I’m going to start this blog by making my operating assumption transparent. My assumption is that those who visit this site and read The Bipolar Advantage blog entries are looking to improve the quality of their lives, whether they have bipolar or another condition or whether they love someone who does. There is much wisdom in what has been written on this blog by a team of talented and caring individuals. There is also much wisdom expressed by those who have commented. The result is the development of collective wisdom about what it means to live with bipolar or another condition that comes from the reflections of the writers and readers together—and all who participate here are both readers and writers.

Whether you are a person with bipolar or another condition or a loved one, it might be easier to recount the pain and struggles of daily life and finding help than it is to recount what has worked for you. The pain and struggles may indeed be part of the journey to finding help and more tranquility. In the February 28th, 2010 edition of New York Times Magazine, Jonah Lehrer wrote a fascinating article entitled “Depression’s Upside.” (Sounds to me very much like Tom Wootton’s The Depression Advantage). In his article, Lehrer said that “if depression didn’t exist—if we didn’t react to stress and trauma with endless ruminations—then we would be less likely to solve our predicaments. Wisdom isn’t cheap and we pay for it with pain.”

Finding solutions and what works taps one’s creative resources and also requires investigating one’s own trial and error efforts to create a personally satisfying life in order to separate what works from what doesn’t work. Finding solutions and what works in one’s own life is a form of artistry that can result in highly individual and unique solutions and outcomes. We would like to tap into the collective wisdom of those who come to this blog looking for a better quality of life by gathering together descriptions of what has been helpful for you as a person with bipolar or another condition or for you as a loved one or family member. To help us gather together the collective wisdom of those living every day with bipolar or another condition we are asking that you respond to the following question. You can be a person with bipolar or another condition or a loved one or family member. Here’s the question to which we are inviting you to respond:

What experiences and/or treatments have you as a person with a bipolar condition or other condition or you as a family member of a person with a bipolar condition found helpful in managing, coping with, and/or treating bipolar in you or a family member?

Remember the focus is on what has worked and what you have found to be helpful, not on the opposite. There’s a lot written already about the pain—this is about the pleasure of crafting solutions and building a life worth living, however challenging that may have been or be. You can respond to the question in the comments section. Remember your comments are available to all readers, so only include information you are comfortable sharing with others. Also, please don’t refer to a family member or treatment provider by name in your comments.

By responding, you can help us build the collective wisdom of what has worked and what has been helpful for people with bipolar or another condition and their loved ones. Send stories, vignettes, ways of thinking, ways of shifting your thinking, practices, treatments—anything and everything that has made a positive difference in your life. We’ll put it all together and share it back with you.

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From Psych Central's website:
PsychCentral (March 12, 2010)

kris_burns (March 13, 2010)

From Psych Central's World of Psychology:
What Works for You in Bipolar? | World of Psychology (March 14, 2010)

Psych Central Newsletter for March 17, 2010 | Pedio (March 17, 2010)

    Last reviewed: 12 Mar 2010