With inventiveness, compassion, and humor, she thrusts us into a world of unconventional praise. From an unexpected encounter with her grandmother's ghost, to a bubble bath with Bjӧrk, to her plumber's confession that he, too, has Bipolar, Erlichman buoyantly topples stigma against the mentally ill. These are necessary odes to self-acceptance, resilience, and the jagged path toward healing. With startling language, and accompanied by her bold drawings and collages, she gives us a sparkling, original view into what makes us human.

    . . ranges from the shocking to the simply lovely." —Marya Hornbacher Stacy Pershall grew up depressed and too smart for her own good, a deeply strange girl in Prairie Grove, Arkansas (population 1,000), where the prevailing wisdom was that Jesus healed all. From her days as a thirteen-year-old Jesus freak, through a battle with anorexia and bulimia, her first manic episode at eighteen, and the eventual diagnosis of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, this spirited and at times mordantly funny memoir chronicles Pershall's journey through hell-several breakdowns and suicide attempts—and her struggle with the mental health care system. After her 2001 suicide attempt, broadcast live on a Webcam, Pershall realized the need to heal her mind and body. She found a revolutionary cure (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and a new mood-stabilizing medication. She also met a tattoo artist and discovered the healing power of body modification. By giving over her skin and enduring the physical pain, she learned about the true nature of trust.

    It opens with snapshots of her troubled childhood and early adult life in two difficult marriages. It quickly transitions to our first meeting, friendship, and relationship - not without their own complications. Through those trials, she showed tremendous strength and heart. We eventually married and lived a love story that others marveled at for years. We travelled, went to concerts, built a home, and remained completely devoted. While still in her early sixties, she lost a piece of herself. Words became harder to find. Steps to perform the simplest tasks became impossible to follow. We knew something was wrong but had no idea the severity of her condition. Our world turned upside down.The latter half of the book chronicles in exacting detail her diagnosis and life with Frontotemporal Degeneration, a dementia known as FTD. I cared for her for the three and a half years of this disease. Her mental state deteriorated rapidly. I changed to a more flexible job to stay with her more during the day as she lost even the most basic functions of eating alone, toileting, or using a phone. We still created tender moments and danced but she was losing a tremendous amount of weight and required greater and greater care.Financials not allowing me to quit work, I succumbed to the recommendations of multiple professionals and made the painful decision to place her in memory care. I visited her every day, two to three times per day, and we made the best of a horrible situation. We still shared many tender moments during this last year, including the moment I held her hand as she passed. The story is told in a vulnerable and unfiltered manner. It collects writings from both husband and wife through journals, letters, and social media posts integrated into the main narrative. It captures our real-life, undying love story through this incurable disease

    By combining analysis of the historical evidence with the latest psychiatric research, Ghaemi demonstrates how he thinks these qualities have produced brilliant leadership under the toughest circumstances.individuals and society at large-however high the price for those who endure these illnesses.

    Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival, and Strength

    A fresh, honest, and practical guide to living with bipolar disorder.Paul Jones, a stand-up comedian and workshop leader who suffers from bipolar disorder, uses humor, honesty, and hard-won practical advice to dispel the stigma surrounding mental illnesses and shed light on the challenges of living with bipolar disorder.Offering an intimate view of life with bipolar disorder—including the most common mistakes bipolar individuals make and how to avoid them— and covering every aspect from diagnosis, social life, home life, and career, this is an accessible and engaging guide from someone who’s been there and can help readers cope and thrive.

    Dealing with these day-to-day problems can sometimes seem like too much to bear. Drawing on the latest research in bipolar disorder, stress, and health, this step-by-step guide offers a complete selection of livable, workable solutions to manage bipolar disorder and helps you:Identify your symptomsExplore your treatment optionsStabilize your moodsSharpen your mindAchieve your goalsThis isn't a one-size-fits-all guide. It's a uniquely personal approach to your bipolar disorder that covers the full spectrum of the disease and its symptoms. You'll be able to find successful ways to regulate your moods, relieve your stress, improve your thought processes, and break the bipolar cycle--for a happier, healthier life.

