July 28--Called an alcoholic and drug addict, Byron Foster, 47, sought treatment for his addictions with no results. With or without the bottle or help from alcoholism groups, Foster knew he still had problems.
"No matter how many times they treated me, I wouldn't get well," Foster said.
It wasn't till Foster decided to visit a psychiatrist's office 15 years ago that he found out that his bouts with depression and crazed sleepless nights were products of bipolar disorder, a brain disorder that affects 5.7 million American adults in a given year.
"I was actually relieved because I had been fighting and scraping my whole life to figure out what was wrong with me," Foster said.
Recently, professionals have pointed to bipolar disorder as the reason for crimes comitted on the Palouse, including a case in which a man struck and injured two Washington State University students with his car. More recently, bipolar disorder was named as a possible contributor to a Spokane event that lead to the suicide of Moscow native Jan DeMeerleer after he killed two other people.
Though the two incidents may have painted bipolar disorder as a violent disease, Dr. T. Stephenson Holmes, a psychiatrist at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, said people with the disorder aren't often compelled to commit malicious crimes.
"It's just disturbance of energy that's usually cyclical ... but it doesn't affect one's morals," he said.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by manic episodes in which a person will feel a surge of energy and episodes of depression, Holmes said.
Foster described the mood shifts, or cycles, as the swing of a pendulum. The length and frequency of the mood changes vary from person to person, sometimes lasting for days or weeks with weeks or months in between.
For Foster, the depression and mania can be so consuming he acts like a completely different person, said Kathleen Hadley, who has lived with Foster in Clarkston for about eight years.
"It's a different person within that person's body," she said. "You cannot rationalize with them, they are not the same person and they're not in the real world we are in."
Determining whether someone has bipolar disorder rather than depression or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can be difficult, Holmes said.
"It's really only a clinical diagnosis, we don't have a blood test or an X-ray that will show it," he said. "Even in psychiatry, it's tricky to diagnose, which is why (a case) can be followed for up to 10 years before there's some lightbulb that goes off that it's bipolar disorder."
The disease is manageable with mood stabilizers or antipsychotics, but Holmes said people with bipolar disorder often will not take the medication prescribed to them. A person with bipolar disorder often will long for the "highs" or manic episodes, in which they may feel invincible or extremely energetic, he said.
"It's a huge rush of energy and they feel invincible, invulnerable, like they're on a special mission," Holmes said. "Sometimes people drink too much or drive too fast or have sexual indiscretion ... and when they come down they feel horrible about it."
Foster said he struggled with taking his medication at times, which is why he turned to outside help like Hadley to remind him why the pills were necessary. Even when taking his prescribed medication however, Foster experiences some manic or depressed episodes.
Now Foster manages a bipolar support group in St. Joseph Regional Medical Center every Wednesday from 7:30 to 8 p.m.
The group gives Foster and other people with bipolar disorder the ability to talk about the disease and recognize that they are not the only ones with bipolar disorder.
"It is a huge relief and it's a comfort just to meet others like yourself," he said. "You're not alone and you don't have to face this alone. You don't have to sit behind your four walls and hope that the public doesn't see you go through another depressed or manic state."
The group serves as a forum for the families, friends and supporters of people with bipolar disorder, who often struggle through the mood changes with their loved ones.
"Living with someone with bipolar disorder, it's extremely stressful, it's hard," Hadley said. "You spend a lot of nights awake; you spend a lot of nights crying yourself to sleep."
Foster said he would also like to use the group to educate police enforcement agencies about the disease. If officers were aware of how to deal with a person with bipolar disorder, they could help prevent such people from hurting themselves or others.
"It's not that we're not responsible for our own actions," he said. "I've been arrested when I was in a manic state (and) I had been drinking, and it could've gone differently. Instead of going to jail I should've been taken to the hospital."
While doctors don't yet understand the brain functions that cause bipolar disorder, the public at large may be starting to understand it is a disease and people who live with it should not live with a stigma, Holmes said.
"It's coming out of the closet, and it is quite common, there's millions of people that suffer from it," Foster said. Sarah Mason can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail to smason@dnews.com.
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A parent's perspective on a tragedy
Editors Note: Jim DeMeerleer is the father of Jan DeMeerleer, who shot and killed his ex-fiance Rebecca Schiering and her 9-year-old son before turning the gun on himself July 18. Police believe Jan's bipolar disorder may have contributed to the day's events.
In the following letter, Jim describes the son he knew and the disease Jan and the DeMeerleer family struggled to live with.
In response to Jan DeMeerleer's actions on July 18, 2010, and the kind words by friends published in the Daily News on July 24, 2010, there may be something positive to learn from this event. First, Jan was a wonderful, loving person afflicted with bipolar disorder, sometimes known as manic-depressive disorder, or having a chemical imbalance. This imbalance is treatable with drugs and counseling but it is difficult for the patient to stay on medication. Work-related and daily stress can set a person into a manic or depressive state of mind, which often happened to Jan. Our family would rally to his aid, stabilize the situation and often find him OK for several months and often years. Jan knew we deeply loved him. We tried to understand his circumstances and helped him through these difficult times, which was comforting and helpful for him. From Jan's marriage to Amy Wray came a beautiful granddaughter, Valerie, who loves to ride horses with Grandpa. Jan's life revolved around Valerie even after he and Amy divorced. Jan then met Rebecca Schiering, with whom he fell deeply in love. They worked together to raise Rebecca's three children plus share in Valerie's upbringing. Instability on Jan's part would surface during the five years Jan and Rebecca were together, and I'm sure caused their separation. This feeling of desperation from the loss of his job and immediate family spiraled Jan into suicidal thoughts causing him to take two lives and his own; a tragedy to the Schiering family and ours. My perspective is we must learn to understand bipolar syndrome, and how those people affected can be helped (a daunting task). A parent should be aware that a child's bipolar condition may not become evident until they are between 13 and 20 years of age. In Jan's case he didn't sleep much, with extra-high energy levels, even in high school. In college, it even got worse, and that's when we became aware of his disorder (a real learning experience). As parents we must give these children our unwavering love, affection, support and understanding as it is our best defense against this debilitating disease. God now has Jan in his grasp and Jan is at peace at last. Jim DeMeerleer
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