Wednesday, August 19, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Resources for learning about bipolar disorder
By T. Lee Brown
Correspondent
Over 21 million Americans
have mood disorders. Bipolar
disorder in particular, also
known as manic-depressive
illness, affects a whopping
2.8 percent of the U.S. popu-
lation. With statistics like
these, there9s a good chance
you or someone you know
is dealing with this condi-
tion4and some may be mis-
diagnosed with depression.
Learn more in local author
Willa Goodfellow9s <Prozac
Monologues= (see related
article, page 6) and from the
following resources.
BP Hope: Ever hear the
one about entrepreneurs?
Turns out that 11 percent of
them have a history of bipo-
lar disorder, at least those
participating in a significant
study. Did you know some
bipolar folks possess <supra-
sensory abilities= during what
is charitably described as
<elevated mood?= It translates
to sharper vision, super-vivid
hearing, amplified senses of
smell and taste, and an astute
judgment of body language.
BP Magazine and its
blogs will keep you up to
date on such matters, along
with personal stories, advice,
and clinician perspectives.
Here, numerous bloggers
take on various issues rel-
evant to people with manic-
depressive illness and their
loved ones. <Three Bipolar
Disorder Symptoms No One
Wants to Talk About= was
a recent clickbait headline.
Other posts include <Help for
the Highly Sensitive Person
with Bipolar= and <Bipolar,
COVID-19 & Protecting
Against Suicide.= Online at
www.bpHope.com.
Willa Goodfellow: Local
author and Episcopal priest
Willa Goodfellow lives with
Bipolar II disorder. She also
lived through many years of
misdiagnosis and was given
antidepressant medications
4 which made her condition
much worse. Thankfully, she
can write about it with humor
and grace. Willa shares her
story in the new book <Prozac
Monologues: A Voice from
the Edge.= On August 28, join
the online book launch party
hosted by Paulina Springs
Books (register at https://
tinyurl.com/willa-good
fellow-launch). Learn more
and join her mailing list at
www.willagoodfellow.com.
NAMI: The National
Alliance on Mental Illness is
the nation9s largest grassroots
mental health organization,
well known for its HelpLine.
Trained staff and volunteers
deliver information, resource
referrals, and support to peo-
ple living with a mental health
conditions, family, caregivers,
and mental-health providers.
Call 800-950-NAMI (6264)
or email info@nami.org.
The organization has
also created a COVID-19
Sisters
Dental
Resource and Information
Guide, available on its web-
site. Who9s behind NAMI?
The public can easily down-
load its list of major donors
and sponsors. Unlike other
organizations, NAMI does
not appear to be in the pocket
of pharmaceutical companies.
NAMI is primarily funded
by individual contributions.
Learn more at www.nami.org.
Kay Redfield Jamison:
Jamison wrote the book on
bipolar disorder. More accu-
rately, the books, plural: she
co-authored the massive
<Manic-Depressive Illness,=
a standard textbook, and also
offers excellent books on the
subject for everyday readers.
Of her own experience as
a manic-depressive, Jamison
wrote <An Unquiet Mind:
A Memoir of Moods and
Madness.= Her fascinating
volume, <Touched with Fire:
Manic-Depressive Illness and
the Artistic Temperament,=
explores bipolar disorder
among artists, writers, and
high achievers. For poetry
nerds and cultural histori-
ans there9s <Robert Lowell:
Setting the River on Fire=;
while marred by fangirl ado-
ration, the book cracks open
the poet9s rollercoaster of a
personal life, and shows with
compassion just how tough
life can be for those in rela-
tionship with a bipolar person.
John McManamy:
<McMan= is an award-win-
ning mental-health journalist
and author whose traditional
career was upended by bipolar
disorder. With a friendly writ-
ing voice and roving mind,
McManamy applies the jour-
nalist9s love of research to
his own life and beyond. The
Bible, Shakespeare, and Amer-
ican presidents9 life histories
are among subjects he exam-
ines through a bipolar lens.
Author of the books
<Living Well with Depression
and Bipolar Disorder, Not
Just Up and Down,= and <In
Search of Our Identity,= he
has served on the NAMI San
Diego board, facilitated a
depression-bipolar support
group in New Jersey, and cre-
ated the epic online resource
McMan9s Depression and
Bipolar Web.
In addition to articles,
the site features videos of
McManamy chatting with
fellow bipolar Maggie
Reese, author of the mem-
oir <Runaway Mind.= Their
style is casual, homing in
on topics like <When Your
Brain Gets Overwhelmed,=
<Getting Family Involved,=
and <Exuberance.= More at
http://www.mcmanweb.com.
Psych Central: Clunky
and retro, Psych Central has
been around long enough to
host countless online con-
versations about moods,
insomnia, and medications.
The forum9s most popular
topic appears to be, sweetly
enough, a group Gratitude
Journal. Kick it old-school at
https://psychcentralforums.
com/bipolar.
DBSA: The Depression
and Bipolar Support Alliance
(DBSA) hosts over 600 online
and offline support groups
around the country. With its
officious tone and many offer-
ings, the DBSA offers serious
bipolar support. However,
the organization9s relation-
ships with the pharmaceuti-
cal industry have led some to
question its credibility. Learn
more at www.dbsalliance.org.
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