Child Abuse: Change Begins with Awareness

Those of you who are long time visitors know that child abuse and especially emotional abuse is a topic dear to my heart, because of my personal experiences with childhood emotional (sometimes physical) abuse.
Angela Mettler writes that awareness important in fighting child abuse, and understanding what this means.
According to South Dakota law, child abuse and [...]

Many Dimensions of Bipolar Disorder Sufferers

When we think about patients who suffer from bipolar disorder we tend to have a set view of how they should look or act. That’s why having celebrity “spokespersons” can be helpful in reducing social stigma of a condition, and help others understand that there is no one way a patient with a certain condition [...]

Seroquel Study Results for Treating Mania and Depression in Bipolar Disorder Types I and II

AstraZeneca manufactures the drug Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate) and announced results of a 509 patient study at last week’s American Psychiatric Association meeting.
Seroquel is currently FDA approved for treating bipolar disorder I acute mania and schizophrenia. The announced study results looked at Seroquel to treat depression in bipolar types I and II patients, to confirm results [...]

Five Predictors of Bipolar Disorder: Assessment Tool

Today marked the last day of the 159th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
A study was presented that identified predictors of bipolar disorder risk for patients who were already diagnosed with depression:

anxiety
feelings of people being unfriendly
family history of bipolar disorder
a recent diagnosis of depression
legal problems

These predictors were used in an assessment tool [...]

Suicide Prevention Day and Increasing Awareness on College Campuses

Last month I posted about Oregon Senator Gordon Smith’s memoir about his son who committed suicide.
On Wednesday, Oregon State University students, faculty and community members had a meeting to increase awareness of suicide for a Suicide Prevention Day luncheon.
Suicide is prevalent in our society and especially on college campuses. About a month ago, I had [...]

New Website: A Patient’s Perspective

I have always been interested in the “hero journeys” behind every patient and the family members of a patient.
I wanted to create a place where I could present all these stories to help inspire a new patient who may feel scared and confused.
I also want to help support family members who may feel exhausted [...]

Study Suggests Drug Abilify Delays Mania Relapse in Bipolar Disorder

Today, drug makers Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company reported results of a 161-patient study that compared the time to relapse between patients who took the drug Abilify versus patients who received a placebo (”sugar pill”) for at least 6 weeks.
Compared with patients on placebo, those who took Abilify were 48% less likely to [...]

Blog Website for Parents of Children Living with Bipolar Disorder

G. J. wrote an excellent post on the lessons that he’s learned about parenting children with bipolar disorder.
There are 18 (yes, 18!) points in all, and you would not want to skip any. To give you a flavor, here’s a summary of G. J.’s points:

Treat each child individually.
Expose them to, and encourage, diverse interests.
Encourage spirituality.
Encourage [...]