I'll be interested in others' viewpoint about the bipolar movie "No Letting Go." It is about a boy who has bipolar disorder. I would not recommend this movie if you are fragile. I found it triggering and very depressing. It's billed as "A tremendously inspiring and moving film that captures both heartache and hope of a family living with mental illness," and Winner of over 20 film Festivals Worldwide. It's based on the author's real family and son. I found it extremely depressing. But I'm depressed these days anyway. The boy who has the bipolar disorder is not a sympathetic character for me at all. He's easy to dislike. And the "hope" I saw in the movie was that he went to a residential treatment facility for a year that cost his family in the six figures. The family could not cope with his rages, throwing and breaking things, and threats to kill everyone in the family. Realistic? Yes. Inspiring? Not at all. And what about families who do not own a mansion, a lake, and have enough money for the treatment this child got?

[SorryShaped]

They wind up like me. That's what happens.
I'll skip this movie, thanks

[Unhinged88]

Or they wind up like me too! 29 and already filed bankruptcy because I racked up 60,000 in medical bills with in patient treatments and ambulance/Er stays.

They should have portrayed it more accurately, that most people with mental illness are not affluent. Even though it does affect people of all demographics, most would relate to the average income family. Or a person with a family who isn't supportive at all maybe.

Dear SorryShaped, it's nice to meet you . I haven't posted in quite a while. I don't know what your situation is, but it sounds like you are not doing so well. I'm going to post another thread now about the reason I personally think mental illness is not a "popular" illness like cancer. In the movie, there was one short scene where the mother of the bipolar boy had just come home from the hospital after breast cancer surgery. Friends had brought over enough food for a week! She commented "Where was all this when..." her son was causing so many problems. I sent a long letter two years in a row to my large extended family about bipolar disorder. I said that it's genetic, and that they all needed to know the signs in case they had it, or if one of their kids had it or should come down with it. And you know what? Not ONE, one a SINGLE FAMILY MEMBER wrote back. But when my cousin had cancer, and was surviving for over 15 years with multiple surgeries, the family really pulled for him. Prayers; cards; discussions.

Originally Posted by SorryShaped

They wind up like me. That's what happens.
I'll skip this movie, thanks

[SorryShaped]

Originally Posted by flowerbells

Dear SorryShaped, it's nice to meet you . I haven't posted in quite a while. I don't know what your situation is, but it sounds like you are not doing so well. I'm going to post another thread now about the reason I personally think mental illness is not a "popular" illness like cancer. In the movie, there was one short scene where the mother of the bipolar boy had just come home from the hospital after breast cancer surgery. Friends had brought over enough food for a week! She commented "Where was all this when..." her son was causing so many problems. I sent a long letter two years in a row to my large extended family about bipolar disorder. I said that it's genetic, and that they all needed to know the signs in case they had it, or if one of their kids had it or should come down with it. And you know what? Not ONE, one a SINGLE FAMILY MEMBER wrote back. But when my cousin had cancer, and was surviving for over 15 years with multiple surgeries, the family really pulled for him. Prayers; cards; discussions.

Invisibility when the pain is too. Nobody ever even said "welcome home" or "I'm glad you're feeling better" or "how are you doing today?" after any of my hospitalizations. They treated it the same as since I was a very small child, "You're just throwing a fit." My sister said that the last time, the one that works for a cancer research hospital. If I have to go back in, I'll not tell anyone where I go, that I'm there, or that I've left.
The boy you mention wasn't causing trouble, he was having troubles that affected others.
If you want my backstory, PM me. I'm interested in yours too. I swear the only book I'm writing is about me.

not seen this, but now you've mentioned it i'll add it to my list.

I want to see " the girl he met online"

but can't find it anywhere

Dear SorryShaped, you wrote about the boy in the movie, "The boy you mention wasn't causing trouble, he was having troubles that affected others."

Oh, HOW true it was/is. His parents tried for YEARS to find help for him -- therapy, psychiatrists, meds -- and nothing helped. See the post I'm about to make now about Why Mental Illness Does Not Attract Sympathy Like Cancer Does. (I had to leave earlier, which is why I didn't post it this morning.)

Originally Posted by SorryShaped

Invisibility when the pain is too. Nobody ever even said "welcome home" or "I'm glad you're feeling better" or "how are you doing today?" after any of my hospitalizations. They treated it the same as since I was a very small child, "You're just throwing a fit." My sister said that the last time, the one that works for a cancer research hospital. If I have to go back in, I'll not tell anyone where I go, that I'm there, or that I've left.
The boy you mention wasn't causing trouble, he was having troubles that affected others.
If you want my backstory, PM me. I'm interested in yours too. I swear the only book I'm writing is about me.

[SorryShaped]

Originally Posted by flowerbells

Dear SorryShaped, you wrote about the boy in the movie, "The boy you mention wasn't causing trouble, he was having troubles that affected others."

Oh, HOW true it was/is. His parents tried for YEARS to find help for him -- therapy, psychiatrists, meds -- and nothing helped. See the post I'm about to make now about Why Mental Illness Does Not Attract Sympathy Like Cancer Does. (I had to leave earlier, which is why I didn't post it this morning.)

They frequently don't properly diagnose bipolar. I knew there was a problem and reached out at 7, but I was "just throwing a fit." The first attempts at help weren't until age nine. 21 years later, at age 30, they figured it out. I'd been in constant psych care for over 5 years at that point, and nobody caught it.

