So many people come onto this blog and say, “the answer to curing bipolar disorder is . . ..” Their answers range from magnesium to religion to talk therapy.
And all of them tick me off (as I ranted in Stop Telling Me How to Cure my Bipolar Disorder).
Because your answer to curing bipolar disorder is nonsense.
My Bipolar Disorder Is Cured
Okay, I get it, you were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, you did something, and now you think you’re cured. Goody for you. But here’s what science says. Science says that people with bipolar disorder are never cured. Symptoms can absolutely be managed, bipolar can go into remission and you might never have a bipolar episode again (lucky you) but that’s not the same thing as being “cured.” Honestly, if you’re lucky enough to go into remission for a long period of time it might just be that – luck. And I can’t tell you the number of people who have claimed to be “cured” only to find themselves back in the hospital in a month, a year, or even five years down the road. Because that is bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is episodic.
Cures for Bipolar Disorder
And these people who claim magic cures are often weeded off this blog. If it sounds like a treatment plan or a sales pitch to me the comment often isn’t approved because I don’t want crap like that cluttering up real conversations from real people. You want bad information? There are lots of places to get that. I try to make sure you don’t get a whole lot of it here.
Bipolar Disorder Is Rarely the Same
Have you ever taken a poll of people with bipolar disorder and asked what medications they are on? No, you likely don’t know enough people with bipolar disorder to ask that question, but myself and Dr. Prakash Masand did in a survey and more than half of all people with bipolar were on three or more medications and more than 13% were on five or more medications with less than 15% taking only one medication. (See, Results From an Online Survey of Patient and Caregiver Perspectives on Unmet Needs in the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder.)
That is a lot of cocktails and a lot of unique treatments not to mention all the psychotherapies and other techniques used within the population.
Your Cure for Bipolar Disorder Is Nonsense
All of this is a long way of saying: your bipolar disorder treatment may work for you, I don’t know, but what I do know is that you are unique and prescribing that “treatment” for other people without scientific backing is ignorant and possibly harmful. Please take your nonsense cure and post it elsewhere. Start your own blog and get your own audience because you won’t be poisoning mine.
(Quick addendum, I do let people talk about their own experiences, to a certain degree. A person comes on and says, “I tried X and it worked for me,” is not what the above is referring to. Also, I’m not picking on homeopathy here. Luckily, those guys don’t even seem to show up here.)
Not to sound rude or anything, but religion is certainly NOT the answer to anything. Imho religion is an obsession, and we all know how easy it is for bipolar people to obsess over things, right?
Again not to be rude to anyone, but it makes me wonder just how many religious people who actually suffer from mental illness, delusions and general psychosis..
Yes, I’m an atheist. And if god exists, he’s like a kid with an antfarm and a magnifying glass.
Touchy subject, I know. But this point of view HAS to be heard.
Sorry if anyone feels offended.
Thanks so much for this blog. It has helped me so much, and I’m grateful that there are no bogus cures being touted here. I’d like to add one to the list – people who claim to have “cured” their bipolar disorder because they were misdiagnosed and never actually had it in the first place. Some people may simply experience mood swings, which are caused by other things besides bipolar disorder – maybe a bad diet, poor sleep, other disorders, etc. – and they get misdiagnosed as being “bipolar” by doctors who simply go off of the symptoms they report, without doing much probing. Later, the true cause of their mood swings is removed, so their mood stabilizes. They think they overcame their “bipolar disorder” with nutrition, exercise, meditation, whatever, and they go trying to cure the rest of the world with the thing that cured the bipolar disorder they never actually had. They basically go around acting like, “I cured my bipolar disorder, so why can’t you?” and make the rest of us look bad with the BS they blog about.
Yes, you may email me directly. I apologize for the delayed response as I was in Boston over the weekend and ran their marathon yesterday. I am best contacted at johnciccone87@gmail.com
A cure for bipolar? Of course.
Here it is. Guaranteed.
Plain, unprocessed, fresh local organic (FLO) food.
Minimal vitamins and supplements for what cannot be gained from FLO food
No man-made sugars, chemicals or food mixtures (Eat your fruits, starches and proteins separately)
7 – 9 hours sleep each nite
No drugs
Keep learning
Low stress work you enjoy
Honest, heartfelt communication
Low stress intimate relationships
A responsible life contributing to the world around you
Walk a few miles each day, ideally in the park or the woods
Connect enjoyably with your children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents or nabors regularly
Exposure to sunshine on a regular basis
Enjoy a passion or hobby
Cure for stupidity. Pseudo-science idiots with the inability to look @ reality objectively. Health food fools and vegetarians. Especially raw food raw intelligence idiots who refuse to believe humans have evolved to eat meat and who can’t grasp the concept that “everything” is “natural” as in it exists in the reality we call the universe. I agree and applaud vegetarianism for those who do it and who do it for love of animals. I don’t have the willpower myself. Keep doing it (if you do) and I believe this is the only thing I will pay for after death. If I believed in an after life. Fermented grain (beer, wine etc.) is far more “natural” then hydroponically grow marijuana (or pot grown with fertilizers, watering without rain and so on). LSD (which is many more steps removed from “natural” then heroin or Lithium, as well as marijuana as mentioned above) and so much more that is championed by the health food, natural living and other standardized stereo-types in this area as healthy good living. I have had a really hard time politically dealing with people like this for thirty years or so. I’m what I call a social libertarian ( a combination of socialist and libertarian) as in I’m a libertarian as long as we are all born with the same cards when born. Which is a fantasy but also no reason to limit personal freedom and use paternalism to control others. It also stresses personal responsibility.
I hope you are joking here as your list is both absurd (for many, many reasons), irrational and unattainable even in a country far more socially advanced then the US or Canada (which is where most who comment or read this blog live). Even in the Nordic countries it is impossible both politically and in reality. And stupid.
One last thing. Being a health nut (not a bad thing if reality is involved) is very expensive contrary to the bs celebrities and others say. I tested this once by e-mailing the head of PETA and did so very sincerely (she’s still there) about how I could be a vegetarian in my situation with my income and so on. I received the answer I was expecting. Total bs. Eat nothing but staples like rice, potatoes and so on. Please. Send me $200.00 per. mo. and I’ll become a vegetarian. Otherwise I can’t afford it.
So sorry but reality always seems to get in the way. Especially when getting moral lectures from others. As always the devil is in the details and rarely do any of us know the devils or demons that others face. WN
This is for David. I know this is an old thread, but I have to respond, and natasha, I hope you’ll hear this too and maybe repost somewhere. I feel this is an important message that needs to get out.
