Understanding Bipolar Disorder: A Dynamite Report

“Gotta’ tell ya’, Bill – understanding bipolar disorder is one large task. I could sure use some help, and so could my family. Any ideas?”

Always full of ideas on this side of the fence. Be it the mood disorders or anxiety disorders, chipur is a haven of sharing, learning, and healing. Always has been, always will be.

If you’re enduring bipolar disorder – or perhaps it’s a family member or friend – you know how devastating and baffling it can be. If you ask me, solid resource material is a necessity. And I’d like to share something I believe you’ll find very helpful.

The British Psychological Society published a dynamite report in 2010 entitled Understanding Bipolar Disorder: Why some people experience extreme mood states and what can help.

You name it: Bipolar 1, bipolar type 2, treatments for bipolar disorder, the causes of bipolar disorder, manic symptoms – if a better understanding of bipolar disorder is your quest, this report is for you.

So without further ado, here’s a thumbnail on the report. And at the end of the article I’ll provide a link that will hook you up with a limited-time free download. Good enough?

The report was written by contributors chosen because of their bipolar disorder expertise. And the cool thing is, the experts include emotional/mental health professionals, as well as those who endure the disorder.

Why was the report written? Let’s turn right to the Forward…

The purpose of the report is to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge
about why some people tend to experience periods of extreme mood, and what can help –
in traditional medical language, the ’causes and treatment of bipolar disorder’. There have
been significant developments in recent years, particularly in our understanding of
psychological aspects of what has traditionally been thought of as a largely biological or
medical problem. Much has been written about the biological aspects: this report aims to
redress the balance by concentrating on the psychological aspects, both in terms of how we
understand the problems and also approaches to help and treatment.

The report consists of five parts…

• Understanding the bipolar disorders
• Causes
• Help and treatment
• Recovery
• Wider implications

And here are just some of the key points discussed in those five parts…

• The problems that are traditionally thought of as arising from bipolar disorder (once known as manic depression).
• There is increasing evidence that it may be more helpful to conceptualize the matter of extreme mood states as being on a continuum. Everyone experiences mood variation – and there are pluses and minuses associated with both ends of the continuum.
• Each individual’s mood experiences are unique in terms of symptoms and how they cope with them.
• Mental health professionals have traditionally leaned toward assuming that once someone experiences unstable mood issues – intense enough to lead them to seek help – the issues are likely to recur. Actually, this seems to be the case for fewer than 50% of those people.
• Over the years, medication has too often been the only type of help offered. There’s increasing evidence that psychotherapy and self-help are huge when it comes to treating extreme mood states.

So there you have it – a quick take on Understanding Bipolar Disorder: Why some people experience extreme mood states and what can help. It’s great material, and holds the potential to fill in so many blanks. And never forget, not only is the report a super resource for the individual enduring bipolar disorder, it would be of great assistance to family members and friends, as well.

I can’t think of a better way to wrap things up than to share the words of an extraordinary woman, Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison. They were included in the Forward…

I have often asked myself whether, given the choice, I would choose to have manic depressive illness … Strangely enough I think I would choose to have it. It’s complicated. Depression is awful beyond words or sounds or images … So why would I want anything to do with this illness? Because I honestly believe that as a result of it I have felt more things, more deeply; had more experiences, more intensely; loved more, and been loved; laughed more often for having cried more often; appreciated more the springs, for all the winters; worn death ‘as close as dungarees’, appreciated it – and life – more; seen the finest and the most terrible in people, and slowly learned the values of caring, loyalty and seeing things through.

What more could I possibly say?

(Oh! How ’bout that download link I promised?)

Would you like to read more chipur articles? Check-out the categories: Feelin’ Better Articles, Meds, Supplements, Devices, The Biology of Depression, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder, The Psychology of Depression, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder

image credit: en.wikipedia.org