The noble and satisfying desire to help others in need must extend to those afflicted with clinical mood disorders. These include anxiety, bipolar disorder, and clinical depression. Because one out of six Americans suffers some form(s) of mental illness, there are many interpersonal, financial and quality-of-life reasons for family and friends to greatly help them. Because mental patients often feel "the outside world" cannot understand their pain, they often turn to publications published by both unknown and famous mental patients.
Unfortunately, most memoirs of the famous have a tendency to only go through the mood disorders and only graze the surface of underlying medical issues; they emphasize the wrong things, telling stories about their families, other luminaries and Hollywood, sports, or political intrigues. Books written by the average sufferer of manic-depression contain more in depth descriptions of these episodes and better weave them to their life stories.
The little talked-about and often misunderstood epidemic of mood disorders is sweeping across America. Today's statistics are chilling: Clinical depression is the top reason people visit see their doctors and the class of psychotropic drugs prescribed is second only to that of analgesics (pain killers). Bipolar disorder may be the second-highest reason for U.S. disability awards. Unemployment is 50% higher for people that have mood disorders than that of the general population. Women suffer clinical depression twice around men do. The mood disorder suicide rate is 33% when a person is left untreated; it's 20% when properly treated. And 90% of all suicides be a consequence of clinical depression. Only 33% of the clinically depressed receive treatment. Bipolar disorder affects men and women equally and 83% of cases are severe-yet 37 % neither recognize nor admit to suffering the condition. Only 49% of bipolar individuals receive treatment.
As a bipolar mental patient and burn victim, I will attest to the fact psychic pain often exceeds that of physical pain, both in intensity and duration. Utter hopelessness and suicidality transcend verbal description. There is no remedy for mood disorders, no "dipstick" with which to try the brain's neurotransmitter levels that regulate the human feelings and emotions that drive our aberrant behaviors. Exotic and expensive medications and psychotherapy are the primary means for mitigating the pain and skewed behaviors experienced by those of us saddled with mood disorders. The doctor-patient goal is to cut back the frequency, intensity and duration of bipolar and clinically depressive episodes, and to encourage the patient to reform old habits into positive, healthy and beneficial lifestyles.
Today the social stigma of mental illness remains very same of unwed mothers before the 1960s: "hush, hush and put them away." And deep down inside most people there is that private feeling of "there however for the grace of God I go." That must end-there are too many of us to ignore any longer. One partially effective pain alleviation method for aiding mood disorder patients is peer interaction and comfort found in either physical or cyber discussion and support groups. Another way of relief is to talk about the stories of other mood disorder sufferers.
Unlike live groups, there might be no accidental or intentional personal attacks or judgmental assessments when reading about mood disorders. Stories published by mental patient peers can help ease the pain for folks who suffer mood disorders, both manic and depressive episodes, by entertaining and educating the reader. There is wonderful relief for patients just to learn you can find others who suffer the same malady as they do. A sort through a selection or bookstore psychology/manic-depression category yields many books that bring understanding, hope, help and healing for sufferers of bipolar disorder and clinical depression, and their families and friends.
Classic memoirs of and for mood disorder patients include William Styron's "Darkness Visible," Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison's "An Unquiet Mind," Andy Behrman's "Electroboy," and Wendy K. Williams' "I'm Not Crazy Just Bipolar."
(MVIH) is a personal practice positioned in Mesa Arizona, Owned by Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) who is Board Certified to take care of Psychiatric/Mental illnesses (Bipolar, Depression, Psychotic disorders, Anxiety, PTSD, ADD/ADHD, etc.).
At MVIH, patients are treated with respect and we take the time to produce a private, comfortable and therapeutic environment where your concerns are heard, symptoms are treated, and your current wellbeing is a priority. We provide therapy and pharmacological intervention services to the clients.
We're dedicated to providing professional and therapeutic care with dignity and compassion to all or any patients and their loved ones.
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