Manic Depressive

[tamborine]

Is this caused by MD? This is my sons school friend whom I recall when lads camped here. My son is sooo upset & reproachimg himself for not being there for his friend. We are all heartbroken but my son keeps saying "he should be in the box & not his friend". How can I help my sons grieving?

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/515188/Hilton-Hotel-man-falls-from-SkyLounge-City-London-100ft

[wolf63]

I would love to be able to give you a clever answer to your question that will explain it all to your son - but it's a complex and misunderstood illness.

Try reading this article http://www.bipolar-lives.com/bipolar-suicides.html

Manic Depression/Bipolar Disorder is not easy to deal with, either for the sufferer or the people around them.

There was probably nothing that your son could have done to prevent the death of his friend. I realise that it will take him some time to really believe it.

[gness]

Tambo......this illness is something I know so little about........but I know that hearing a friend has committed suicide is horrid and can take a long time to come to terms with....

Twenty years on I still think that if I'd paid more attention to the strange card I received from my Canadian friend I could have done something to prevent her death.....but only then I think......
There would probably have been a next time...and a next time with this awful condition.....

Just be there to help him grieve and express his anger if he needs to...Gx

[jourdain2]

As mamyalynne says, help your son to grieve and then try to educate him about MD. I know all too much about it. My ex-husband, who became abusive and threatened to kill me when I lived in France, tried to commit suicide when I eventually ran away (overdosing and alcohol) but was saved by a neighbour. 6 weeks in a mental hospital followed and the suspicions of our doctor were confirmed in that he was MD. There is very little, if anything, that any individual can do to help someone in the 'down' phase. Medication is needed and your son must not blame himself. If you put factual material in front of him this may help, once you have helped him over the first shock. You, and he, have my deep sympathy. x