Bipolar and Mentally Ill Moms

Overview

Dr. Phil goes behind the stigma of mental illness to show how it’s affecting two families. Amanda, 24, is a mother of two who says she’s bipolar, and that during manic episodes, she becomes violent and screams, yells and shakes. Amanda says that despite her illness, her sister, Rianne, and mom, Lori, are insensitive and mean to her — but they say they believe Amanda may be taking advantage of her diagnosis. Rianne says Amanda acts out and uses her illness as an excuse — including an incident in which Rianne claims Amanda punched her in the face and lied to police about it. Then, Jenny is a 53-year-old mother of three who says she suffers from dissociative identity disorder, formally known as multiple personality disorder. She says she has 22 “alters,” whom she calls “parts of me.” Jenny reveals the traumatic childhood experiences that she believes caused her to take on multiple personalities. And, Jenny’s son, Robert, 30, shares what life was like growing up with Jenny.