One of the things that makes living with mental illness ( or having a loved one with an illness) so difficult is the level of stigma attached to these horrible illnesses. The sigma is caused largely by simple ignorance of these disorders. By the way, my son is doing very well because he is on the right medication and has a supportive family who educated themselves.
Oh my gosh. Bless you. My wife and I completed that course around Thanksgiving. It was truly a life changing experience in so many ways.
Robert De Niro and Robin Williams were “self-medicating” the night their friend John Belushi ODed.
Some think that Hollywood’s recent bipolar ODs and human disaster stories that play out in the gossip press are something new. And Hollywood gossip queens at TMZ love to see them fall. Sort of prevents some of them from seeking the help they need.
You did it now.
Waiting,...10...9.....8.... until the, “Your son doesn’t have a mental illness. Its just bad parenting.” crowd to chime in.
My son has ADHD w/Aspergers.
Everytime one of these nitwits shows up describing their perfect kid and perfect parenting methods I want to come right thru the computer screen at em.
Mental Health Benefits of Amber Colored Lenses
http://www.zimbio.com/Real+Depression+Help/articles/PakrrJ5cuNW/Mental+Health+Benefits+Amber+Colored+Lenses
Preliminary research has shown that amber colored lenses, which block blue light, can help regulate the mood of those suffering from bipolar disorder, insomnia, sleep deprivation as well as other maladies. Jim Phelps, M.D., from Corvallis, Oregon, is a pioneer in the field and has written extensively on the subject.
In an abstract from his study titled “Dark Therapy for Bipolar Disorder Using Amber Lenses for Blue Light Blockade”, Dr. Phelps writes that “Dark Therapy”, a treatment that uses total darkness to stabilize mood in those with bipolar disorder, is supported in several studies. This is basically the opposite of light therapy for depression.
(me again) I’ve been working on sleeping better, there’s some great tips to help, and let me say I feel great since I started on this, just keep it open in a tab and read as necessary;
How to Sleep Better
http://helpguide.org/life/sleep_tips.htm
How Light Affects Our Sleep
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-light-affects-our-sleep/#axzz2HLgq9Zv8
marksdailyapple.com has some other articles too, just haven’t read them yet, but it also recommends a free computer program to “to cut down on blue light emissions”, basically it turns a light shade of orange at night, here's another link for that;
Better lighting...for your computer
http://stereopsis.com/flux/
So what’s the right medication in your opinion? My son is bi-polar and OCD too.
My parents were married in 1950, after my mother got her degree in music education, and she began teaching. A few months later, she had a breakdown and was placed in a mental hospital, where she was given shock treatments. During her time there, she somehow managed to gouge out her own eye.
Six months later, with a new prosthetic, she was determined well enough and released. She and my father settled down and started a family, but my mother was never really happy. She began having huge mood swings. For a few weeks, she would seem so full of energy and unconcerned about anything. Then, she would suddenly crash and, for several more weeks, be unable to cope with the smallest problem. She was so severely depressed, she often considered suicide, but only stopped when she thought about her two young children.
Finally, one day, she was diagnosed as bipolar and started on medical therapy. Not only did her life turn around emotionally, but she accepted Christ as her Savior and suddenly had a whole new reason to live.
My favorite anecdote in all this: When she left the mental hospital, she always remembers a nurse snidely telling her she’d be back in ten years. Instead, ten years later, she was traveling around as a speaker for Christian Women’s Club, telling this same story to help inspire others.