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I just saw your post. I was an undiagnosed bipolar child. My mother was bipolar diagnosed. When I was a child, everything I said was grandious, lying, keeping things from my father, sneeking around doing things like smoking, drinking. I was 8 years old. As I got older these things became much worse. I wish I had someone to keep an eye on me, but my mother died when I was 7 and my father raised 4 children with me the youngest. It is thought that with the death of my mother the bipolar surfaced. I suggest you keep an eye on your son and regulate how much time he spends with his friends, etc. You need to be involved so closely with what is going on with him to the point of knowing where and what he is doing and how he is acting from now until he graduates from high school. Kids with bipolar are very suseptible to drugs and alcohol abuse. If only I had someone to keep close eye on me and get me on medicines I would not have done the things I did. Regular medicine control is a must with counseling. An open relationship with your son is a must as well. Keep your relationship with your son open and not defensive. You want him to continue to communicate with you. Don't make him feel guilty for things he has done as this will result in immediate withdrawal from you and society. This is a life-long disease that has effects of OCD, eating disorder, grandious thinking, spending outrageously, promiscuity and doing at-risk activities, etc. He needs to be on medication from now on, and it is important that he know why and what he can expect as he gets older. He needs to know how to moderate everything. To this day I do not do anything in moderation. It is either huge or not at all, and I take loads of medications. This is an honest assessment from a bipolar person who has been bipolar all her life. |