bp Magazine for Bipolar

Bipolar disorder is a treatable illness marked by extreme changes in mood, thought, energy, and behavior. Bipolar disorder is also known as manic depression because a person’s mood can alternate between the “poles”—mania (highs) and depression (lows). The change in mood can last for hours, days, weeks, or months. What bipolar is not Bipolar disorder is not a character flaw or sign of personal weakness. Whom bipolar disorder affects Bipolar disorder affects more than 5.7 million adult Americans and 440,000 adult Canadians. It usually begins in late adolescence, often appearing as depression during teen years, although it can start in early childhood or later in life. An equal number of men and women develop this illness. Men tend to begin with a manic episode, women with a depressive episode. Bipolar disorder is found among all…

I’LL NEVER FORGET the impassioned letters, emails, and calls from a reader imploring us to report on bipolar’s “brain fog.” With little information available and less talk about it, she was concerned about her memory loss and its impact on her life. This story, she said, “should not be overlooked.” Ten years later, we revisit this issue in “Strategies for a Scattered Brain,” and your response has again been overwhelming. Alongside your frustrations, you share your proactive techniques for successfully managing cognitive deficits. As Rebecca Davis attests: “It’s been a trial-and-error process, and always evolving.” “A boundary defines our self.... It gives us a sense of defining what is ‘me’ and what is ‘not me.’” Wise words from psychiatrist David Puder, MD, who reminds us how empowering personal boundaries are. They…

REDEFINING RECOVERY I ALSO DISAGREE with the term “recovery from bipolar,” as written about in “Winning at Life” (Winter 2022). Today there is no “recovery.” Rather, it’s about managing and maintaining good habits, diet (functional medicine, foods and vitamins), and being dependent on a positive outlook. —C.M., CLEVELAND, OH • A VERY GOOD ARTICLE. I thought the idea of “triad” theory—effective medicine, psychotherapy, and self-management—was very powerful. And the author is correct that this can only act as a safety net to make an episode better than it would have been. More of the article could have focused on “Winning at Life.” For example, a person with bipolar should not play the “What if?” game. What if I did not have bipolar? What if I didn’t destroy friendships? Bipolar is only one variable…

AGE: 35 LOCATION: NEW YORK, NY OCCUPATION: SOFTWARE ENGINEER DIAGNOSIS: BIPOLAR I WITH MIXED FEATURES (2017) • • • FAVORITE DOCUMENTARY: Anything about NASA’s Apollo and Gemini missions. TOP OF MY PLAYLIST: The John Butler Trio. HOBBIES: Making things, solving problems, and learning everything I can about the world around me. UNUSUAL TALENT: I’m filled with random information. As a child, I was teased that most sentences out of my mouth began with “Did you know…?” GO-TO COPING STRATEGY: Taking a walk—there’s something about leaving, then coming back that calms me. IT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU TO KNOW: My apartment looks like a jungle with over 70 unique species of flora and fauna that I maintain. I WISH I WERE BETTER AT: Forming relationships with people. TO UNWIND: Headphones and dancing like no one is watching. MOST PROUD OF: The things I’ve built. When…

“Connection is the most important thing in the world and helping people is one of the most amazing things you can do. Always lead with kindness.” —Actress and model CARA DELEVINGNE, explaining to Harper’s Bazaar what brings her joy—one way she copes with depression and anxiety. Delevingne says she has gained valuable self-awareness since her emotionally chaotic childhood, when her mother's bipolar disorder was untreated. Photo: Visual/ZUMAPRESS.com via Newscom • • • By the Numbers 87% — Parents in a NAMI poll who support having mental health education in schools. The poll also found 70 percent favor offering mental health days for students. 70% — People with a bipolar diagnosis who told the charity Bipolar UK they’d had a previous diagnosis of depression. The British mental health organization has launched an online petition to “speed…

Prognosis of youth with bipolar affected by socioeconomic status April 1, 2022, PITTSBURGH, PA—Parents’ socioeconomic status and whether they have a substance abuse problem play a part in the prognosis for their children who develop bipolar, a new study suggests. American and Canadian researchers looked at course of illness for a span of nearly 13 years in 150 youths, who were divided into comparison groups. One group showed improvement in symptoms of subthreshold depression and hypomania, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and disruptive behavior disorders over time. The other youths continued on a “predominantly ill course.” The youth who improved were more likely to have parents whose socioeconomic status trended upward in advance of their children’s symptoms easing. Absence of parental bipolar and substance use disorder was another important contributing factor, the study authors…