[June08]

Hello!

Does anyone have tips about key things to discuss with your significant other about having Bipolar Disorder? My boyfriend of 2 months knows I was diagnosed less than 2 years ago but I want to make sure I help give him a full picture of what being with someone with Bipolar may entail.

Have a good day!

[bizi]

you have shared enough if he is interested in more information he will ask or do a bit of reading up on the topic.I would wait until he asks.You have shared enough.
just my opinion.
bizi

[Soupe du jour]

Welcome, @June08, and thank you for posting such a helpful and thought provoking question!

I would encourage him to read up on bipolar disorder. You might want to refer him to a couple online website descriptions. Something like Mayo Clinic's page and also Wikipedia. Perhaps many wouldn't think Wikipedia should be a recommended source, but I actually found it to be more descriptive than most others.

Another suggestion would be to tell your boyfriend symptoms to look for in you. For example, "If you notice me talking a lot faster, perhaps louder, in a disjointed way, overly excited or irritable, aggressive, making peculiar statements or being abnormally paranoid, then I might be exhibiting hypomanic/manic or mixed episode symptoms." Or, "If I seem to withdrawal, seem sad/melancholic or crying for no major reason, morose, etc, then maybe I have depressive symptoms." Also, let him know what he should do in such cases (draw your attention to it, suggest you contact your doctor, know it is not your "usual" behavior, etc.). A potential partner will also want to know that you actively seek and accept treatment. A person who doesn't may be someone they'd want to avoid.

When you have been together long enough to really see a possible commitment, there is also a good book by Julie Fast called "Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder". It's well regarded and known by bipolar experts. I even met her (heard her speak) once.

[June08]

Hello! Thank you for the welcome and for the advice :-) The book is good to know too-my boyfriend really enjoys listening to audiobooks, which I discovered this books exists in, and really wants to be able to understand my bipolar disorder so I think he would really appreciate learning about this resource.

[raspberrytorte]

Thanks for that book suggestion, soupe. I think my husband would be interested in reading that!