Growing pains

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My boyfriend and I are in that awkward transition from teenagers to adults and it’s sort of taking a toll on our relationship. He has to juggle two jobs and go to school while I’m struggling to find the finances to go to school. He’s always really stressed and upset and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to make him happy. (It’s probably to important to mention that he is a diagnosed but untreated bipolar, who probably won’t have the chance to get treated for a while.) But honestly I really want to see him smile again, but I feel like it’s impossible because he always has so many unpleasant things on his plate. Any recommendations on how I can cheer him up and save our relationship?

Category: Tags: asked October 30, 2013

4 Answers

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accepted
Don't give up on him! Give him space when he needs it, and also be there for him as well. Suprise him with little entities and say or do things to boost his mood his confidence, as well. Don't nag him, yell at him, put him down, or complain about how much your doing, but just do what you can and wait it out.
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Don't try to cheer him but try to be there for him. Carry on letting him know that you are always there for him to lean on when times get hard. Remember, you can't fix him and cheering him up wouldn't be the greatest solution. Occasionally ask him if he's okay/what's wrong but not too often, just in case he is too stressed at the time and blows. These are just my thoughts :) x
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I know how you feel I went through the same thing with my boyfriend. The only thing you can do is just let him have a little space but at the same time let him know you are there for him. And maybe catch him when he is calm and talk to him about it... but make it light. Instead of saying "we need to talk" say something like "Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Ask him if he need more support or if there is anything you can do to help.
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Being with someone who is Bipolar is extremely difficult. Especially if he's not being treated. People with bipolar disorder are always cycling between a manic state (high energy), depressive state (low energy) and a normal state, and it can be difficult to predict which state he'll be in at any given time. The fact that he's working two jobs and going to school is probably going to exacerbate his bipolar disorder. Things like stress, hunger, fatigue and anger can all trigger manic or depressive episodes, and if he's not careful to take care of himself, he could really get into a dark place.
Being there for him is all you can do, but you have to understand that it might not be enough. You can't be his therapist or make him feel better when he's down. He will eventually need a psychiatrist to prescribe him medication so he can stay in a normal state of mind. I think the best thing you can do, is just to listen when he's upset. If he's not willing to talk about it, then you might want to let him know that you can see he's not in a good mood and let him know that you're willing to listen or do anything you can to make him feel better. At least, let him know you'd like to be able to help him feel better. Whenever my boyfriend is feeling depressed, I just listen carefully and try to help him by reassuring him that the things we're dealing with now are really hard, but things won't be this way forever and someday we'll be able to say we made it through these tough times by sticking together and helping each other out.
I hope this helps a bit! Good luck!
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