[tequilashot1967]

ok, so any truth to this, my wife is going through hell, all I do is seem to make it worse, I feel like I am ready for some therapy to just keep me going, I love her soooooooooooo much, tell me there are happy couples have found a way through the madness of this disease, she points to this statistic and I hope it is not true

[Hbomb0903]

It's tough to live with us, it's true. But if you both are committed to try that's a good thing. I've found that sig others that educate themselves and get support of their own seem to do better than those that don't try as hard.

[Standup2me]

I am on #4 now, so wish me luck

Living with another person is so hard

We can do it though!

Just had our 27th anniversary.

[BipolaRNurse]

Working on 34 years of marriage as we speak. I'm bipolar; my husband is not. Our marriage works because we're both invested in it, and because he is willing to be my caregiver when I need one. There really is no recipe for success in marriage, even when one or both partners do NOT have a mental illness. Don't let statistics bother you, and by all means, do go for therapy....it can't hurt, and it may give you the tools you need to cope with being married to someone who suffers from bipolar disorder.

[Victoria'smom]

I'm a firm believer in individual and marriage therapy. I've only been with my husband for 13 yrs . we both work our asses off to make sure the other knows they're apressiated. It can be hell but at the end of the day we understand each other and sleep next to our best friend.

[curly_top]

My marriage has survived 25 years. We have definitely had our ups and downs, but every marriage does. Life is a roller coaster....hang on!

[chris1964]

Mine lasted almost 27 years. I was impossible to live with. Doc gave me some med that caused a mixed episode that was off the charts.
Ended up in a mental health care facility and recieved divorce papers on my birthday.
Now i live alone and everyone is better off.

[outlaw sammy]

Originally Posted by tequilashot1967

ok, so any truth to this, my wife is going through hell, all I do is seem to make it worse, I feel like I am ready for some therapy to just keep me going, I love her soooooooooooo much, tell me there are happy couples have found a way through the madness of this disease, she points to this statistic and I hope it is not true

I wish that I could be encouraging, but I'm one of the 90% twice over. Each of my two marriages lasted between 12 to 13 years. Love sucks!

[Victoria'smom]

Chris I don't believe others or you are better off you living alone.

[MagicsMom]

My husband has PTSD so he is able to be both empathetic and supportive. We've only been married 2 years but I was just diagnosed one year into it. I spent a whole year a complete wreck with crippling depression, anxiety, etc. he now knows when I'm hypo because I have extreme irritability and anger and he's learned not to feed into it.

He married a highly successful woman with the world by the tail and ended up with a disabled mess. Luckily he's disabled and has been my rock as I try to navigate this crazy illness.

We work hard at our marriage and I thank God for him every day. We will be one of the 10 percent.

[Jimpolar]

I've been married for almost 17 years, but it seems to be falling apart now. I've heard that statistic as well, but who knows. The general divorce rate is so high, is it any surprise that this condition makes it significantly worse?

I understand what you are going through, and I wish you luck!

[Go Hungry]

My ex-wife and I managed to make it 14 years before it got us. Best of wishes to you..

[grandmaof3]

I've been married 18 years and raised 2 kids, both of them are bipolar as well. My husband has been strong enough to put up with us.. He has always been there for me at my worst and for the kids too. I live in fear that one day he will wake up and decide he's had enough. The kids are both out on their own so its just me and him now. I hope that we are in that 10% because I love him more than anything and Im still "in love" with him !

[geegee vindaloo]

My spouse and I often joke that it's a good thing we both found each other in our 40s as we knew our issues before getting married. going on eight years. We've seen each other at our best and worst and still very much in love. I'm Bipolar, my spouse deals with Depression.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Curiosity77]

I was married 6 years, and in that relationship for 14 years, before we divorced. I'm bipolar. He's never been diagnosed with anything, but he definitely had episodes of depression, and he became psychotic on one occasion and thought I was poisoning his food. Anyways, I think the combination of our mental health problems was a big part of why we split up, but it was much more complicated than just that. Personally, I don't think I could be with someone who had never experienced some form of mental illness because I don't think I could relate to them. I prefer to be with people who have some internal chaos, I think they are more interesting.

[r010159]

I ended up divorces only after two years. When I was manic I did get myself involved with a ready-made family. I had the world by the tail. No matter what happened I believed I would succeed with my ex-gf. When I crashed everything came apart. Now I am still single. I miss that family!

[luckyme808]

I left and divorced him in what I see now was a year-long manic phase. I would never have done it, either, had I not been manic. Best thing I ever did, but it does go to show that you'll do some extreme things when you're "up".

[redbandit]

My in-laws have been married 26 years. He's got bipolar disorder

[outlaw sammy]

Originally Posted by Curiosity77

I was married 6 years, and in that relationship for 14 years, before we divorced. I'm bipolar. He's never been diagnosed with anything, but he definitely had episodes of depression, and he became psychotic on one occasion and thought I was poisoning his food. Anyways, I think the combination of our mental health problems was a big part of why we split up, but it was much more complicated than just that. Personally, I don't think I could be with someone who had never experienced some form of mental illness because I don't think I could relate to them. I prefer to be with people who have some internal chaos, I think they are more interesting.

WOW - I feel just the opposite. I had this drop-dead beautiful girlfriend who was sixteen years younger than me, but she has BP1 with psychotic features and Dissociative Identity Disorder (a.k.a. Multiple Personality Disorder). She put me through a living hell. Then, years later, my recently ex'd-wife has chronic clinical depression and schitzoid personality disorder and she also put me through hell. I don't want another freakie in my life - even if I am one (BP1). I need stability and predictability.

[crazycatlady_83]

We'll be married 9 years next month. I was diagnosed in 2007, so I've been dealing with this for almost 7 years. It has not been easy, but he has worked hard to understand bipolar and this different me. And I do have to say that I have not been the best spouse because I get angry when I'm manic. I will try and pick fights with him and yell and scream when all he does is sit there and not say anything. He really loves me and will do whatever it takes to stay in this marriage. I almost lost him a couple times...not related to bipolar...and I don't think I would be able to survive without him.

[outlaw sammy]

Originally Posted by crazycatlady_83

we'll be married 9 years next month. I was diagnosed in 2007, so i've been dealing with this for almost 7 years. It has not been easy, but he has worked hard to understand bipolar and this different me. And i do have to say that i have not been the best spouse because i get angry when i'm manic. I will try and pick fights with him and yell and scream when all he does is sit there and not say anything. He really loves me and will do whatever it takes to stay in this marriage. I almost lost him a couple times...not related to bipolar...and i don't think i would be able to survive without him.

you are soooo lucky!!!! He's a definite keeper!!!!!!

My bipolar came out at our 20th year, we've managed to survive it and this year will be 28 years in June.

[shortandcute]

Yeah, I'm not really sure what the statistics are exactly. I know that, personally, I am very hard to live with, and I can understand how many of us can be hard to deal with. I would log onto Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance - Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance and/or NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness - Mental Health Support, Education and Advocacy to see if there is anything on there that might help. I would also recommend seeing if there are any support groups for families in your area.

[larryblanchard]

Although relationships bring a lot of joy and comfort to people's lives, they can be very hard to navigate at times.You can try this out but this is why it's very important to get advice for relationships based on one's stage of life.