![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Psyche on June 7, 2001, at 16:54:28
Hi Everybody,
I'm a first-time poster who's desperate for some experienced help. My boyfriend suffers from cyclothymia. He currently is refusing to see anybody (doctor or therapist.) He was diagnosed a few years ago by a VERY unhelpful psychiatrist who basically told him that he'd just have to deal with it.
As a result, he's spent years trying to 'keep it all together.' He doesn't seem to think there's any effective treatments. He's a beautiful, creative loving man who
seems to be falling deeper and deeper into the grips of the disease. Inconsistently, he tries self-medicating with everything from 5-HTP to cocaine. His job is very stressful, and makes it hard for him to have a normal sleeping, eating, exercising routine.Now, he wants to push all of the people who love him away. I don't know how to help him. I don't want to leave him. But I don't understand, and I don't want to make it worse. Any and all advice is gratefully received.
Posted by super on June 8, 2001, at 9:33:33
In reply to HELP!!! How can I help my cyclothymic boyfriend, posted by Psyche on June 7, 2001, at 16:54:28
Dear Psyche,
That sounds awful. Without knowing what you've already tried, or what is practical, here are a few suggestions:
--get him a book about bipolar. "Bipolar Disorder" by Mortimer (I might be misspelling the name) is a very good, detailed but easy-to-read book. I believe it has a significant amount of info about cyclothymia.
--tell him how important it is to you that he takes care of himself. tell him how his behavior makes you feel.
--talk to his family and see if they can talk him into getting help
--get a referral to a p-doc (or even just a therapist) from someone he trusts
--talk to him about some of the treatments for cyclothymia that you have found in your research. give him testamonials of people who the treatments have helped.good luck! you are a good soul for sticking with him and trying to help!
> Hi Everybody,
>
> I'm a first-time poster who's desperate for some experienced help. My boyfriend suffers from cyclothymia. He currently is refusing to see anybody (doctor or therapist.) He was diagnosed a few years ago by a VERY unhelpful psychiatrist who basically told him that he'd just have to deal with it.
>
> As a result, he's spent years trying to 'keep it all together.' He doesn't seem to think there's any effective treatments. He's a beautiful, creative loving man who
> seems to be falling deeper and deeper into the grips of the disease. Inconsistently, he tries self-medicating with everything from 5-HTP to cocaine. His job is very stressful, and makes it hard for him to have a normal sleeping, eating, exercising routine.
>
> Now, he wants to push all of the people who love him away. I don't know how to help him. I don't want to leave him. But I don't understand, and I don't want to make it worse. Any and all advice is gratefully received.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Social | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.