My Father Has a Mood Disorder
1996 Bipolar Support Canterbury Inc. Reprinted 2004 Illustrations by Judy Lee Bipolar Support Canterbury would like to acknowledge the assistance of J R McKenzie Trust and Somerset Print. Bipolar Support Canterbury is a voluntary self help group established in 1982. Further copies of this and companion publication My Mother Has A Mood Disorder are available from Bipolar Support Canterbury Inc. P O Box 25068, Christchurch, Phone 366 5815
From one extreme My father is onto something new. He has left his job and is working day and night on ideas for a new career. In fact, he is into lots of different things at the moment and is on the go all the time. He doesn t seem to need much sleep. Late at night I sometimes wake up and hear him moving round, and when I get up in the morning he says he s been up for hours. He telephones people he knows (and sometimes people he doesn t know) at all times of the day and night to tell them about his ideas. I ve never known Dad to use the phone so much. Other people don t seem to think these schemes will work. I heard someone say Dad s ideas were getting too big and that he should slow down a bit. That made him angry. I don t think he has started any new business yet. But there are lots of plans.
When Dad s at home, one moment he s telling us all what we should be doing and criticizing us, the next moment he s rushing off to do something else. It makes you feel jumpy. Mum doesn t like it either, I can tell. Dad is constantly coming and going, and often brings home nice things to eat chocolate biscuits, special desserts, cakes, and presents for Mum or things for the house. It s funny, but I remember him saying not so long ago that everything was so expensive and we couldn t afford extras. It s nice while it lasts, though! Mum is looking worried.
to another extreme When I set off for school today Dad was still in bed. He doesn t seem to want to get up in the morning these days. He lost interest in his career plans some time ago. Nobody liked his ideas or was interested in him, he said. Now he doesn t want to talk to anyone and he hardly touches his food at meal times. He doesn t seem to like doing anything, actually. Everything is so heavy. I don t like seeing Dad like this.
Help is available Today my mother took Dad to the doctor. When they came home, Mum said Dad was going to hospital for a while so he could be treated by a doctor there, called a psychiatrist. She said Dad was suffering from severe depression and needed special medication and to be looked after by nursing staff. We will be able to visit him.
Treatment The hospital is a quiet place. The first time we visit, Dad doesn t talk much. Mum says he still depressed but he ll get better. The doctor talked to us about what is wrong with Dad. It s a mood disorder called Bipolar Disorder, because of the two extremes of mood. Bi means two - like bicycle two wheels, huh! And you ve heard of poles apart, south and north pole - two extremes. Sometimes Dad might be depressed - like he was when he went to hospital. Other times he might be excited, too busy to sleep, very talkative, and with a lot of thoughts running through his mind that he can t turn off. That s called mania, or being high. Like when Dad was making lots of plans and doing all those other unusual things. Most times, though, Dad will probably be quite all right. We all have our ups and downs, but only some people have the extreme mood swings of Bipolar Disorder.
The doctor said all kinds of people have this mood disorder - about one in every hundred people. For some people, it really upsets their lives. They might do extreme and sometimes scary or even dangerous things when they re not well. Sometimes the medications people have to take have unpleasant side effects. But lots of people with Bipolar Disorder are able to live fairly ordinary lives and just take medication that will help them to make the mood swings less extreme - and hopefully not so many of them. Bipolar Disorder is nothing to be ashamed of. It s a known illness and can be treated. I know now that there will be other people whose fathers or mothers, or brothers or sisters, have this mood disorder. Perhaps like me, they re a bit frightened or embarrassed about it at times, too.
The future Dad came home today. It s so good to have him back. I missed him when he was in hospital. He doesn t feel exactly right yet, he says, but he looks much better and is interested in doing things with us again. But he might be a bit quiet for a while. And it doesn t take much to make him cross - he has a short fuse, Mum warns. It ll be great when everything is right. If Dad gets these mood swings again, I will understand that it s not his fault. He can t just pull himself together, or calm down, like other people say he should. It might be some time before we get chocolate biscuits again, though. Pity about that!