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Originally Posted by slinky04789
Hi
I am here not for myself, but actually my father who I believe is suffering from bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder runs in my family and several of my cousins along with my grandfather have been diagnosed. My dad is in denial that he has a problem and yet he has all the classic symptoms. I guess my question for everyone here is how do i get him help if he is unwilling to accept that he has a problem? Should i talk to a physician? I am pretty desperate at this point. I honestly can't live with my dad the way he is; if he doesn't seek help he will destroy my family. Any help would be extremely appreciated
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It depends on how serious the problem is in my opinion. I was diagnosed with Bipolar type I when I was 19. At that point, I was seriously manic and in the middle of racking of up felony charges in two different states. It was like trying to stop a runaway train at that point. To get me stopped it took legal action.
It's pretty difficult to get help for someone that doesn't want it, from a legal aspect. If you feel the person is in danger of hurting themselves or others, then you can maybe have the person admitted to a hospital for like a five day evaluation, but the trick there is that a doctor has to sign off on it, and this may vary depending on the state. And speaking from personal experience, if I was at all manic, I would do anything in my power to avoid a situation like that if I didn't want to deal with it.
So in answer to your question, I would consult with a physician, and see what they reccomend. Another aspect to think about is that if you force treatment on somebody that doesn't want it, it can really damage trust. But if it saves somebody's life, that's probably worth it in the end. It's not an easy thing.
Hope that helps