Bipolar Blog

Sometimes, you may begin to wonder what’s worse—the depression and mania or the side effects from the medications used to control the depression and mania. In fact, one of the main reasons that people with bipolar disorder stop taking their medications is because they simply can no longer tolerate the negative side effects. And who can blame them? Nobody likes to gain 30 pounds, feel groggy all day, become forgetful, walk around feeling dizzy, shake, twitch, feel nauseous, or have an anxiety attack. Yet, all of these side effects and more are possible with one medication or another used to treat bipolar symptoms. Read the rest of this entry »

The front page of the September 4th issue of The New York Times carried a story by Benedict Carey entitled “Bipolar Illness Soars as a Diagnosis for the Young.” Carey has done a number of important pieces about child mental health over the past few years. The subject of pediatric bipolar disorder stirs strong feelings in child psychiatrists and has become a lightning rod for controversy. The NY Times article describes the findings of a new study that adds important data to the debate. Carey reports that this new study, published in the September issues of The Archives of General Psychiatry, documents a 40-fold increase in the diagnoses of bipolar disorder in children between 1994 and 2003, climbing from 2,000 cases in 1994 to 800,000 cases in 2003. Read the rest of this entry »

On September 3, 2007, Associated Press Science Writer Malcom Ritter published an insightful article called “Scientists Test New Bipolar Remedies,” about scientists who are “casting a wide net to find better treatments for the crushing depression and uncontrolled manias of bipolar disorder.”

The article sheds light on various treatments/medications that hold out some promise for those with bipolar disorder, many of which have been discovered almost completely by accident, including the following: Read the rest of this entry »

The question of whether to disclose one’s bipolar disorder to an employer often causes anxiety for the person with the illness. Of course, it shouldn’t be that way. If you were ill with cancer or suffered some physical disability, you would probably disclose it without reservation, but with a mental illness, people often fear the very real possibility of being stigmatized. Read the rest of this entry »

Science Daily just reported in an article titled “‘Wake-Up Pill’ Under Study To Treat Patients With Bipolar Disorder” that a “preliminary study of 85 patients with bipolar disorder shows that a drug used to treat patients with sleep disorders might also control the depressive symptoms associated with bipolar disorder.” The study first appeared in the August 2007 edition of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Read the rest of this entry »

In the navigation bar on the right, we have included links to two pages—Post a Question and Share Your Bipolar Story. We encourage visitors to the Bipolar Blog to feel at home here and add your own character and insights. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Recently, Jeff posted a comment on ”Quit Your High-Stress Job?” asking for advice and support related to his situation. Because work is such a common problem area for people with bipolar disorder, I encourage you to read that article and the interesting discussion that it has generated, including my response.

Q: I am a job coach, I help get jobs for disabled people and help train them. I have had several clients who have bipolar disorder. They do not seem to be able to keep jobs no matter what field we put them in. Many of them are great workers but getting them to come on time (if at all) is a big deal. Is there a way to work with these people that would make them successful? Read the rest of this entry »

When you have other illnesses, you’re usually well aware that you are not feeling well, and you seek some form of medical treatment. When you’re manic or depressed, however, you may not realize what’s going on and may actually do your best to avoid treatment. That’s why it’s so important to have a solid bipolar disorder treatment team in place—to care for you when you’re not able to care for yourself and help you stay on course.

In this article, we cover the basics of building a strong and effective bipolar treatment team. Read the rest of this entry »

About a year into our bipolar journey, I received a referral from a colleague of mine… actually my agent at the time. My agent knew of a doctor at a local university who specialized in bipolar disorder. After going through three or four doctors and seeing very little progress, the “specialist” seemed like the best option. We felt as though we were getting the rock star of psychiatry. We searched the Internet, and this guy’s name was on at least a half dozen journal articles!

Read the rest of this entry »