Depression and Bipolar Disorder: Your Guide to Recovery - Softcover

Marchand, William R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933503998 ISBN 13: 9781933503998

Verlag: BULL PUBL, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

Responding to the reasons why people often do not recover from mood disorders, this book empowers readers by providing the tools needed to work effectively with doctors and health care providers to negotiate the complex pathway to a full and lasting recovery from depression or bipolar disorder. It explains the three main barriers to recovery—not receiving treatment, incorrect diagnosis, and receiving inadequate treatment—and how to overcome these challenges to ensure successful treatment. A practical book for the layperson, it provides flowcharts and useful forms to help readers determine whether they need help and how best to collaborate with their medical team.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

William R. Marchand, MD, is a board-certified academic psychiatrist and neuroscientist who is currently an assistant professor of psychiatry and an adjunct assistant professor of psychology at the University of Utah. He has years of experience treating mood disorders in clinical settings; researching the neurobiology of mood and anxiety disorders, as well as education of mental health providers and the general public; and using functional neuroimaging methods to investigate the causes of anxiety and affective conditions. He lives in Salt Lake City.

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Depression and Bipolar Disorder: Your Guide to Recovery

By William R. Marchand

Bull Publishing Company

Copyright © 2012 Bull Publishing Company
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-933503-99-8

Contents

Introduction, 
Chapter 1 Managing Emotional Distress and Thoughts of Self-Harm, 
Chapter 2 Mood Disorders and the Diagnostic Process, 
Chapter 3 Do You Have a Mood Disorder?, 
Chapter 4 Mood Disorders: Facts and Causes, 
Chapter 5 How and Where to Find Help, 
Chapter 6 Collaborating with Your Team, 
Chapter 7 The Diagnostic Evaluation, 
Chapter 8 Medication and Other Biological Treatments, 
Chapter 9 Psychotherapy, 
Chapter 10 Complementary Approaches to Recovery, 
Chapter 11 Starting Treatment, 
Chapter 12 Special Considerations for Women, 
Chapter 13 Getting Well: The Acute Phase of Treatment, 
Chapter 14 Maintenance Treatment and Relapse Prevention, 
Appendix A. Resources for Getting Help, 
Appendix B. Useful Websites, 
Appendix C. Recommended Reading, 
Glossary, 
Bibliography, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Managing Emotional Distress and Thoughts of Self-Harm

This is the most important chapter in the book. One goal is to help you stay safe if you have thoughts of committing suicide or harming yourself, either now or in the future. This chapter will also help you to manage times of emotional crisis and stress. Please read this chapter now. If you are currently in crisis or have suicidal thoughts, the next section provides options for getting help immediately. If you are not experiencing severe emotional distress right now, please read this chapter and complete the stress and crisis management plan (Form 1.1). We all have times of high stress and can feel overwhelmed by emotion. Ann, whom you met in the Introduction, put it like this: "Depression can feel like getting kicked in the stomach. Sometimes I feel hopeless and helpless." Having a plan prepared ahead of time can help you get through those times. It's like having a fire escape plan in place before a fire. It's hard to come up with a good plan when the building is burning. It will take you only a few minutes to develop a plan.

You might want to read this chapter and develop your stress and crisis management plan with a loved one. Others who know you well may be able to make suggestions for the plan that you might not immediately think of. Please read this chapter and make your plan now.

A number of factors can increase the risk of suicide among those with mood disorders. Some of these risk factors are listed in Table 1.2. Many of these factors are not difficult to understand. For example, it makes intuitive sense that someone who is experiencing both a mood disorder and a serious medical illness might have increased stress and thus an increased risk of thinking about suicide. For other factors, such as having been born in spring or summer, the relationship to suicide risk is not well understood.

In addition to the risk factors listed in Table 1.2, there is evidence of a vulnerability to suicide that is independent of having a mood disorder. What does that mean? Evidence indicates that a trait-related predisposition to suicide exists that has a significant heritable component. A primary candidate for this susceptibility is the trait of impulsivity. In addition to suicide risk, this trait may be associated with risk of nonsuicidal self-injury. Impulsivity means a tendency to do things or make decisions rapidly without thinking through the possible consequences. We all can be impulsive at times, but some people tend to be impulsive more frequently than others. Impulsivity may cause someone who is having thoughts of suicide to be more likely to act on those thoughts than a person who is less impulsive. If you or a loved one with a mood disorder tends to be impulsive, there could be a higher risk of suicide. If so, please complete the stress and crisis management plan (in the next section) now and discuss prevention strategies with your treatment team.

I want to be sure that one thing is clear. Having a mood disorder along with one or more of these risk factors does not mean that any individual will have thoughts of suicide or attempt self-harm. It just means that statistically there is some increase in risk. From a practical standpoint, if you have risk factors, then it is imperative that you do everything in your power to stay safe. Part of that process is seeking professional treatment. However, the following section provides an exercise to guide you in the process of developing a stress and crisis management plan.

CHAPTER 2

DMood Disorders and the Diagnostic Process

As the title suggests, this chapter explains what mood disorders are and how these conditions are diagnosed. I have included a lot of information about the diagnostic criteria for mood disorders. My goal is to provide this material as a ready reference for you. For example, if a member of your treatment team says she thinks you have dysthymic disorder, you can quickly look it up. I certainly don't think you need to commit any of this to memory or even read the information that doesn't apply to you. In contrast, the description of how mood disorders are diagnosed is very important. As you will see, an accurate diagnosis requires good communication between you and the person doing the evaluation. Understanding how the diagnostic process works can help you provide the right information.

The term mood refers to one's emotional state, and mood disorders are primarily disorders of emotion. However, mood disorders also cause other symptoms, such as changes in energy level, appetite, and sleep. They can also dramatically affect how we think and even what we think about. But the defining characteristic of a mood disorder is a disturbance of emotional functioning. So, we'll start there.

We all experience a range of emotions every day. Roughly speaking, we can categorize our feelings as generally being either positive or negative. Obvious positive emotions are happiness, hope, and compassion. Negative feelings include anger, disappointment, and embarrassment. Being human means experiencing positive and negative mood states. But what distinguishes a normal mood from a disorder? Broadly speaking, a mood disorder exists when two basic conditions are met: (1) the mood state is abnormal and (2) the symptoms of the mood state are causing significant distress or impairment.

Although actually determining whether someone has a mood disorder is a bit more complicated (much more on that later in this chapter), it is important to start with these two basic criteria. So, what is an abnormal mood state? This is defined as either too much or too little emotion. "Too much" (or "too little") can refer to either intensity or duration. For example, the term depression, as used in the context of psychiatric disorder, means either excessive sadness or sadness that lasts for too long. Both intensity and duration are excessive in persons who have mood disorders. The other basic criterion is that some (or all) of the symptoms are causing significant distress or impairment. Before I move on, it is important to note that mood disorders are sometimes called "affective" disorders. The terms mood disorder and affective disorder are used interchangeably. Affect also refers to one's current experience of emotion. Technically speaking, affect refers to one's immediate emotional state, while mood means a more sustained period of a...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: BULL PUBL
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1933503998
• ISBN 13: 9781933503998
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 360
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar