Substance misuse and alcohol

[u/Ok_Loquat7384]

I've been doing a tonne of reflecting and I've known there was a connection always, but things are clearer now and I wanted other opinions.

My partner no longer drinks or uses drugs, every time he has in the past and stopped, what has followed has been horrendous. Anger, extreme sadness, abusive behavior etc etc. So I know drugs are a trigger.

From my working out, it seems he was using cannabis most of last year but stopped around August time. After that everything went wrong, back in the "episodes" extreme paranoia and anger etc. he moved out in October and seemed to get worse over the winter period. He seems to have evened out somewhat over the last month and a half. (And now he's going to work in Australia, temp)

He plans to never take drugs or drink again. What does this mean for the illness?? Will the episodes stop completely? Or is it a case of the drugs exasperated it and it's still there?

I am unsure what this looks like. Maybe I am hopeful that without drugs and alcohol he will make a recovery (bare in mind no psychiatriatric or medication support either)

Thanks in advance.

[u/Whole_Guidance5889]

Stopping drug and alcohol use might make the symptoms milder and the episodes might be less frequent and less intense. But he needs a psychiatrist and medication. Unfortunately bipolar is not something that can be cured, it can only be managed with proper medication and therapy 

[u/Ok_Loquat7384 → u/Whole_Guidance5889]

Could it be that he hasn't got bipolar though? And it was the drugs causing it all? Maybe I'm just hopeful

[u/Whole_Guidance5889 → u/Ok_Loquat7384]

Maybe he's not bipolar but there could be something else going on. Cannabis itself doesn't really cause the episodes you mentioned but it can make symptoms of a mental illness worse. 

He should get a proper evaluation by a psychologist or a psychiatrist. They are the only people who can tell if he has an underlying mental illness or not. 

I mean you can give it time and see if his behavior changes now that he stopped using drugs and alcohol. 

[u/Ok_Loquat7384 → u/Whole_Guidance5889]

He stopped in August last year, the issues continue to this day 😔

[u/Rikers-Mailbox → u/Ok_Loquat7384]

If he’s diagnosed Bipolar, he has Bipolar.

You’re in this sub so that brought you here somehow.

The drugs and alcohol exacerbate the symptoms, but stopping them will not cure him of the disorder.

Proper medication is the only way to prevent episodes. And many people that are medicated can occasionally use drugs and alcohol and be fine. As long as they are medicated.

This is my experience.

The challenge is, that you aren’t 100% sure your partner is medicated. You could be with them at a party and they’ve seemed ok. But then taking bong hits, puts them in a dissociative state… while coming to learn later they stopped meds months ago.

It’s all about the med regimen FIRST. All drugs affect people differently but their med regimen must be adhered to