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Children and adults can suffer from bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression).  The disease is something many people do not understand and something that stigmatizes people.

"I started using drugs and alcohol as a teenager in an attempt to somehow "fix" what was wrong with me. Although I didn't understand it, I knew that I had mental problems."

More than 2 million American adults have bipolar disorder. It typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first bipolar symptoms during childhood, and some develop them late in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated.

For those who have already been diagnosed with manic depression and are in treatment, we want to help you learn as much as you can about bipolar disorder and to offer you support in your recovery. We want to give you up-to-date information about what bipolar disorder is (and what it isn't).

We believe that the more you understand about bipolar disorder and issues like medications, the more likely you are to get the full benefit of treatment.

And if you haven't been diagnosed but think you may have bipolar disorder, read on. It may help you to decide to see a doctor or mental health therapist for evaluation and/or treatment.

Re: Just Diagnosed, Bipolar II, Would Like Some Advice
comebackkid wrote:

My wife believes being diagnosed so quickly without the psychologist really spending much time with me is unprofessional and risky. If I had been a terribly upset or unstable person, that first-session diagnosis might have caused me to go over the edge and possibly commit suicide. Continue reading and give me your comments if you can help, when you click here.

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New Data, New Directions in the Management of Mood and Anxiety Disorders

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Mental Health Partnership Seeks to Tear Down Misunderstanding

AstraZeneca Receives Approval for Bipolar Drug

more bipolar news here

Experimental Procedures for Bipolar Disorder

Magnetic Therapy. Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is also being studied for depression and bipolar disorder. Unlike ECT, this procedure appears not to cause seizures, memory lapses, or impaired thinking. The only side effect reported is a mild headache. One study in patients with unipolar depression found that after one year relapse rates were significantly lower after TMS than after ECT, although only a few small studies have been conducted using this procedure and it still needs refinement.

To read the article click here.

Madness: A Bipolar Life

Hornbacher, who detailed her struggle with bulimia and anorexia in Wasted, now shares the story of her lifelong battle with mental illness, finally diagnosed as rapid cycling type 1 bipolar disorder. Even as a toddler, Hornbacher couldn't sleep at night and jabbered endlessly, trying to talk her parents into going outside to play in the dark. Other schoolchildren called her crazy. When she was just 10, she discovered alcohol was a good mood stabilizer; by age 14, she was trading sex for pills. In her late teens, her eating disorder landed her in the hospital, followed by another body obsession, cutting.

Buy the book. Other books on Bipolar Disorder.