Compassionate Ways to Help a Bipolar Child

Dealing with a family or friend who is bipolar is not a walk in the park. Bipolar disorder usually affects the moods and behavior of a person, and managing their mood swings requires a lot of effort and skills. It is necessary to be patient and understanding to help a bipolar child attain mental wellness. A bipolar child needs help. An excellent way to help such a child is to reduce the conflicts in the family. Conflicts in the family usually lead to tension and stress. A bipolar child finds it difficult to cope with stress. It would also help to recognize the strengths of your bipolar child and groom them to maximize their strengths. Praising your bipolar child for their strengths would keep them in a good mood which would help them mentally. It is also essential to identify their triggers. People with bipolar disorder usually have certain things that trigger them. It would help to study your bipolar child properly to avoid triggering them. There are various ways to help a bipolar child, some of which this article will explain.

Reduce Conflicts in the Family

Families always have decisions, and conflicts typically occur when trying to make decisions. However, if you have a bipolar child, it would be best to reduce the disagreements in the family. Having to settle quarrels in the family constantly would not help a bipolar child. Not speaking out of anger is an excellent way to reduce tension when there is conflict. When you are angry, there is the tendency to say things that you would regret. It is better to let things cool down before speaking when there is an argument. It would reduce the tension in the atmosphere. When you are ready to talk about the disagreement, it would also help to speak in low tones. Speaking in high tones increases the stress involved in the dispute. Your child who is bipolar may get overwhelmed by the stress and have terrible mood swings. Stress harms people who have bipolar disorder. It is therefore essential to manage family conflicts better to improve the mental health of your bipolar child.

Recognize the Strengths of Your Bipolar Child

Bipolar disorder can affect a person's perception of their identity. Thus, it may distract a parent, making it difficult to appraise their bipolar child's strength. You can help your bipolar child by identifying their strengths and maximizing them. Children are in their formative years, and this is the best time to study and nurture them. Different children have various strengths; your bipolar child is not an exception. It is advisable to capitalize on the abilities of your bipolar child instead of their weaknesses. It would also help to identify what interests your child and follow these interests. For instance, if you notice your son is good at singing, you can enroll him in a music academy. Taking your bipolar child to a place that can upgrade his skill would improve his mental wellbeing. Realizing that your child is bipolar makes it easy to fixate on the disorder. However, being fixated on it might only compound the problem. Learn to use your child's strengths as a distraction from the condition.

Identify Your Child's Triggers

As humans, we all have things that trigger us to react negatively. For bipolar persons, it may be more challenging to identify the things that trigger them because they tend to get angry quickly. However, taking the necessary steps to identify triggers would help a bipolar child. To correctly identify your child's triggers, it would help to observe situations that cause them to be angry. Knowing the conditions that provoke your child would allow you to be mindful of avoiding such problems. After identifying these situations would also help to discuss their reactions to the conditions. You can label and control their possible outbursts when you examine their responses. It would also help when they face similar situations in the future. Identifying what triggers your bipolar child would go a long way in helping the child manage the disorder. Knowing their triggers and acting accordingly would improve your bipolar child's mental health

Get Professional Help

Bipolar disorder is a medical condition. Like every other illness, bipolar disorder requires medical attention. You might not be in the best place to offer medical help to your bipolar child. Thus, getting a doctor or psychologist would help a bipolar child. It is essential to follow the advice or treatments prescribed by the doctor religiously. Sometimes, people who have bipolar disorder can be very stubborn and may not take their medicine seriously. It would be best if you endeavored to encourage them and offer moral support. You can encourage your bipolar child to take treatments seriously by religiously enlightening them on the benefits of drugs on their mental wellbeing. For instance, if your bipolar child's mood swing prevents them from doing something they love, you can explain to them that their treatments would improve their mood. The benefits of seeking professional help from a doctor far outweighs not getting one. If you are serious about helping your bipolar child, getting a professional service for the child should be a priority.

Have a Plan for Their Crisis

When you are aware that your child is bipolar, one of the best things you can do is to prepare for their crisis because the crisis will surely come. Getting a crisis plan would help a bipolar child. The crisis plan is essential because it helps anyone with bipolar disorder to seek help and take control of the situation. The crisis plan usually contains a list of emergency symptoms. The crisis plan can also include practical steps and information needed to control a bipolar crisis. You can assist your bipolar child in writing the list, or you can write it yourself. It is also advisable to keep the plan in prominent places in the house. This way, anyone around your bipolar child during a crisis can help by looking at it. Creating a crisis plan is an excellent way to remind your child of their tendency to have a crisis. It also provides a guide for managing emergencies when they occur.

Conclusion

It can be very challenging to manage a bipolar child. It is therefore essential to learn practical skills to help a bipolar child. Some ways you can compassionately help your bipolar child include reducing conflicts in the family, recognizing their strengths, identifying the triggers, getting professional help, and getting a crisis plan.

Resources

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/how-to-parent-children-with-bipolar-disorder/

https://www.winterparkha.org/12-essential-tips-resolve-family-conflicts/

https://www.understood.org/en/articles/5-steps-for-recognizing-strengths-in-kids

https://lemonlimeadventures.com/help-an-angry-child-recognize-triggers

https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/bipolar-disorder/why-you-need-a-bipolar-disorder-crisis-plan