First, one note: I am a Christian. While I am not ashamed of what I believe, I do not force my beliefs upon others. I respect their right to believe whatever they choose as I would hope they would respect mine. So I’m not trying to “back door” evangelize here, but I would like to address Christians on this issue specifically, and clear up some things that (to be frank) make Christians look kind of “out there” to those of other faiths (or no faith)
Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, I believe in miracles. And yes, I have seen them… and yes, sometimes miracles do NOThappen.
Does God miraculously cure [fill in the blank here] sure. Does he always? No.
The “God can cure me, He cured xx” is a dangerous and erroneous theology, and I say that in love, not to try to be a butthead.
Did not St. Paul ask three times that God remove this thorn in his flesh and God would not? Do you think that was because St. Paul did not believe? Of course he did. Why didn’t God heal him of whatever he had? Who knows? Why did God allow St. Paul to get the crap beat out of him everywhere he went? That’s not the point. The point is accepting that there are things we will never understand and placing trust in him. Did God heal Job’s situation? Certainly. But not for a while and not until after Job lost everything.
Why do I consider this emphasis on miracles a dangerous theology? Because if faith ALWAYS produces healing, and can always beat what science says it can’t, than the opposite–if you are NOT healed, it is because you do not believe– comes into context. If someone of faith is suicidal and he comes to a pastor and is simply told he has never had enough faith, has never truly repented, has never truly loved Christ, that could easily put them over the edge.
ARe there horrid pdocs out there? Of course! Guess what? There are horrible preachers out there, too.
I find it interesting that you are very down on psychiatry. If you and/or your friend were healed and God healed you, then praise God. I am a woman of faith and have been on the floor in tears pleading to my God and have not been healed. Why? As God said, “My ways are not your ways…” Does it make me ill and angry? Sure. Sometimes. But that’s okay. My God is big enough to handle that.,
My question re: science is you seem to talk about diabetes, etc. that psychiatry is a bogus thing, etc. do you see the situation as either science OR faith? I think that is interesting because (someone correct me if I’m wrong) was not one of Christ’s disciples — St. Luke–a doctor? Sure, some of the church founders were uneducated men miraculously equipped by God, but not all. St. Paul was extremely well-educated (probably at Alexandria) and could not only hold his own in an Athenian debate, but could also proclaim the faith.
I just ask, please remember your fellow Christians when you say that. YEs, I have mustard seed faith. No, I have not been healed. CAN God heal me? Sure. Has he? No. Why? Well, that’s the whole point of the journey of faith.
I have been spiritually abused by folks such as this, claiming that the only thing preventing my healing was the lack of faith. This is dangerously close to the “health wealth” gospel that has gained a lot of traction as of late (and personally, I spit on that theology). Christian missionaries get malaria and diseases and die every day and cruel dictators live out their lives in relative luxury. Is it fair? No. This world is not.
I think, for me personally, this is not about being healed here on earth, but looking for renewal in heaven, and learning how to love others and love God better along the way. Why? I don’t know. But I know my pain makes me look at the pain of others and empathize.
Dawn, your belief (faith) in “god” seems a whole lot like a child that has been abused by a physical/sexual predator. You seem to excuse repeated acts that you yourself attribute to this god or @ least his inaction for things that cause severe suffering. Then you repeatedly say he/she/it is the one to look to for salvation, peace or whatever you may wish to call it. This is the classical abuse dynamic where someone continues to be abuse and gives excuses about the motives and actions of the abuser.
let us not go through the horror and death that has been spread by “Christian” missionaries throughout the world and especially their cruel and inhumane actions in the new world (at least to the Europeans). Missionary’s in so many parts of the world and for hundreds of years have been totally OK with the murder, rape, theft and so on and so on of the people they say they are “saving”. Evangelism has spread fear and death to a degree almost unheard of by using other means. In short, these “missionary’s” deserve death and far worse. Far worse. They are worse then the scum on the hook I haul out of the water when fishing.
Your “faith” in “God” is an illusion and the result of a need to have someone on high who is all powerful and cares for you without question and unconditionally. I think we all would like something like that (there may be exceptions) but it’s a fantasy and should be avoided by anyone seeking the real truth. It’s childish and should be abandoned like Santa Claus when adulthood rears it’s ugly head.
“St. Paul” and all these character in the “Bible” are for the most part stories of stories of stories of stories. They are no more real (as well as what they say) them any other fairy tale. Fairy tales are fun and make good movies “if done well-see Hansel and Gretel” but just stories. All your holy book stories are the same.
Faith “trust” in someone who ignores or abuses you is as unhealthy as it gets.
Please try to [moderated] join the rest of us who live in the real world and twist it to our own liking without invoking the supernatural. WN
Natasha, just because you’re still struggling with bipolar symptoms doesn’t mean others haven’t found ways to cure themselves. I’m curious, why are you so opposed to natural alternative treatments, like exercise, proper nutrition, acupuncture, vitamins, yoga,talk therapy, etc. ? Many people, like myself, can’t tolerate psych drugs and have found great relief in living very healthy and disciplined lifestyles.
Hi Tas,
I never said I was against changing your lifestyle, in fact, I employ that technique and suggest it for others all the time. I said it wasn’t a cure — and for people with bipolar disorder, it’s not.
– Natasha Tracy
You can’t say it isn’t a cure when many people who have suffered from mental illness have cured themselves without the use of medications. I totally respect that you choose to take medications, but please recognize that they don’t work for everyone.
Bipolar can’t be cured, says science.
Diabetes type 1 can’t be cured, says science.
But I am good friends with a man who had type 1 diabetes and was healed. By God, we believe. A miracle.
And science, you see, doesn’t handle miracles well. Not because everyone who does science is closed to the notion of miracles, but because of their nature. They are one-off events. Not replicable. Outside of the scope of science, therefore.
Science is a wonderful set of mental tools, one of the few parts of the modern mental toolkit I still have patience for. But it has its limitations.
What’s more, mainstream psychiatry is *not* scientific. Yes, you read that right. Has your p-doc ever discussed chronotypes with you? GABA intake? Magnesium intake? (Yes, I know). Toxic mental/thought patterns? Gating deficits? Oxidative stress? HPA axis deficits? MRI scans to assess blood flow patterns in the brain? Genetic markers shared by multiple mental illnesses? Epidemiology of bipolar and conferred evolutionary benefit of ‘defective’ genes (anything above 1% incidence in a population, you’ve got to start suspecting it’s more than illness).
There’s been a stack of good hard scientific research done on mental illness, and it’s not making its way through to mainstream psychiatry.
