Do Families, Friends and Doctors Experience A Patient’s Bipolar Disorder Differently Than The Patient?
Often, family members, friends and doctors experience bipolar disorder very differently than the person with the disorder. These different perspectives can be a source of conflict over the treatment plan – with the patient pushing for one strategy, the family another and the doctor yet another. With family members, unless one has bipolar, it is hard for them to understand a patient’s experiences. Families tend to focus on how the patient’s behavior affects them. The same is often true with a patient’s friends. Doctors, in turn, are less concerned with the meaning a patient ascribes to his or her experiences and instead focus on the symptoms. To cut through these potential impediments, it is important for patients to communicate with their family, friends and doctors, and for them to work to understand your personal experiences.