    The DSM-IV-TR Classification is a guide to Mental Disorders for people in the helping profession such as Psychologists, Mental Health Counselors, Therapists, and others.

    Christine Pattillo was one of those people—except instead of just one secret, she had many. As long as Christine could remember, she lived with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). At times she shared her life with up to six alternate personalities, yet she masqueraded as an active and happy high school student, a successful career woman, and a wife of fifteen years. But she kept her secret hidden from everyone around her, including her own husband. It wasn’t until the age of forty-one and after ten years of counseling that she finally managed to utter the seven most difficult words of her life: “There is more than one of me.” Coming out about MPD was terrifying. Was her husband going to leave her? How was she going to tell her mother, siblings, and friends? How would people judge her? And how would she and the alters live day to day out in the open, each carving out their own quality time? How would they all integrate in society? What happens when one of the alters wants to have a baby of her own? And a suicidal one wants to destroy them all? In this fascinating memoir, Christine shares her incredible journey of life with MPD. Readers come to know all of the alters (Hope, SHE, Rim, Tristan, Q, Chrissy, and Cyndi) as the unique and extraordinary individuals they are. We also hear from Christine’s husband, family, friends, and therapist, who relate firsthand the joys and challenges of living with MPD. I Am WE dispels many common, often misguided conceptions about MPD. While theories about the condition abound, none are more qualified to discuss it than those living it. Join Christine and her family as they share their highs and lows, triumphs and losses, and above all the love they have for one other.

    The novel intricately weaves together three timelines: the story of Greyson’s travels (Rome, Israel, Santiago, Thailand, Uganda); the progressive unraveling of his own father seen through Greyson’s childhood eyes; and the intricacies and estrangements of his marriage. The entire narrative unfolds in the time it takes him undergo twelve 30-second electroshock treatments in a New York psychiatric ward.

    Step-by-step she leads you through: 1) Exercises to help you to break the habit of the behavior. 2) Techniques to reduce stress and anxiety naturally, thus reducing the body’s need to pick. 3) How to release negative thoughts and emotions holding you back.4) Lifestyle changes to restore physiological balance, including which foods to avoid, which to eat more of, and natural supplements to help you stop. This comprehensive guide is a lifesaver for those suffering from skin picking, and is invaluable also for health professionals interested in learning how to help their patients who pick.

    

    If you, or a friend or family member, is diagnosed with Bipolar, or if you suspect that someone you know may have Bipolar, this book is a fantastic first port of call for advice and support. Written in an extremely helpful question and answer format, this comprehensive and compassionate guide draws on a broad range of expert opinion, the very latest research, and personal experience to explore and explain everything that someone who has bipolar, friend, relative or carer might want to know about Bipolar Disorder. Including numerous real-life case studies and a full list of support organisations and internet resources around the world, this handy blend of advice and insight will answer all your questions, from how to recognise the symptoms to how to explain to a child that their parent has been diagnosed.

    That he emerged to write this funny and true book and then moved on to find the meaningful life that for a while had seemed beyond reach is what ultimately happens in The Eden Express. But the real story here is that throughout his harrowing experience his sense of humor let him see the humanity of what he was going through, and his gift of language let him describe it in such a moving way that others could begin to imagine both its utter ordinariness as well as the madness we all share.

    The territory of the mind and of madness can seem a foreign, even frightening place—until you read Welcome to My Country.Writing in a powerful and original voice, Lauren Slater closes the distance between "us" and "them," transporting us into the country of Lenny, Moxi, Oscar, and Marie. She lets us watch as she interacts with and strives to understand patients suffering from mental and emotional distress—the schizophrenic, the depressed, the suicidal. As the young psychologist responds to, reflects on, and re-creates her interactions with the inner realities of the dispossessed, she moves us to a deeper understanding of the complexities of the human mind and spirit. And then, in a stunning final chapter, the psychologist confronts herself, when she is asked to treat a young woman, bulimic and suicidal, who is on the same ward where Slater herself was once such a patient.Like An Unquiet Mind, Listening to Prozac and Girl, Interrupted, Welcome to My Country is a beautifully written, captivating, and revealing book, an unusual personal and professional memoir that brings us closer to understanding ourselves, one another, and the human condition.