How to deal with the love rollercoaster (Bipolar marriage)?

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Pitfalls?
Highlights?

I am an Aspie, married to a woman with bipolar disorder. I think she might be having a mixed episode now (switching rapidly from manic to depressed). She does not realize this herself, and she has not taken medication for years. She was diagnosed ~10 years ago and have since tried to escape the label they put on her.

For me, the schedule addicted/need consistency Aspie, it can be hard to keep up with the rapid ups and downs. Earlier I have not noticed any mixed episodes, only depressive and manic/hypomanic periods. So this is fairly new to me.
How do you handle/manage living with someone with bipolar disorder?

Last edited by Blownmind on 29 Jul 2012, 5:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I6eU8u6GHM[/youtube]
This video easily applies to your answer.

Thanks for the video. It has some good insight, and relevant info for all relationships (not only aspie + something) . But what I am asking is how I, as an Aspie, should cope with/handle my partner who is Bipolar, not the other way around.

If anyone have similar experience (you being an Aspie, and your partner having bipolar disorder), please do tell how you handle the depressions and the manic/hypomanic/mixed episodes? (or even if you are not an Aspie, but living with someone who has Bipolar)

I feel its almost like I am getting to know a new person each time the mood changes.

Last edited by Blownmind on 29 Jul 2012, 5:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

You can show this video to your partner though. It still helps in the situation. For her side, you highly recommended to speak to the counsellor about that. No one on here is professional. I have a counsellor for seven years and still counting.

But he's not asking that! His girlfriend with bipolar I assume knows how to handle the dude with aspergers but HE doesn't know what to do with his bipolar girlfriend!

Try talking to her about it when she's in a calm more normal mood & urge her to see a psychiatrist or at least talk to her GP if she has one. If she really doesn't recognize that she has a problem you could try recording her when she's having episodes. The most important thing thou is that you are supportive & remain calm with her; getting emotional with her could make her a lot more emotional.

Hello,

I am actually a young female living with Bipolar disorder... I actually registered with this site because I quite recently started dating a man with Asperger's Syndrome and this was a concern I had as well; if NT people struggle to cope with my ups and downs, will it be manageable for someone whose mind functions mostly through order and logic. I don't know as much as I would like to about asperger's yet, but I can tell you a little bit about having bipolar disorder and how I need my loved ones to deal with my mood swings.

I have always thought that the most important thing to remember about bipolar disorder is that it is simply a chemical imbalance, and I know for me that my moods are deinitely not who I am, and often times don't even truly reflect how I feel about a certain subject. What I mean is: if I was having an mixed episode and got really angry about something, and/or very sad about something, it is not uncommon that when I am "back to normal", I have very little opinion on that subject either way, and am not bothered by it.

Something that has been helpful in getting me (and other bipolar people I know) to stabalize regardless of the episode type Is to try to remain level headed and positive, even when the individual with bipolar has a valid point. One of the common symptoms of bipolar is to feed deeper into an emotion than neccessary, and to feel sorry for ourselves (especially when depressive), and that is only made easier when people validate the feelings... That is not to say that you shouldn't agree that there is something wrong when there is, but for me, I need people to not let me feel like I have reason to be as upset as I am... I hope that is clear, explaining myself is something I am working on so please let me know if it is not.

I hope that this is helpful to you, this is of course only my experience but I know that with the help of loved ones I have been able to reduce the frequency and intensity of my episodes dramatically. The only other thing I would suggest is that when she is feeling "normal" or balanced, take some time to ask her questions about how she feels before an episode and how you could help to lessen the impact for both of you; with patience and the right focus, I truly believe bipolar is something that can be managed without drugs.