dirty text from a woman on my phone when she was in 8th grade. That's when her mental health issues began. She is Bipolar I with very serious depression. My son bore scars of me leaving. His desperation was quiet. We never saw it until on his third attempt decided to reach out to me. And now I bear a scar.

Bipolar is not a victimless condition no matter how out of our control it can be at times. For me, it is all about what I do now. I will live out my amends until I die by being the kind of father and spouse my family deserves, which includes stringent adherence to my treatment. I want to share my story because there are dozens of men and women in this community who have been either a victim of it or perpetrator of it.

I'm I guilty? Yes. Could I have prevented it? I don't see how. Can I make sure it never happens again? I have to believe that I can.