Category Books

Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder »

Authors: Julie A. Fast, John D. Preston, John D. Preston
ISBN-13: 9781572243422, ISBN-10: 1572243422
Format: Paperback
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Date Published: February 2004
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: Julie A. Fast

Book Synopsis

When a person loves someone with bipolar disorder, life can be very stressful. From medication troubles to a partner s mood swings the demands on a partner can be intense. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder takes a unique and practical approach to these issues.

Written by an author who has bipolar disorder (and who lived with a partner who also has bipolar disorder) and a coauthor with over ten books on the topic of mental illness, the book offers specific, practical and realistic tips on how a couple can work together as a team to create a treatment plan that teaches them to live with the illness while still maintaining a loving and joyful relationship. (Although this book is written for couples, friends and family members can use the techniques in the book as well.)

Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder provides hope and encourages couples to work together to create a plan they can use to help stabilize bipolar disorder so that their relationship can focus on love and companionship instead of the illness. Chapters include ideas on how to create a holistic treatment plan that incorporates medications and supplements, diet, exercise and behavior and lifestyle changes into one practical approach to this very serious illness. The partner of a person with bipolar disorder learns about communicating with their partner when they re ill, getting real about the situation and how to take on other roles in healing besides caretaking. Other specific topics include work and money, emotions, sexual issues and much more. The goal of the book is to help couples create a relationship that is based on support and prevention instead of constant crisis control.

	Acknowledgments	vii
Chapter 1	Getting Started	1
Chapter 2	Treat Bipolar Disorder First	9
Chapter 3	Multipolar Disorder	21
Chapter 4	The Holistic Treatment Plan	39
Chapter 5	The "What Works" List	51
Chapter 6	Bipolar Disorder Triggers	65
Chapter 7	A Couple Takes Charge	89
Chapter 8	The Bipolar Conversation	115
Chapter 9	Your Emotional Response to Bipolar Disorder	133
Chapter 10	Work and Money	147
Chapter 11	S-E-X	163
Chapter 12	What about You?	175
Chapter 13	The Hard Truths about Bipolar Disorder	187
Chapter 14	Laughter and Joy	203
	References	213