Bipolar Disorder

Introduction and Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
by Rethink
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are

Types of Bipolar Disorder, How is Bipolar Disorder Caused?
by Rethink
Episodes of mania and depression typically recur across the life span. Between episodes, most people with bipolar disorder are free of symptoms, but as many as one-third of people have some residual symptoms. A small percentage of people experience

How is Bipolar Disorder Treated? Mortality Rates
by Rethink
Most people with bipolar disorder - even those with the most severe forms - can achieve substantial stabilisation of their mood swings and related symptoms with proper treatment. Because bipolar is a recurrent illness, long-term preventative treatment is

Childhood Severe Mental Illness
by Rethink
It is easy for parents to identify their child's physical needs: nutriticous food, warm clothes when it's cold, bedtime at a reasonable hour. However, a child's mental and emotional needs may not be as obvious. The basics for a child's good mental health

Diagnosis and Treatment
The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood's Most Misunderstood Disorder
by Demitri F. Papolos, M.D., Janice Papolos
In 1992 Tomie Burke, a young mother in Pullman, Washington, developed a listserv (called BPParents) for parents of children with bipolar disorder. She was motivated to do so because when her six-year-old son first began experiencing the baffling

What is bipolar disorder?
Coping with Bipolar Disorder
by Steven Jones, Ph.D., Peter Hayward, Ph.D., Dominic Lam, Ph.D.
Coping with Bipolar Disorder is designed specifically for sufferers or bipolar disorder, their carers, friends and family. It combines definitive coverage of the condition and information about treatment, with a new approach which encourages patients

Bipolar Disorder Medications
Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder: A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability
by Julie A. Fast, John Preston, Psy.D.
The following section will help you as well as your family members and friends understand the different types of medications used to treat bipolar disorder. Please note that this chapter includes only a general outline of current bipolar disorder

Interaction Brain Chemicals, Medication Options
Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder: A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability
by Julie A. Fast, John Preston, Psy.D.
Your ability to adaptively control strong emotions relies on a very complex interaction of brain chemicals operating to regulate the millions of nerve cells in a part of the brain called the limbic system (also commonly referred to as the emotional brain)

Chapter 1
Acquainted with the Night : A Parent's Quest to Understand Depression and Bipolar Disorder in His Children
by Paul Raeburn
It is the spring of 1996, after Alex's first hospitalization. He is 11 years old and in the fifth grade. He has left the hospital with no diagnosis. No one has told us what treatment he needs, or how we should proceed.

Medications and Supplements
Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder: A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability
by Julie A. Fast, John Preston, Psy.D.
Medications and supplements represent the first section of the treatment plan. This is a difficult and often frustrating part of having bipolar disorder for many people. How many medications are you taking to manage bipolar disorder?

Treatment of Bipolar Depression
by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Research has shown that people with bipolar disorder are at risk of switching into mania or hypomania, or of developing rapid cycling, during treatment with antidepressant medication. Therefore, 'mood-stabilizing' medications generally are required.

Side Effects
Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder: A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability
by Julie A. Fast, John Preston, Psy.D.
All medications have side effects, and, unfortunately, the drugs used to treat bipolar disorder are known to produce side effects for the majority of people taking them. Side effects are at times mild and easy to tolerate.

Bipolar Disorder Medications, Part 2
Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder: A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability
by Julie A. Fast, John Preston, Psy.D.
When introducing new medications and supplements, especially if you are taking more than one, it's imperative that you keep a record of what you're taking, the dosage, and when you take the medications.

What If You're Riding a Dead Horse?
The Comfort Trap: or What If You're Riding a Dead Horse?
by Judith Sills, Ph.D.
Some years ago, back at the dawn of Prozac, I met weekly with a woman who was excruciatingly single and full of self-recrimination for it. Hers is a familiar unhappy story.

Bipolar Disorder Diagnosis, Cause, Suicide
by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Like other mental illnesses, bipolar disorder cannot yet be identified physiologically - for example, through a blood test or a brain scan. Therefore, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder is made on the basis of symptoms, course of illness, and, when available

What Causes Bipolar Disorder? How Is It Treated? Medications
by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Scientists are learning about the possible causes of bipolar disorder through several kinds of studies. Most scientists now agree that there is no single cause for bipolar disorder - rather, many factors act together to produce the illness.

Do Other Illnesses Co-occur with Bipolar Disorder?
by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Alcohol and drug abuse are very common among people with bipolar disorder. Research findings suggest that many factors may contribute to these substance abuse problems, including self-medication of symptoms, mood symptoms either brought on or perpetuated

Bipolar Disorder
by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar