Madchen Amick talks about Son Sly's 'ongoing' bipolar 1 journey

to Amek girl And her family, dealing with her son Sly's bipolar disorder is a “continuous journey.”

The 54-year-old actress said: “The longer the journey goes, it's interesting (to see) your point of view and how it expands more and more, so challenging moments become easier to deal with because you can look at them in a bigger picture.” , participates exclusively in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “And so, even though there may be dips in challenge or some destabilization, you look at it over a longer period of 13 years now, and you can look at this little graph and it gets better and better.”

Amick previously spoke about her son being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2023, and revealed that Sly, now 32, was diagnosed in 2012 while in college. “Things have been going well!” She adds. “He had a bit of a challenge about three months ago when the medication was changed. … He got sick very quickly, and they changed that medication right away and changed it back to a medication that was working before, but it's little moments like that that can be destabilizing.” “For the stability of the whole family, you all have to be prepared, aware, and truly communicate with each other.”

In addition to maintaining his sobriety, Sly now works as a “Certified Peer Specialist” in California. “He has really become the big brother at this treatment center and is making a really big difference in the lives of young people who are going through what he went through but even at a young age,” Amick gushed. “He said this is meaningful to him because he feels like he looks at himself as a little kid. It's really a very beautiful thing.”

Before his last bout, Sly had a “destabilizing” experience in 2021. And when it comes to keeping him from being destabilized again, Amick says we That she, her husband, David Alexisand his daughter Mina, 31, always lend a helping hand to Sly.

“He really trusts us as a family, so if we see signs that are like, 'Oh, how are you feeling?' “We're seeing some concerning signs,” he trusts us and listens instead of getting defensive and saying, “No, no, no, I'm fine,” because no one wants to admit they're sick, right?” She explains. “He really trusts us as a family to point it out to him sooner rather than later before he can notice it himself. And also then, he created the recovery team, so he's really committed to that recovery.”

Amick also notes that her son “goes to AA meetings constantly” and is “really committed to connecting with his psych team as well as continuing to find that good therapist who also helps him put the tools in place so he can start to check in with his mood regulation.”

After years of ups and downs in the mental health care system, Amick and her family formed the foundation I don't mindwhich helps people going through similar experiences and provides scholarships to those who cannot afford the care they need.

“We just celebrated three years in May (2024) with the Don't MiND Me Foundation,” she says. we. “The goal has always been to one day open a treatment center and apply all our life experience and the team around us that we really know and really believe in, and they have a wealth of knowledge and many, many years of experience.”

The organization will hold its 2025 Don't MiND Me Gala on Saturday, March 8 at the Palm Springs Air Museum. This year's event will honor Ashley ColayaDirector of the Mental Health Storytelling Alliance, and former Director of AMIC Riverdale com. costar Molly Ringwald.

“(Molly) was really open about her deepest fears during those teenage years and becoming famous so quickly and how crippling it was at times and what she would do to find her way,” Amick shares. “So, when this party came up this year and she thought about people making a difference, especially between advocacy and people sharing their story, it came to her mind. And I thought it would be really cool because she's been so open about it all these years. So, we were in New York visiting, So I asked the question, and she said yes!

With reporting by Lanai Brody