Weightloss Book

For anyone that has dealt with a kid with mental issues, particularly bi polar disorder or schizophrenia, I don’t have to inform you that it’s pure hell. As his parents, my wife and I struggle everyday with the guilt feelings of not being in a position to be able to do enough for our child. As the leader of our home I am continually looking for a better way to handle this struggle.

Our son is now twenty-one years old and although he is living in an apartment on his own, we must visit every single day to make sure he takes his medicine. He will never have what we would call a normal life. It just breaks our hearts to think that the little sweet innocent baby boy that we brought into our home at the very young age of three months old will most likely never hold a job or have a family of his own. Anyone that doesn’t think that bi polar or schizophrenia is not a crippling disease, needs to witness the life of our adopted son.

He loved to drive! He took the savings bonds that his grand father gave to him every birthday since his very first and bought a vehicle right after his graduation. He also enrolled in a Trade School to become an industrial electrician. I can’t express to you how excited we all had been for him even though at that time the only point that began to show itself was the bi polar disorder. My wife and I helped out by taking out a college loan in our name to assist paying for the schooling and books. He now was just eighteen.

I guess he attended about one month of classes prior to missing a day here and there. Then he was missing two or 3 days at a time. Not long after he dropped out completely. We had been very upset with him at that point not knowing or understanding that he not only had bi polar but now he was beginning to take on the psychological illness of schizophrenia. We did not know anything except that we began to see stranger and stranger behavior from him.

It was not long afterwards he smashed up his vehicle. He had been driving very quickly and slid right into a tree in front of somebody’s house. We nevertheless failed to grasp the condition at this point and merely presumed he had been irresponsible. He’d quit college, wrecked his vehicle, did not have work, and would sleep constantly. In our book he had been simply lazy and irresponsible.

What we did not understand was that the pacing, talking to no one, the sleeping, the erratic behavior was all part of the bi polar disorder and schizophrenia illness. The unfortunate thing was that this was only the tip of the ice berg. All hell was beginning to reveal itself and we didn’t have one clue what we were in store for. His bedroom was in the basement and he spent hours and hours down there for the most part sleeping. Nevertheless, then he would spend most of his nights up, going into the refrigerator and food pantry making a mess. Not to mention that he was walking throughout the house creating noise and keeping the rest of us awake.

Argument after argument occurred, but no progress was made. If you have any understanding of bi polar or schizophrenia you will know that without the right medicine it gets completely out of control. Well that was exactly what was happening. In the true sense of the word, things were getting crazy. Our solution was that we needed to be more forceful and demanding of what we expected of him. Wrong answer, at least in our case!

He was becoming more and more delusional. He began referring to the house as his and we were guest there. He began unusual gestures with his hands and head. He would stare right through you without saying a word while you would be talking with him. After a few seconds he would then answer a question you might have asked two or three minutes ago. He became more and more aggressive in his behavior. His mother began to get frightened of him.

This all continued till the day he completely exploded into violence. He swung and struck his mother in the face. Even though I desired to unload on him, I took him to the floor and held there till the police arrived. I never used that much energy to hold a individual down. He struggled with every ounce of his being to get loose. I was not about to let that happen until the police arrive. He would bite my arm that I had placed around his neck. I spent twelve years in the Marine Corps and in no way did I ever experience anything so totally chaotic.

I know that I wanted to beat him to a pulp but could not because he was my son. The police finally arrived and was able to hand cuff him. They knew immediately that he had some type of mental health issues. They didn’t arrest him based on our pleas to get him mental health help. They instead placed him on a hold in a local mental health locked ward.

As soon as he had been examined they instantly established he had not merely bi polar, but additionally schizophrenia. It had been like a light went on for us. It absolutely was great to understand that there was reasons for his actions and not that he had been merely a misfit. That has not necessarily made living any simpler; however we recognize much more about it. As a matter of reality we’re turning into experts through the University of Hard Knocks. Not really a university you would like to go to, believe me.

If you’re a parent who has a child with either bi polar or schizophrenia, trust me when I tell you that we understand. Get help and stay focused.

Learn more about Leadership Stories of all types including dealing with Bi Polar Disorder in Your Child. Stop by Gregory Covey’s site where you can find out all about Leadership Stories of all types including dealing with Bi Polar Disorder in Your Child and what it can do for you.

Be Sociable, Share!

•