10 Questions on Parenting a Grown Child With Bipolar Disorder | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

10 Questions on Parenting a Grown Child With Bipolar Disorder

Posted on July 15, 2020

If your adult child has bipolar disorder, you’re a parent who’s likely worried about their emotional, physical, educational, and professional well-being, especially if they no longer live at home. “The family’s role — parent, partner, sibling, or close friend — is to be a consistent source of support and encouragement through the good and the bad,” says Teri Brister, national director of research and quality assurance at NAMI. Keep communication with your child open and non-judgmental so they know their well-being is your main concern, and that you’re in it for the long haul, advises Brister. “Remember, this is your child’s life—treatment choices are ultimately theirs to make,” says Brister. “Like any other choices our adult children make, we may not always agree. And this doesn’t mean that they aren’t doing ‘well’.” Check out courses like NAMI Basics or NAMI Family-to-Family, which are led by family members of people with mental illness.

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