J.D. Stottlemire
Written for people who have just been diagnosed with
Bipolar Disorder,for families struggling to help a loved one who seems
fine one day and asleep the next, the author writes about help and hope.
He compares his own journey with Bipolar Disorder with the Apollo's small
unknown manufacturing error in electrical wires could have resulted in
fatalities "... Alone in the dark, in a crippled spacecraft, with
the world looking on, these men ad the ground controller who led them took
a journey out around the far side of the moon and returned to Earth
against incredible odds." The book covers the symptoms and
treatments of the disorder with an emphasis on how these can differ widely
for individuals.
An
Unquiet Mind.
by Kay
Redfield Jamison
New York, NY: Knopf: 1995.
"As a founder of UCLA's Affective Disorder Clinic and a co-author of
a standard medical text, Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison may be the foremost
authority on manic-depressive illness. She is also one of its survivors.
And it is this dual perspective -- as healer and healed -- that makes
Jamison's memoir so lucid, learned, and profoundly affecting." Amazon
Review.
Buy the book!
Bipolar
Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families
by Francis Mark Mondimore M.D.
Paperback - (May 15, 1999) 277 pages
"A guide to the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and causes of this
potentially devastating psychiatric illness, formerly known as
manic-depression. Mondimore (psychiatrist and clinical faculty member at
the U. of North Carolina) offers practical advice for getting the most out
of the various treatments that are now available<-->from medication,
psychotherapy, and electroconvulsive treatment to new approaches such as
transcranial magnetic stimulation. He also describes problems that are
unique to women, forms the illness takes in children and adolescents, the
genetics of the disease, and ways to cope with the stigma of psychiatric
diagnosis. Throughout, he focuses on the importance of building a support
system, of planning for emergencies, and of giving one's self permission
to seek help." Book News, Inc.
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His
Bright Light: The Nick Trania Story.
by Danielle Steel
New York, NY: Delacorte Press: 1998
"Nick Trania lived for punk rock, succumbed to heroin addiction, and
died of suicide. In a moving memoir, his mom, Danielle Steel, takes us
through her 19 twister-like years with her son Nick who was haunted by
manic depression." Amazon Review.
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I
am Not Sick I Don't Need Help!
by Xavier Amador, Anna-Lisa Johanson
Vida Press: 2000
"Lack of insight in people with
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is the major cause of many of the worst
aspects of their illness, and may be the most recalcitrant since it is
difficult to treat someone who thinks that nothing is wrong. Dr. Amador
has spent the better part of two decades conducting research on this topic
and has been the world's most influential scientist in this important area
of work. In this book, he prescribes detailed interventions to help
families and therapists deal with lack of insight and the many
difficulties it causes people with major mental illness. Yet Amador is not
an academic preaching from an ivory tower. His poignant personal
experiences with people with schizophrenia, including his brother and
close friend, are laced throughout this thoughtful, moving, and
indispensable book. "I am Not Sick, I Don't Need Help!" is an
essential guide to anyone who knows, loves or treats someone with
schizophrenia or bipolar disorder." Herbert Pardes, President, New
York-Presbyterian, The University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell and,
past Director of the National Institute of Mental Health
Buy the book!
