Quote:
Originally Posted by BirdDancer
My brother visited me today. The main concern my siblings and I have is my dad. We all agree he needs to be in the hospital (dual diagnosis wing, preferably one for the elderly). Bro said "Dad probably has bipolar disorder". I was like "Well, Sis and I have known this for ages". We obviously didn't know as kids or young adults. We didn't know that a few of us had it. Total lack of insight when so many in a household have major issues.
Dad tells us he is "an alcoholic". Bro thinks he is. But I think he's bipolar self-medicating. That's what I was. How can a person who's only started drinking problematically at 70 years old be an alcoholic? Though his mental health has been in question off and on since he was 16?
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That is a tough situation. I am sorry your dad is struggling. I makes me sad to think that he has possibly lived so many years without a correct diagnosis and has been struggling. I think it is probably common that problems with alcohol stem from self medicating and undiagnosed mental illness, although some people I am sure have an unfortunate tendency towards addiction. 70 years of age does seem late to start, though. I hope you can find a great place that can help him get better.
