Hi. I'm looking for some caregiver support as a parent to an adult child with bipolar disorder. It just feels like I have no support and after years of dealing with one crisis after another, every one in my circle of friends is tired of hearing the same old stories. They took off again, they're using drugs again, they hate me again.

It's been 13 years now and you think I'd be used to they cycle now but I dread the change of seasons because that always marks the beginning of a new episode of mania.

My child changes then. They stop being who they really are. They become caught in the grip of something so much bigger than them. They make horrible decisions, they stop caring about anything but living as fully as they can for the next 15 minutes. They don't know loyalty. Don't know responsibility. They can become abusive.

How do families live with the heartbreak year in and year out?