i have been dealing with a roomate

i have heard constantly and daily since i left

Dude, i was with a woman that was dually diagnost with bi-polar and manic, after 3 years i left. In my opinion, there is no excuse when it comes to the way u treat a person. She used her "ailment" as an excuse to do absoultly nothing and treat me like crap. I dont blame u 1 bit for ending it, in my opinion, 95% of mental illnesses is just another label for a person who lacks self control!!

It's a chemical imbalance of the brain.

First of all I commend you on dealing with this for 5 years this had to have been really hard.
You ask how to deal with this situation.
People with this type of illness usually are in denial that there is anything wrong with them. It usually takes a crisis to bring it to their attention like i.e. guy leaving,death, or suicide attempt. To have any type of a chance at a relationship not only does this person need medication they need a good theraphist that has education in dealing with this type of mental disorder. That way they can get enough help to learn to see when they need their meds adjusted and to be aware of what they are doing along with learning new behavorial skills.

I also think if there is any love left then there should be some conditions put down. Both go into theraphy, the one with the manic issues medication and theraphy is a must; not only do they need medication they need to learn new behavorial skills and the person living with them needs to learn what to look for. It isn't easy but it can be done if both people are upfront and aware of everything.
Good luck

Are they being properly treated?

sadly this person is in denial of any problems and no meds are being used, they think that by having daily events etc that they are normal

I dated bipolar: it takes a lot of work, but nothing will work until they accept they are manic-depressive and maintain their medication; then, it normally takes 12 - 15 years for a BP to normalize their relationship. Do you love them that much? Even if so, it doesn't mean they won't leave you (probably more than once) in that time.

Its a Theory that is horribly over used and with no grounds based in science. If the chemicals and receptors were off, your body would cease to function, causing DEATH. Besides no persons body has a docummented BALANCE of chemicals for there to be an inbalance. Its just Psudo-science, just another cop-out to prevent self responsobilty

Was the diagnoses done by a mental health professional, or is this a lable that you've applied to her for some reason?

the manic depression was observed over several weeks by a health care professional

I respectfully disagree. I have a background in psych.

What you said doesn't hold water. When a person is addicted to crack, their chemicals are off balance and their synapses have changed. They are not dead. It's documented with cat scans of the brain and blood tests, btw.

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do, but hope that they accept their illness, and open up to geting help.

I have a strong background in primate psych myself, and with all the love and respect, i know better.

Show me a chemical chart that stats a proven and established chemical balance,because there has to be a balance for there to be an inbalance. Ill bet u cant because there never has been 1. Cat scans are just a tomography machine and they can only show physical abnormalities and do nothing for chemical makeup.

Let me guess, pfizer puts out the blood tests right?

Point is the idea is a theory that has no proof based in science, and in my and alot of other opinions, is junk science and cant and will never be proven

Research what crack does to a brain. You'll find that the dopamine and seratonin gets decreased. Their brain gets re-wired and the receptors/synapses change.

I don't have to find you a chart. I already know the facts.

Bi-polar patients are hospitalized while they take blood tests to see which medicines help the best.

Clinical depression is a chemical imbalance of the brain too.

benzoylmethyl ecgonine blocks dopimine transporter protien. Addiction is a physical illness anyway, It causes actual brain, liver and cardiovascular damage.

mental illness is a whole nother ball game, The mental illness umbrella is a load of pseudo scientifical BS that cant be proven because its a man made excuse for there own actions.

Natures machine is the brain controls the body, When people are held accountable for there actions with little to no cop-outs, we will see this junk all go away. Even Pfizer recognizes that its a THEORY, check out the bottom of there Zoloft adds, there advertisements assert that mental illness MAY be due to chemical imbalances in the brain, and that their drugs correct this imbalance.

Addiction becomes a physical illness after the addiction is long term. The brain chemical imbalance starts years before the physical injuries.

Some mental illnesses are chemical imbalances of the brain.

I guess that you think that Alzheimers is about lack of control too.

I have direct experience with a loved one with bipolar and I have social work experience with severely mentally ill adults. If you want more specific questions answered please feel free to email me. tanya

National Alliance on Mental Illness is a great resource ... here is the website http://www.nami.org/

And I am sure if you google Mental Illness and Bi-polar it will pop up helpful sites or resources in Canada.