The following excerpt from a psychiatric professional is one such article. It speaks rationally about family dysfunction and the confronts the problem of how to help your doctor decide whether or not your family is suffering from bipolar mania. Its symptoms aren't clear and are those of many other diseases, and this good doctor lays out ways of getting nearer to the truth of the matter. The first paragraph:
"Has a mental health professional told you that you or your child is bipolar, when you know down deep that the real problem is that your family life is a war zone? Are your kids out of control? When you visit with your parents or even talk to them on the phone, do you feel like you have just spent hours listening to fingernails scratching on a chalkboard? Do you find yourself hurting the ones you love, or letting them hurt you? Do you feel that your family members are better off without you? Were you a victim of childhood abuse? Do you constantly subvert your own chances for success in love and work? Are you chronically nervous and unhappy?"
Family dysfunction, for whatever reason, is rampant. It is at the core of unhappiness, confusion and disorder in the world. A child born into the world needs care and nourishment, not only of body and mind, but of emotions. They need guidance and they want to feel secure and loved as they struggle to grow and to make sense of what they see. When their home life is a 'war zone' how else can they grow up normally.
Not to say, that every child is born healthy. Many are not. And some are born with an inherited condition that will complicate their life and will be disruptive to them and to those around. Bipolar mood shifts and alternative depression and mania may may life a living hell. That is the problem the doctor talks about in his article. He explains the symptoms and shows what to look for when parents are searching for professionals who can adequately advise them what to do.
The symptoms of bipolar (Manic-Depression) can be slight, severe, and are those of many other illnesses. They are not specific to the this disease, therefore making a diagnosis difficult. Family history makes a difference. If a parent, an uncle, an aunt, grandfather, grandmother, has suffered from the disease, it is probable it will be passed on generation after generation.
What can be done about it? That is what scientists are working on now. Some progress has been made since some specific genes have been marked that probably have some significance about what went went wrong causing these distinctive mood shifts from the normal pattern, but nothing, as yet, is conclusive. At this point everyone involved are grabbing at straws.
PS: The accompanying image is from out of my past and speaks to me not so much of family dysfunction, but of impatience and irritation and a lack of reasoning. It was part of a an attempt to illustrate a book children's book, The Impatient Reindeer,I had written (unpublished) about a disruptive reindeer. He was impatient for Christmas and simply could not wait for it to arrive, so he set out in search. On the way he met other creatures that and they agreed or disagreed as they walked on in search of Christmas.
The story is rather silly, but for some reason I am fond of it. Christmas is not he joyful time it was meant to be, but often is misinterpreted and is anything but a peace and hopeful time of year. It brings heightened emotions -- moods -- and afterwards, bleakness and despair, or depression. Separating it from its material and its commercial value and seeing it as a spiritual renewal and hope for peace on earth, will help in making it the glorious time it was meant to be.
How does the story fit into family dysfunction or bipolar? Mania over shopping and getting a piece of the exultation and excitement and the resultant let down when it is over.
In their frenzy and in their confusion about the true meaning of the holiday and the part they were to play in it, they arrived back at their starting place too late. Instead of making it on back in time for the December 25th celebration, they returned on January 6. The story concludes that Christmas is actually a way of thinking and feeling and if one does not carry love for God and all His creation in their heart, they will not find it by searching the world over. In other words, Christmas is an everyday event since since everyone of the 360 days of the year someone is getting born, a true miracle in itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment