A treatise on the psychological disorder of our times. If the post-war period was called the 'age of anxiety' and the 1980s and '90s the 'antidepressant era', we now live in bipolar times. Mood-stabilising medication is routinely prescribed to adults and children alike, with child prescriptions this decade increasing by 400% and overall diagnoses by 4000%. What could explain this explosion of bipolarity?
"Glorious...one of the best memoirs I've read in years...a tragicomic gem about family, class, race, justice, and the spectacular weirdness of Wichita. [McDermott] can move from barely controlled hilarity to the brink of rage to aching tenderness in a single breath." -- Marya Hornbacher, New York Times Book Review Zack McDermott, a 26-year-old Brooklyn public defender, woke up one morning convinced he was being filmed, Truman Show-style, as part of an audition for a TV pilot. Every passerby was an actor; every car would magically stop for him; everything he saw was a cue from "The Producer" to help inspire the performance of a lifetime. After a manic spree around Manhattan, Zack, who is bipolar, was arrested on a subway platform and admitted to Bellevue Hospital. So begins the story of Zack's freefall into psychosis and his desperate, poignant, often hilarious struggle to claw his way back to sanity. It's a journey that will take him from New York City back to his Kansas roots and to the one person who might be able to save him, his tough, big-hearted Midwestern mother, nicknamed the Bird, whose fierce and steadfast love is the light in Zack's dark world. Before his odyssey is over, Zack will be tackled by guards in mental wards, run naked through cornfields, receive secret messages from the TV, befriend a former Navy Seal and his talking stuffed monkey, and see the Virgin Mary in the whorls of his own back hair. But with the Bird's help, he just might have a shot at pulling through, starting over, and maybe even meeting a partner who can love him back, bipolar and all. Introducing an electrifying new voice, Gorilla and the Bird is a raw and unforgettable account of a young man's unraveling and the relationship that saves him.
Most people have heard of bipolar disorder, a mental health condition that is marked by manic episodes and periods of intense depression. Bipolar II disorder differs from bipolar I in that sufferers may never experience a full manic episode, although they may experience periods of high energy and impulsiveness (hypomania), as well as depression and anxiety. If you have been diagnosed with bipolar II, or even if you think that you may have this disorder, you may be frightened by the highs and lows of your intense emotions. Fortunately, there are proven-effective treatments that can help you find a sense of calm and peace of mind. Written by an extremely accomplished team of bipolar experts, The Bipolar II Disorder Workbook is designed to help you manage the recurring depression, hypomania, and anxiety that can arise as a result of your condition. The convenient workbook format combines evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and other mindfulness-based exercises to help you manage your emotions, track your progress, and ultimately live a happy and more productive life. This is the first self-help workbook available specifically for individuals diagnosed with bipolar II disorder.
"Unlike its cousin, bipolar I disorder, which has been extensively studied and depicted in popular literature and on screen, bipolar II disorder is poorly understood, underdiagnosed, and insufficiently treated. Bipolar II Disorder: Recognition, Understanding, and Treatment is the only text on the market that examines every aspect of the disorder in an up-to-date, rigorous, and clinically oriented manner. The editors, experts on the diagnosis and treatment of this neglected illness, have gathered a group of contributors who together advance the reader's knowledge of the disease in a systematic, accessible way, identifying and addressing the challenges of diagnosis and treatment and exploring current thinking on the biological determinants of the disorder. Acknowledging potential pitfalls of differential diagnosis, the book examines psychiatric comorbidities that most typically co-occur with bipolar II, such as anxiety disorders, impulse-control disorders, and borderline personality disorder. Next, the book focuses on the growing body of evidence that suggests that the underlying biology of bipolar II is distinct from that of other mood disorders and discusses the increasingly important role that neuroimaging plays in the diagnosis and understanding of bipolar II disorder as research progresses. Finally, the text explores how to manage bipolar II disorder, providing an up-to-date review of medication options and psychosocial treatments."--
Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life is the eagerly awaited sequel/ companion book to Forney’s 2012 best-selling graphic memoir, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me. Whereas Marbles was a memoir about her bipolar disorder, Rock Steady turns the focus outward, offering a self-help survival guide of tips, tricks and tools by someone who has been through it all and come through stronger for it.
Maintaining a relationship is hard enough without the added challenges of your partner’s bipolar disorder symptoms. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder offers information and step-by-step advice for helping your partner manage mood swings and impulsive actions, allowing you to finally focus on enjoying your relationship while also taking time for yourself. This book explains the symptoms of your partner’s disorder and offers strategies for preventing them and responding to these symptoms when they do occur. This updated edition includes a new section about the medications your partner may be taking so that you can understand the side effects and help monitor his or her bipolar treatment. As a supportive partner, you deserve support yourself. This book will help you create a more balanced, fulfilling relationship. Improve your relationship by learning how to: • Identify your partner’s symptom triggers so you can prevent episodes • Improve communication by stopping irrational “bipolar conversations” • Handle your partner’s emotional ups and downs • Foster closeness and connection with your partner
In this book, the authors provide up-to-date thinking and research on the broad range of emotional experience in working environments with particular attention to the causes of emotional change, the consequences of emotional experience for individuals and their organisations, and the implications for effective strategies for managing individuals (including oneself) and organisations. * Offers systematic coverage of the latest concepts of emotion and methods for research in organisations * Includes scientific understanding and critique of the field as well as implications for organisational practice.
Advances in Treatment of Bipolar Disorders provides clinicians with a well-written and timely guide to the most recent advances in the treatment of patients with this complex disorder. Staying abreast of new research developments and treatment options presents a daunting challenge, but the editor and coauthors have compiled the most important evidence-based findings from controlled studies and U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved indications, facilitating integration of these findings into clinical practice. This volume strives to provide clinicians with the necessary information to enable them to balance the likelihood of benefit (using “number needed to treat” analyses) versus harm (using “number needed to harm” analyses) in order to provide individualized, state-of-the-art, evidence-based care. The most current research findings are complemented by the authors’ extensive personal clinical experiences, resulting in a volume that reflects the most up-to-date thinking about the diagnosis and management of bipolar disorder. Advances in Treatment of Bipolar Disorders belongs in every mental health clinician’s library.
Thucydides' account of the war between Athens and Sparta is the first great work of political history and still a fundamental text for political science and international relations today; it is also a compelling story, full of vivid characters and tragic miscalculations. This collection of essays is designed to accompany, instruct, and stimulate readers of Thucydides by making accessible some classic and influential studies that are frequently cited but not always easy to access. (One-third of the essays appear here in English for the first time.) All Greek is translated, and an introductory chapter surveys the chronology and thematic controversies among Thucydides' readings from antiquity to the present.
