Bipolar

Bipolar Disorder and the Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was amended in 2008 to include bipolar disorder as a covered condition. The original 1988 law was designed to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in hiring, job assignments, promotions, firing, pay, layoffs, benefits and other employment-related activities. It states that if a disability causes impairment that [...]
Disturbances of the Mind
Disturbances of the Mind by Douwe Draaisma is a book regarding various illnesses ranging from Bonnet Syndrome to Alzheimer’s, with an entire range of brain diseases in between. It provides an interesting narrative about how each disease came to be identified, by whom, the disease’s symptoms, and how it came to be named. This book [...]
The Bipolar Relationship: How to Understand, Help, and Love Your Partner
The Bipolar Relationship: How to Understand, Help, and Love Your Partner by Jon P. Bloch, PHD, Bernard Golden, PHD and Nancy Rosenfeld is a very detailed and helpful book meant specifically for romantic partners of bipolar people. Though it contains a large amount of information that could be helpful to an actual bipolar person, the [...]
Approaching Neverland: A Memoir of Epic Tragedy & Happily Ever After
In the 1960s, when author Peggy Kennedy grew up, mental illness was a family secret. It was whispered about, handed off to hospitals, restrained, subjected to electroshock therapy and slews of sedatives and sent back home, when appropriate. Peggy Kennedy knows this all too well because her mother suffered from schizophrenia (her diagnosis was later [...]
A High School Project on Depression
I tutor a number of students from my local high school, which offers a remarkable English course called Psychology and Literature. What an idea! Although I’d never heard of such a course at any other school, Psych and Lit is extremely popular here, and I’ve been very impressed with the concept and the content. My favorite [...]
Working and Socializing Through Acute Mental Health Episodes
How do depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder affect work and socializing? Mental health problems can have a huge impact on lifestyle, affecting employment, socializing and family relationships. Working and feeling productive provides financial and social benefits as well as a means of structuring and occupying time. But health conditions such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder can [...]
Pregnancy and Psychotropic Medications
Pregnancy can be a challenging time for women with long-term mental disorders. While mental illness is common among women of childbearing age, it can bring increased difficulties and risks during and after pregnancy, such as birth complications and a worsening of symptoms. Dr. Jacqueline Frayne from the King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women in Perth, Western [...]
Spending Sprees in Bipolar Disorder
People with bipolar disorder experience severe mood swings which can last several weeks or months. These include feelings of intense depression and despair, manic feelings of extreme happiness, and mixed moods such as depression with restlessness and overactivity. The disorder can also lead to impulsive spending sprees, usually during manic episodes. These can extend to cars, [...]
Bipolar In Order
Tom Wootton’s new book, Bipolar In Order, asks the reader to approach bipolar disorder (otherwise known as manic depression) from a different light. Rather than viewing this mental health condition as a problem needing a cure, he asks that you look at it for what it is — a different way of living life with [...]
The Link Between Bipolar Disorder and Creativity
People with bipolar disorder experience episodes of both mania (an exceptionally elevated, irritable, or energetic mood) and depression. These episodes may be separate or depressed and manic symptoms may occur at the same time. The frequency of episodes varies. At least four depressive, manic, hypomanic (mild form of mania) or mixed episodes within a year [...]
Challenges for Caregivers of Bipolar Disorder
Individuals with bipolar disorder have severe mood swings, which can last several weeks or months. These can include feelings of intense depression and despair, manic feelings of extreme happiness, and mixed moods such as depression with restlessness and overactivity. About one percent of adults will experience bipolar disorder at some point, usually starting during or after [...]
Scattershot: My Bipolar Family
It was back in the ’50s. One day my friend’s mother just disappeared. That Sunday as they gathered in the church parking lot, the other mothers whispered. My friend stood next to me and cried. Finally, one of the more outspoken moms broke away from the mom-huddle and put her arms around the girl. [...]
What’s the Difference Between Depression and Manic Depression?
Sometimes people are confused about the differences between clinical depression and manic depression. And it’s no wonder — they both have the word “depression” in their names. That’s one of the reason’s manic depression’s clinical name changed to “bipolar disorder” many years ago, to more clearly distinguish it from regular depression. The difference is really quite [...]
The Depression Advantage
Depression, like other mental illnesses, is rarely seen as a good thing. While many can articulate positive things about having a mental illness (or knowing someone who does), the illness itself is almost never looked upon as providing an advantage. In The Depression Advantage, Tom Wootton attempts to do just that—to show that [...]
Hiding Behind the Pulpit with Bipolar Disorder
I have an illness that affects nearly 1 out of every 17 Americans, and affects 1 out of every 5 families. This disease is chronic in nature, and can only be controlled, not cured. It is not consistent in either symptoms or treatments. Controlling the symptoms is a lifelong struggle, and can only be accomplished [...]