Bipolar I: Severe mania, with depression Distinct periods of elevated, expansive or irritable mood Inflated self esteem/grandiosity Decreased need for sleep More talkative than usual Racing thoughts/ideas Distractibility by the irrelevant Increased goal directed activity, psychomotor agitation Excessive/impulsive behavior in pleasurable activities Bipolar II: Major depression, hypomania (milder mania) Mood […]
Bipolar Disorder
25 posts
Several years ago I was speaking in a family practitioners office in Marshall, TX. I started out with a question, "If you were treating President Clinton, what would you prescribe him?" He immediately answered, "Prozac." I said, "Good, and that’s because …" He said, "It causes people to commit suicide." […]
Read Part 1 A very successful friend of mine recently said – "I need to come see you. I’m depressed half the time, and I’m having panic attacks." Other than the pressure of a successful business, he has no reason to be depressed. He’s tried a variety of treatments before […]
The last 52 years in psychiatry reflect the lack of solid scientific foundation. We need official diagnoses so we can use our insurance for medications. But diagnoses are not the "be all, end all." I tell patients I’d rather not know exactly what the problem is and be able to […]
Jane Pauley in August of 2004 went public with the fact that she has bipolar disorder and takes a mood stabilizer (Lithium). She details the development of her illness in a new book, Skywriting. How did the "all American girl" become "mentally ill?" I don’t like the term mental illness. […]