Which continues to insist that bipolar is incurable, and that if you don’t have symptoms for decades you’re ‘in remission’.
Do you hear that? That’s the ugly sounds of bad grace and poor losers.
Just because you have the genes for bipolar, and you developed it, does *not* mean that you’re stuck with it.
Analogy: you have genes for breakable bones (funny, that. We all have those genes). You break your leg. It takes a couple months to heal. The doctors insist that it’s not healed, it’s simply in remission, because who knows, a month from now, a year from now, a decade from now, it could break again.
Hahaha, if there’s one surefire way to go nuts it’s to listen to that brand of non-think.
Besides, what makes the p-docs such experts on mental illness? Oh yeah, they studied for years and years from books, and observed the mentally ill. That makes them experts on it like reading a bunch of books and watching a bunch of races makes you an expert on running ultramarathons.
Only the mentally ill really know what it’s like, just like only the ultra runner knows what’s it’s like. And if even *one* bipolar individual has beaten the disease, it’s beatable.
“Just once do what others say cannot be done, and you will never again listen to their limitations’.
If that was some dime-a-dozen po-faced motivational speaker or mega-church pastor, I’d pay that quote no never mind.
But it just so happens that it was Captain James Cook who said that.
So: the hell with bipolar.
The only part of it I have to keep is the genes. And I rather like having those. The disease can go die.
But yeah, no miracle cures. I didn’t get in this whole overnight, and I won’t get out overnight. A combination of good sleep hygiene, healthy diet (basically primal diet cause sugar is a bastard for serotonin balance), physical and mental training (like a warrior, discipline to the point that my body, brain, mind, the whole works is subordinate to my command, as I am subordinate to God), supplements (magnesium is a mild lithium analogue and GABA a decent valproic acid analogue), journalling, turning my heart’s dreams into goals with timelines, etc. etc. Leaning into suffering and embracing it, finding meaning in it, finding joy in it. May sound weird but Viktor Frankl lived it out in the death camps so don’t tell me it’s not practical.
I’m grateful to bipolar for giving me a much needed kick up the keister to turn my life around, and go from being a bog-standard loser to someone extraordinary.
Congratulations David. I believe Miracles can happen too. I don’t feel it necessary to inflict opinions on others tho. If you are cured.. I am wondering why you are coming back here? When I read what you posted – I don’t feel encouraged..I feel attacked..are you angry with this site? Anyway – I am glad you feel you are healthy now. I think that is what most people want. We are all INDIVIDUALS.. what works for some may not work for others. Again – good luck :D
David: laughed hysterically at your comment about science not curing diabetes type I or bipolar. Both you and your friend did not get better by miracle of God. More importantly, you did not get better because ” God laid the solution at your feet and you only need to do His will for it to work” . You did not continue to eat an drink exactly the way you always have and God “fixed” you. Bipolar doesn’t respond to a ” kick in the Keister ” approach. You made a scientific change when you changed the chemicals you ingested for fuel. We are biological machines and good fuel makes us run better. Congratulations on determining the American diet is bad for your health. You need to re-evaluate the whole miracle cure opinion though. Believing in God is a personal choice, and it’s fine when you need some personal comfort or a sense of community. The real world works based on scientific rules, there are no know instances of those rules being violated, even if you cannot fathom the physical reasons for “miracles”. Statistically unlikely things happen sometimes, and they have causes. Genes, diet, environmental toxins, all have cumulative effects resulting in illnesses that some people get, and some don’t. While I personally have started a strictly Keto diet and am experiencing a certain amount of relief, I am not, nor will I ever be “cured”. This diet is not helpful for everybody, and I would never advocate a one size fits all approach to ( especially for, of all things, this particular illness ) easing bipolar symptoms. And it’s not because I don’t give myself to God so He’ll do a miracle for me. Peace.
This is a common problem. A few years ago my wife developed breast cancer. We thought chemo had cured it but it turned out it metastasized to her brain and she developed more than two dozen tumors in her brain. There was nothing docs could do, although radiation did extend her life by a month or two. Radiation to her brain caused her to lose all her hair, etc.. Sorry, needed to give some background.
Anyway, it was obvious she had cancer and I can’t begin to tell you how many people felt it necessary to come up to her and tell her that all she needed to do to cure her cancer and not die was to eat goji berries, eat chia seeds, take up yoga, take colloidial silver, etc.
I can’t believe I didn’t actually punch any of these people but I came damn close a lot of times. That someone could be so self-centered and arrogant to do such a thing set me off, but there are so many of them.
Normally I don’t comment on websites, but I attended a function last night and ended up sitting next to a pair of the “modern doctors are evil and if we just all ate whole wheat bread we’d live forever” crowd. Both of course are 60’ish, masters in liberal arts, lifetime government employees who have never suffered or been unlucky enough to have someone close to them come down with an incurable disease, part of the “create your own reality”.
Sorry, I’m not being coherent this morning but it felt good to get it off my chest, I needed that as my BPD sucks these days with the grey rain back for another few months.
almost akin to “this is my playground, I’m the boss and if you don’t follow my rules and drink my kool-aid, I’ll just banish you from the playground.”
I’ve been reading your blog since way before you were a advocate and conveyor of all things Bipolar polite… haven’t always agreed with you but have always respected you
Bipolar is different upon each individual that is diagnosed by some clinical/medical professional who diagnoses it upon that individual. I’ve always said, for many many years now “Bipolar is a highly customized individualized disorder.” Not all suffer with the same symptoms as any other and no other suffers with the symptoms, I suffer.
This is the crux.
In that Bipolar is completely different and highly individualized to the one’s mind and brain it inhabits.. so is, treatment and so is, stability and so is, relapse or the lack thereof. There are many many out there who take 5 or more meds (not including those meds one takes to offset the side effects of the other meds and then offsets the psychiatric symptoms manifesting as adverse reactions to the initial 4 meds given) and then there are those who only take 1 or 2 meds and even those who take no meds, at all.
Now, according to the medical professionals who have no diagnostic medical tool to actually diagnose any mental illness outside of behavior presented and symptoms verbally given and to that professional’s understanding and knowledge of the DSM, in order to make said diagnosis which 3 professionals later will be likely changed and re-arranged and likely not even in the equation at all…. each person with Bipolar cannot be cured and it’s a life-long, often debilitating disease that will plague each person diagnosed UNLESS they take meds. Stability is the goal and the length of which is uncertain but what is certain is this: once you find the “RIGHT” medication cocktail and you’ve been on it for some time will you find quality over quantity with your illness.
