Am I bipolar?

Hi there Teddy: It sounds like you have a good relationship with your sister. If you are not comfortable talking with yourMom, maybe you would feel more comfortable talking with your sister. If you could just ask her if she could spare an hour or so, of her time, you would appreciate it because you have something you need to talk privately about. Then maybe you could go out for a a hot chocolate or something and you could talk privately.

We are here to support you with the benefit of our own experiences, but we can't tell you whether or not you are BiPolar. In most cities and even towns there are usually also Help Lines, like the National Kid's Help Line, that have people trained to help you sort through your feelings and maybe even recommend a Community Mental Health Center where you can talk to a counsellor. The counsellors then talk to a Psychiatrist, who may want to make an appointment to evaluate you. Your sister could perhaps assist you with getting in touch with a Mental Health Community Centre. Please do these things. It is important that you have someone to talk to, also very important that you get assessed by a Professional Mental Health worker. Are you a member of a church, or are your parents? You can also talk to a Pastor or Minister, or whatever, based on your religious affiliation. Also, through the school system there are guidance Counsellors and sometimes Peer Counsellors. It's very important to talk to someone who can help you get a Mental Health assessment. I have two sons just a little older than you. While they were growing up I was awfully busy working and trying to keep our house clean and now that they are out on their own working, (ages 21, and 23) they are my world, I only wish I could have taken more time just to sit and listen to them, but somehow I got caught up in the business of the world, running here and there, doing this and that, not realising that the most important people were the boys at home wishing I would take more time and just listen to them. I bet it's the same with your folks. It's easy to lose sight of one's priorities in today's world. Come back and talk to us, anytime you feel like it.

Hey Teddy: There are a couple questions I have regarding an earlier post. Do you have an older sister, who lives in her own house? I kind of got the idea you did because you said "when I;m at my sister's place, I like to clean', or something along those lines. In your latest post you mentioned a younger sister. Do you have other siblings as well?

Being Home-Schooled is great from some points of view, not so great from others. For example, home schooled youths, like yourself don't have a social network, friends you can hang out with, talk to about problems, and all that. Home Schooling is often good from the point of view that sometimes the quality of instruction, as well as the content of the instruction, can be better because you're 1:1 with your instructor. Who, by the way, if you don't mind sharing this with us, is doing your homeschooling? If it's you're mom, well, that can be troublesome if you're having relationship difficulties with her as she is your Mom and your teacher. That's a lot of face time. Especially, when you're not getting along so well. A Family Counselor can often help in this type of situation. Let us know. Thank-you

Thanks for the speedy reply, Teddy. That cleared things up. Do you know that chronic pain can make us depressed? If you have pain in your back that can certainly explain why you maybe snap back at people, get irritable and so on. I have chronic pain and i know it's partially responsible for some of my emotional instability.

If you maybe emailed the older sister, that lives further away, and she emails you back, sometimes, just that level of sharing how you're feeling, can help. I remember when I was a teenager, (quite some time ago, for sure), I made a promise to myself that I would never forget how it feels to be a teenager. Sooooooo, frustrating. Like , you're supposed to "be responsible, do the right thing,"and all that but then they give you limited decision making power over your own life. It's got to be the absolute, most frustrating time for lots of us. So, hang in there.