New Psychotherapies abound.

Many psychotherpies are being developed by psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors. Some are based on Cognitive Behavior Therapy
.

Among those showing promise are

Behavioral Activation Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Anaysis Systems of Psychotherapy
Interpersonal and Social Rhytm Therapy
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy

Some I agree with more than others. I find particularly interesting Behavioral Activation Therapy and Dialectical+aBehavioral+Therapy. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy owes much to Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

Family Focused Therapy

One of the new therapies that is showing sucess involves the whole family. It is
known as Family Focused Therapy (FFT). The therapist teaches not only the bipolar
new skills in communication, problem solving, and stress-management, but the whole
family. It helps reduce negative emotion.

Is it a bipolar world, after all?

All this research I've been doing on bipolar disorder has me feeling depressed, because I don't know what it's like to have that great artistic, creative outburst
of energy, sleepless nights, and an unbelievable natural high. I feel as though it's
keeping me from achieving greatness, keeping me stuck in a world of mediocrity?

Are people their labels? Maybe so many bipolar people have achieved so much, because
they are greater than this linguistic label
.

Should I go to Therapy? (CBT)

It seems that therapy is helpful to a lot of people. However if you are in a severely depressed or manic state, first you must get state under management through
medication. Usually the drugs usually administered by a psychiatrist are antidepressants, mood stabelizers, anticonvulsants, and antipsychotics that work
to restore the brain chemistry involving the serotonin and norepinephirine

transmitters.
Once an individual's moods are under management, many people are greatly helped by
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). It has to do with us working on our core beliefs and self awareness. Often our core beliefs are based on faulty reasoning. Individuals
are taught the skills to think more rationally by challenging negative thoughts.

Of course there are other types of therapies and many more are coming to fruition.

Bipolar Depression is not Unipolar Depression

The depressive state of Bipolar usually lasts much longer than the manic or hypomanic state, and is often more severe. There appear to be a number of subtle
differences between unipolar depression and
bipolar depression, which often results in the misdiagnosis of bipolar. Below is an excerpt from http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-221.htm.


Alan Swann MD of the University of Texas, Houston at the 2000 APA annual meeting observed that those with bipolar depression are more likely to manifest psychomotor retardation and have atypical features (such as excessive eating and sleeping) than patients with unipolar depression. According to Dr Swann, bipolar depressions are characterized by greater episode frequency, earlier onset, greater co-occurring substance abuse, and a more equal gender ratio.

Philip Mitchell MD of the University of New South Wales at the 2003 Fifth International Conference on Bipolar Disorders cited a 2000 Australian study of 83 bipolar depressed and 904 unipolar depressed patients that found bipolar patients were more likely to be melancholic (69 vs 37 percent), and were significantly more likely to demonstrate psychomotor disturbance and guilt. A 2001 study by Dr Mitchell of 270 depressed patients found those with bipolar were less tearful than those with unipolar depression, but felt more worthless, exhibited greater loss of pleasure, and experienced more subjective restlessness, leaden paralysis, and hypersomnia than their unipolar counterparts.

Significantly, in the words of Dr Swann, "the differing biological properties of unipolar and bipolar depression suggest that treatments that were originally intended for unipolar depression may not be optimal for bipolar depression."

These distinctions tend to be lost on the average clinician. A survey by the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of 400 of its members found that of those who reported having bipolar disorder, 60 percent disclosed that their initial diagnosis was major depression.

From a patient’s perspective, the implications are enormous. According to a study by S Nassir Ghaemi MD of Harvard et al appearing in the October 2000 Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, it took bipolar I patients nearly six years and bipolar II patients 11.6 years from first contact with the mental health system to achieve a correct diagnosis

World Famous Classical Musicians

Many outstanding classical musicians and composers have been bipolar. Accomplishing
much output during their high energy periods. Heading the list is the amazing Wolfgang+Amadeus+Mozart and the fabulous Ludwig van Beethoven. Among others were
Robert Schuman, Gustave Mahler,Hector Berlioz, Anton Bruckner, Frederic Chopin,
Dimitri Shostakovich, Tschaikovsky,and Sergey Rachmanioff.
Then there were the 20th century Americans,
Irving Berlin,and Cole Porter.

