Bipolar Breakthrough : The Essential Guide to Going Beyond Moodswings to Harness Your Highs, Escape the Cycles of Recurrent Depression, and Thrive with Bipolar II

Enhance Your Highs, Boost Your Creativity, and Escape the Cycles of Recurrent Depression--The Essential Guide to Recognize and Treat the Mood Swings of This Increasingly Common Disorder The psychiatrist whose pioneering bestseller Moodswing introduced lithium as the treatment for bipolarity now focuses on the milder form of the disease, and the result is another landmark work―one that can help millions with Bipolar II to live better lives Thirty years ago, Dr. Ronald Fieve pioneered the use of lithium for what was then known as "manic depression." His book Moodswing was a runaway hit, published in seven countries. Since then, Dr. Fieve has focused on patients with mild bipolarity―what is now known as Bipolar II. He has discovered that Bipolar II patients are―almost across the board―driven, successful, high-achieving individuals who, with the right treatment, can actually turn their illness into an asset. In this first book to concentrate exclusively on milder bipolarity, Dr. Fieve explains how newer drugs with fewer side effects are revolutionizing the treatment of Bipolar II. Some people with mild bipolarity may not require drugs at all―just a specific lifestyle program, which Dr. Fieve spells out in this book. In the past, many patients with the illness have resisted treatment because they did not want to give up the euphoria of the "highs." But left untreated, the condition's lows can be devastating―sometimes resulting in suicide. Here, Dr. Fieve reveals his remarkably successful treatment program (with results supported by thousands of patient histories) that allows patients to keep the highs while minimizing the lows. And he explains how his program can help turn the illness into a positive and patients into what he calls "bipolar beneficials."

The psychiatrist whose pioneering bestseller Moodswing introduced lithium as the treatment for bipolarity now focuses on the milder form of the disease, and the result is another landmark work—one that can help millions with Bipolar II to live better lives

Thirty years ago, Dr. Ronald Fieve pioneered the use of lithium for what was then known as "manic depression." His book Moodswing was a runaway hit, published in seven countries. Since then, Dr. Fieve has focused on patients with mild bipolarity—what is now known as Bipolar II. He has discovered that Bipolar II patients are—almost across the board—driven, successful, high-achieving individuals who, with the right treatment, can actually turn their illness into an asset.

In this first book to concentrate exclusively on milder bipolarity, Dr. Fieve explains how newer drugs with fewer side effects are revolutionizing the treatment of Bipolar II. Some people with mild bipolarity may not require drugs at all—just a specific lifestyle program, which Dr. Fieve spells out in this book. In the past, many patients with the illness have resisted treatment because they did not want to give up the euphoria of the "highs." But left untreated, the condition's lows can be devastating—sometimes resulting in suicide. Here, Dr. Fieve reveals his remarkably successful treatment program (with results supported by thousands of patient histories) that allows patients to keep the highs while minimizing the lows. And he explains how his program can help turn the illness into a positive and patients into what he calls "bipolar beneficials."

More than 30 years ago, Ronald R. Fieve, MD, gained national recognition for his pioneering treatment of what was then known as "manic-depression." Since then, he has focused on patients with mild bipolarity, also known as Bipolar II. With the right treatment, these patients can turn their illness into an asset. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Fieve presents a highly successful program that allows Bipolar II patients to harness the creativity and energy of their hypomanic "highs" while minimizing the potentially devastating "lows" of depression. Now with a new foreword explaining the most up-to-date research on the bipolar spectrum, Bipolar Breakthrough includes: -six stay-well strategies for anyone suffering from Bipolar II -the latest information on cutting-edge medications with fewer side effects -a special section on the complications of a bipolar diagnosis for pregnant women, children, and the elderly With results supported by thousands of patient histories, Dr. Fieve's Bipolar Breakthrough is a landmark work that will help the millions of Bipolar II sufferers live better lives. The author of the best-selling Moodswing presents a guide to a milder form of the disease, explaining how many people with Bipolar II are driven, high-achieving individuals who can turn their condition into an asset through a lifestyle program that may enable them to minimize drug dependency and control depression levels. Until recently, much of the scientific information, research, and treatments concerning manic depression were focused on Bipolar I, a major affective (that is, mood) disorder in which a person alternates between the extreme states of deep depression and intense euphoria. Describes how to best utilize your highs and prevent the depression that follows