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Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Bruce Cohen, M.D., Ph.D, who is Director of the Harvard University McLean Psychiatric Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also the coauthor, with Chelsea Lowe, of the recently released book, “Living with Someone Who’s Living With Bipolar Disorder: A Practical Guide for Family, Friends, and Coworkers.” Cohen lives in the Boston area.
Question: I have always maintained that the best thing a person can do to support a bipolar loved one is get educated. But if you could offer folks a crash course, what are the five most important things you think a loved one should know about bipolar disorder?
Dr. Cohen: Getting educated is good advice. Here are five important things everyone dealing with bipolar disorder should know:
1. Bipolar disorder is an illness, with risk determined by genes and environment, like other medical illnesses. All medical illnesses affect mood, thinking and behavior, but there is always much more to the person than the illness.
Question: Suppose a mentally ill loved one or friend doesn’t want to get help, then what do you do?
Dr. Cohen: Don’t give up. At appropriate times, kindly and patiently talk with your loved one or friend about what you are seeing and why it is worrying you and remind them that getting an evaluation doesn’t mean deciding on treatment. If your loved one or friend is in immediate danger from illness, don’t be afraid to call for help from professionals, including the police.
Question: Can you offer any guidance to folks regarding how they should approach so many choices with medication? For example, I found that the older drugs worked better for me, but many of the psychiatrists I saw only wanted to work with the newer ones. Do you have any insight with regards to how to get the best treatment?
Dr. Cohen: Each person responds differently to medications, and it is important to find an expert who knows the options and will spend the time to work with you to find the right personalized treatment. An appropriate expert in bipolar disorder will know how to use both old and new drugs. If you are not satisfied with your treatment or comfortable with your doctor, seek a consultation or find another doctor.
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posted March 11, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Enternal Love
Grab hold of the utmost love,
gaze upos its eternaty.
Passionate images enclose you in a dream.
Chosing illusion over reality.
Dreams over life.
Pleasure over freedom.
Your desires take hold where you’re sheltered.
Only to get a glimps of a healing wish.
Leaving unheard echoes behind.
Waiting for the miracle that will embrace your soul.
You’re touched by the unblemished angel.
Your ambitious heart is betrayed, lost and wretched.
Invisible to the eye,
controling over your mind,
Precious memories will stay at ease.
Intertwined into a collapsed promise.
Only to remember your unconditional detemination.
So the fragile body has warmth.
posted March 12, 2010 at 10:34 am
Hello Everyone, ONLY THE LIVING WORD OF GOD CAN SET PEOPLE FREE OF ANY AND ALL MENTAL AND OR PHYSICAL ILLNESSES !!! THE LIVING WORD OF GOD MUST BE READ IN FAITH OR READ IN FAITH TO THE PERSON WITH SAID ILLNESSES, FOR THE LIVING WORD TO HAVE ANY EFFECT ON THE PERSON’S LIFE. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS STILL THE SAME HEALER TODAY AS WAS IN THE PAST !!! (THIS IS BY FAITH) NOW FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN, IN THE NAME OF JESUS (HEBREWS 11:1) SO THEN FAITH COMES BY HEARING, AND HEARING BY THE LIVING WORD OF GOD, IN THE NAME OF JESUS (ROMANS 10:17) BUT, FAITH WITH OUT WORKS IS DEAD, IN THE NAME OF JESUS (JAMES 2:26) AND THIS IS THE VICTORY THAT HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD – OUR FAITH, IN THE NAME OF JESUS (1JOHN 5:4) THEREFORE SUBMIT TO GOD, RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU, IN THE NAME OF JESUS (JAMES 4:7) DO NOT BE AFRAID; ONLY BELIEVE IN THE NAME OF JESUS (MARK 5:36) ALWAYS PRAISING GOD THE FATHER, THANKING HIM FOR HIS SON JESUS CHRIST. AMEN & AMEN
posted March 12, 2010 at 11:26 am
Jesus is the answer.Most people dont whant to know Jesus because they dont want to give up doing wrong.
