The Manic Depressive Type

I wish they had written a chapter on this person. It would really help. I have not met too many of these folks – I have met some who are medicated and are even. I currently live with a true manic depressive. I have seen the doctors relabel manic depression as bipolar so they can give tons of folks Zoloft, Prozac and all the other anti-depressants – to medicate the spiritual malady… but that is not the TRUE bi-polar. It is not the TRUE manic depressive that Dr. Silkworth was talking about.

And then there is the TRUE manic depressive , who is the least understood by others – he has no friends really – and about whom a whole chapter could have been written ...

I have been roommates with this Dude for almost 6 years. My unofficial “job” is his caretaker. I provide med-reminders and shop and cook. My friend told me to provide a safe place for him to recover. I have tried to do that. But I also needed a place to live as well. He is a veteran. His dad was a CIA crew chief. His grand-daddy was a 5-star general. His dad was loose with intelligence secrets when Dude was a kid and Dude knew too much so when he was working as a chemist for the DOD he got dosed on pure purple ohm domes by one of the staff Docs… and then Daddy-o took him to the state mental hospital and they gave him psych meds. As a result, he’s got a continuous seizure going on his brain… the secrets were of course wiped clean and he was left to die – but he’s still alive – and he’s a drunk who wants to stop drinking… and he’s the True Manic Depressive Type.

His medication stopped working in April of last year when I had a car accident. He had been even for 5 years and even before that, but before that he was homeless so he would forget to take it. When I had the car accident, I was gone for 5 weeks in the hospital and he became manic. First thing he did was meet a homeless guy somewhere and dragged him to AA, calling him his sponsee. Then he started bringing the guy home. I was convalescing and could not stick around for these antics. Next a friend of ours gave him a job as a driver. He gave Dude a Toyota Minivan to drive back and forth to the boss’s house and the plan was he was going to drive cars here from Las Vegas. Dude moved all his stuff into the minivan, grabbed homeless cat and put 400 miles on the car in one weekend. Then boss fired his ass. Dude didn’t see anything wrong with what he did. They aren’t friends anymore. That manic episode lasted 6 weeks. He got himself kicked out of a few fake-ass AA groups, asked not to return. He went to meetings every day, said he got a new sponsor that he was going through the steps – and taking homeless guy through the steps as well…

We live in a Federally owned facility for homeless vets with section 8- you can’t just bring somebody home... he has been establishing occupancy for Joe since June by allowing him to get his mail here.

Episode ended as Mercury went Retrograde – he went to bed for the following 5 weeks and when Mercury went Direct, he went crazy again – this time I was living back at home, and he was hell bent on evicting me so he can move Joe in.

He brought homeless cat over daily, picked up garbage off the street and gave it to me as presents – bottle caps, crushed cans, bits of wire, single earrings – I would find next to my computer. The dishes piled high in the sink. We suddenly had cockroaches – he bought a life-insurance policy – said I would reap the rewards when he kicked off, etc….

I began trying to get a hold of his caseworker sending lengthy texts – I realized it was his meds – he needs new meds… but I didn’t have a hippa document signed…

6 weeks later he was back in bed again and became his old friendly self. He and I started palling around together again, but he didn’t go to out at all anymore...

Now he only goes to meetings during the Mania period – 2 and 3 a day: AA, CA, MA, CMA, whatever they have doing he goes. He shares over and over in the meetings. He yells. People get mad at him. He started working at the temporary day labor place – making a few bucks a day – but it’s always gone by the end. He is still sober – but you’d never know it...but this manic period he is hell bent on getting me out – he has called the cops on me twice in the last 2 weeks – last week because I was on the phone Long- distance and would not get off to give him a piece of paper !!!! and last night he said I stole his thrift store rain coat – the cops told me to go to a friend’s house.

He has a psych appointment in January and I hope he is willing to go. He’s not willing to go early – or go with his caseworker and he says I will be evicted by then. He actually likes being manic more than depressed because he gets more done… Wow. He has no friends except other potheads and active alcoholics. No one else wants to be around him. It’s sad. I have concluded that he is constitutionally incapable of being honest with himself because he didn’t finish the steps when he could have – he gets complacent.

I have met a few people on Lithium over the years but only one person who was manic back in the 90s who acted like him. Everyone thought she was nuts. Now, I understand these people – not sure that he will hit a real bottom ever because the meds even him out and make him feel ok – when he’s depressed he doesn’t leave the bed and when he’s manic he’s invinceable. i thought I had a hard path.

He’s 67. His family wants nothing to do with him. I can see why. I have no idea how to deal with the mania and with no support it makes me want to cut and run. I am praying for a miracle.