Thing is: often times the meds poop out and more times than not – the whole cocktail must be changed. It truly is a life long thing.
Bipolar is a highly customized disorder to the one it inhabits and one’s definition of “cured’ and the means for which they take and/or believe to get them to that nirvana… is also highly customized to the one it inhabits
it doesn’t necessarily make it wrong or evil or useless
not too long ago the common thought of Bipolar and other mental illnesses were “all in the head” with no biologic identity whatsoever
not too long ago the ONLY form of Bipolar was the wildly manic to depressive version… no, II, or III, or NOS, or Cyclothymia or Dysthmia
there was no Schizoaffective Disorder-Bipolar Type… you either had Schizophrenia or you had Bipolar
I’m glad that you screen out the “sales” people and the overt charlatans who are very much out there… but where there is a audience willing, there will be different people a selling…
doesn’t make everything sold, nonsense
In parentheses should read : but it is not a cure, nor is it for everyone.
DrT… I make it a point to always read every post when I am on a forum, especially if I plan to comment, so what I am about to say is rare. I stopped reading your 13 paragraph rant after the first sentence. You are clueless. I did read your first post, you sound like a ” diet ” fixer. My brain runs on glucose or ketones depending on my diet. There are is no “good” or ” bad” glucose. There are no ” good ” or ” bad ” ketones. There is evidence to support slight improvements in bipolar from running on ketones ( but it is. OT a cure, nor is it for everybody ) This is because bipolar is a brain disorder. It has similarities with epilepsy. I hope you have the guts to go to epilepsy websites and tell the parents of children who have that illness that they don’t need meds. Both bipolar and epilepsy are real physical illnesses. Both receive initial diagnosis based on symptoms reported to a medical proffesional. Both can be confirmed with brain scans, but the initial diagnosis is usually made by observation. I have a standing truism that states ” if a person claims to have been cured ( a claim that cannot be made until arriving at death completely free of future episodes, thus a claim you cannot make ) of bipolar, they never had it to begin with. ” There are certainly misdiagnosis out there. There are a**holes who claim to have bipolar for an excuse to act out. There are people with depression but no mania that may present as bipolar but a person who has bipolar, has bipolar. Forever. Symptoms can be managed, but every person on this blog who suffers knows the monster waits to rear it’s ugly head. You belong to an odd and largely useless group of people who want the world to fit your idea of normal. I bet I can guess your opinion on LGBT issues. You probably think a company ( an inanimate object ) has religious views. But these are just my assumptions. See how that works? Just because you think something personally, doesn’t make it right. Shut up before someone gets hurt because of your ignorance. Please.
Edde, I have heard the involuntary confinement bit before. I have never heard of a rational, cleared headed individual being involuntarily confined or drugged. You left out the most important part of your story, what f*cked up scary a** sh*t you did before they decided to restrict you. A lie of omission is still a lie. Of course I am also confused by including your heart surgery in this tale. If you needed surgery but declined, fine, I am with you then. You weren’t mentally ill, you made a choice. If you needed surgery, wanted said surgery, but presented a danger to hospital staff and patients, I cannot fault them for keeping you under guard. You are right, you can refuse meds if you want. This is not always in your own best interest. When I hear a story about ” saved myself from the horrors of mental health care ” I generally see the persons mental illness expressing itself as clear as day. You have the right to remain mentally ill and untreated, provided you cause no harm to other people. You are not the only person in the world, rules have to be followed to protect the many from the few. Too bad if it is inconvenient to you personally.
Ivan, although I agree with so much of what you have said there is one thing I must say. I am compelled to say. I was locked up and drugged against my will for no other reason then a family dispute after my father died and a vindictive brother. This was done with full support of police due to many years of political activism on my part (including fighting police abuse itself). The story is much longer and much more complicated, but I can tell you this with absolute certainty. I was locked up in a psychiatric hospital in Philadelphia, PA for a reason that had nothing to do with my mental health at all (I was 100% stable with no symptoms @ the time-zero) for know other reason then my brothers greed and anger. Then due to my continued insistence on access to legal counsel, improved conditions, computer access to legal documents, clothing, pen or pencil and paper I was drugged by force with a group of no less then twenty individuals bearing down upon me. The psychiatrist ordering the drugging (initially ordering a drug she was fully aware I was highly allergic to) until I protested in front of the entire medical staff, was the only one not actually present for the forced drugging. This incident is imprinted in my mind for all times and shall be with me until the day I die and I will never forgive all who were involved. It was blatant use of overwhelming force against a helpless individual so thinly disguised as medical treatment to be nothing less then criminal. With no physical resistance of any kind I was injected with a drug that created such severe discomfort that I could say nothing other then it was torture. Plain and simple I was tortured for trying to exersize my civil rights in a rational way. I will forever hate that physician and can only hope the same and worse for her. Simply a terrible excuse for a human being to say the least a Dr. who takes an oath to help others in pain and distress.
Will- THANK YOU. You stated clearly and cogently your story which is a re-statement of my story. For males especially, mental health treatment is done in a crime and punishment fashion, you are arrested tortured and made to take drugs that will keep your “behaviors” from upsetting whoever (usually family). I am completely alone, without friends or family because of a lifelong “branding” of me as mentally ill. The only thing I have left is my indomitable spirit and faith in my concept of God. That spirit knows that any of my behaviors are instantly forgiven and it is not up to me to forgive others’ trespasses against me. However, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I am so glad to know you through this blog. Never give up, never surrender. I am old but my purpose for the rest of my life is to bring this thinly veiled society secret into the light of day.
Of course I agree. Of course, this subject is a real trigger for me. The word “cure” is an oximoron like “diagnosis”. Bipolar has always been a catchall diagnosis and is certainly the diagnosis du jour. It covers evrything from autism to pain and that is why there is such a discrepency in the number of meds any single person may be on. I recently was involuntarily hospitalized in a mental hospital because I was having heart problems, I went through a heart operation under psychiatric guard because I refused psychotropic medications. I survived because I refused to allow someone else to judge my behavior according to mental hospital standards which are not healthcare, but behavioral jails. You have the right to refuse medications. You have all kinds of rights that you give up if you voluntarily enter a mental facility and are taken from you if you are involuntarily placed there.
Dear Doc T,
There is something which immediately bothers and disturbs me about your posts and that is “Dr T”.
Just what or who is “Dr T” or are you trying to intimate that you are a licensed medical doctor or Pharm D. etc.? Exactly what are you and exactly what are your curriculum vitae for me and the readers to better understand your qualifications to address those who suffer serious mood disorders?
