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Philadelphia, PA, 16 February 2011 - Lithium, introduced in the late 1940's, was the first "wonder drug" in psychiatry. It was the first medication treatment for the manic and depressive episodes of bipolar disorder and it remains among one of the most effective treatments for this disorder. In the past 15 years, as molecular mechanisms underlying the treatment of bipolar disorder began to emerge, basic research studies conducted in animals began to identify neuroprotective and perhaps neurotrophic effects of this important medication. The identification of these molecular actions of lithium coincided with the discovery of regional brain volume deficits in...

I had been in the back of a dark cave for so long, watching a very complex and intricate shadow play cast on the walls by the world outside... and sincerely believing the shadows were life as everyone else knew it. I had no reason to even begin to grasp that what my condition had imposed upon me wasn't the way that people are meant to be at all. That my perception of the world was only a well-formed shade of what was truly possible. And then, in these past several months, I was able to come out of it...

Note: Video included. "Bin Laden's Son Is Hospitalized After He Hears His Father's Voice Omar Bin Laden Is Treated for Schizophrenia, Wife Asks for Divorce" July 9, 2010 SNIPPET: ""It's true that he was put on medication but released himself early," said a spokesman for Zeina Al Sabah, Omar's wife. The spokesman confirmed that Omar had bipolar disorder and was on anti-depressants." SNIPPET: ""Omar loves and hates Osama at the same time," she said." SNIPPET: "Omar, 29, has denounced his father's terrorist tactics and ideology. But he still maintains an emotional bond..." SNIPPET: "Much of Osama Bin Laden's family, comprising...

Hard-partying "Mean Girls" star Lindsay Lohan will be treated for methamphetamine addiction and a mental disorder that causes wild mood swings when she goes into rehab, the gossip website TMZ.com reported today. Lohan, 24, will be treated for meth addiction and bipolar disorder during her 90 days of court-ordered rehab following her release from jail this week -- which could happen as soon as today, her lawyer said. The site also quoted a person familiar with the case as saying methamphetamine -- a highly-addictive stimulant also known as crystal meth -- and opiates are Lohan's "drugs of choice." Opiates are...

Oscar-winning director and actor Mel Gibson, who caused a media storm four years ago over an anti-Semitic statement, is again making headlines for using an apparent racial slur in an argument with his ex-girlfriend. Celebrity news website Radaronline.com Thursday published excerpts of an audiotape of Gibson telling Oksana Grigorieva, whom "The Passion of the Christ" director is battling in court, that they way she is dressed made her look like a "pig in heat." "If you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault," Radaronline reported Gibson as shouting at Grigorieva during an argument she taped,...

EIGHTIES pop legend Adam Ant has been committed to psychiatric care after ranting at Christians during a Church Hall event. The troubled star, who suffers from bipolar disorder, was hospitalised on Tuesday night in London. An unspecified incident led to the 55-year-old singer being taken into care, according to the Adam and the Ants website. "Adam is currently undergoing initial psychiatric assessment and more details will follow when appropriate. Ant Lib Online would like to wish Adam all the best in his recovery," it said. A message sent by the star - whose real name is Stuart Goddard - read:...

Now this thing has been shoved down my throat, I'm feeling my ulcer flaring up, depression setting in and insomnia coming on. I can't get to the 24 hour pharmacy---do you think Obama, Pelosi, or Stupak will get me my meds?

On March 4, 2010, John Bendell shot two police officers at the entrance to the Pentagon. He and I have a feared and very personal trait in common. Like me - and 5.7 million other Americans - Mr. Bendell had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, unlike Mr. Bendell, most of those 5.7 million and I have never committed a crime and are not violent.

BOSTON (Reuters) – The number of children aged 2 to 5 who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs has doubled over the past decade, according to research released on Friday. The research suggests that while it is still rare to prescribe powerful psychiatric drugs to 2-year-olds, the practice is becoming more frequent. The data, compiled from 2000 to 2007, and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, could inform testimony at the upcoming Boston-area murder trials of the parents of 4-year-old Rebecca Riley. The girl died of an overdose...

