So recently, I have taken a liking to this girl and she has taken a liking to me. We've been talking alot for the past few weeks and are really close. I can't think of very many moments where im not happy when it comes to her... but there is some occasions. Let us call the girl Jenna for now.

Jenna is bipolar, and sometimes has episodes. Tonight I saw one for the first time, and it was a bit worrysome. I stuck with her through it until she seemed to be happy enough for us to go to sleep. I did some reading online and read that some episodes can last from hours to months. I would prefer to never have to see the monthly ones.


So, I was wondering if I could get some direct advice from anyone on these forums on what to do when she has a Bipolar Episode? What causes them, and even more important, what stops them? Sticking with her seemed to do the trick, but from what I read, that won't always be the case. Your advice would greatly be appreciated.

Ah, my ex was a medicated bi-polar...person. They'll say things, hurtful things sometimes, that they don't mean, they'll sometimes need encouragement, reassurance that they're not fat/ugly, etc. What worked really well was just keeping tabs on her like reminding her to bring a coat if its a windy day, making her lunch sometimes or what have you - make her feel important, loved, blah blah blah. Basically, treat them like a high maintenance house plant. Make sure she takes her meds too. My ex twitched a long in her sleep if she forgot but if you need your sleep, you could always try and hold her really tight - worked like a charm. Be open, be encouraging, don't be afraid to call her out on her bullcrap if its gets too much but do so in a mild and not so accusatory tone. Then hug her for about 8 seconds - this releases happy hormones in her brain and calms her the [censored] down. Avoiding excessive stimulants or depressants is a good idea too. Be stable, be a rock but don't sacrifice your own needs for her, you're not a martyr and she doesn't necessarily want an emotional tampon to hang around. On the whole, the experience wasn't too bad but don't let what they say get to you, I suppose.

Oh, for god's sake don't be sticking your dike in crazy. Most importantly, never promise crazy a baby and NEVER put a ring on it. You know, unless you have a death wish or you are a Zen mother [censored].

:lol:

My brother was bipolar. The only thing I remember is that he'd build huge castles out of books and legos and have Risk pieces guarding it. Pretty elaborate and cool stuff. Thing is that my mom, sister and I would sometimes need to go in his room and would step on the Risk pieces. After a while we just wore shoes whenever we'd need to go in his room, and that fixed the problem.
Hope that helps.

My boyfriend is medicated bipolar. I've been with him over a year and have never seen him depressed or manic. He did, however, have a lot of manic episodes during his time at University which resulted in some bad credit card debt which we're working on now. I think the most important thing really is to be as 'stable' as you can around them. You're probably going to need to be their rock more than a lot of people and it's important she knows she can depend on you.

I think it's great you're not just dismissing her because of this - lots would.

Stephen Fry is Bi-polar hes never taken medication and seemed happy to continue not taking lithium or an other Bi-polar medication. From what he said it only comes for about a week and hes very depressed. He just works through it and then goes back to being his charming, witty self. So I'd say let her run her course. Of course if shes manic to the point of being suicidial you might want to ask her about getting some medication.

Stephen Fry also took cocaine; not nearly the same thing. Every case is different and your advice is not only dangerous but tragically misinformed. Please don't do this again.

Oi Oi Oi hey I read his autobiography I know more about the guy than you do. I know he took cocaine, I didn't say do that did I? Sorry if I'm not a qualified doctor but letting his girlfriend go through it just seemed like good advice to me. Its what they do usually. He asked for advice, I gave what information I knew about it from the documentary and book. Get down off your high horse mr high and [censored] mighty.

Er, I think any suggestion that people not take prescription medicine for a serious medical condition is not such a cunning idea. Waiting until it's become about as bad as it can get is very dangerous indeed.

This is not a medical forum, already potentially dangerous advice has been given. Sorry OP, you will have to seek help elsewhere - preferably from a professional who knows what they are talking about.