Interesting that you point out the accusation "throwing a fit." My dad had Alzheimer's, and would get very, very angry. One very loving and lovely caregiver at an institution he finally had to go to (after years at home and when my mother no longer had the physical or any other strength to care for him) said gently, "He's just EXPRESSING HIMSELF." Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if more people could understand this -- maybe if they did, they could help us calm down. Excellent therapists can help us calm down, at least in my case one can.

Originally Posted by SorryShaped

They frequently don't properly diagnose bipolar. I knew there was a problem and reached out at 7, but I was "just throwing a fit." The first attempts at help weren't until age nine. 21 years later, at age 30, they figured it out. I'd been in constant psych care for over 5 years at that point, and nobody caught it.

[Zigy]

I don't like movies that show wealthy people in distress. Who can spend 6-digit sums on treatment. Hello? I'm sorry for them, but they have a wealth of options that most of us don't. How about normal folk who struggle with a lot less? I'll skip this too.

[SorryShaped]

Originally Posted by flowerbells

Interesting that you point out the accusation "throwing a fit." My dad had Alzheimer's, and would get very, very angry. One very loving and lovely caregiver at an institution he finally had to go to (after years at home and when my mother no longer had the physical or any other strength to care for him) said gently, "He's just EXPRESSING HIMSELF." Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if more people could understand this -- maybe if they did, they could help us calm down. Excellent therapists can help us calm down, at least in my case one can.

My "fits" were hypomania, mixed mood or mania with psychosis, and depressive suicidal rage. Nobody's ever bothered to read the literature I've gathered up for them, watch the videos online or the DVDs I bought, or asked one damn question about bipolar in general. Family sucks.

How very true. You are so right about movies that show wealthy people in distress. I'm trying to think if there are any movies about mental illness that are just about "ordinary" people -- that is, people who are, as they say, in the lower economic brackets. The movie "Mr. Jones" with Richard Gere as the lead character who has bipolar disorder, is about someone who would not be considered wealthy, but the issue of costs of care does not even come into the picture at all. One wonders, in that movie, how the various characters' mental health treatments are paid for at all. That's another bugaboo of mine --- movies that take it for granted that MI is getting treated, and the economics of the situation is just ignored completely.

Originally Posted by Zigy

I don't like movies that show wealthy people in distress. Who can spend 6-digit sums on treatment. Hello? I'm sorry for them, but they have a wealth of options that most of us don't. How about normal folk who struggle with a lot less? I'll skip this too.

[SorryShaped]

Not a movie, but a book, and about other mental disabilities, not bipolar, though one of the characters is probably very much so bipolar.
"like normal people" by Karen E. Bender
She wrote this book so well that I try to tell lots and lots of people to read it. I won't tell them anything more that what I'll say here. Bob, I love Bob. The story is engulfing to say the least. Give it a chance, I got through it in about 6 spurts. I've never felt emotion like that from such a common, and I do mean common, story. Everything in the character is in the words, simply and powerfully. I think psych students should be required to read this

[Zigy]

Originally Posted by flowerbells

How very true. You are so right about movies that show wealthy people in distress. I'm trying to think if there are any movies about mental illness that are just about "ordinary" people -- that is, people who are, as they say, in the lower economic brackets. The movie "Mr. Jones" with Richard Gere as the lead character who has bipolar disorder, is about someone who would not be considered wealthy, but the issue of costs of care does not even come into the picture at all. One wonders, in that movie, how the various characters' mental health treatments are paid for at all. That's another bugaboo of mine --- movies that take it for granted that MI is getting treated, and the economics of the situation is just ignored completely.

Exactly, it never mentions treatment costs, insurance, etc. It just gets taken care of. They live in fancy neighborhoods, have high-end jobs, they can take time off at will and go to Bahamas to recover. I can't even take few days off any more because I'm out of sick time and STD.

[jmariah001]

Thanks for the recommendation. Amazon prime has it. I'll take a look.

Originally Posted by jmariah001

Thanks for the recommendation. Amazon prime has it. I'll take a look.

I'll be very interested to know how the movie "No Letting Go" affects you. As I said, from my perspective, it's the most realistic movie about MI I have found, but it's very tense and depressing. How does the boy who has bipolar make you feel, and how do you think the family relations will be after he gets home from residential treatment, if you want to write back after you've seen this flick.

[99fairies]

I have it downloaded onto my laptop, just trying to work up the courage to watch it.

Originally Posted by 99fairies

I have it downloaded onto my laptop, just trying to work up the courage to watch it.

I'll be glad to know what you think. Like I said, this movie is the most realistic one I have seen about mental illness, but the boy with bipolar is -- for me anyway -- not a sympathetic character. I think the movie could have made him a sympathetic character if they showed more about his "sweet nature," which his mother keeps saying he has and I sure didn't see that in the movie. Probably anyone with MI has a sweet and compassionate side to themselves. What do others think about this claim?

[Loose Screw x 2]

This sounds like a movie worth skipping to me too. I am below the poverty level with mental illnesses and have been for many years. I'm with Unhinged on this one. A movie about someone on average income would have made more sense or even a poor person as there are many, many poor people with mental illnesses too. I see them every time I go to see my doctor.