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Summary
Summary
Depression confuses the mind, strips away hope, and causes people to blame themselves for an illness they never asked for. This book presents a revolutionary new understanding of the concept of depression and offers readers skills and strategies to manage it.
No longer is this a one-size-fits-all diagnosis, and antidepressants are no longer the one-size-fits-all treatment. Mood disorders are now seen to form a spectrum of problems, from common depression on one end to full bipolar disorder on the other. In between these extremes are multitudes of people who are on the middle of the mood spectrum, and this book is for them.
The first part of the book helps readers answer the question, "Where am I on the mood spectrum?" By laying the foundation for understanding this spectrum, Aiken and Phelps highlight the key distinctions that define unipolarity, bipolarity, hypomania, mania, and depression. Readers will be able to discern which definition best fits their experience, and use this understanding to learn which treatment methods will work best.
The authors also empower readers to look beyond antidepressants. They walk readers through new medications for the mood spectrum, and offer a guide to non-medication treatments that anyone can use on their own, from diet and lifestyle changes to natural supplements. The book also discusses other innovative technologies that can aid in recovery, including dawn simulators, mood apps, and blue-light filters.
This thoughtful and beneficial book will offer readers skills and strategies, as well as hope, in the face of debilitating mental challenges.
Author Notes
Chris Aiken, MD , is the director of the Mood Treatment Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and an instructor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is active in medical research and has published on the treatment and diagnosis of mood disorders.
James Phelps, MD , is the director of the Mood Disorders program at Samaritan Mental Health in Corvallis, Oregon, which serves a five-hospital system. He is recognized as a national expert on the topic of bipolar disorder, and has published more than 15 books and journal articles pertaining to mental health.
Reviews (1)
Library Journal Review
Aiken (director, Mood Treatment Ctr.) and Phelps (director, Samaritan Mental Health; A Spectrum Approach to Mood Disorders) present an easy-to-read analysis of bipolar spectrum disorder. The authors clarify the spectrum from unipolar (depression without mania) to bipolar (mania with or without depression). Their focus is on a form of depression that falls somewhere in between these two extremes, settling on the term depression with bipolarity or bipolarity. This work is filled with pragmatic, valuable information that helps readers figure out where they may be on the disorder spectrum, explains various symptoms of the disorder, provides handy self-diagnostic tests, and offers tips to assist readers in connecting with their -physician. The treatment section includes how to find good care, the latest information on medications, top choices for treatment, explanations of each of the primary groups of medications, natural healing agents, knowing when medications can be discontinued, information on therapy that can support long-term wellness, and an important discussion on the impact of the disorder on family, work, and school relationships. VERDICT A remarkable addition to the growing genre of mental health disorders and treatment that relates to the reality of how many patients with a mood disorder do not necessarily fit one end or another of the disorder spectrum.- Dale Farris, Groves, TX © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. xi |
| Introduction | p. xiii |
| Part 1 What Type of Depression Do You Have? | p. 1 |
| 1 Understanding the Mood Spectrum | p. 2 |
| 2 The Down Side: Depression | p. 7 |
| 3 The Up Side: From Hypomania to Mania, and Everything In-Between | p. 14 |
| 4 The Mixed-Up Side: When Mania and Depression Collide | p. 34 |
| 5 A Little Bipolar? How Much? | p. 42 |
| 6 About Your Diagnosis | p. 54 |
| 7 Is It All in the Genes? | p. 64 |
| 8 The Living Side: Finding Normal | p. 72 |
| Part 2 A Healing Lifestyle | p. 77 |
| 9 Daily Rhythms | p. 80 |
| 10 Light and Dark | p. 85 |
| 11 Managing Insomnia | p. 93 |
| 12 Getting Active | p. 101 |
| 13 Exercise? How About Just Walking | p. 106 |
| 14 Diet | p. 116 |
| 15 Managing Substances | p. 126 |
| 16 Coming Soon: Bipolar and Technology | p. 133 |
| Part 3 Treatment | p. 139 |
| 17 The Right Stuff: How to Find Good Care | p. 140 |
| 18 Medications: Our Top Choices | p. 149 |
| 19 Mood-Lifting Stabilizers: The Full Details | p. 153 |
| 20 Antidepressants and Other Mood Destabilizers | p. 171 |
| 21 Medications for Breakthrough Episodes | p. 181 |
| 22 Anxiety, Concentration, and Sleep: The Other Poles of Bipolar | p. 188 |
| 23 Natural Healers | p. 204 |
| 24 Knowing When to Stop Medications | p. 220 |
| 25 Live Long and Minimize Side Effects | p. 225 |
| 26 Beyond Medication: Electricity, Magnets, and Depression | p. 238 |
| 27 Good Therapy | p. 242 |
| Part 4 Reclaiming Your Life | p. 251 |
| 28 Relationships | p. 252 |
| 29 Work and School | p. 260 |
| 30 For Friends and Family | p. 267 |
| Appendix | p. 281 |
| Appendix A Medication Glossary | p. 282 |
| Appendix B Hypomania in 900 Words | p. 285 |
| Appendix C 150 Things to Try When You're Depressed | p. 290 |
| Appendix D Online Resources | p. 295 |
| Appendix E Further Reading | p. 298 |
| Appendix F Support Groups | p. 299 |
| References | p. 300 |
| Index | p. 325 |
