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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Bipolar
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Bipolar
by Dantes, Aug 22, 2005 12:00AM
My wife has been diagnosed with Bipolar type II. My wife suffered from extreme depression for 3 years and then had a week long hypomanic episode in which she cheated on me. During this episode she had pressured speech, high energy and euphoria, sexual disinhibition, listened to an "electrifying" speaker, memory problems, a feeling that the earth was humming, and poor judgment. After the week of hypomania she returned to an even worse depression for two years. Her adultery was completely out of character for her. What I am struggling to emotionally come to grips with is that it was the mental illness in the hypomania and not her that did this. She is extremely remorseful and as I said she has never in her life done anything even close to this. Please tell me that it was the mental illness and not the woman I love.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Aug 23, 2005 12:00AM
, Aug 23, 2005 12:00AM
It was unquestionably the illness. It is a typical and classical pattern of manic depression. She should be treated and forgiven.
I am bipolar, too. I didn't do anything sexual but I went on a spending spree. I didn't realize that I was doing it, I definitely had poor judgment and I ended up filing bankruptcy. I never would have done that normally.
If you love her, try to forgive her. Everything I have ever read says that people do things they normally would never do and they seem to have no control or good judgment about it. Even Christians and people who would never think of infidelity do it.
I don't know what else to say but when I was manic it was a whirlwind and I felt like I was in the Indianapolis 500.
Good luck to you.