Question about disorder..

Ok so i know an ok amount about this disorder.  My friends brother was diagnosed with it last year.  I was dating a guy for a while and we use to hang out with my friend whos brother has bipolar.  She had told me a lot of things about the guy i was seeing reminded her a lot of her brother.  She didnt tell me this till after me adn this guy had broken up, she said she didnt want to scare me.  Me and this guy broke up for really no reason at all, we had just broken up about a month ago, he had stoped talkin to me one day and not returning my phone calls for absolutly no reason.  I was surprised because we never had really fought before or had any problems.  He always acted obsessive over me, so it was like one extreme to another which was strange to me.  His brother was talkin to me the other day and said he believes his brother is bipolar as well.  He said hes been acting very weird and short tempored lately.  Also i think he has been drinkin a lot and last time i talked to him he had told me he had done E and Acid.  I hear its very bad to do this if ur bipolar.  Im not sure what to think anymore because he doesnt really talk to me about things like he use to, as we are not dating anymore.  When we had broken up tho he said he still wanted to hang out and talk cuz he still really liked me.  But we havnt...    Also he seems very confused and depressed.  Away messages he will have on his AIM seem like hes not happy.  Im just not sure why and the other day i had asked what was wrong and he just said he didnt want to talk about it but thanks for asking.  What should I do.  How can i be there for him?  Or who knows maybe hes not bipolar...but my friends brother is and she says he is and reminds her a lot of her brother and she believes he needs help.  His brother has even mentioned that he thinks he needs help.  When we were together he was so together and worked everyday and was looking to move out. He also never seemed depressed and was always happy around me.  Now hes the opposite of everything he use to be.  I seemed to notice that the people i know with this disorder seem to come and go in my life.  Is this common for people who suffer from this?

Post Edited (Ridiculous) : 6/8/2006 4:35:43 PM (GMT-6)

ridiculous... you cannot know how much your post spoke to me.  i am in almost the same situation, and have been reading everything i can get my hands on to help me understand what's going on.  i got involved with someone with bp (he disclosed shortly after we met), but he is on meds and seemed okay... once he didn't call for a couple of days, but called to say he was just down and would call the next day, and he did.  but a couple of weeks ago, after a great vacation we took together, he stopped taking my calls and returning emails, and when i left message after message and even went to his house after about 10 days, he finally sent this very brief cryptic email about how he's a jerk and all messed up, and that he didn't think we would work out because of his issues, and that he was sorry he hurt me.  he still won't talk to me... this happened last weekend... and i am so worried for him.  i don't know what to do.  i called his dad and told him what was going on, and dad says he hasn't returned his calls either.  dad is bp too, and thinks the guy is on major down and also self-medicating with alcohol...

i want to help, but don't think i can.  VERY concerned about him, don't know what to do.  not sure if this is illness speaking or what... any advice anyone can offer will help me, if nothing else to understand better and heal myself...

thanks so much to all who read.

-Tee