What effect does this have on a family?

[Smiley2000]

Hi there,

I have been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, only last week, so this is all new to me.  Yesterday, I took my husband to go and see the GP as he has been showing signs of Depression for some time now.

He is 42, a bit overweight, has had no medical problems whatsoever in his life, but we as a family immigrated to a new Country 2 years ago and he lost some close friends and family in the past year.

So it made sense to me that he would be depressed and he agreed that he is.

The Doctor however said:  oh yeah, your wife is Bipolar and that explains it and then he even asked:  so how has the kids been taking it?  my kids are 8 and 11 and they would not even know anything is wrong cause apart from having a lot of medical procedures and operations, I've never shown any signs to them that I am unstable or depressed or whatever.

or did I?  what effects does this have on my husband and kids?

[weaver71]

My kids are 10 and 12 and I was technically diagnosed about a month ago. I have known for 22 years. I thought I had it under control, but now I know my kids saw more than I did. I started lithium last week and the kids are happy. I ask them to watch me for manic behavior and they do. While waiting for treatment they started pointing out the symptoms I thought they hadn't noticed in the past. Don't underestimate the intelligence of kids. I find involving them in my recovery is very beneficial and helping maintain the bond we have. It hasn't effected them in many negative ways, I think because I am so open with them. They said, "Oh, that makes a lot of sense," as I described what exactly BP 1 is. Good luck, knowing the problem is half the battle.

[TheLightSeeker]

Possibly a lot.
Unexpressed emotions and chronic hidden stress, are "invisible factors" even to the subjects (your children), for they are not necessarily detectable by the conscious mind, as these processes take place mainly within the subconscious mind.
Physical/chemical manifestation may arise only later in life, as the chronic nature of such situations usually has cumulative effects, when the underlying cause -in this case the effects of parental mental issues (even if you both may feel there's lack of evidence of any effects), unfortunately setting the stage for disease processes.
It is imperative to have frequent evaluations for both your children, by  mental health professionals, so in the event of some imbalance detected,
a therapeutic approach could be implemented, timely.
Please do not rely on only what you see.
The doctor might have intuitively touched upon something very important.

Best wishes.
Niko