Bipolar Disorder For Dummies
By Candida Fink MD, with Joe Kraynak
When we sat down to discuss our approach for Bipolar Disorder For Dummies, we considered the audience for the book and decided to address both those who have been diagnosed with BP and their friends and family members. One of the most challenging aspects of BP is that although only one person might carry the diagnosis, friends and family members are all affected by BP in some way and all play an important role in reducing stress and assisting the person who has BP obtain and maintain treatment.
Both of us (Candida in her practice and Joe in his family) noticed that family members, simply by being uninformed, can unwittingly increase the stress that often triggers a mood episode. The family member who has BP is more sensitive to stressors and is the one who eventually “takes the hit” for any dysfunction in the family, and then that person gets tagged as “the problem,” which, to say it nicely, sure doesn’t help a whole lot. We wanted to ensure that friends and family members are well aware of their roles and responsibilities. By becoming better informed, through our book and other sources of accurate information, family and friends can learn more effective techniques for communicating with one another and building a more effective support network.
To develop a clearer understanding of what BP feels like from the eyes of someone who’s living with it, we strongly recommend An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. Our book is more of a comprehensive how-to manual that discusses the diagnosis and the most effective treatment options currently available. We believe that medication alone is very helpful but often not completely effective, for whatever reason, and we recommend several therapies in addition to medication, including cognitive behavioral therapy, social rhythm therapy, and relationship and family therapy. We also discuss alternative therapies, some of which are complete bunk and others of which some people with BP have found helpful. By presenting the available tools and helping readers steer clear of useless or counterproductive alternatives, we hope to enable those with BP and their families, with the guidance of their qualified doctors and therapists, to structure a treatment plan that works most effectively for all involved.
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