Teen Bipolar Disorder
Teen Bipolar Disorder is difficult to properly diagnose, and, as the case example below shows, can lead to frustration and heartache for the entire family.
A Teen with Bipolar Disorder: Rebecca
Working in a community clinic as a young intern, I received a phone call from a mother desperately seeking help for her 16-year-old daughter. Her quavering and tearful voice let me know that she was at her wit's end, exhausted, filled with fear, and on the verge of giving up. Rebecca had just been expelled from high school for giving oral sex to three boys in the school bathroom. The mother, a company executive, was afraid to go to work and leave Rebecca at home alone for fear that she would run away. I soon learned that this crisis was one of many in the long and tragic story of a bright young girl from an average middle class family, who, since puberty, had seemed incapable of controlling her urges to shoplift, use drugs, engage in promiscuous and unprotected sex, and steal the family car and disappear for the weekend, all of which terrified her parents and held the family hostage to drama, fear and uproar. The mother had called on every resource she knew, including therapists, the police, school counselors, her family physician and several psychiatrists, but all to no avail.
Rebecca had been diagnosed at various times as having Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. She had been prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines, which she rightfully claimed did not help and sometimes made her symptoms worse. Based on Rebecca's repeated sexual acting out, one well-intended therapist reported the parents for suspected sexual abuse. The therapist's concern was warranted, but the premature report to the Child Protection Service created yet another nightmare for the family.
It took several therapy sessions, one hospitalization, and help from my clinical supervisor, before we understood that Rebecca was suffering from Bipolar Disorder. Her diagnosis led to appropriate medications, eventual stabilization of mood, individual, group, and family therapy, and hope. But no one could bring back Rebecca's 4 years of lost life, nor in any way compensate Rebecca, her parents or younger brother for the hell they had lived through.
Bipolar Disorder (BP), previously called Manic-Depressive Disorder, is a serious and complicated mental illness, which at the time Rebecca's mother contacted me was not considered a possible diagnosis for individuals as young as Rebecca. But today, for reasons that are not fully understood, BP is currently being seen in younger and younger children.
If you, as a parent, are faced with the enormous challenges involved in supporting an adolescent suffering from bipolar disorder, you will need a great deal of help. By reading this article and referring to some of the resources listed at the end, you will be making a good start toward educating yourself about the disorder. You will also learn to discern when you are (or are not) getting the professional help you need. It is hoped that this article will get you started on the track toward successful management of the problem you and your teen face, and that in time you will enjoy a rewarding relationship with your adolescent in spite of his or her disorder. It is possible.
More information on Bipolar Disorder:
