Building and maintaining your marriage when your spouse has bipolar can be challenging. Check out the articles below for personal stories, practical advice and tips on maintaining healthy relationships with your husband, wife or partner.
Sometimes it helps to trust that our loved-ones can provide valuable insight into our behavior to help us cope with symptoms. By Julie A. Fast My mom is by far my biggest support. She has always been here for me even when she had no idea how to help me. It has been...
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Talking to someone about getting help for their unmanaged bipolar is more effective if you make it about you instead of them. By Julie A. Fast Talking with someone about getting treatment for bipolar disorder can feel like walking into a lions’ den before the lions have been fed. Depending on their current mood—or...
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My husband could say I am “worth it” despite my bipolar illness, but he does not. Instead, we both say that is a question that should never be asked. By Carin Meyer When it is below zero and I am ice fishing on a frozen Alaskan lake, I concentrate all my energy on catching...
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When you have bipolar disorder, no medication can truly change your attitude or thinking, as I learned from my late father. It takes hard work. By Brad Hoefs My dad was the first person I knew who had bipolar disorder. It was back in 1975 that he had a “nervous breakdown.” For months he...
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If your adult child and his or her bipolar disorder symptoms are taking center stage, than you may be living in a “hijacked house.” By Julie A. Fast It is a bit of a “joke” to talk about how many millennials have moved back in with their parents. But when the millennial has bipolar...
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Will love really keep you together? Well … yes. Love PLUS these secrets to a successful, long-term relationship from four couples living with bipolar disorder. by Donna Jackel What’s the secret to a successful relationship? For answers, we turned to four couples who illustrate key aspects of maintaining a long-term, satisfying partnership while living...
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I often wondered what parenting with bipolar would be like, but nothing could prepare me for the reality of having a new baby to love and to care for. On March 2, 2017, I became a new parent to our first living child, Pablo Phoenix Wise. It’s been a whole new adjustment ever since....
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Know someone living with bipolar disorder? Watch this video featuring Gabe and his wife to learn 3 stigmatizing things you should never say to someone with bipolar. Gabe: I’ve brought my wife along – Kendall: Kendall Howard – hi! Gabe: -to talk about three stigmatizing things that you should not say to somebody who is...
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Sheila Hamilton was recently awarded the Judy Cushing Life award for her efforts in preventing suicide. Here are her comments to supporters of Lines for Life, the Northwest’s 24-hour Suicide hotline. Seven years ago, in this room, on a night much like tonight, I was still struggling with how to make sense of the loss...
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Even in a great marriage, handling major life changes while also managing bipolar disorder is challenging. Step back, take a breath, persevere! By Beth Brownsberger Mader The return to our beloved Colorado last spring after 17 years happened quickly, though we had been planning it in our hearts for some time. It was a...
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