Living with a mental illness is challenging, to say the least. Taking care of a family member with a mental illness is just as challenging, as our guest speaker (who we will refer to as “T”) can attest to. It was overwhelming at times to raise a daughter struggling with bipolar I disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In this essay, we are going to refer to the daughter as “C” to maintain her confidentiality. T always had her hands full, whether it was dealing with a manic episode, C’s number of compulsions, or the social isolation that C’s mental illnesses brought upon the both of them, not to mention the financial strain of treating multiple mental illnesses. As you can already gather, the mentally ill patient requires even more
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At one and a half, C was speaking in full sentences and had quite a vocabulary, but things were sort of odd. C would constantly try to defy the laws of physics, trying to make things balance. She would spend hours trying to make toys balance that just wouldn’t. Her parents were divorced by the time she turned three years old. C developed some separation anxiety after that; any time she was separated from her mother she would become hysterical. T took her to the pediatrician several times, who assured her that these kinds of behaviors were to be expected at her age. Things kept getting worse, however, C began to want the same book read to her over and over for hours. She couldn’t get along with other children because she would put too many rules in place. By age 8, C was extremely picky about what clothes she would wear; nothing ever felt right to her. T finally took her to a mental health specialist when C started playing with the light switch. C turned the light switch on and off a certain number of times every time she would turn the lights on or off. Finally, at age 8, C was diagnosed with OCD. Eventually, C was also diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. C had been hospitalized 3 times by the time she was 13 and she had 2 extended stays after she was 18. In high school, C participated in 2 treatment programs. Coming to terms with her illness and learning how to cope has been an upward hill climb for C and her …show more content…
They are primarily in her mind. Currently, she is experiencing compulsive handwashing with ruminations. She is struggling being on her own for the first time. She lives in Evansville, 5 hours away from her mother. The lack of a close support system has been a challenge for both C and T. However, there have also been some positives to C being on her own: she has finally made some friends and is feeling much less isolated from her peers now. Having bipolar I disorder has been a challenge for C and her mother. C has become violent with her mother on many occasions, once strangling her until she passed out. T used to be able to overpower C, but she is not strong or big enough to do so anymore. This causes T to fear C sometimes. She has never called the police on C, but she feels she should have at several points in the
At one and a half, C was speaking in full sentences and had quite a vocabulary, but things were sort of odd. C would constantly try to defy the laws of physics, trying to make things balance. She would spend hours trying to make toys balance that just wouldn’t. Her parents were divorced by the time she turned three years old. C developed some separation anxiety after that; any time she was separated from her mother she would become hysterical. T took her to the pediatrician several times, who assured her that these kinds of behaviors were to be expected at her age. Things kept getting worse, however, C began to want the same book read to her over and over for hours. She couldn’t get along with other children because she would put too many rules in place. By age 8, C was extremely picky about what clothes she would wear; nothing ever felt right to her. T finally took her to a mental health specialist when C started playing with the light switch. C turned the light switch on and off a certain number of times every time she would turn the lights on or off. Finally, at age 8, C was diagnosed with OCD. Eventually, C was also diagnosed with bipolar I disorder. C had been hospitalized 3 times by the time she was 13 and she had 2 extended stays after she was 18. In high school, C participated in 2 treatment programs. Coming to terms with her illness and learning how to cope has been an upward hill climb for C and her …show more content…
They are primarily in her mind. Currently, she is experiencing compulsive handwashing with ruminations. She is struggling being on her own for the first time. She lives in Evansville, 5 hours away from her mother. The lack of a close support system has been a challenge for both C and T. However, there have also been some positives to C being on her own: she has finally made some friends and is feeling much less isolated from her peers now. Having bipolar I disorder has been a challenge for C and her mother. C has become violent with her mother on many occasions, once strangling her until she passed out. T used to be able to overpower C, but she is not strong or big enough to do so anymore. This causes T to fear C sometimes. She has never called the police on C, but she feels she should have at several points in the