As a lay-depression expert of 5 decades to my spouse I have maintained a position of treating those with mental health issues with the least invasive approaches at first such as diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, talk therapies, holistic approaches etc. and when these options, whether in combination or standalone, prove unsuccessful then one should consider other treatment options such as medications etc.
I coined a phrase many years ago as it pertains to our odyssey with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and that is “The Trial and Error Approach to Wellness”.
I am not here to endorse any treatment regimens but rather responding to you to neither condone or challenge your thoughts about True Hope or systemic fungus overgrowth theory as possible causes and/or treatments for a number of these very serious illnesses but to better understand your qualifications and alleged professional status.
I’ll also point out to you that better than all the proposed treatments I read here and elsewhere is that you overlooked and did not discuss the placebo effect as a valid treatment option to be considered by the health care practitioner.
And since you brought up True Hope I think you should read the following posting by Philip Long, M.D.
http://mytherapy.com/discussion/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=37355
And while we’re discussing treatment options you also might find the following link of interest:
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/bogus-diagnostic-tests/
One point we both agree upon for sure is a healthy dose of skepticism.
Sincerely,
Herb
http://www.vnstherapy-herb.blogspot.com
http://www.vnstherapy.wordpress.com
Thanks for all the info and all the links Herb. Read them all and all good info. Although gov. isn’t my definition of reliable it’s a good place to start. This whole True Hope and so on crap is all like the proving all the absurd claims made then proving them wrong. Anyone out there makes an absurd claim cloaks it in bs and the rest of us must disprove it. Exhausting. Sorry couldn’t reply better as I greatly value you contribution, It’s just that I’m in the grip of my bp illness right now and finding it hard to fight off the con-artists right now. Thank you. WN
Imagine if all the resources, time, money that are currently wasted on bogus cures for everything, were put towards real research. We might end up with a cure for cancer (but sadly, probably not for bipolar).
Science says? Please document these vague and general statements. I agree with you, but tell us how you know these things.
As much as you hate the people you speak of. I think I hate them more. Please stand by your censorship policy (as In almost none). Their is great integrity in letting even the biggest scum comment (as long as not robotic). I have great respect for you and am dying myself of this but never wish to be seen as a censor as so many have done to me through the years who didn’t like my views. WN
Dear bloggers and Ms Tracy,
As I stated, my intentions to share information, experience and real hope for you are very real. I am glad I did this and I appreciate the responses regardless of negative or positive as they assist me to understand what people perceive. I feel from the commentary that there are a few things to clarify. I gave the example of my relatives extreme case because I felt you could relate to it and I lived it. Yes indeed she was closely lovingly supervised and it was not all instant and tidy. I have repeated this with many though. People who have severe symptoms for a long time and are juggling multiple meds are so distracted and often delicate that they would most likely need someone with them closely for a week or a month if possible to help keep them on track long enough to clear up considerably.
Some misconceptions I see about what the True Hope Company and their products and programs are actually is very important to address whether you ever use their products or advice or not. One of the things I have seen as a naturopath is that the systemic fungus overgrowth issue is indeed huge imperative to get reduced in order to get along with taking a potent vitamin/mineral. It is also important for reducing anxiety (and yes a laundry list of other potential symptoms that fungus overpopulation causes). It is a fact that 95 percent of any aged person with mood or attention disorders also have a systemic fungus population that is too high. The vast majority of allopathic medical professionals just were not taught of this and are unaware. This is one of the reasons that the TH company has free counselors, so they can help people with their individual experience. I know it may be hard to trust but I truly have no affiliation with this company. I did research them thoroughly and read every single word and article on their site. I spoke with their medical director at length. They just have a really great product and an even greater (much needed) free service of counselor advisors that they won court battles to have the right to give to people as in medical advice. It is important to understand and have some help and individualized advice to titrate down gradually from pharmaceuticals. It is also very important to understand the relevance of things such as the fungus overload issue as well as a persons eating and drinking choices.
Just in the last few weeks I helped a friend who had gradually been increasing and using xanax more and more, as in several times a week.. She does not have extreme severe anxiety to hypomanic symptoms but they were increasing slowly in severity and frequency. She did the following for a week: Reduced coffee or any other caffeine, to one morning cup. She took one magnesium morning and one evening (brand Mag o7) for 10 days. One Olive Leaf Capsule every other day as a slow start to reduce systemic fungus. I also advised her to really pace her day and when something stressful comes up, to breath and step back from it and slow down consciously instead of going into overreaction. Within 10 days, she is 70 percent better and feeling much more calm. No longer reaching for a Xanax.
The other thing to tell you here is that I did this several years ago with this friend but she had gradually eased back to old habits and forgotten the importance of the fungus and minerals. A good example of the cure issue, no one is always cured permanently of any disorder or imbalance, we live daily in health advancing ways of being, choices and actions or we live daily in health declining ways of being and choices.
I tell you about this because she is not like my relative I spoke of in severity of symptoms or meds but she has struggled with increasing climbs toward more frequent ups and downs of racing thoughts, anxiety and some downs of flat line blues. She was also having repetitive thoughts more frequently.
I am not suggesting that a severely long term symptomatic person just stop meds and get on minerals and anti fungals, it is indeed more complex in the details and individuality..
That is why True Hope offers the free counseling and that is why they ask so many questions, just to help you to customize your own program and to have a heads up on what to expect..
So yes, there are some things you can do that do work like magic, but there are some details to learn and apply to your own unique habits, history, tendencies and lifestyle.
I looked at the previous blogs you mention Natasha where you discuss your own experience with taking Empower. I noted that you perceived the True Hope companies questions as intrusive or non confidential. I also noted that you thought the fungus reduction herbal product suggestion was bunk and an attempt to sell you more stuff.
Healthy skepticism is a good thing but it can also be a limiting thing.
In my experience and right in the True Hope info on their site, this is the 2 things that adversely affected your chances for feeling better using their protocol. You say you are compliant and I understand what you are saying but it is very different with more natural or wholistic nutrient or herbal etc approaches. Compliant in the pharmaceutical approach is more about taking a certain dose at a certain timing. Compliant in the wholistic approach is more varied.
I noted that people were intense with stating that everyone is so different. This is true, this is why having a counselor with a lot of experience in this protocol is so valuable. A very cool thing that company does and it is free. Recently they have allowed Empower to be available at a discounted rate through other suppliers. The slightly higher cost to buy from the manufacturer and have free access to their advisors is a major key though until a person becomes stable and more versed in how to do everything, how to customize it to themselves and what to expect.
