Answered questions(2)
Son with bipolar using marijuana
My son is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and he is medicated and stabilized and doing well away at living at home while attending community college. He had previously attended university and lived in the dorms and it was the meltdown there, that I think was precipitated by a lot of drug and alcohol use, which led to his dropping out of school and to his diagnosis and treatment. His doctor has instructed him very clearly to avoid alcohol and drugs as they can reduce the effectiveness of his medications and can even lead to manic or depressive episodes. But last night I surprised my son in his room and found him smoking marijuana. He was using a pretty impressive bong contraption to smoke it, so it is pretty clear to me that because he has this machine to smoke with he is smoking marijuana fairly often. He says that he has tried drinking and smoking pot on his meds and that alcohol does make him feel worse but that marijuana just relaxes him and doesn’t seem to affect the effectiveness of his meds. I am not sure. He is doing pretty well on his own and I don’t want to treat him like a baby but on the other hand things were pretty bad for a while and I really don’t want to see him so depressed like he was before. How concerned should I be by his using marijuana?
Read answer →Pets, anxiety and depression
My wife has GAD and moderate depression. She is on Xanax and St. John’s Wort. I am considering buying a dog for the family. I am not buying it specifically to help with my wife’s depression but I am hoping that a puppy in the house and the touching/petting and human contact that happens with a new dog will be uplifting for her. I am planning on doing all of the caretaking for the new dog so it should not prove overwhelming for her. This is something I try to do so she can use her limited energy on things that are most beneficial to her. But what I want to know is if there is any research that says that it is helpful for depressed/anxious people to have pets. Is it beneficial, neutral or detrimental. I cannot seem to get a clear answer on this subject. Thank you. John, P in Chicago.
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