The years of silence are past : my father's life with bipolar disorder

This work presents the life history of a philosopher who experienced severe, recurrent, and misdiagnosed mental disorder. The compelling narrative portrays the father's seventy-five years: his childhood and adolescence, his high levels of achievement, intermixed with recurrent episodes and brutal hospitalizations, his marriage and family life, his tenderness as a father, and his gradual decline following years of maltreated bipolar disorder. Themes of self-image, resilience, causes of serious mental disorder, accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment, and linkages between social context and mental disturbance are intermixed with the narrative. Alternately harrowing and uplifting, this work captures the experience of growing up in a family with severe mental illness as well as the courage and dignity that can emanate from mental disorder. This poignant work will be of strong interest to the public at large and to those in the mental health fields. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Foreword......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 13 Introduction......Page 27 1 Beginnings......Page 36 2 Childhood and Adolescence......Page 49 3 Breakdown and Recovery......Page 59 4 Professorship and Family......Page 67 5 The ’50s: An Uphill Battle......Page 78 6 The ’60s: Vanished and Returned......Page 92 Features of Bipolar Disorder......Page 107 A Clash of Paradigms......Page 116 Current Diagnostic Thinking and Specific Treatments for Bipolar Disorder......Page 120 Diagnostic Accuracy......Page 126 8 Disclosure and New Diagnosis......Page 130 9 Waning Powers......Page 152 10 Final Years......Page 174 Causal Factors......Page 188 Treatment and Care......Page 200 Resilience......Page 211 Inner and Outer Worlds......Page 217 Silence and Control......Page 224 The Family Legacy......Page 230 The Current Disclosure......Page 232 Coda......Page 235 Introduction......Page 238 5. The ’50s: An Uphill Battle......Page 239 7. Diagnosis and Misdiagnosis......Page 240 9. Waning Powers......Page 242 11. Causes and Treatments......Page 243 12. Resilience and Social Context......Page 247 13. A Son’s Perspective......Page 249 Index......Page 250 Annotation 2.3 million Americans, approximately 1.2% of the U.S. population, suffer from bipolar disorder and nearly 1 million Canadians suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. Mental disorders are now recognized to rival major physical diseases as the leading cause of economic, physical, and psychological burdens worldwide. Stephen Hinshaw's compelling account of his father's life-long struggle with bipolar disease reveals the isolation, confusion, hopelessness, and destruction of serious mental illness that patients and their families experience. Hinshaw, an academic psychologist, incorporates the range of factors that contribute to serious mental disorder, as well as issues of self-image, resilience, diagnosis and treatment. His belief that devastating and even debilitating life experiences can yield strength, gentleness, and resilience is reflected in the compassionate description of his father's life. Stephen P. Hinshaw s Professor of Psychology and former Director of the Clinical Science program at the, University of California, Berkeley. He has authored over 120 articles, chapters and reviews and is the author of the book, Attention Deficits and Hyperactivity in Children (Sage, 1994) Written by a son who brings the perspective of his profession as an academic psychologist, this work presents the life of a philosopher who experienced recurrent and misdiagnosed mental disorder. This work will be of interest to the public at large and to those in the mental health fields.