Bringing up Bipolar?

[Anonymous]

I have been dating a guy for a little while and he half-joked about being bipolar... which doesn't seem too far off base... How do I bring up that he should seek help, but let him know I will be there for him anyway? -- He knows I've had a lot of experience working with mood disorders, so it's not a big deal to me, but I do feel like he needs someone outside of our relationship to help him. It's a relatively new relationship so I don't want to pressure him, but I know he can be happier.

Updates

+1 y

I did ask if he thinks he has bipolar disorder, (he said yes, he does wonder), and asked if it was clinically diagnosed (no). My question is really, how do you bring up the conversation of "I think you should seek a diagnosis & possible treatment" ?

[Navagg]

This is a very delicate question. Joking that he has it might not be a joke at all. I would ask him flat out " hey when you joked about being bi-polar did a doctor tell you that?" And see what he says. If he says yes ask him to tell you about it. There are many new drugs to help it. If he says no ask him why he said that. It seems you might have seen a bi-polar moment and people can be very very dangerous.

Ask him to make a doctors appointment and find out. It could be something else totally.

[campylobacterjejuni]

Well if his condition is harmful to him and his life, and I mean his actual behavior and emotional state, then it would be only normal to suggest professional help. See, don't try to figure out if he's bipolar and then get help if you think he is; it works the other way around. If he needs help he should get it, and maybe a doctor will label it as bipolarity.

[MothMonsterMan]

Well has he been diagnosed by a medical PROFESSIONAL that he is really bi-polar? That word gets thrown around WAY too much nowadays, and so many people self diagnose themselves.