Comment: Helping bipolar patients lead a normal life

Paper Edition | Page: 8

July 27, p. 4

Nita, 48, is a housewife. As a mother of a teenage girl, she runs a small women’s clothing shop. She is a normal woman, but one who takes regular medication. Living with bipolar disorder, Nita has taken medication every day for the last 23 years.

“By regularly taking antidepressants, I can keep my mood under control and it helps me live an easier life,” Nita told The Jakarta Post recently. She routinely consults a psychiatrist to monitor her condition.

Your comments:

Regular medication helps bipolar patients lead a normal life. My elder daughter is bipolar. In the early years, it was a nightmare. That is, until she received treatment and counseling from a psychiatrist. He put her on lithium. It took a long, long time before he found the right doses for her. Since then, she changed for the better, and now she leads a normal life.

Many bipolar patients are artistic. My daughter certainly is. Sometimes she is over-enthusiastic, but most of the time she leads a normal life. She is a lovely woman and she has found a very nice partner who supports her.

It took a lot of time and hard work for all parties to get her there, but it can be done. I hope the Indonesian government will help these people, because they will become very good citizens, and it is worth the money spent on them to keep them on a steady course.

John Heerma van Voss