Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families (2nd Edition) download epub

I have personally been struggling with bipolar disorder in my life for over 25 years. I could not understand why this kept happening to me, especially since it always happened to me when I was at my best in health, mind, and spirit. It has been very disruptive to my family and professional life. My problem was that I didn't understand the bipolar disorder condition, and therefore never believed in my diagnosis or the prescribed medication.

After my recent bipolar episode, my brother, who is a physician in England, strongly recommended I read the book "Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families". Stubborn as I was, it took me nine months before I finally secured a copy of the book from Amazon.com and began to read it. As soon as I started reading it, I realized the immense wealth of incredibly useful knowledge that was in the book, and that it was a key to understanding myself and my condition.

The book helped me thoroughly understand the bipolar disorder condition, and convinced me of my diagnosis without a doubt. It helped me understand the medical and genetic chemistry behind the disorder. The detailed discussions of the Manic and Depressive states were very helpful to me, as I could relate to them with my own experiences in vivid detail. The numerous case studies presented in the book are also extremely useful to relate to ones own experiences. The detailed information on the various classes and types of medications was very useful to me in understanding the breadth and width of available treatments. Finally, the comprehensive advice on maintenance and prevention was invaluable.

After having read the book, I feel inspired and have renewed hope that I can finally manage my bipolar disorder and bring long-term stability to my life. My family deserves it! My profession demands it!

Kudos to Francis Mark Mondimore M.D. for this excellent book.

This book is a must read for anyone affected by Bipolar Disorder - not only the individual, but also family, significant others and even friends! It is written in easy to read, informative language with instructions for which sections to skip if you're not interested in particular things -- such as medications. I found it very helpful, comprehensive, enlightening and a generally painless read for a technical book. It is also a book I will refer to in the future when quetions arise. Definitely recommend.

Amazing book; it provides tremendous insight while remaining concise, clear, and empathetic. He quite obviously has a tremendous amount of experience with and knowledge of the disease. This book has reframed my understanding of BP, providing me with a real sense of relief in finding out how common my symptoms are (I sometimes tend to think nobody knows what it feels like in my more difficult times). Cliche alert: this book has proved to me that knowledge is power (at least for me in dealing with BP).

This is a very good book for those who have the disorder and those who have a family member with it. It is especially helpful in explaining why most Bipolar people eventually want to stop taking their medications. And why they MUST not stop. There are dire consequences because the person loses all judgement.
The book is comprehensive but a very easy read. Wouldn't hurt to read it twice. I did and pickeed up more than through the first read.

I think this book has helped me out with understaning more about the disorder. This is a great book to read which explains a lot of things such as the symptoms, the treatments, how bipolar has history with doctors and how today they still are wondering about the disorder. Its so much good stuff in there and i recommend this book to anyone searching for ALL answers about bipolar.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years ago. I wish that I would have had this book then instead of relying only on the internet for information. I had the mistaken impression that once my medication was 'balanced out', my life would become 'normal'. Thanks to this book, I now understand what I am up against and that this rollercoaster ride may never stop. It is written so that anyone can understand it. It is very thorough and written with compassion. For anyone diagnosed with bipolar disorder and their family and friends, this is an excellent resource to start with. I highly recommend it. It may even save your life.

Having my teenager in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks was the most frightened and helpless I have ever felt. During that time the tests, evaluations and doctors meetings came back with more questions and unknowns. They lobbed the phrase "Bipolar Disorder" at us several times. They mine as well have been speaking Sawtelle for all the since their explanations made. We were given this book. It not only made since but it speaks plainly in a way that took the sting and horror out of those two words.

For anyone dealing with bipolar, whether personally as the one with the illness or the one who lives with one who has it, this book has information for the lay person to those who are professionals. Any time you find a resource on this topic you hold a valuable tool for understanding and coping. I recommend this book with complete confidence in its value.