My W has been pretty much in Withdrawal since the first of the year. We had a brief reconcilation attempt around the holidays, at her suggestion. January 1st came and she went. I finally had her convinced to see the doctor again, as she was clearly depressed. The doctor prescribed AD's for her which seemed to make things worse. Around the middle of January we had a meeting and she basically chewed me a new one. I've seen her once, since then, for lunch. She said that she had been diagnosed as Bipolar and had switched meds. I believe the first round of AD's triggered a manic attack, which I witnessed mid January.
Contact, for the most part, has been nonexistent between us and only a little more between her and my S's. My W keeps herself very occupied with work and will meet shortly with my S's but it's been fairly infrequent since January.
Last year, I guess she was still in Replay, we would meet for lunch, dinner, etc. Throughout the second half of the year, she would withdraw, very consistently, after a seemlingly nice time together. At first it was disturbing but I became used to it and assumed that she would withdraw after every meeting. A year ago, at Easter, she invited me and my S's over for an Easter dinner. She ushered me out of her apartment shortly after my S's left. I have heard nothing this year but I suspect that I will not be invited to her apartment if she even decides to prepare an Easter dinner for my S's.
I have thought a lot, over the last few weeks, if she really is or is not going through an MLC. The symptoms for MLC and Bipolar Disorder are, for the most part, identical. At this point, I pretty much believe that she is suffering from both. She has had a definite fixation on aging the last few years. However, I still haven't reconciled in my mind, where the split between the two exists or if there really is one. Are people that may have some level of Bipolar Disorder at a higher risk of MLC than others? Does a change in hormone balance trigger a Bipolar Disorder that before was not present or there but controllable? If Depression and/or Mania is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, can it be triggered by emotional events or vice versa? Then, is it possible for a person to control Depression or Mania by controlling their attitude? A lot of questions and probably no real answers.
