Rose Keppler

from Santa Barbara, CA

In general, bipolar people are on another scale completely and are an effect of some, yet to be discovered, cause. I did not say “yet to be diagnosed.” How many of these parents monitor what their kids eat? Who has even thought about diet, or allergies, or sensitivities being a cause for the problems these children have? What doctor ever examined the root cause of such a downward spiral? What blood panels have been done to see what highs and lows exist in their bodies? Hormonal imbalances? Behavior? Since nobody likes them anyhow, they need to discover for themselves what it is they need, not pushed into oblivion by drugs, stuffed with unwholesome food-like products and delivered to the psych hospital in a bad moment. What kind of training is that for the rest of their adult lives?

It is difficult to accept that part of the problem is the adults’ inability to respond to an extraordinary situation. There seems to be no understanding, empathy or curiosity going on in the hearts and minds of the parents. These “bipolar” children may have attitudes, be difficult and so on, but there is a pearl in that shell and despite the hassle, it is well worth some prying and prodding to unglue the core, the inner gift these kids all have. It takes a certain tolerance, peripheral observation and lack of conventional means to get what is going on with these people. Many are gifted in a way no “normal” person is, and to persecute them for being different, punish them for being who they are is a certain recipe for horrendous interactions.

These adults in authoritative positions should really know better than to squelch or medicate a condition they don’t have any business dealing with. Rank amateurism, no matter how credentialed or degreed, is a bad way to treat a sensitive condition that needs an open mind, a curiosity to study and a keen sense of what that child is good at to encourage a growth pattern that will last all that persons life. Handle with care.

Back to listener stories