Depression:  A story about a man I knew

There are no names used in this story to protect the privacy of this family.

This man I knew well has Bipolar disorder. He would have periods of sadness and hopelessness and no energy, Then other times when he was irritable and had an explosive temper. It was like he had two different personalities.

Whenever there were special occassions or holidays he was sick and sad. One day he met a person that knew a lot about depression and he recommended he see someone about it.  He did and got medication, that was a good thing because he got better.  One day he made a bad decision and decided he was fine and the medication had cured him.  It hadn't.  Pretty soon the same old things started happening, he wouldn't listen to anyone around him, and became an impossible for the people that lived with him. 

They never knew what his mood would be from one day to another.  It made for a very difficult lifestyle. They would make plans and have to change them sometimes or maybe they would have to be careful what subject they would bring up because it might make him very angry and unreasonable. On days were he was sad, he would sit in his chair and do nothing, just what he had to do.  Everyone had to be quiet because they might bother him.

This problem finally caused a divorce and difficult life for the children.

Written by: A lady who loved this man and tried to help him for years