[Ready2Transform]

Add another to list to support MLC as bipolar-related.  My H was diagnosed bipolar in Jan 2010 after months of saying "Something is happening to me."  At one point, he wanted an MRI because he was scared he had a brain tumor.  After being a guinea pig for various meds, by Aug 2010 he went off of them cold turkey (the worst possible thing he could have done).  The awareness that something was going on never ended for him.  He still seems to know and says odd things to let me know that. 

In hindsight, his psychiatrist had a good plan of action for MLC - a year of SSRI's to stabilize mood, then a year of talk therapy to deal with issues.  That would deal with some of it.  At the time that seemed daunting.  But compared to MLC - what a cinch!

[Niek]

Reactive Attachment Disorder: This is one that had me thinking about the issue of developmental tasks not being successfully navigated in childhood “ the child’s basic needs for comfort, affection and nurturing aren’t met and loving, caring attachments with others are never established. This may permanently change the child’s brain hurting the ability to establish future relationships.
Interesting the presenter talked that this is a lifelong condition and that many people marry but end up divorced because they cannot form an attachment to other people. These people enjoy being alone. They may have 1 or 2 good friends but often destroy relationships. They do not attach to their own children because they are unable to feel that bond.

I think MLC has everything to do with an attachment disorder. A person without an attachment disorder would never be able to leave their family and friends. Moreover, I have always seen there was something wrong in H's family. There is no love and my H has to please his mother in order to get her love and attention. It's an ongoing story cause whatever you do for a mother like that, she is not able to give what you want.

Now, since MLC, his mother is out of the picture as well. Normally he involved her in our live, went on vacations with her, paid everything for her. I never heard she said 'thank you' to him. Never. One year ago she was a healthy woman. Now she is mentally ill and has severe heart problems. She has 5 children and no one seem to care much. H said that he was willing to visit her more frequently, but that he was absolutely not going to take care of her. He said he had nothing in common with her and thus nothing to say to her. Wonder what her condition has to do with his MLC.

BPD is also caused by an attachment disorder. I think thats why so many OW have BPD or are in MLC as well.

[Anjae]

One example given by the presenter was a woman who was diagnosed with bipolar disease when actually she was suffering from a thyroid "storm"..got her thyroid under control and she was no longer manic.

This is why my friend who is a psychiatrist (and has treated my MLC cousin when he hit rock bottom) always demands blood tests and other tests. Thyroid problems can be very similar to bipolar disorder/MLC. And my husband may be suffering from thyroid issues. His mum and sister did and his sister wanted him to be tested. He refused. Mine knew he was depressed but keep refusing help/treatment.

He has been depressed before and have never refused treatment so this time everything was very strange. Especially because since he said he was going to leave and until a couple of years after BD he keep saying I need to help him because he was not well. Clearly he knew something was wrong. And was well aware OW1 had not been the way to go. He told that when they broke, that he knew it was wrong and the wrong way of trying to solve things.

Why has he moved on to OW2 and the court cases? Who knows…

Like Kikki I think there is far more to MLC than just development issues. And if a teen become too frantic the teen will have to be treated. There is a line between normal development/growth issues and not normal ones. Children and teens with not normal development need treatment. Same with people in midlife people. However it is far more easy to treat a child or a teen than a midlife person. The child and teen will have to do what their parents make them do, the midlifer is a grown up.