Why is it so Hard to Get Help for People with Bipolar Disorder Who are Ill and Smoking Pot?

(A note from Julie, as you can see I’m having trouble with my websites due to a WordPress change. I will get them up and running as soon as possible.)

The majority of my bipolar disorder coaching practice involves a crisis situation where I help family members and partners get a loved on into treatment. In over 50% of the situations, the person with the illness is a heavy pot smoker which fuels the episode.

I have a plan I use and it WORKS, until we run into law enforcement that simply have no idea what they are up against when they go to the door of someone who has a mental illness.

In the past three days, I’ve worked with clients to locate the loved one who is ill so that we can send help. In every situation, the police arrive and the person with the illness 100% talks them out of this help. WHAT IS UP WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT?   There is training out there! 

One parent wrote me recently and said that the police officer who was sent to help his suicidal son who is aggressive and disruptive to the family called the father back and said- “This looks like a family problem, why won’t you help him?”

Can you even imagine a doctor saying this if we called for help for someone who is having a stroke or heart attack?

Here’s a quote from a People Magazine interview I did about Amanda Bynes called ‘Why It’s So Hard to Help Amanda Bynes’.

“Indeed, Bynes was released from the psychiatric facility following a mandatory hearing that occurred three days after a judge ruled she needed to spend at least another month in treatment.

But her release doesn’t mean her mental illness is in check. Says family coach Julie A. Fast, who’s written several books on mental health, including Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder: “Somebody with psychosis can be raging, screaming and threatening to kill you, but in front of an authority figure they can completely calm down.”

There is good news- my goal is to get someone into treatment and I do help families and partners make it happen. Sometimes we get help from the police and most often we do it on our own. It is possible! I wish Amanda’s parents would call me!

Julie

PS: We are in a marijuana crisis that is growing daily. Pot and bipolar disorder don’t mix. Ever.

Click here to read more about my family and partner coaching. I am here to help.

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Related posts:
The New Psychotic Pot: Is High THC Marijuana Dangerous for People with Bipolar Disorder?
Ten FACTS I’ve Learned from Coaching Family Members and Partners of People with Bipolar Disorder
Parent of a Child with Bipolar Disorder?