A few things about the pharmaceutical industry and the pharmaceutical approach and the more wholistic nutrient, herbal etc. approach. The pharma industry spends vast sums of money to make a med that speeds something up, slows something down or blocks something generally. The meds are really not designed to fix the underlying causes of the disorder. That is.. any disorder. They are designed to affect symptoms. The wholistic approach is more about unraveling and fixing the underlying causes, imbalances and deficiencies as well as address the lifestyle and thoughts aspect that affect a person. I am certain you all have noted that it seems that mood and attention disorders are climbing in epidemic proportions. Some of the reasons for this are increased use of antibiotics, increased use of sugar and alcohol, therefore increased fungus levels, there are increased use of things that promote acid ph (therefore mineral depletion) such as use of soda waters and coffee as well as sugar and alcohol, use of mass conventional strip soil farming so the food has less mineral content.
We have an epidemic of increased fungus overload in the body and extreme mineral deficiency. Fungus is a living spore that we all have many varieties of living all over and in our body. Fungus emits a very inflammatory and irritating substance that can create many different irritations if we have too much growing in us. If we just have a general overpopulation, then our central nervous system is chronically inflamed therefore we are chronically agitated and over reactive. Minerals, the most important being Magnesium. must be in ready adequate blood supply levels in order to make a steady supply of dopamine and serotonin (the main mood regulating neurotransmitter hormones). This mineral is the main building block or precursor to making those brain hormones. If you don’t have enough you cannot have a steady level of the hormones therefore you have the swings in moods.
These 2 things are truly the major keys to the vast majority of mood or attention disorders. Genetics do count of course and some people are more sensitive to these two imbalance issues than others.
There are a myriad of other factors and other nutrients that do make a difference to fine tune but these are truly the top 2 reasons.
There are indeed published clinical studies (you can find them on the True Hope site. They have the best site in existence at this point of vast amounts of excellent and true information about mood disorders and the real cause as well as real answers. I do indeed pray there will be more and more clinics and programs that use these protocols and teach people about these things. I hope to have the opportunity to sponsor some myself as a donation. I heard that True Hope has a few in operation in Canada that they have sponsored.
Yes indeed it is more involved than taking a pill. I would suggest to anyone at all who has any degree large or small of attention or mood disorder that you try taking one olive leaf capsule (available at any health food store) every other day (do take only one every other because too much can lead to a fast fungal reduction and you will feel bad) ..and one magnesium capsule in the morning and at bedtime (such as Mag o7 or Soft Mag or Natural Calm Mag available at the health food store or online). Write down every symptom you have and rate it 1-10. Set the note aside and do the olive leaf and the mag for 14 days (along with whatever meds you are taking). In 14 days revisit the sheet and see if your symptoms and severity have changed. Most likely your physician would have no issue with this. Magnesium is generally known, safe, and taken by millions of people daily. Olive leaf is a safe and mild herb but has known fungus reducing properties.
This is an easy test with safe things you can do for yourself and unless your physician is uninformed or close minded, they will have no issue with these known safe nutrients.
You will begin to understand in two weeks that you can feel more stable and clear as well as less anxious. You then can really delve into educating yourself and fine tuning and building on your success toward getting balanced and keeping yourself that way.
“Dr” T, as soon as my active symptoms subside, if they do. I’ll be back to respond. WN
“My experience with the others is so intense and lengthy it would take me pages and pages.”
No doubt. Thanks for the laughs, I owe you one.
Natasha, thanks for this. Too many folks out there claim to have “cures” that prey on hopes and heartstrings. I agree with you on all counts – we’re all wired differently, and we need to discover, with professionals and appropriate medication (pharmaceutical or natural) how to manage our illness.
Dear Natasha
Off topic,but several times attempts to post were refused due to supposedly incorrect email address (???)
Then,another subscription came into my inbox….hit the reset button,whatever you wish to term it.
Has been quite frustrating
Wondering if anyone else experienced this issue?
Hopefully,all is well now…
Love your blog,learn a lot
Enjoy writing on it as well.
Thanks a lot.
Sandra
Ps I’ve no website..
Hi Sandra,
Sorry, I’m not sure what you’re asking. You’re getting emails that you don’t want or you’re not getting emails that you do want?
– Natasha Tracy
Sorry,I meant when I come to read your blog,and try & post..
( well right now,my name and email address are automatically shown)
Formerly I would attempt to put my email address in ( in order to get into the blog to post what I wanted to say)
& the screen would go white saying the following INVALID EMAIL ADDRESS.
Hence,my writing would disappear!
No,I WANT TO BE SIGNED UP FOR BIPOLAR BURBLE.
I don’t want my posts BACK IN MY INBOX ,can read them on THE bipolar BURBLE.
I get it’s gotten confusing…
Hope this will clarify ….thnx
Sandra Cobban.
Thank you!!!!!
Just had a tiff with a family member,equating his quadruple heart surgery & high blood pressure vs
Bipolar disorder…oh how nice,getting your psychiatric degree in your spare time!!
Most insulting: well,you take medication I do too.
I’m ALL BETTER…AND…SO ARE YOU…
Ok.
Have a nice day if your uneducated enough to belief this poppycock !!!
I believe we ARE IN REMISSION…
I know,right now,my illness is excuse me for lack of better word,SHIT.
So,I don’t need somebody to say I’m ok…when I’m NOT.
Plus,it’s not like the LBD one size fits all disease people,WAKEUP!!
I really don’t give a f what someone says about this comment,because I speak my mind.
Always will.
I really am DONE.
Lol, should have proof read better. Damn, I made lots of typos !
Great post ! I, too, have been the VICTIM of the magic cure salesperson. I have been “prayed” for ( you’re still alive, right ? See, it works. ), told I was possessed, lacked faith and had behavior problems. I have tried CBT, without any of the therapists understanding that it works great for normally functioning cognitive individuals, while missing the fact that a mood episode DESTROYS cognitive processing. Yoga, exercise, walking are great for the mood, when you can physically do them. I find it impossible to lift weights if I’m thinking death would be a good option.
Diet. Diet,diet,diet diet ! Which one ? Animal friendly vegan to direct your “soul” in a positive direction towards life ? ( love animals, just illustrating a point ), Paleo ? I mean, we ate caveman style forever be for agrarian life became the norm. Ketogenic ? ( bipolar has similarities to Epilepsy, this diet has been helpful for me COMBINED with my meds. It’s disgusting, and not a cure, but I use it occasionally when I need slightly more functionality. Doesn’t work for everybody. More whole grains ? Less gluten ? Our bodies food needs and acceptance are as individual as we are. Plus, how do you tell a vegetarian suffering from bi-polar they MUST eat meat to get better. No, I’m afraid diet fails as well.
