Quote From: utahinbcMy ex MIL has what she calls "manic depressive" disorder, which i'm assuming is bipolar today. I don't know how her children survived her episodes. On her good days, she bought the kids clothes and toys and took them places. On her bad days, she used every name in the book (and I mean bad ones) even to the littlest 5 year old. On one of her binges, she went out and bought new kitchen appliances, a stereo, and new bedset. Her poor husband couldn't afford it, but when the issue came of taking it back, she went ballistic. I can remember her playing opera music at full volume at 3 am. She was extremely nice to me some days, then hostile on others. She often blamed her son (my ex) for everything that went wrong in the family. I know that she was taking as many pills as her doctor could prescribe her, but I don't think she ever admitted to being bipolar. She would tell her kids they were going to hell for all sorts of reasons. The saddest part is that one of her sons committed suicide rather than return home after losing a job. She scared the hell out of me.
Yes, manic depression is bipolar. It's hard not to be angry at the kind of behavior you're describing, especially when it caused tragedy. You said she never admitted to being bipolar but you also say that she says she has manic depressive disorder - so actually she has admitted it, the words are commonly interchanged. Unless she willfully refused to take her medicine she can't help what she did and no one regrets her illness more than she. She takes meds that make her sick, she's lost a child, she probably can't look back at her past without dying inside. Sorry you were scared of her but she's a victim too.
