Input Needed, Bipolar and Wacky Weed. The Effects Are Horrible

January 23, 2007 · Filed Under About My Brother, Wacky Weed · 31 Comments 

Hello My Friend.

I have had better days than today. I sure have.

You guessed it, my brother is on a rampage.

You know, it is days like today that I am so thankful that I started this Blog because it gives me the ability to reach out to the Bipolar community and share my feelings with them.

I know you can all appreciate what I am trying to say and I know that someday, maybe even today, someone will see this post, someone who can relate, and perhaps they will see a response which can help them.

You know it really is not about me though and the way I feel at the moment. Or is it?

Have you ever been affected by a loved one who has Bipolar Disorder but smokes that wacky weed (Marijuana) on occasion? If you have you are not alone and I sympathize with you. You see I have known for a long time that my brother smokes the wacky weed. It is rare when he does it but he does. I will say about every three months he gets a hold of some of this crap and turns into a complete asshole. He becomes an amplified version of a ticking time bomb. A bomb who has Bipolar Disorder. Nothing I can say to him, can help things when he gets to this point. In fact everything has the reverse affect. He becomes very defiant. He lashes out verbally. It is like he has Bipolar Disorder times one hundred. He basically goes through Manic, Depressive, and Mixed Episode mode all at the same time. It is horrible to watch. It sucks to say the least and I hope someone can help me understand how I can help him stop this destructive behavior.

I have certainly learned a lot about Bipolar Disorder since my brother was diagnosed with it in January of 2004. Anyone who has a family member with Bipolar is automatically enrolled into Hard Knock University. You are forced to sit through class after class. Some classes are wonderful, some classes are funny, they will make you laugh so hard you will cry. Bipolar people can he so humorous and beautiful. They bring out the inner child with their sayings and their tactics. But then there are the classes where the whole world comes crashing down and you are at a loss. You feel hopeless. you stand by and watch while they verbally abuse you. Such a day is today January 23, 2007.

The sad thing about it is the fact that the behavior that my brother is engaging in today is a byproduct of Bipolar Disorder and it does not have to be. Is he being selfish or does he simply not know any better because he has a disorder called Bipolar? One thing is certain though, he is choosing to smoke wacky weed because he says it makes him feel good.

Face it, everyone knows a person who smokes the wacky weed. The people that choose to smoke wacky weed have every right to do what they want to as it is their business. It is their choice. Some people need it for medical reasons and others smoke it to get a certain high.

My brother, like I stated above, is one of the people who smokes it because of that elevated feeling. The problem with this is that HE SHOULD NEVER SMOKE WACKY WEED, because it AMPLIFIES his Bipolar Disorder. He hurts a lot of people with his actions. He becomes very selfish. He cusses like a sailor. (if you are a sailor..no offense..It is an expression) When he smokes wacky weed, he does not eat, he does not sleep, and sadly he refuses to take his medication, and when he does it DOES NOT HELP. Basically he becomes an entirely different person. Someone no one wants to interact with.
Through my research on Bipolar Disorder I have discovered that people with Bipolar Disorder need all of their normal sleep. They need to eat regularly. And most important of all they need their medication, all the time. It should never be skipped. Not even once.

So you see why the Bipolar is amplified when wacky weed enters my brothers system. Mind you, even if he still ate his regular meals and still slept his full eight hours and still took his medications, he would still go through all of the symptoms he is now, when he smokes that crap. The only difference is it would not quite be as bad. But the moral of the story is Wacky Weed and people with Bipolar Disorder do not mix. Period.
Most people who do not have Bipolar Disorder and who smoke wacky weed are not affected by the crazy mood(s) that wacky weed brings into those with Bipolar Disorder. They go through the normal high but they do not get delusional and verbally abuse. I don’t think they do anyway. If they do, heck maybe they have Bipolar Disorder. Who knows? Wacky weed may be a good trigger.
My dilemma is simple. How do we stop him from doing this? It is such a painful experience to have to live through. It might last for three days or one week, it just depends as it is never the same and it happens about every three to four months.

By The Way, this also happens when he drinks beer or hard liquor. Just not as bad.

Do you have any suggestions, or do you know anyone who also has Bipolar Disorder and engages in this type of behavior?

Please comment and let me know.

I appreciate you very much.

Disclaimer: Please know that I am speaking on my personal experiences, by what I see in my brother. Not everyone who has Bipolar Disorder may be affected by wacky weed like my brother is. I don’t know as I am not a doctor.

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