What You Should Know About the Bipolar Drug User

In the last couple of weeks I have gotten an alarming increase of phone calls for detox and rehab where the addict is getting benefits from Social Security Disability Insurance because they have been labeled “bipolar”.  In one instance, three people in one household are unemployed and on government aid due to bipolar and other issues. And two of the three are using government funds to pay not only their mortgage but for their illegal drugs as well.

To my great surprise, the callers were concerned about the illegal drugs that the drug addicts were using but not at all worried about the amazingly mind altering, addictive medications they were taking for their bipolar.

None of the callers made the connection that the legal medications may be a much bigger problem that is contributing to the decline in the users’ ability to function in life.

The Enablers

If you have been dealing with addiction for any length of time, you would have by now heard the term “enabling”.

Enabling simply means making it possible for a drug user to continue their drug habit unimpeded and protected from consequences. Parents are the worst victims of enabling. They (naturally) care so much about their children that they will do anything to make sure their child is not suffering the consequences of their addiction.

The most common form of enabling is giving money to a drug user in an effort to help them.  Unfortunately the best way to push a drug user further into his/her addiction is to directly or indirectly give him/her money.

As a counselor, one of my biggest challenges is to handle a family that is enabling. Because as long as the family is enabling—in other words keeping the drug user comfortable—then my chances of helping the drug user are almost zero.

Usually there are one or two enablers in the family who are completely unaware of what they are doing and they assume that the user is “not doing that bad”.  The enablers are convinced that their “help” is aiding the addict when in fact it is doing quite the opposite. It sometimes takes a professional intervention on the enablers before any intervention can be done to help the drug user.

But now there is a new enabler to deal with—the government. Regardless of your political views, whether you think we have a good government or bad it is undeniable that our government is enabling drug users. The amount of money that drug users get in the form of disability checks is staggering. Why would a drug user ever have any incentive to quit using drugs if they are paid for by another (in other words free) and he can still have a roof over his head and enough food to survive?

“All in favor that Johnny is bipolar, say I.”

And here is another facet to this problem that makes it nearly impossible to solve:

1. There is no, and never has been any, way to physically diagnose bipolar. Bipolar has never been proven to be a scientifically, verifiable disease. There is no blood test, no brain scan, no urine test or hair analysis that can show this abnormality under a microscope. There is no denying that people roller coaster in life but as far as the term “bipolar”,  that word is just a label for certain behaviors, not a brain chemical imbalance or some other physical abnormality.
2. The only way you can get a diagnosis of bipolar is based on what the patient (and in our case the drug user) and/or what the patient’s family might tell the doctor.  This is a completely subjective diagnosis – it is based on opinions, feelings and personal experience. So a drug user can get a prescription to just about any drug they want—a little research and they are sure to fine the “right” doctor.
3. Bipolar medications are very addictive and very difficult to withdraw from. And, just as a bonus, there is a long list of “side effects” for bipolar medications which includes some possible permanent damage that will forever incapacitate a person. That long warning label which comes with each prescription is not just there to protect the bottle from getting damaged. These warnings are for real, observable reactions to these medications.
4. There is no cure for “bipolar”.  Endless research is going into finding a cure for an illness that has never even been verified as a legitimate disease. Per the pharmaceutical companies, who spend billions in advertizing, you can only “manage” bipolar. In other words, you are now a customer for life.

So, put yourself in the shoes of a counselor that is trying to help a family.

• You have a drug user that has been labeled “bipolar” and is taking addictive medications for a disease that really does not exist.

• The medications can cause a worsening of depression, anxiety and completely alter a person’s perceptions – just as illegal drugs do.

• The addict, who by the way was more than likely already using illegal drugs before he was diagnosed as bipolar, is using illegal drugs just for an extra kick.

• And the drug user is on Social Security Disability because they were diagnosed bipolar and he gets regular checks from the government.

Well I thought I had problems when it was just the family that was enabling. But I ask you: How the heck am I supposed to do an intervention on a government that enables drug users?

Honestly, when I get such calls, I know that I have so little chance of helping that I usually do the only thing I know to do—send information by email and hope and pray that it will help.

© 2010, Sigal Adini. All rights reserved.