BIPOLAR DISORDER DENIAL (10 Tips For Family & Friends)

CONTACT ME DIRECTLY HERE: www.patreon.com/PolarWarriors

Excellent job, Rob. My sister and I were both bipolar, but we never knew that about each other until later in life. I say "were" because she was one of the 20% who don't survive. I almost didn't survive, and I went through 7 hospitalizations in 9 years before I was prescribed the right meds (for me) in 2021. I call myself fortunate even though this disease cost me my marriage, home and savings, alienating countless friends and family along the way. Yet, here I am at 59, and I've never felt better from a mental health perspective. Like I said, I count myself fortunate, but I know there are so many who suffer in silence and shame unnecessarily. Always great to see a new video from you. Thanks!

In 2011 Jan I took my daughter to the best pshyciatrist of Mumbai India for the first time who had 40 years of experience still he misdiagnosed her and gave strong antidepressants it took him 4 months to understand that she had bipolar 1 disorder she was just 17 and we had never seen her before in totally out of control mania she roamed in the city alone at 12 pm she stopped studying spoiled her year and started making boyfriends we lost her on 3 july this year 🙏 I am feeling so bad that I totally relied on pshyciatrist and dint see this channel before

Rob you told my husband that bipolar brain chemistry can create a fear in the mind, and the brain will then try and assign a cause for the fear, but it’s not REAL. It can feel very real but it isn’t. This was very helpful and I remind my husband of this as he “feels” certain others intend him grave harm as he’s hospitalized, but it isn’t true. Thanks for that reality and wisdom and for the way you help so many suffering people

My husband was just diagnosed he has ADHD and was told he has bipolar depression, he has latuda he is starting tonight. Watching your videos has made me cry he has said a lot of hurtful things and is in such denial I love him and it just hurts knowing it was his disorder not his heart. I want him to know it's not him and together we can work through everything. Just hard when he's never wrong and doesn't have a problem. There is a lot happening.

It was a 15 or so year struggle to understand that I really did have Bipolar 2. I thought that people just didn't like me. That there was something wrong with them. That they just didn't accept me for who I was. It was me against the world, and the world was just trying to help me. It hurt to accept that there was something amiss in my mind, but family in combination with anatomy physiology classes, helped me understand that its ok to not have all my synapses firing properly, that its ok to have a mental imbalance. That I can still love myself for who I am, with this. Sending my love, thoughts and support to those struggling with this, and the family of those people.

Rob, this is so needed. People in (psychotic) mania always put me into fight/flight trauma. I've had to end relationships because of their behavior and denial/anosognosia. They tend to manipulate, exploit, project, play head games, and dismiss the pain they cause. The complete obviousness after a major episode....feels like gaslighting. I lost years to very debilitating ptsd symptoms exacerbated by manic, delusional people (plural) who think that denial makes it go away. Who think that my tolerance and friendship renders me deserving of abuse. I'm finally able to view this illness with compassion once again but only because I m finally safe and healing. I will never tolerate this kind of treatment again. No more chances. I wish I could have heard your tips and taken them to heart half a lifetime ago. Maybe I could've communicated my concerns more rationally and not from a place of trauma and fear. I didn't know it's ok and necessary to protect myself. I was conditioned to put up with unacceptable behaviors in those I care for, and I had to learn the hard way to change that. I'm so sorry for people contending with bipolar, and their often ruinous decisions, and all the other lives affected. The stigma needs to go! Treatments and medications need vast improvements, and an individual tailor made application! Finally, mental health support must be more accessible for everyone. Needing such support isn't shameful or weak. Had I sought this, I might've gained some lost years back. Much respect.

I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar for a while now but I’ve denied the diagnosis or underplay how bad it really is. Until I’ve watched your videos and realized it’s worse then I could ever could imagine.

I think in my case it's my family and friends who are in denial about my bipolar disorder. I'm literally fighting my battle alone. Thanks for the videos, they speak out my experience.

I love you buddy. And sorry for everything you have been through. But if you did not go through it….. you could not be on here helping these people in such a way. Keep making these videos. Your doing something great. I don’t even know if you know all the good that is coming out of you going through it. Thank you very much.

I have found your videos very helpful to try to understand my family member. It has been extremely difficult and pretty hard on my own mental health being verbally abused over many years. While I want to be, and try to be supportive, it wears me down. I have found that timing is key to having conversations, however my family member is still in denial and refusing to be compliant with treatment including medications and counseling. So, I find myself walking around on eggshells. I took care of my mother who had Bipolar for most of my life and now my older brother. What I struggle with is that I don't want to give up on him but I also don't want to live in a toxic co-dependent relationship. I plan to watch your other vidoe on ansognosia as I have never heard of this term. Thank you for the work you put into educating people with Bipolar and their family members!

Hello Rob, I just got notification for this video and I'm so happy because I've been in my lowest low for 4 days now. Thank you Rob

Wow, Rob! So great to hear you say that your channel is the biggest in the world for Bipolar Disorder! That’s an amazing achievement! I have found so much timely great content here. Thanks for all you do!

