psychology What does Independence Mean for a Person with Bipolar Disorder

July 4 is considered the day that America gained her freedom. It is called Independence Day. What does it mean to be independent? Some synonyms for independent are: free, self-governing, and self-reliant. I have heard others with bipolar disorder complain about their medication describing it as a mental straight jacket. I do not think that is an accurate picture. Without medication, most people with bipolar disorder are on a constant roller coaster ride resulting in Dependence on family, friends, or others to take care of them. That is not freedom or self-reliance. I believe and have experienced the freedom that comes with a good medication regimen. This occurs when your symptoms are under enough control to be functional yet not so drugged that you do not feel like yourself. When you finally get to the point where you can strike a balance between symptoms and side-effects, you then feel free and can become self-reliant. 

I know that this process can be hard, frustrating, difficult, and could take a long time, but the rewards of sticking with it are fantastic. How do you achieve this may be your next question. You must first have a good psychiatrist or doctor that specializes in mental health treatment. If you are not getting the attention you need or feel that your doctor is not working well with you, then you need to fire that person and get a good one. To do this, you need to interview at least three doctors that you have good references for. Ask them for 15 minutes of their time so that you can decide if you want to work with them. You are the "customer" in this regard, and have to right to hire or fire someone. For now, I will assume that you are working with a good doctor or psychiatrist. Then what?

Your doctor should have you on a therapeutic dose of any number of quality medications that are available to us today. We have come a long way since Lithium although Lithium can still be a medication of choice for many patients. Next you should monitor your moods and physical symptoms (side effects) for a period of time usually 2 - 3 weeks. It may be much shorter if the medication is causing side effects that are not tolerable which can usually be discovered within 1 week. You should tell your doctor how your mood is, how your physical symptoms are, and if they are improving or getting worse. Based on that information, your doctor will most likely make small changes. Big changes have their own negative consequences, so small changes are best. Again, monitor your mood and side effects for 2 - 3 weeks. You will need to continue this process until you feel good, but not manic, and have no side effects or so minimal that it does not interfere with your day to day functioning.

What then? Once you are on a stable medication track, you should be able to start seeing your doctor less and less to the point where you only need to go in every 3 - 6 months for a prescription renewal. The exciting part about this is that you will start seeing your self-reliance and freedom increase. If you have been living with care givers because you were not stable enough to take care of yourself, now is the time to start looking to striking out on your own. You should be stable enough to hold down a job which will provide you with the income you need to sustain yourself. This should be a fun, exhilarating, and maybe even scary time. But freedom feels great!

I am in the process of opening a store and will have the interview scripted form for psychiatrist and a mood and medication journal available for download. Keep checking back for the grand opening at www.ThrivingWithBipolarDisorder.com The store should be open soon. You can also find a FREE article on how to be a happy, contributing, highly respected employee that includes more details on how to be a good employee which in turn will help you keep your job.

I wish you the best in all your pursuits.

Author: Cassandra L. Good

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psychology Many Famous People Suffer With Bipolar Disorder

There have been many famous people with bipolar disorder, or are now thought to have had it based on their lifeworks and stories. There have been so many, in fact, that it is considered by some to be a mark of genius. That may or may not be true, but it is easy to see why the connection in made after a look at the many famous people with bipolar disorder.

Writers have been some of the most famous people with bipolar disorder. Mark Twain was one such writer. He, like many other writers, was highly functional in his writing. However, he could be depressed-seeming and pessimistic sometimes. He also had grand business ideas which. like many manics ideas were never accomplished.

Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote the classic Slaughterhouse-Five and many other books, and William Faulkner, who created an entire fictional place called Yoknapatawha County as a setting for his novels, were two other famous people with bipolar disorder. Some of the most well-known names in modern history have been also thought to have had this disorder. These famous people with bipolar disorder include such names as: Winston Churchill, Abbie Hoffman, Edgar Allen Poe, Beethoven, Van Gogh and Isaac Newton. 

The world would not have been the same place without these and the many other famous people with bipolar disorder. Many famous people with bipolar disorder have written about it. Patty Duke wrote a lengthy book on the subject of her own illness. There have been other famous people with bipolar disorder who have also written books about the subject. Kay Redfield Jamison, a psychologist well-known in her field wrote two books, including a memoir and a treatise on the connection between the illness and creativity. Besides these, there have been many other books written about their experiences by famous people with bipolar disorder .

