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I am working with this 15 year old kid that is showing signs of being bipolar. He quickly switches between being angry and passive. After he gets angry, he apologizes and says that when he gets angry he can’t control himself. I asked him if he uses drugs, and he said, “Yes, I use Meth.” He has been in my “lock down” program for a couple of weeks, so I know that he has not used Meth for about that long. Consequences that I give him seem to have no affect on his behavior. I want to know how much of his personality is due to immaturity, and how much is caused to Meth?
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Meth is pretty bad. I think it effects your personality a lot. People who use it become much more paranoid to.
It doesn’t matter.
I’m a firm believer in tough love.
Beat the snot out of him until he’s normal again.
I’m serious.
No more of this pussified psycho babble.
Methamphetamine controls a lot when taken, personality and physicality wise. I don’t think he’s bipolar, Axl Rose is bipolar.
Get his ass fired and into rehab. Otherwise its not going to get any better for him. Meth is powerful, addictive, and will mess him up for a long time (neurotoxicity i.e. brain damage) if he doesn’t quit.
If he’s having withdrawal symptom’s from the Meth this could definitely have an effect on his Psychological State. I don’t know what level of understanding you have of Psychology but I would definitely seek advise from other Psychological Professionals. It’s dangerous to just “cut out” a drug, especially one as strong as Methamphetamine. You should seek advice from a Doctor before forcing him to completely stop Meth. He will probably climb the wall’s and it could also put his body into shock because they have built up a reliance to the drug.
I was a therapist and a consular 20 years ago when you could still do that in a few places without a degree or a license. So not an expert.
I would say that rapid changes from a manic to a depressed state are not a criteria for bi-polar disorder. The two states generally last longer than that, with depression having more staying power than mania. More likely he has an attention deficit disorder or perhaps an anxiety disorder. Perhaps it is just a mal-adaptive technique that has worked well for him in the past or the behavior is common in his family and was picked up through his early environment. Immature or not when the behavior is so severe (marked by his irrational disregard for consequences) it will most likely persist with out intervention and even than it may persist.
Meth is terrible almost beyond measure. I have noted many cases in which it seems that individuals who use regularly for a year or two seem like they may never get to be the person that they were or the one that were meant to be before the time that their use became habitual. Clients I have been unable to track and friends who have gone that route eventually cease to be the kind of people that I can relate to so I no longer keep in touch. If his use has not been so great or of such a duration as to compromise his natural modes or way of being then two weeks is more than enough to get back to his old self to some degree.
Meth can certainly bring out or exacerbate a dormant, latent or minor conditions especially anger management difficulties or oppositional behavior disorders.
Tough love in the form of beatings is not only illegal, immoral, and foolish but will certainly be counterproductive, in fact detrimental if the condition is in any way related to an anger management disorder, or just a common and elevated form of rage.
Must add that anyone who condones giving an individual who is in lock-down an illegal substance is wrong and foolish a medical professional should never condone illegal activity all programs that I have known of would refuse to teach or recommend such an action. Aaron would you do so in your own practice. I have also never known of a program that that does not have medical consultant or who does not do a physical work up before incarceration. Lock up with medical supervision or a treatment facility are good places be when quitting. Meth in a treatment facility is an absurd notion and counterproductive. Be ready to treat the medical consequences of withdraw, supervise and practice a detached form of compassion when dealing with this individual. Never beat him or offer an illegal substance, never.
Please if you do not have enough sense to recognize it on your own, I am telling you now that Aaron P. has made a grave error in his advise he is indeed either a very poor (there are many) pychologist or perhaps someone who hopes to become one but has taken only a class or two on the subject. It can be difficult not to mis-represent oneself on a site such as this, especially when you think you are right and wish to be heard. I do not judge regarding that, but sometimes I see things that are to greivious to let go. Aaron have fun but own your words. I as well have transgressed.
I don’t know much about the “meth” and whether it could still affect his personality after being clean for a couple of weeks, but I would definitely try to earn his trust and see if you can get him to open up about his past with you. In my experience, working with children and youth in the “at risk program” as well as mentoring programs, I found a common denominator with most “anger issues” in young and adolescent/teen boys… It would usually be traced back to some form of abuse and/or traumatic event in their past. Most often it was sexual abuse. The drug abuse is most likely a means of escape or trying to cope with the memories/pain of the trauma, and not necessarily “the problem” but perhaps a “symptom” of a much deeper rooted issue! Females, on the other hand usually exhibit different reactions to the same forms of trauma or abuse, I am not a “licensed expert” in any occupational field, but have worked with many of these troubled youth for years! I admire you for your desire to help this young man and for being concerned enough to get additional info. and input from other sources. I wish you the best with the outcome and hope that my answer was able to help you look at the situation from another angle.