Parenting Among Mothers Suffering from Bipolar Disorder by Venkataraman - Article Example

The paper "Parenting Among Mothers Suffering from Bipolar Disorder by Venkataraman" is a delightful example of an article on nursing. Bipolar disorder is a type of brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in the mood, thinking, and energy of the affected person. Due to these extreme changes, the affected individuals, family members, and caregivers are all affected. Although persons living with this condition generally lead normal lives, there are certain challenges that arise as a result of this disorder.

It is important to understand how this disorder affects the lives of the victims and those around them. In this paper, the findings of the study by Meenakshi Venkataraman (2011) on the parenting of mothers with bipolar disorder will be analyzed.  In this article, Venkataraman (2011) notes that bipolar disorder affects more than 5.7 million adults in America. Given that parenting requires a number of competencies, it is likely that these competencies are affected by this disorder. The article by Venkataraman (2011) reports the findings of the study conducted on parenting among mothers who suffer from this disorder.

This research involved face-to-face interviews with children whose mothers suffered from this disorder. A total of four children from three families were interviewed. The mothers were diagnosed with either bipolar I or bipolar II, and the duration of the diagnosis lasted between 5 and 15 years. The results of this study identified five major strengths of the mothers’ parenting. First, the children found their mothers to be helpful, especially with their homework. Secondly, the mothers were found to provide the wants of their children.

Some of the children interviewed said that their mothers take them out and buy them the things they want. Third, the study revealed that these mothers have a good sense of humor. Forth, two of the children interviewed said that their mothers were good at setting limits. Finally, it was noted that these mothers are always available whenever they are needed. In addition to these five strengths, three major weaknesses were identified. First, these mothers were found to oversleep, thereby affecting their daily activities like going to school.

Secondly, the children noted that their mothers had problems controlling their anger. Finally, other challenges were also identified, and these included: unpredictable moods and overdependence on children. The author points out that although the children experienced challenges as a result of their mothers’ conditions, bipolar disorder does not necessarily lead to poor parenting. Overall, the children loved their mothers in spite of their mental conditions and these families were no different from other families.

The information presented in this article is of great importance in my practice. First, the findings of the study show that persons suffering from bipolar disorder have problems managing their anger. This information can be used when devising strategies on how much anger can be managed. For instance, such patients can be given classes or lessons on anger management. Secondly, in my practice, these findings can be used as a guide when helping people with bipolar disorder in carrying out their daily activities.

For instance, such people can be taught how to reduce the time spent sleeping. Finally, this information can be helpful in advising how family members can effectively interact and live with persons suffering from bipolar disorder. Furthermore, caregivers can also better understand how to interact with such patients. These findings can also be generalized to cover other mental health problems. This article has two major strengths. First, the research conducted involved interviews with children whose parents suffered from bipolar disorder.

This helps enhance the accuracy of the findings because the information obtained is based on first-hand experiences. Secondly, the author has given comprehensive details on the nature of the study and methods used. This is important to the readers since it allows them to understand the context of the study, the aims, methods, and the findings. This enhances the understanding of the article. Despite these strengths, there are several notable weaknesses. First, the study is only based on a sample of four children from three families.

Given that bipolar disorder affects many people, this population is not a fair representation of this group. Secondly, the findings were based on the responses given by these children, and this reduces the accuracy of the results. Since children were used in the study, they might not have provided accurate information and observations as adults would. This article is a good read, and I recommend it to my colleagues. Not only is the information contained here useful when dealing with bipolar patients but also can be applied to other mental health cases.

The language used in the article is simple, making it an easy read. More importantly, the article gives an in-depth review of the literature on the topic of bipolar disorder, which can be useful to my colleagues. In conclusion, this paper has focused on bipolar disorder and how it affects parenting. The article by Venkataraman (2011) summarized the findings of a study conducted on the views of children whose mothers are bipolar. It has been shown that although these mothers have difficulties controlling their emotions and sleep, they are no different from other parents.

The findings of this research are important in understanding how to help persons with this disorder to cope with symptoms. In addition, these findings are useful when devising strategies for helping families in which one of the parents may be suffering from the disorder.