Books on Bipolar

Product Description

Thanks to sharper diagnosis and better medicine, the future is brighter for people with bipolar disorder than in past generations. But if you or someone you love is struggling with the frantic highs and crushing lows of this illness, there are still many hurdles to surmount at home, at work, and in daily life.

*How can you learn to distinguish between the early warning signs of mood swings and the normal ups and downs of life?
*What medications are available, and what are their side effects?
*What should you do when you find yourself escalating into mania or descending into depression?
*How can you get the help and support you need from family members and friends?
*How can you tell your coworkers about your illness without endangering your career?

In this comprehensive guide, Dr. David J. Miklowitz offers straight talk that can help you tackle these and related questions, take charge of your illness, and reclaim your life. A leading researcher and clinical specialist who knows what works, Dr. Miklowitz supplies proven tools to help you achieve balance--and free yourself from the emotional and financial havoc that result when symptoms rule your life--without sacrificing your right to rich and varied emotional experiences.

This essential resource will help you and your family members come to terms with the diagnosis, recognize early warning signs of manic or depressive episodes, cope with triggers of mood swings, resolve medication problems, and learn to collaborate effectively with doctors and therapists. You'll learn specific ways to ask for support and help from your family and friends--and what to do when their "caring" feels like "controlling." For times when the going gets tough, a wealth of examples of how others have dealt with similar challenges offer new perspectives and new solutions.

Whether you have recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, are considering seeking help for the first time, or have been in treatment for years, this empowering book is designed to help put you--not your illness--back in charge of your life.

About the Author

David J. Miklowitz, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he has been a faculty member since 1989. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the MacArthur Foundation, and recognized with awards from the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, among others. The author of over 90 journal articles and book chapters, Dr. Miklowitz is the coauthor (with Michael G. Goldstein) of Bipolar Disorder: A Family-Focused Treatment Approach, which won the 1998 Outstanding Research Publication Award from the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy.

Product Description

Take control of your symptoms--and take charge of your life

If you're dealing with bipolar disorder, you already know that it’s more than a cycle of “ups” and “downs.” You may also have difficulty with depression and irritability, as well as problems with weight gain, memory, and fatigue. Dealing with these day-to-day problems can sometimes seem like too much to bear. Drawing on the latest research in bipolar disorder, stress, and health, this step-by-step guide offers a complete selection of livable, workable solutions to manage bipolar disorder and helps you:

• Identify your symptoms
• Explore your treatment options
• Stabilize your moods
• Sharpen your mind
• Achieve your goals

This isn't a one-size-fits-all guide. It's a uniquely personal approach to your bipolar disorder that covers the full spectrum of the disease and its symptoms. You'll be able to find successful ways to regulate your moods, relieve your stress, improve your thought processes, and break the bipolar cycle--for a happier, healthier life.

Product Description

When a person loves someone with bipolar disorder, life can be very stressful. From medication troubles to a partner's mood swings the demands on a partner can be intense. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder takes a unique and practical approach to these issues.

Written by an author who has bipolar disorder (and who lived with a partner who also has bipolar disorder) and a coauthor with over ten books on the topic of mental illness, the book offers specific, practical and realistic tips on how a couple can work together as a team to create a treatment plan that teaches them to live with the illness while still maintaining a loving and joyful relationship. (Though this book is written for couples, friends and family members can use the techniques in the book as well.)

Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder provides hope and encourages couples to work together to create a plan they can use to help stabilize bipolar disorder so that their relationship can focus on love and companionship instead of the illness. Chapters include ideas on how to create a comprehensive treatment plan that incorporates medications and supplements, diet, exercise and behavior and lifestyle changes into one practical approach to this very serious illness. The partner of a person with bipolar disorder learns about communicating with their partner when they're ill, getting real about the situation and how to take on other roles in healing besides caretaking. Other specific topics include work and money, emotions, sexual issues and much more. The goal of the book is to help couples create a relationship that is based on support and prevention instead of constant crisis control.

Product Description

MANAGE YOUR MOODS. IDENTIFY YOUR TRIGGERS. RECLAIM YOUR LIFE. Many people diagnosed with bipolar disorder are sent home with the name of a doctor and prescription drugs. But few are able to manage their often out-of-control emotions with medication alone. Written by Julie A. Fast, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age thirty-one, and bipolar disorder specialist John Preston, PsyD, TAKE CHARGE OF BIPOLAR DISORDER offers a unique, personalized approach that teaches people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones to manage the illness and achieve daily stability. Fast and Preston's groundbreaking program combines medication and supplements, lifestyle changes, behavior modifications, and other indispensable management tools. Readers will learn how to: Understand the behaviors caused by bipolar disorder Work with their doctors to find the right medications Develop a bipolar-friendly diet and exercise program Recognize the triggers and signs of major bipolar disorder symptoms to stop the mood swings before they go too far.

Product Description

Mood swings may be a part of your life, but the struggle to control them doesn’t have to dominate it. Together with the right course of medication, The Bipolar Workbook can put you back in control. Dr. Monica Ramirez Basco has assembled a versatile toolkit of proven self-help strategies designed to help you recognize the early warning signs of relapse, resist the seductive pull of manic episodes, and escape the paralysis of depression. Whether you’re new to the diagnosis (and not quite sure it fits) or want to enhance your current treatment, this simple program puts you in charge. Easy-to-follow guidelines and worksheets help you identify problem areas and minimize their impact, including ways to:

*Reduce the recurrence and severity of your symptoms.

*Slow things down and get the sleep you need when mania strikes.

*Keep motivated and avoid procrastination when you’re depressed.

*Fine-tune medical treatments to maximize your gains.

*Rein in emotional reactions.

*Stay focused and achieve your goals.

Since every individual’s experience with bipolar disorder is unique, Dr. Basco encourages you to customize a plan that suits your needs. So take charge and make a better life.

Product Description

Bipolar Disorder affects many more people than just the 2.5 million Americans who suffer from the disease. Like depression and other serious illnesses, bipolar disorder also affects spouses, partners, family members, friends and coworkers. And, according to the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation, 15% of children diagnosed with ADHD may actually be suffering from early-onset of Bipolar Disorder.

Bipolar Disorder For Dummies reveals some of the causes and consequences of bipolar disorder, let you in on some crisis survival strategies, and describe ways that friends and family members can support loved ones who have the disease. The book includes an overview of the causes and symptoms of bipolar disorder, explains step-by-step how to obtain an accurate diagnosis, discusses the medications available, and tells what you can and can't do to help someone with the disease. You'll learn:

• The different categories and potential causes of bipolar disorder
• How to select the right mental health specialist
• Managing employment-related issues brought on because of the disorder
• How bipolar disorder affects children
• Advocating for yourself or a loved one
• Planning ahead for manic and depressive episodes
• Selecting the best medications for you—including alternative "natural" treatments
• How to survive an immediate crisis situation
• Identifying triggers and mapping your moods

Complete with fill-in-the-blanks forms and charts, key web site and email addresses, and first-hand accounts from real people, Bipolar Disorder For Dummies gives you the latest information and self-help strategies you and your loved ones need to help everyone affected feel a whole lot better.