In the spring of 1998, I publicly revealed that the orgasm is not the crowning achievement of my life. Having been bombarded for months with the “spin” regarding Bill Clinton’s most infamous national sex scandal, I felt compelled to make my own statement. I was sickened by the excuses. “It was just a lie about sex.” “Everybody cheats.” “Boys will be boys.” “That depends on what the definition of the word ‘is’ is.” And my favorite; “If I were Clinton, I’d have done it, too.” To which I quickly responded, “And I wouldn’t want you to be President, either.” I...

How is it possible that a severe elbow injury could be a good thing for a man who makes a living throwing a baseball with that arm? Answer: It made him depressed. So depressed, in fact, that when the elbow had healed, he was still unable to return to his team. Justin Duchscherer, a pitcher for the Oakland A’s, missed much of the 2009 season due to elbow surgery

"Consider yourself kicked in the ass," said Pastor Bruce Edwards in the sanctuary of Allison Park Church - right after I went to him for prayer. I needed it, the kick more so than the prayer. I expected him to burst forth with a full-fiery Pentecostal blizzard of petition. But Bruce had other ideas. Bruce wanted to do even more than pray. Fortunately, I trust Bruce. In fact, I trust him so much that I revealed my bipolar diagnosis to him at a time when I was still likely to explode at any moment. I was out of work and...

"Rich-ieee!" the gleaming Caribbean ex-addict sings my name as the worship music soars and pounds to start the service. We embrace and I can feel the crazy coming off of him. We stand back and I look wildly into his wild-eyed grin, yelping, "Yeah! God likes the crazy people!" And he yelps back, "Rich-ieee! Because we'll get crazy for him!"And I let out a cackling bipolar howl as the music blares. This man knows something about "crazy." He decided to get clean only after a drug deal got him thrown into the trunk of a car; driven into a field...

(Reason #)8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)

A patient at a Massachusetts General Hospital bipolar clinic stabbed his psychiatrist during a treatment session yesterday afternoon, and was then shot dead by an off-duty security guard, in a frantic scene that a colleague later described as “every psychiatrist’s worst nightmare.’’ Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, a 49-year-old instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, the mother of grown children, and a celebrated doctor in the city’s Haitian community, was in stable condition at MGH and recovering from her wounds, relatives, colleagues, and hospital officials said. Police identified the assailant as Jay Carciero, 37, of Reading. Relatives described him as a...

I cracked up – for the first time - on June 4, 1988, three weeks short of completing my Masters degree in Psychology. Some would say I had a nervous breakdown. The psych ward doctors said it was major depression. I say that I saw just how evil my sin is in the eyes of God and it scared the hell out of me. I cracked up, broke down, and de-pressed. I cobbled together some mad reality and blew a fuse. I despaired, decompensated, detached, and derailed. I lost my mind, never to be the same again. Thanks be to...

I know he said he thinks the CIA investigation would be a bad thing, then spends the rest of the interview talking about how our image in the world is damaged because of torture, he John, the world would be speaking fluent German if it wasn't for us...Good Grief, please retire... (Video from Face the Nation)

HAVING BIPOLAR vs. BEING BIPOLAR (excerpt from the book, "Blessed With Bipolar: 36 God-Given Gifts of Manic Depression) I have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder does not have me. Bipolar disorder is not, my identity. It is not who I am. Bipolar disorder impacts my personality, emotions, and behavior. It does not dictate what I think, believe, say, or do. There are blessings that come with “having bipolar disorder.” “Being bipolar,” on the other hand, would be nothing but a burden. If I think of myself as “being bipolar” (or of bipolar as being my being), then I am controlled by...

It’s getting old, isn’t it? Everyone these days is bipolar or has some other chic mental disorder that he feels excuses his self-centered conduct. Like the guy who once walked into my class twenty minutes late. I told him it was his last time to come in late. He said, “But you don’t understand, I’m bipolar.” And he said it in front of the whole class. Having a mental disorder used to be a source of embarrassment. But, now, it’s often a request for special treatment, which, when granted, fuels self-centered conduct. That’s why a pastor friend of mine now...

I cracked up – for the first time - on June 4, 1988, three weeks short of completing my Masters degree in Psychology. Some would say I had a nervous breakdown. The psych ward doctors said it was major depression. I say that I saw just how evil my sin is in the eyes of God and it scared the hell out of me. I cracked up, broke down, and de-pressed. I cobbled together some mad reality and blew a fuse. I despaired, decompensated, detached, and derailed. I lost my mind, never to be the same again. Thanks be to...