Hello Rob, i want to say, your channel is very necessary. I never heard about bipolar until my ex started acting strange. I knew she had depressions episodes, but she always said they were social anxiety based. The last year we were together, she went out of control. Lots off bad and strange things happend. I tried to confront her, with her strange behavior, but she said nothing was wrong with her. Until today she denied being bipolar. But her mother showed me the diagnose document. She never told me about it. Even being her partner for many years. I consulted my dokter what i should do. He said I should inform the people that are close to her. They have to know. So I did. She was very very angry at me for telling her close friends and my family about her being bipolar. As she denied, Some friends did not believe and did not support me. They said we were in a relation crisis. That makes things very complex. She left the house. When the person who has bipolar, completly denies the situation. It's very difficult. Your advies is good, but in my case, my ex got very angry. And wanted to leave. I think the shame was to much to handle. As she allways had social anxiety. I wunder if there are more man like me, who had this situation. And what could I have done to keep some kind of respect and trust, to eachother when you know your partner is behaving strange, huge change in behavior. After all these years, you just want to achieve some peace in the family for the kids. But she seems a divernt person. Cold as and stubbrn stone To me and also not that warm and interested towards our kids anymore. How could I achieve her respect or trust again?

Stating facts about the person's behavior without judgement is cruciall! Lately my husband has been laughing when I get overwhelmed/frustrated, I tell him that by laughing during this time isn't helping me and it is only making things harder for me to process and move forward but he always says "I wasn't laughing at you I was laughing at the situation", I've pleaded several times to please stop but he doesn't get it and I don't know what to say to him to get this to stop.

You are so wise with such good advises. 🙏💛 I have the opposite problem though. I'm having bipolar disorder, but my family (especially father) don't accept it to be true. This has driven us apart and we almost don't have any contact at all. Even though my family have seen me struggle with things sometimes during my life (especially adolescent time, still back in school), they haven't been able to put the two things together. I've also always felt left out from my family, even the times we've spent together (if that make any sense?). I've always felt myself different from them with different views in life and hobbies (I'm a huge animal lover, especially of cats). In fact my huge love for cats and the fact that I have 6 of my own and also help homeless cats (to get neutered, spayed, veterinary care and ultimately a new good home for themselves) with help from a cat organisation, has only made things worse between myself and my family. They used to complain that I spent too much time on my cats, like they didn't matter as much as other hobbies or interests do. Themselves are putting so much time in golf playing, it's ridiculous but if I would say the same thing, they don't get it! So I've always felt kind of worthless in their eyes. For them status, money and a good appearance is most important in life and I simply doesn't fit in. I think admitting that I'm having a psychiatric disease is too embarrassing for them, so they don't acknowledge my existence at all. My uncle (om my father's side) also have bipolar disorder, but he has the worst kind (like you have) and I have a milder one without full blown manic periods. I've never been admitted to hospital but that doesn't mean I've been feeling OK. My type is mostly having a "constant" depression with very few hypomania episodes. People around me (in general) wouldn't make any or very little notice of me within one of those. I also live on the countryside (which I love) quite isolated so I don't meet people very much. I'm an introvert and comfortable with that, but that doesn't mean I don't care about my other family. Anyway, since my father's got used to his little brother having huge "highs and lows" and putting himself into trouble many times in his life, it's like can't understand or comprehend that his daughter also could have bipolar disorder. He's said it right to my face he doesn't believe I've got that disorder. I'm "too" normal, I guess. Even though I've told him there are several types of bipolar disorder and even handed him literature about it, he won't accept it. I think it's because he's ashamed of me having something he probably is partly responsible for (inheritance). There's just too much to tell about all this, but I'm so sad that things are like they are and I can't do anything about it. I've tried so many times forgiving them over and over but all they do is hurting me again and again. As much as it hurts I've realised I'm "happier" without them, because every time they hurt me all over again it takes time to get over it before starting feeling better again. I can't do that any longer. Besides, I know they're happier without me in their lives, since I'm such a disappointment anyway.

I absolutely love ALL your videos so for my sake don’t stop!!! 😊 My wife was the same as you, misdiagnosed as depression and many years later she got the bipolar diagnosis. Some of the medication made things worse or put her into a Zombie state. Now it’s so much better but always lots of work as you never “arrive”. Your tips help more then you could know & I consider you a dear friend. ☺️👍🏼

Thank you again Robert for your work and honesty during all the years 🙏❤

Hi Rob I first started watching your videos about a year ago when my wife started acting weird. I have been dealing with her denial for over a year now. The hardest thing I have ever been through in life so far is seeing her literally destroy herself and our family. I am 100% convinced that she has bipolar but have not been successful in getting her to see a doctor. As the divorce process goes forward I will make one last push to get her to see a doctor. Thank you so much for your time and effort for educating people about this debilitating disease.

I was never in denial before diagnosis, honestly didn’t know I’d been living with any mental illness for decades, even though I knew something “wasn’t right”. Denial came moments after diagnosis last year, it took weeks to even see the signs in the past. I’m under treatment now, actually have my last appointment in an hour here in North Texas, as I’m returning to South Texas in a week permanently. I must be honest in saying I’ve still downplayed my bipolar 1 diagnosis over this last year. Wasn’t my intention, but I was grappling with multiple illnesses with going through social security disability process, which I was awarded last month, I think I haven’t prioritized this illness. The reason I won disability, to my shock, wasn’t my physical illnesses, but multiple unknown doctors reviewing my case saying mental illness was why they all said at 50+ years my mental illnesses were total and permanent.