It was even harder accepting the fact that I would have to take medicine for the rest of my life. I became so manic that I had to be put in restraints and so depressed that I was catatonic. The memories of the possibilities of the extremes of this disorders are frightening. Bipolar can kill. Manic exhaustion can kill.
Suicide can kill.
Untreated bipolar can land in one of the emotional states permanently and in a state hospital. In 1976, Wayne got sober in a Navy rehab facility and then realized he had to deal with his own demons and went into therapy. Our son Michael is now diagnosed BP and medically compliant. I have been medically compliant since 1977. In 1981, Wayne had his first major psychotic episode but was still not diagnosed with bipolar but did get diagnosed with PTSD from the trauma of his childhood.