A number of famous people with bipolar disorder have been posthumously diagnosed to have had it. Many are current stars and have actually received the diagnosis from their doctors. Some of these are actresses Linda Hamilton, Margot Kidder, Carrie Fisher, and Patty Duke. Others are musicians such as Kurt Cobain, Ozzy Osbourne, Axel Rose, and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

In the past, famous people with bipolar disorder usually lived very difficult lives. They may not have known that they had any kind of disorder at all. They would most likely have thought that mania and depression was just the way of the world. These days. famous people with bipolar disorder are under a huge amount of pressure to work through their cycles of mania and depression. The case of Kurt Cobain proved that bipolar disorder untreated can be a disaster. On the other hand, many feel that the medications stunt their creativity. Therapy is seen by some as a way the powerful force of their expression is lost. 

This is a controversial topic, and many doctors feel that great strides have been made in medications that are not as debilitating to creative people. Therapy, has changed in many quarters. One thing is certain. The prognosis is better these days than it ever has been for famous people with bipolar disorder.

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psychology What You Need To Know About Signs Of Bipolar

Most of the time, there are people who are caught off-guard by written notes from a physician since they can barely understand the writings. On some occasions, unless you ask, your physician will not explain in detail what you or your caregiver should know. There are even instances when physicians only inscribe codes. This is true when you are a patient with bipolar disorder. Commonly, mental health experts use codes to interpret their findings. 

Psychiatrists habitually scribble codes in your records. Knowing the codes by heart will help you or your caregiver to understand and gauge the pertinent actions to undertake.

Codes are arranged by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). DSM is the typical categorization of mental disorders utilized by psychiatrists or other mental health experts. 

For bipolar disorder, there are chiefly three important codes such as codes for mood disorders, codes for substance induced mood disorders and code extensions for psychotic features. 

Codes for Mood Disorders 

There are several code categories under "codes for mood disorders." 

If a patient has a sole "manic episode" and there is no history of major depressive episodes then mental health experts usually interpret in under code 296.0x (F30.x). 

A patient with bipolar disorder who experiences a "hypomanic episode" in progress and had at least one incident of manic or mixed episode then it is categorized as code 296.40 (F31.0). 

The code 296.4x (F31.x) is characterized in patients who suffers from a current manic episode who have undergone major depressive, manic or mixed episodes. 

A patient with Bipolar I Disorder and have occurrences of mixed episodes and experienced any of major depressive, manic or mixed episodes falls into code 296.6x (F31.6). 

If a patient has major depressive episode and has a history of having manic or mixed episodes then mental health experts categorize this under code 296.5x (F31.x). 

The code 296.7 (F31.9) is being written down for patients who experience any of the following: mixed, manic, hypomanic or major depressive episodes. Along with the criteria, the patient suffered from at least one mixed or manic episode. 

Bipolar II Disorder can either be hypomania or depressed, has a code of 296.89 (F31.8) wherein the patient has more than one attack of major depressive episodes or at least one episode of hypomanic. Under this category, you must take note that there was never an attack of manic or mixed episode. 

Codes for Substance Induced Mood Disorder 

Mental health experts came up with codes to gauge measurable substances which heighten mood disorder. 

If a patient has alcohol intake which can stimulate mood disorder, then mental health experts interpret this as code 291.8 (F10.8). Ingestion of cocaine, on the other hand have code 292.84 (F14.8). 

Inhalants can also incite mood disorder, when this happens it is being regarded as code 292.84 (F18.8). Aside from inhalants, some sedatives can also stir up mood disorder. Mental health experts code sedatives as 292.84 (F13.8). 

For further information on codes for substance-induced mood disorder, you can check with your physician. It is important for patients as well as caregivers to know what substance triggers their temper so that preventive ways can be sought. 

Code Extensions for Psychotic Features 

On this type of code, it will be regarded into two categories (1) severe without psychotic episodes; and (2) severe with psychotic episodes. 

A patient with Bipolar I Disorder having the most current manic episode has codes 296.43 (F31.1) and 296.44 (F31.2) for severe without and severe with psychotic episodes respectively. 

The code 296.63 is for regarded for patients with severe disorder without psychotic episodes for patients with Bipolar I Disorder who have current experience of mixed episodes. On the other hand, 296.64 is the code for patients with severe disorder having psychotic episodes. 

A patient who have depressed episodes with Bipolar I Disorder has a code 296.53 (F31.4) if he has severe disorder with no psychotic episodes while 296.54 (F31.5) is the code for patients have severe disorder but with psychotic episodes. 

The meanings of codes are not simply for the medical practitioners to know. The patient should be knowledgeable of such codes for him to understand the course of his illness. Equally important is for caregivers to also acquire information with regards to different Bipolar Disorder codes so that they will properly take good care of their patients.

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