I am a 45yr old mother with bipolar1 disorder. I hv 3 children. The are aware and educated about my illness. I hv been watching for signs and symptoms in all 3. My middle son is 20. He is in the Air Force(in for a yr now). He was dx with ADHD as a young child. He struggled through his teen yrs with school, but did graduate, and enlisted in the AF. He is clearly struggling. I know this is a difficult time in his young life, and he is very vulnerable. He is several hundred miles away, so I only see him 1-2times per year. My phone conversations with him have me very concerned. He is very up and down. I fear he is refusing to admit if there is a problem b/c he knows what I have been through(ECT, hospitalizations etc..)plus he knows if it comes out now he will be discharged from the AF. Every fiber of my being tells me he has bipolar, but I don't know what to do, and I don't want him to "crash", or worse.
Q: How do I approach my 20yr old son whom I strongly suspect is bipolar &get hm to open up&get tx?
I think the only thing you can do is to tell him what you have noticed and that you are worried about him. Tell him about what you think he feels for the AF and advise him that you know that it is his decision as to what to do but you care and worry. Hopefully he'll get the message.
Just a thought: your son may now have adult ADD or ADHD. Is he still on medication for ADHD?
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