posted March 12, 2010 at 9:03 pm
I have had bi-polar for 10 years. This is a hereditary and genetic disorder. No jesus is not the answer. And having faith or not is the persons choice with bi-polar. To post on something you know nothing about. It states in the bible “judge and you will be judged also.”So believing that a person has this mental illness just so they can do wrong is irrelevant. The bible was written by man not god or jesus.And to futher burst your bubble, Mary was not a virgin. A Pope entered that in the Bible to enpower the catholic faith. So no my bi-polar is a illness not an excuse.
posted March 13, 2010 at 8:12 am
PRAYERWARRIOR09
YOU OBVIOUSLY AREN’T DEALING WITH A LOVED ONE WHO IS BIPOLAR
posted March 13, 2010 at 2:46 pm
PrayerWarrior09 You are very intimadating with all your capital letters. I don’t see anything humble in your personality. Now, what would Jesus say to you with your haphazard way of throwing random scriptures out at people? My son died because he was bi-polar and my best friend is Bi-polar. It is as much of an illness as diabetes or heart disease, frequently running in families due to heredity. I believe in Jesus, read the Bible everyday, go to church and Bible study. But, I also use the brain God gave me to seek the truth in all I do including mental disorders which were present from the day man was put on this earth. I will pray for you!!!
posted March 13, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Prayerwarrior09, I feel sorry for you. You’re obviously an unhappy person. If you know so much about the Bible, God, and Jesus, then why are you even on this site? Just to insult the mentally ill? Do us a favor: read your Bible, but keep your fingers out of this site.
Petunia1224, I’ll pray for you as well as Manic Mother, Manic Daze, and all of us. I believe my mother was bipolar undiagnosed, when I look back on my childhood, and looked into information on bipolar, which I have. Looking back on my own childhood as to my behavior, I believe I was bipolar as a young teenager. I became an alcoholic 10 yrs ago when my mother became ill and died 6 yrs ago. My father became verbally abusive which I believe aggravated both my mother and me as to the bipolar. With the help of meds, I’m on 4 scripts, and therapy in addition to AA, I’m hanging in there. For me, managing my bipolar and alcoholism is a full time job, and I realize it will be for the rest of my life. But for the grace of God, go I.
Blessings to all.
posted March 13, 2010 at 11:08 pm
Blanche, Thanks for sharing. I will pray for you also as I believe we can not get too many prayers. I also feel that I am bi-polar, even though I was diagnosed with major depression and post traumatic stress diorder. I also knew this since I was a young teenager, becoming an alcoholic after years of abuse in every form by my father. I was sober 14 years but relapsed when my son and later my fiance of 10 years committed suicide(bipolar), one in 1998 and the other in 2005. In between I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer at age 60. Now it has been 8 months with AA beliefs and my belief in God along with lots of faith. I agree it is a full time job and I also take several medications. With lots of effort I let go and let God and it works for me! With many blessings to you with your journey in sobiety.
posted March 16, 2010 at 9:05 pm
I was diagnosed in 1991 and didn’t get the right medication until 2010. That was a long time for trial and error. My family wasn’t very supportive and I thank God for the friends who took the time to educate themselves. Bi-Polar people aren’t “crazy.” I’m very intelligent, articulate, humorous and, for the most part, positively upbeat! I encourage those of you who have Bi-Polar people in your family to do everything you can to be more supportive. We hear enough garbage and don’t need to be unfairly judged or ridiculed.
posted March 19, 2010 at 4:05 pm
One thing that can make it reall yhard to deal with a loved one who has bipolar is when they absolutely will not admit that they have the illness.
The medical/psychiatric profession has labeled this “anosognosia” and it goes way beyond the “usual” denial – The sufferer absolutely cannot see tha anything is wrong, they sail along quite oblivious to the trail of hurt and destruction they leave behind and around them.
How can you talk reason, treat or support someone who is in this state?
