Child Bipolar: Newsweek Gets it Right

Honestly, so many people, even in a forum such as this, don't give credit to what the families go through.  Now I'm sure there are doctors and parents who are too quick to give the label.  My son is 16 and his label for the moment is "unspecified mood disorder".  This is made because this is a newly diagnosed problem and he's still young for the bipolar label.  Anyone who has a child with unusual behavior; Tantrums that go beyond what is warranted for the situation; Nightmares that repeat and frighten the child beyond the normal nightmares (dreams so real and vivid and morbid they would reduce an adult to tears), a family history of bipolar disorder, or a feeling that something about their child is "just not right", shouldn't be afraid to look into it.  It's a tough diagnosis to accept.  Sometimes you may have to get 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opinions, before you're willing to go there.

Fact is, even if you feel alone, you're not.  Many other families go through this.  In a lot of cases, the families are in denial for years before they'll accept it.  Once we've gone through the diagnosis and accepted that something is "wrong" with our perfect little angel and that they'll need medication for the rest of their lives to keep them on an even keel, we don't need people telling us it's our fault.  We've beat ourselves up more than anyone else could have.  What we need is support.  We need people to realize that we did the best we could with what we were given and we're here because we want to learn how to help our precious ones.

I read the story on-line. He is Blessed to have parents who haven't given up on him and are trying their best to help him.

It would be a wonderful Miracle, if preventive medicine could help the younger generation.