Rapid Cyling and Mixed State Bipolar

When someone experiences 4 or more moodswings within a year, they have rapid cycling bipolar disorder. Sometimes these swings from manic to depressive happen within hours..

Also some people experience both mania and depression at the same time or
mixed state bipolar disorder. Now you are really talking about a rollercoaster ride. How confusing it must be to be up and down at the same time. I find it hard to imagine.

Cyclothymia

Bipolars who have this mildest form of bipolar, known as
cyclthymia, often function
quite well. Mild periods of depression alternate with period of heightened energy and much activity called hypomania. The highs and lows in the mood swings are not
as intense as other forms of bipolar disorder.

Schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type

People who have the bipolar type of schizoaffective disorder often have hallucinations or
delusion in addition to their manic and depressive states. There are persistent psychotic
symptoms much that has much in common with schizophrenic.

Bipolar 2 Disorder

The phrase of hypomania doesn't develop into full blown mania. The hypomanic stage is just
a phrase of more productivity and creativity without psychosis. People with bipolar 2 disorder must also have had at least one cycle of depression . Because the hypomanic stage is not so
intense, it is often hard to recognize that someone has bipolar 2 disorder.

What is Bipoplar 1 Disorder?

Bipolar 1 Disorder is the severe form of bipolar disorder. The manic episode may or may not have pschosis present. If patient is psychotic, they many experience hallucination or delusions with their manic and mixed episodes. Mixed episodes have both manic and depressive states coexisting. It is sometimes
very difficult when psychosis is present to tell if the patient is bipolar or schizophrenic . Although to be diagnosed with bipolar 1, it isn't necessary to have experienced depression, often people will have states of depression.

Do you suffer from Major Depression or Bipolar Disorder

Because of the many different ways people experience their bipolar disorder , sometimes people who have bipolar have been diagnosed by doctors as having depression disorder. Although doctors are becoming more skillful in diagnosing mood disorders, misdiagnoses still occur.

Because of the many types of bipolar and the fact that bipolar does always express itself highs and lows alternating in clearly defined alternating patterns; it is now often referred to as bipolar spectrum disorders.

Your psychiatrist should be experiece in mood disorders, because there are differences in medication management of people with depression and people with bipolar depression.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

In the past, it was known as manic-depression, a mood disorder. Although everyone
experiences highs and lows in their daily lives, people with bipolar disorder often experience intense mood swings, often not even related to what is happening in their day to day living. People with bipolar disorder experience chemical changes in their brain. Often genetics have something to do with bipolar disorder.

During the manic episodes, people often experience optimism, creativity, euphoria, much self-confidence, and a high energy level. Although this is often a very creative period with some bipolars, often it is a period of a total lack of self control, with some bipolars using alcohol and drugs to excess, getting involved with multiple sex partners, and other harmful behaviors.

This period of mania is often followed by a period of great depression. Often people
with manic depression experience loss of motivation, lack of enjoyment, less energy,
guilt and feeling of worthlessness, thoughts of death and suicide. Often people with bipolar attempt suicide, with many suceeding.

Most psychiatrists prescribe a battery of drugs to mange the mood swings.

Artists who are or were bipolar.

Are artists mad or have they found the ultimate method in their madness. Not only
was the great
Michelangelo bipolar, but the wonderful impressionist painters - Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. The English landscape artist, J.M.W. Turner. The 20th century abstract expressionists painters,Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko were both bipolar.

The most famous woman painter of the 20th century, Georgia Okeefe was diagnosed as bipolar.
So maybe their is a fine line between genius and madness.