Being Bipolar as An Excuse...

Bipolar is a psychiatric disorder that lead to someone experiencing some depression and becoming manic sometimes. This means that if someone is aware that he or she has this condition, consultation is important to avoid hurting or doing bad to others. I think your friend just use it like an excuse to exploit others. Otherwise, tell her or him to get medical help for her condition.

I think real medical illness are OFTEN used as an excuse. I think many people "say" they are this or that as an excuse to do or not do something. I think a HUGE example of this is parents that say their children are ADHD. And I also think many doctors say a person is this or that...without indepth testing etc, as we are their income! if we are all healthy and normal...we dont' go to doctors and they have no income! But for like ADHD...I think so much of that is just simply the kids want some attention. They know that if they act up..they will get attention. So they act up. Kids these days do nothing but sit on their duffs and exercise their thumbs with all the hand held games and gadgets...and after awhile they just get what parents call "hyper" as their bodies are just so tired of being still and scrunched up and need movement, that they kids jump and go as that is what their bodies are telling them to do...and the parents assume it is a health problem. They give the kids some cake and blame "sugar rush" on their wild behavior when it is medically proven that a "sugar rush" doesn't exist..but what do you expect a kid amongst other kids that have a party and eat cake...they get up and play! Parents that say their kid is not paying attention in school...NEVER is it EVER mentioned that maybe the teacher is boring! Or maybe the kid is bored cause what he is being taught is not being taught in a captivating way. No, it is always a medical thing like ADHD BiPolar..my son in law has been medically tested for 2 years and diagnosed with that. But he isn't mean or anything like that. Just just can't stay focused and if things don't go his way he gets mad and things like that. Often this is called "getting angry" or "short fuse"...that is what it is with most, but in his case..since he has been tested in a variety of ways, and hte medication he is on does control those specific things...I believe that is his medical condition. I just think that many say they have something so as not to take responsibility...muchlike the parents that just automatically say their kid is ADHD...they just don't want to take responsibility and say "I never taught my kid how to behave and I don't see that my kid gets proper activity and they spend hours on hand held games and I don't make them get up and move about so because I have not taken responsibility for my kids...I just blame it on ADHD". BiPolar is rather scary thing to actually have...well at least I know it is bad on the receiving end of it. My SIL can get really weird when he is off his meds. But ...to his credit...he will admit that he didn't take them this morning and not just blame the condition for his behavior.

Bipolar is much more complicated than this... There are a lot of things.. One can't excuse oneself out of violent crime, for this cause... In fact, it takes an psychologist to prove that one has BPD (Bipolar Disorder)... So whoever is talking about it, ask for a doctor's certificate.. ;)

I know many bipolar people and the condition is not always controllable even with treatment. Lithium the medicine that is used to treat it most often, requires constant monitoring for some, and very little for others. However, there is a fine line between being bipolar and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity). All three of these medical disorders must be determined by a good doctor and I believe many of the doctors just throw pills at the patient rather than treat the behavior involved. I don't think just giving them pills works, I think they need to unlearn behaviors they may have been practicing for years. But it seems insurance companies which most doctors require the patient have in order to get long term treatment, like to take these conditions which have true physical evidence behind them and throw them into mental illness where they do not have to pay the same as for a physical ailment. When your body lacks a certain chemical, then I'd say it isn't mental, it is a physical. Sorry to hear you see them using their condition as an excuse, but what I've seen is they are not receiving the counseling and training to help control their condition the way they should be. Medicine alone is not the answer. ADD/ADHD is a misfiring of the endorphins in the brain, and the public sees it as a behavior problem with no physical connection. And that is just not the truth. How do I know? I've been evaluated by a neuropsychiatrist for bipolar and they found my brain waves were inconsistent to bipolar but consistent to a sub-form of ADD when they used a computer enhanced EGG and other tests. In most ADD and ADHD people the theta wave of the brain does not work in a normal fashion. In my case, it is the alpha wave that doesn't work right. Medicine cannot fix mine at all. My question in response to yours, how do you see it now? An excuse? or a true handicap to the person who has it? When do we the people who pay for insurance demand that when their is a physical connection to behavior, that it be treated like any other condition and payment be the same as a any other physical condition?

There does seem to be more bipolar people out there than ever before. I question whether that many really are. Perhaps someone is trying to sell pills. Of course, there are those who truly are bipolar. I'm sure it isn't easy to deal with.

Yes, it definitely can be used as an excuse. And some people will take advantage of the fact that they're bipolar, or have whatever disability to make themselves look like they can't control their behavior. But then, there are other people who can overcome these obstacles and become greatly successful and help people in similar situations.