All the NAMI “right things to say” don’t mean a thing when that person sees/hears only what the condition allows them to hear. It really is a no-win situation. Getting them on medication is not an option because they simply bon’t see the need, will not comply and in most states you can only force them into treatment under very extreme conditions and then only for 72 hours – not much use when most medications take 4-6 weeks to work.
I know it all to well because I am married to one and if it were not for our children, I would have had to cut and run many years ago.
posted March 19, 2010 at 4:10 pm
One thing that can make it really hard to deal with a loved one who has bipolar is when they absolutely will not admit that they have the illness.
The medical/psychiatric profession has labeled this “anosognosia” and it goes way beyond the “usual” denial – The sufferer absolutely cannot see tha anything is wrong, they sail along quite oblivious to the trail of hurt and destruction they leave behind and around them.
How can you talk reason, treat or support someone who is in this state?
All the NAMI “right things to say” don’t mean a thing when that person sees/hears only what the condition allows them to hear. It really is a no-win situation. Getting them on medication is not an option because they simply don’t see the need and will not comply. In most states you can only force them into treatment under very extreme conditions and then only for 72 hours – not much use when most medications take 4-6 weeks to work.
I know it all to well because I am married to one and if it were not for our children, I would have had to cut and run many years ago.
posted March 25, 2010 at 8:29 am
My edaughter was hit with manic bipolar after she had her daughter in 2000 she had gained a little weight and it wasn’t coming off fast enough for her so she went for a over the counter diet medicine and that’s when the bipolar kicked in she is doing fine now she takes serquill to control her manic bi polar we are christians and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ but we also know and our Preacher tells us that God heals us in many ways and one of them is the knowledge he gives doctors so if your medicine works take it and Thank God for giving the doctors knowledge. The only problem we have with my daughter taking serquill is she and her husband would love to have just one more child but there have beeen no studies done on this medicine and we continue to pray that someone will study what this medicine would do to a fetus. Bipolar is treatable
posted May 3, 2010 at 4:07 pm
It’s a nice article, thanks. I also used to suffer bipolar disorder, managed to overcome it with help of psychiatrist.
posted June 18, 2010 at 1:36 am
The first step of treatment for bipolar disorder is to combine medication and counseling, although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is often successful for people who don’t respond to traditional therapy or who can’t take the medications.
To find more on bipolar disorders visit:
http://www.simplehealthguide.com/bipolar-disorder-2
posted August 3, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Bipolar ddepression_conceptisorder, also known as manic depressive disorder or bipolar affective disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood clinically referred to as mania or, if milder, hypomania…
posted August 4, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Thanks for this info on bi-polar, I have not yet looked into bi-polar disorder in great detail but the more I do, the more I see the inter-relationship with social anxiety disorder.
What is your view on this?
Thanks,
Steve
posted September 29, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Thank you for the nice article. I wonder if hypnosis can do anything for bipolar disorder. Everyone calls me crazy for asking that, bot no one does any tests…
I guess that we’re not gonna get very far in therapy by being so closed-minded
posted October 26, 2010 at 5:24 am
If you spot the symptoms of bipolar depression in yourself or someone else, don’t wait to get help. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away; in fact, it will almost certainly get worse. Living with untreated bipolar disorder can lead to problems in everything from your career to your relationships to your health. Diagnosing the problem as early as possible and getting into treatment can help prevent these complications.
I am regular reader of http://www.disorderscentral.com and it has good information about all disorders including Bipolar. Do consider it!
posted February 3, 2011 at 3:02 am
Bipolar disorder is different for everyone, there are four types of mood episodes in bipolar disorder: mania, hypo-mania, depression and mixed episodes. http://www.inspiringmothers.net/
posted February 3, 2011 at 3:10 am
Bipolar disorder is different for everyone, there are four typres of mood episodes in bipolar disorder: mania, hypo-mania, depression and mixed episodes. http://www.inspiringmothers.net/