Finally, I’m glad you pointed out that our ( Individuals with bipolar disorder ) have physically different brains. They just didn’t come out right compared to the ” normals ” . I get frustrated when the anti- psychiatry crowd claims ” there is no medical test or proof for bipolar disorder. Wrong dip weed ! But a competent proffesional doesn’t have to order an expensive ( and potentially harmful ) brain scan to know BP when they see it. It can, and has, been done though. So shut up. You don’t want meds, fine. Leave those of us who make it to the next day because of an SSRI, anti- convulsant, anti- psychotic, or any other med show to help ( and any combination of ) alone and eat your ground Narwhale horn and milk thistle. I can’t afford to take chances with my mental health.
Natasha Tracy is the bomb in the bipolar advice world. She represents hope for a somewhat normal life for those of us with an illness that randomly makes the brain turn traitor.
“Science says that people with bipolar disorder are never cured.”
“Science” doesn’t say anything. Certain scientists, perhaps even the majority of scientists, make the claim based on their research. This doesn’t mean that there are not scientifically-trained individuals who don’t agree.
What I recommend is the cultivation of unconditional self-acceptance. Not as a cure for bipolar disorder necessarily, but as something which can help with any form of psychological disorder.
I’m not talking about self esteem. Self esteem is a poison which makes people sick, because it is conditional. You have to have a reason to esteem yourself and the pursuit of such good feelings about ourselves is soul destroying and one of the major causes of depression, not just because it is liable to fail but because it makes us self-directed and thus incapable of the healing experience of love.
My advice to anyone with bipolar disorder is to do what I do. I take my medication regularly and I also cultivate unconditional self-acceptance. If you beat yourself up about your current state or your behaviour there is one thing which is certain. It will get worse.
IDk Maybe I Insist /hope for a cure RIGHT NOW because my mother died recently and I am alone. I told myself I would hold on for her until She died. (even though she couldn’t admit I was ill-it was all about her) I started drinking again after 15yrs sobriety (7 mo ago) it has been ok- but I can see that I am Lucky I know about Alcoholism- Mom was one. Again I can see I have the ‘potential’ ESPECIALLY now that I am isolating. It ‘could’ get bad-but I have 1 Therapist and 1PDoc to whom I am accountable – OF COURSE I haven’t gone back to AA!! I backed off when my CPTSD came up- THEY thought AA could cure my bi polar! A Sponsor woman made a girl 20 yrs sober go off her meds!!!- she killed herself w/in a week. Yep – I have a few resentments. Anyway- I feel less fear, more relaxed since I drank..I am not advocating it for anyone else – I KNOW I will need to STOP again!!!! This is a temporary Relapse. Something I never dreamed would happen…they say if you stop going to meetings…. For me- w this BP2, CPTSD,Rape memories coming up – my narcicistic abusive/ yet emotionally incestuous alcoholic mother (who I cared for thru her fall into dementia and death. Brother in denial – no help- I gave things over to him & he is doing illegal things..I can’t deal with it all. None of this is an excuse. But i started to have a glass of wine before bed. I don’t want to stop – because it helps. I live Hour to hour – day to day aND WEEK TO WEEK. I need to focus on how well I have done. Off track completely here..But I have dealt with my BPII for 15-20 yrs, several changes in meds…They work for sev yrs- then NOT…then trial and error to find another `cockltail`whew finally another several yrs…right now I think I have tried everything. Actually- this wasn`t even working until I had ECT and that was about 10 yrs agp. I still cycle a bit & The CPTSD just came up in the last few yrs. We are all Different…So this Man who says he can cure with vitamins – in my OPINION is out of his mind. Natasha gives everyuthing a fair chance. I HOPE HE WILL GO ELSEWHERE & START HIS OWN BLOG!!!! Sorry Natasha I find it harmful for this man to be coming here giving false hope. If he begins his own blog – fine-provide a link. Otherwise- I think it is hijacking & hurtful. If it WORKS open a TREATMENT CENTER there ARE SO MANY OF US TO CURE!! YOU CAN MAKE MILLIONS!!!! Why come on here and tease us and make our lives more miserable by making us feel guilty – WE AREN`T SELF DICIPLINED ENOUGHÉ to follow the protocall!!!! wtheck – how DARE YOU…’Come Back when you have a proven Treatment center. You charge enoough $$$$ Yep – I got mad by the end. lol
Beautifully written. I at times have disagreed with a few of your articles, but you nailed this one. I have had several people, including my best friend, tell me I just need prayer. People have offered to lay hands on me and save me from myself. People in AA told me to get off my medicine. I have doubts about some of the medical doctors I have seen, but I know that I will always need medicine and therapy. I didn’t always believe this because I was ashamed. Once I understood bi polar I took responsibility for my illness and will always need some type of help. The people I know who have bi polar and refuse medical help destroy lives, innocent children, and spouses. I believe in God and Jesus Christ, but I also know that God gave us medical doctors to help the brain that God chose for me.
Once again we think we think. The human brain is a biochemical machine. If treated as such it performs very well. Assigning curative attributes through experimental pharmacology is at best a crap shoot. Just how much the inflicted are willing to bet is up to them. Any cure is a cure in the mind of the mentally ill. Thought becomes the placebo and one feels better… for how long? Dialogue is good medicine for any disease, because people stop thinking and act. Your blog is the action that attracts all kinds of thinking. People are willing to do anything to cure themselves and others. Presenting their beliefs is good preventative care even though there is no cure to date for a bipolar disorder. I have been in this state of mind a long time and it sucks, but I’m still here.
I have family trying to “pray away” my reliance on medication. I try to pray them out of my life. We have equal success–none. Yes, I think that alot of things help my bipolar treatment besides my meds. A stable, understanding partner and a precocious child who will both tell me “your manic…you need a Xanax and a nap” are part of my cure. I’ve been stable on the sameed for 6 years with minor tweaking. I’m also well aware t hey are not a permanent cure, and that they can stop working at any time. And I think this message is spot on, especially when talking about people who are more severe or rapid cycling
Dear Natasha,
You and I over the years have had differences of opinion and hereto is another example over the definition of the word “cure”. What prompted this difference was a discussion I had a number of years ago with my brother who clued me into the definition of the word “cure”.
1cure
noun \ˈkyu̇r\
: something (such as a drug or medical treatment) that stops a disease and makes someone healthy again
: something that ends a problem or improves a bad situation
: the act of making someone healthy again after an illness
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cure
The fact is someone might be cured for a week, a month, a year. The various definitions I have read do not include a time period. Therefore to be technical, by way of definition, someone could be cured of bipolar illness.
