I ask myself this question often with regard to Rye. Is he really bipolar or is he just highly sensitive? Granted, he has had periods of mania and psychosis which by textbook definition make him bipolar. However, every time he has had true mania or psychosis it has been initially induced by psychiatric medications. Specifically in our case, stimulants and [ironically] antipsychotics. So, does this really make him bipolar? I guess we will see over time.
And such is the case with so many kids these days. They go to the psychiatrist for one set of symptoms, get put on psychiatric medicines, over time have an adverse reaction to those medicines [psychosis, rages, depression, emotional meltdowns, violence, suicidal thoughts], and now they are diagnosed as bipolar and they are off and running down an endless lifetime of psychiatric medicines. And the sad thing is, those medications can actually cause some of the psychiatric syndromes. So it all becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What a mess for the parents and the kids. And a dream come true for the pharmaceutical companies.
Anyway, I saw this article today on www.sciencedaily.com and it rang true to me with regard to what I wrote yesterday about accepting Rye’s reactions and just working with them.
The article High Sensitivity To Stress Isn’t Always Bad For Children states:
But contrary to expectation, such children were also more likely to thrive when they were raised in caring, low-stress families because of their sensitivities to the supportive and nurturing qualities of such environments.
“The study tells us that when children are highly susceptible to stress, it’s not always bad news, but rather should be considered in terms of the type of environment they live in,” explains Obradović.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100205081815.htm
Interesting.
Environment makes a difference.
2 Comments
“text book definition”. Just remember who wrote those abstracts, funded by the drug company which drug was being researched, and using Joseph Biederman as an example, who is directly influencing the paradigm the last decade, who, under investigation by Senator Grassley for non disclosure of a LOT of money, who again was investigated for the protocol breach in the child Risperdal trial—the “text book” definition of “child” bipolar is non-existent, the drugging of kids is based on adult criteria, the pediatric dx was fully-loaded marketing from pharma and out of control. With such intricate detailed information on hidden, buried, skewed and corrupt studies, I find it hard to imagine anyone believing their child is “bipolar” any longer.
These kids STILL grow up. Some don’t (Rebecca Riley for one, Destiny age 3 another), some are permanently damaged from the drugs (ie PBS Medicated Child), and some end up like my daughter, where no one wants to, in a state of limbo, with permanent body damage, possible brain damage from the drugs doctors told her she needed so she wouldn’t kill herself.
But, the pediatric bipolar paradigm will long live, even with the new DSM-5 adding TDD (Temper Dysregulation)as a possible way to deter the dx from happening to kids–face it the child is a dollar sign in this business, the mother’s are too. Most always it’s the moms in these appointments with kids, and half of the moms come out on ‘coping’ drugs.
There is a book called The Highly Sensitive Person, which I read while in high school and much of it seemed to fit.
I agree that a low stress environment does wonders… Whenever I have to go into a high stress environment, my symptoms start acting up more.
HB
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