Hello,<BR>If you can explain bi-polar to me, I would be truly appreciative. I saw it on a post but i can't find it now.<P>Just met someone whose daughter is bi-polar; they had to convince their son-in-law to divorce their daughter because of the financial devastation she had caused him.<P>My H has caused us financial devastation. I am curious about bi-polar.<P>elo

Bi-polar is a chemical imbalance in the brain which can cause extreme depression at one end of the spectrum and extreme highs at the other. It used to be called "manic-depressive" disorder. It is an illness. If the person with the disorder is willing to stay on medication to regulate the brain chemistry, its effects can often be minimized. However, one of the bad things about bi-polar is that once the depressive cycle has ended and the person either swings back to feeling 'normal', he or she may believe that no medication is necessary and quit taking it ... this can cause the chemistry to cycle even worse. The person may go on sprees of extra high activity (you would wonder where their energy could be coming from), not sleep and be hyper. The other end can be suicidal depression. I believe that it is the relatively fast cycling property of this condition that causes its name as opposed to the actualy differences in the behaviors (in other words, a person can go from 'normal' to depressed and back and still be bipolar - that person may never have a "hyper" or manic cycle, just up and down from depressed to not depressed over and over).<P>This is the best explanation I can offer ... I hope it is helpful.<P>------------------<BR>terri<BR><B>Courage</B><P>Whatever course you decide upon,<BR>there is always someone to tell you<BR>that you are wrong.<P>There are always difficulties arising<BR>which tempt you to believe that your <BR>critics are right.<P>To map out a course of action <BR>and follow it to an end <BR>requires courage.<P><I>Ralph Waldo Emerson</I>

Bipolar is a mental condition of chemical imbalance. What I mean is the chemical balance in the brain is unstable which caused the most extreme mood disorders and big mood swings. A person is born with it(hereditary.) It is tough to diagnose in children, and often missed in depressed teens. It can be controled with medication and therapy, but not cured. <P>More than that general answer, I think you should go to the internet and look up bipolar on the internet. You will get quite a choice. I am not a medical person. This may be slightly off. There are a few nurses out there, they may have it exactly.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by elo:<BR><B>Hello,<BR>If you can explain bi-polar to me, I would be truly appreciative. I saw it on a post but i can't find it now.<BR>...<BR>My H has caused us financial devastation. I am curious about bi-polar.<BR></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>The post you're thinking of is probably <A HREF="http://www.marriagebuilders.com/forum/Forum37/HTML/007953.html" TARGET=_blank>here</A>, from this board. I gave a couple of helpful links in it. Those who have posted here are, I think, largely correct, but you should check out the links for more detailed information.<P>Uncontrolled spending with no thought of the consequences can be one of a number of behaviors which a person in a manic state may engage in. Such spending is by no means conclusive by itself that a person is bipolar, so read up and if you think your H may be bipolar, try to get an evaluation by a trained professional.<P>Steve<P><BR>