What we both agree upon is whether or not someone can permanently be cured of their bipolar disorder.
Joyce, my spouse, is approaching her 15th year of being cured of her Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) utilizing the same treatment regimen during that period. Knowing that which I do I do not forget for one moment that should we stop her treatment regimen she would quickly relapse. So from a technical definition we’ve found a cure for her depression.
Sincerely,
Herb
http://www.vnstherapy-herb.blogspot.com
http://www.vnstherapy.wordpress.com
I agree wholeheartedly with your post.
I was told (more than once) to have an exorcism for my daughter when she was diagnosed with bipolar at 9! Imagine the message that would have sent to anyone, let alone a child.
I am so tired of people telling me exercise, I will feel better. When I am depressed I can barely get out of bed. There is no way I can take a walk. When I am manic, I do not have the “time” to stop and take a walk. Since when has walking cured a mental illness. I NEED medicine to stay alive, and will the rest of my life. I do not need to hear about an easy cure.
Great blog post. Thanks.
Dear Ms Tracy,
I am so sorry to hear this response from you, very saddened for you and for your readers.
I have personally supervised and (cured) 3 very severe bipolars, 2 of which are relatives of mine.
I have helped countless others with from anxiety to ADD to bilpolar and depression.
There are similarities to all these disorders and often it is just a matter of degrees.
I came across your blog while doing some random research and felt very compelled to share the information I have lived and confirmed with you and your readers.
I do understand that it seems impossible that it can be this simple, but indeed it it.
There is certainly the aspect of fact that the tendency to become bipolar runs in families just like the tendency of any genetic predispositions.
I was a pharmaceutical education expert in the pharmaceutical industry early in my career, I have an expert knowledge of understanding exactly how they work in the body and how studies are conducted.
Fortunately I have had a passion and fascination for alternative and natural answers and remedies since I was a child fixing animals health issues on our ranch.
I carried on with my studies and have had the great privilege to sit knee to knee with some of the greatest alternative practitioners, the ones who create what allopathic medicine would consider miracles or flukes.
As for bipolarism, it was sink or swim, 2 very close relatives had it bad. One was at deaths door several times over and only 28. She had worn the entire family out and I picked her up out of a corner of a trailer house sitting and shaking uncontrollably and periodically cutting her thighs up. She had the week before been released out of the hospital after a large prescription drug overdose and nearly died of liver failure. These were not the first time.
I picked her up and took her home with me for a month.
I had her do exactly what I wrote you.
She is now functioning well, raising a little girl and teaching sunday school.
So yes, I have some battlefield experience.
My experience with the others is so intense and lengthy it would take me pages and pages.
I have no affiliation with the True Hope Company. I can tell you that they are totally correct in what they have to offer in products and programs.
The only reasons it would not work for everyone is that not everyone is willing or capable to do it right and not everyone has someone in their corner to help them get it right.
Simple as that.
I know this is hard to imagine but it is very true and what I wrote you is true.
People with bipolar, depending on how long and how severe, have behavior and trauma patterns that it does take some time to shift as their mind becomes more stable and balanced chemically and nutritionally. There is no question about that.
I am very sad that you see my commentary as a pitch or a cure all. It is actually both, but for no monetary gain.
I have experienced the extreme anguish that a bipolar person has and the extreme difficulties it causes anyone associated with them.
I have also experienced the extreme burden, loss and pain that the people closest to them get chronically exposed too.
It is very sad and massively difficult.
I have also seen that same girl I refer to above start sleeping soundly, become calm and focused in one weeks time. This is the truth and I have repeated that with many others. Just depends on to what degree they cooperate and how proactive they can be in doing the program.
It depends on if they will stop the sugar and sodas or coffee or alcohol.
It depends on many factors but they are truly simple.
That is the thing that is so very frustrating, it truly is easy to get it fixed. What is not so easy is to get and keep the bipolar individuals consistency and commitment to be consistent.
Is there a cure to most anything? Sure there is. Cure will only last though when the individual commits to doing or not doing the things that cause this disorder to worsen.
I truly hope you decide to share that info with your readers. I would even be willing to answer peoples questions to help. I feel guilty that I have not started a blog myself to share this information with people. I have seen what works and I have seen the causes of this disorder.
Experienced. Yes, very much so.
[Natasha Tracy: I have never added an addendum to a comment, but I’m going to here.
Don’t believe that this supplement works for people like magic. I’ve written multiple pieces on it, I’ve tried it and it made me worse. The idea that it didn’t work was “my fault” is also crap. I’m the most treatment compliant person out there.
I tried this supplement out of desperation and that’s why most people do it. I’ve talked to one person with bipolar who almost died because of this stuff.
I will always tell you that treatment is a personal decision and if you want to try this supplement, that is your prerogative, but do it _under_a_doctor’s_supervision_. If this company cared anything for your welfare, they would want that.]
Dr.T – Thank you for bringing your ‘expertise’ to Natasha’s Blog, If you are saying you have a Cure – I would like to see a proper scientific study, What you are saying here is you cured ONE GIRL under strict supervision. I believe any medication change should be under strict supervision..That unfortunately is unafordable for most people. I appreciate what you are saying is what you believe – but please stop stirring up false hope – without Scientifically proven Truth. By the way – we are NOT all the same.
Thank you for that awesome Blog post! Don’t you hate that the people who REALLY need to hear this likely won’t – until they relapse? I always try to look at both sides of the coin, I know myself – when I first come ‘out’ of a Depressive Episode..especially if it has been long &/or low grade..I feel so GOOD/ ‘normal’? That my brain tells me that maybe I am CURED – hey! Lets get back to work – First tho Take a vacation..I have SO missed my life..
For me..that is ‘my’ mania. – So far..and it has never lasted more than a few days..or hours. I also have CPTSD so I guess that keeps me anchored a bit more so I don’t fling off into space. Point being – When I first come up past that line of ‘balance/functional’ I feel ‘cured’ too… I have had many years of insight and experience that have showed me otherwise :( Took me YEARS to be able to accept. I need to be grateful that I am as balanced as I am. I have 3 huge stressful issues going on – that would be very difficult if I did not have these mental illness challenges. I need to be gentle with myself, and trust that I WILL get thru them. I also need to be Grateful that I have a good PDoc that I can see every 2 wks. Grateful for your posts- good gratitudes for today lol
Boy, and I thought I had an anger problem. Even when I am PMSing, I try to steer clear from writing novels. Makes me, like you, look like a complete fool. Have a most blessed day