I'm 100% positive my mom has Bipolar disorder but she won't accept it?

I, along with just about every single person that knows her all agree and have said they think she is Bipolar. I'm sure of it! One of her 3 sisters has it and her mother did too. But every time I mention it to her and suggest that she should go to a doctor and have it checked out and possibly get some medication, she flips out and gets all pissy that I would say something like that. Nobody else will say it to her because of this. I say it in the nicest, most caring way but she always reacts that way and says "I'm not Bipolar, maybe all of you are!" or something like that.

She acts that way because her least favorite person in the world is Bipolar, and that's how she found out about the disorder, only 5 years ago. As she's getting older, it's getting worse and more and more hard to put up with her, because she is intolerable but she doesn't see it. What the hell is a daughter to do? I want to help her 'cause I know she would probably be happier if she were on some medication and so would I as well as the rest of the world. It's like it's the biggest insult to be called Bipolar and it's the least thing she wants to be. Tough luck, you're Bipolar! What am I supposed to do? Even my dad won't say anything to her because of how she reacts ...

And yes, I am very certain she has it because of the things she does so don't question me on that

typically if a person has a problem like that, they are the only one that doesn't see it. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do. Are you in danger? If yes, TALK TO SOMEONE! You have to get out of the situation if you are in danger.

deal with it or turn her in for child abuse then she has to get help or she looses you

Hi,

It seems like you might just benefit from some factual information about Bipolar, maybe鈥?br>
There are 3 treatments for any kind of depression including bipolar, and only one is pills. The others are 'talk therapy' and 'family and friend support' so, although it's tough, you have to try to see if you can see things from her perspective. You might consider showing her this answer to show you cared enough to find advice?

To cut to the chase, BIPOLAR (as you might already suspect) means 鈥渢wo poles鈥?and is simply the new 鈥渋n鈥?word for Manic Depression where a person cycles between 鈥渧ery big highs鈥?(mania) at one end of the 鈥榩ole鈥?and 鈥渧ery low Lows鈥?(depression) at the other end of the 鈥榩ole, which is a far wider range than most other peoples - and it lasts for more than a couple of weeks.

Many famous and highly intelligent people have/had manic depression including Sir Winston Churchill, Stephen Fry, Carrie Fisher, Spike Milligan, Ben Stiller, DMX and many others. Managed properly, it can be lived with, and in fact because the 鈥渕ania鈥?(the highs) are so exhilarating, most manic depressives wouldn鈥檛 swap their manic depression for being normal. There are three treatments for Bipolar, and only one of them involves antidepressant drugs.

I've been in fairly hefty senior management positions for around 4 decades and have had up to 500 staff under me at times. I鈥檝e had to deal frequently with many people suffering Depression, so know a little about what you are going through. Depression is far more common than most people think because most people either don't recognise it or hide it. In fact, I think the stats show that up to one-in-five people suffer from Depression, all over the world. It's good that you're getting it out in the open and seeking advice. Just be careful of the myths and here-say, though. A lot of people don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e talking about and just seem to make things up as they go along.

Nowadays, I produce videos, and last year made a 35-minute DVD presented by a top UK Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Darryl Britto, who is a personal friend of mine, and who wanted to squash all the myths about depression, because he felt that very few people thoroughly understood what it is all about. In the DVD he includes an explanation of the three main treatments available. It's purposely in simple layperson's language and aimed at 4 categories of people.
1) Those with Depression,
2) Those who think they may have Depression,
3) Friends and family of those with Depression, and
4) People training in the healthcare sector.

If interested, you can see a FREE PREVIEW on YouTube at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce1viJ7zqC...

I also have a Blog at http://business-sage.blogspot.com which has heaps and heaps of useful FREE ADVICE about enhancing your lot in life, which you might be interested in. (Some of it is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.)

Also I鈥檝e include some web links below, many of which are professional bodies connected to Bipolar and Depression with stacks of free information.

I sincerely hope this information might help you, and that I haven鈥檛 given you too much text here 鈥?but I felt it important to lever you away from (sometimes) harmful here-say, gossip and myths. People suffering Depression are not alone, you know. Depression is treatable in the majority of cases and it's truly not as bad as people think it is. Armed with the FACTS of what Depression is all about, makes it ten times more easy to handle.

Good luck & Cheers

Wow! Do we have a lot to talk about! I hope you have at least one brother or sister. Let me give you some background......I am a social worker by profession and I, too, have grown up with an UNdiagnosed mother who is bipolar and possibly personality disorder, as well (along with OCD). She has also gotten worse with age. But there's nothing wrong with HER. It's actually a joke in my family. My father passed away about 10 years ago. We had no idea how much he stabilized her and kept things under control. It was bad before he died, but since then she has been completely out of control!
Anyway, there's not really anything that you can do. I go to therapy, and my sister has, as well, to help us go on with our lives. We have our own families to take care of. Basically, someone would have to take your mother to court and have her determined "incompetent." My sisters and I aren't willing to go through that hell.
I don't know your living situation, but really you'll be better off if you can distance yourself from the situation. It's hard, but we have to do what we can to maintain our own sanity. My mother is great at diagnosing her sisters with bipolar, but she refuses to see it in herself...........................and forget about her even taking a little anti-depressant! I could go on for hours and tell story after story, but I won't.
The best thing you can do is find support in at least two relatives who understand what's going on and can help keep you grounded. If your not totally against it, try therapy for yourself. A good therapist can help you develop boundaries for yourself (because your mother can't), can help you to understand more about your mother's behavior, and can also help you process a lot of the emotional stress that we have to deal with. I wish I could offer you more information, but as long as they're in denial, we can't really DO anything. Kudo's to you for even confronting her with it! Good luck and try not to pull your hair out.