Bipolar disorder as experience: the perspective of children

ABSTRACT Objective To understand bipolar disorder (BD) from the perspective of the adult offspring of mothers who received the diagnosis when they were children and their implications. Methods Qualitative research conducted through in-depth semistructured interviews with 21 children of patients of the General Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic for Adults at HC/Unicamp. The technical data processing was done through qualitative content analysis of the transcribed interviews and categorization. Results The psychological meanings attributed by the offspring to the experience of having a mother with BD enabled the elaboration of a schematic from childhood, adolescence to adulthood. The findings reveal that in childhood the instability of the mother, characteristic of BD, generates feelings of guilt and helplessness in the children, by the perception of maternal introspection in the periods of the episodes in contrast to moments of remission in which they perceive emotional involvement and availability for motherhood. In adolescence, the children challenge the demands of their mothers. Demonstrate identification with maternal symptoms. In adulthood, there is perception of improvement in the mother-child relationship due to the abdication of personal choices for dedication to the mother's care. The findings reveal that the understanding of BD made through the experience of the offspring with their mothers is only in rationality, they can not handle it effectively and they feel trapped. Conclusions The health team involved can help these children from management of daily issues to the early diagnosis of psychopathologies by dedicating themselves to receiving these children when their mothers come to the treatment.