Battling Bipolar Disorder

I was twenty-six years old and had just endured my second committed psychiatric hospitalization for suicidal depression when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. At that time, I had no idea how sick I was-and would later become. Battling Bipolar Disorder, a Memoir chronologically reports the pain, despair and hopelessness of a woman suffering from mental illness for seventeen years. My first-person, present-tense story recounts 11 suicide attempts (that I can remember), multiple failed medication trials, electric shock treatments (a last resort that fails) and numerous psychiatric hospitalizations. Even though during many of these episodes I was-and still am-a licensed professional mental health therapist myself, I continue to deny my illness and often refuse treatment, which, of course, results in reckless behaviors. I continually ride a physical, mental and emotional roller coaster. Battling Bipolar Disorder, A Memoir is both graphic and seductive. Readers will be intrigued with the inner workings of mental institutions, suicidal plans and relationships between the bipolar patient and both her family and mental health doctors. These physicians fall into categories of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Bipolar Battle Plan by Troy Gillem is a no-holds-barred view of bipolar disorder. Gillem offers riveting first-hand descriptions of his own episodes and those of people he interviewed. Gillem provides an aggressive action plan to manage ones symptoms and life in general, covering everything from creating a balanced medical protocol to selecting a compatible psychiatrist. This refreshing book is a boon to persons with bipolar disorder, professionals in the field, and interested friends and family members. -Ellen Bowers, Ph.D Victory means living a productive, happy life and making your dreams come true!

"Mahala became a victim of bipolar disorder in her fifties and uses her life experience, her writing ability and multitudes of notes from manic episodes to create this informational book."--Page 4 of cover

"Six million people in America suffer from bipolar disorder. Joan Child's daughter, Pamela, suffered from bipolar, bouncing from doctor to doctor in search of treatment. Yet the demons great louder, and on a summer day in July 1998, the same day that theOprah Winfrey showed aired a segment on Bipolar Disease, Joan Childs' 34-year-old-daughter leaped to her death from the window of her father's 15-story apartment. An Angel to Remember is her mother Joan's haunting story of grief and guilt, yet it is a beautiful story of love and the courage to find peace and purpose once again. With brutal honesty and vivid detail, Joan recalls how the entire family became entangled with Pam's illness as they watched her dive deeper into the darkness where no one could reach her. Ironically, Pam and Joan were both psychotherapists yet, with all their credentials and medical knowledge, Pam still could not be saved. An Angel to Remember masterfully looks back even as it looks forward. Written with vivid memories of Pamela's troubled yet loving life and the final days of her funeral and shiva (a 7-day mourning period in Judaism), the story will break your heart and then mend it again. "--

Without proper treatment, bipolar disorder is a debilitating mental illness that wreaks havoc on everything it touches. Chaos and unpredictability are words that precisely describe bipolar disorder. This War Within My Mind is a game plan that will change the way you view bipolar disorder. It starts with simply changing the way you see yourself. You are a warrior. A bipolar warrior. It is within you to take back control of your life and your illness. As a warrior, it is imperative that you train both your mind and body. If you want to manage your bipolar disorder, you need to fight it on a daily basis with the right tools and support. John Poehler is an expert in managing his own personal bipolar disorder. He hopes his ideas, suggestions, and thoughts will offer you guidance and support. Stop merely surviving and start thriving along your own journey.

Living with Bipolar Disorder is designed to help patients and their families develop the skills they need to be good consumers of treatment and to become expert partners in the management of this challenging disorder. Drawing on research documenting the strength of combining drug treatments with behavioral interventions for fighting bipolar disorder, the authors of this book take a skill-based, family-and-friends approach to managing the ups and downs commonly experienced with bipolar disorder. Readers will learn how to better recognize mood shifts before they happen, minimize their impact, and move on with their lives. Family members will learn how to recognize potential problems, provide encouragement, practice new coping skills, and understand what a loved one is going through. Living with Bipolar Disorder provides worksheets and forms to help readers reinforce skills and practices learned in therapy, as well as useful information about the details of living with bipolar disorder, advice on the best ways to avoid relapses, and strategies for anticipating problems. In this new edition, the authors have expanded the text to reflect the newest advances in research on the management of bipolar disorder, adding the latest in drug information, advice on selecting a therapist, a discussion of the challenges of transitioning from adolescence to adulthood with bipolar, managing stress, improving relationship and communication skills both with the family and with one's clinician, and more. Living with Bipolar Disorder offers a wealth of effective strategies to reduce the likelihood of episodes of depression or mania and maximize the enjoyment of life.

This is a true story of a woman who was successful in one side of the television business and also struggled for her life while battling bipolar illness. She did not respond to conventional treatment for the illness, which led her to the best medical care the world could offer, the research specialists. She was one of the first to respond to Depakote a drug, which is now commonly used to treat the illness. Her personal struggle takes us in the NIH- the world's best research hospital. Ten years in remission .she encounters a problem with disrupted sleep and has a manic episode while overseas. In the battle to regain stability she almost died twice and was comatose once. She is now emerging refreshed and re-stablized into another take on life and learning how to catch mania early a victory! This is a heartwarming story line with bipolar as the protagonist. She is ready to advocate for the persons with mental illnesses the most downtrodden of all.

Wolf Blaser Jr., a native of Topeka, Kansas, grew up with a life that most would envy. He and his girlfriend were voted homecoming king and queen in his senior year, and he went to college on football scholarship. After earning a degree in engineering, he was hired by his father’s construction company. Like everyone, he had his ups and downs, but he never had any visions—until 2004, when he started seeing demons. Over time, his visions became more horrific. The demons always had similar features, with slanted eyes and horns sticking out on both sides of their heads. Most of his visions lasted for only a few seconds, but others lasted longer. Soon, he became convinced that others were listening to his thoughts. He began taking medication for depression and bipolar disorder, but he continued to suffer. Life became so bad that he eventually checked himself in to a hospital, giving its staff full authority to determine when he should be released. Join the author as he recalls battling bipolar disorder and fighting to reclaim his life in this powerful memoir.