Many people with bipolar disorder are able to successfully return to work once they’re on an effective treatment regimen, which typically includes one or more medications. In Bipolar Disorder for Dummies, however, we recommend that you avoid mood stressors and triggers – and returning to work, especially a demanding job, can be loaded with stressors and triggers. In this two-part series on returning to work with bipolar disorder, we offer some suggestions on how to ease the transition back to work.

OuchOuch Asks…

I did not experience hypomanic symptoms until I started taking anti-depressants. Anti-depressants didn’t work for me – they either didn’t work or they revved me up. Mood stabilizers helped my depression. I was therefore diagnosed as Bipolar II – is it really Bipolar II?

We devoted an entire part of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies to family and friends – Part V, “Assisting a Friend or Relative with Bipolar Disorder.” This week, I was planning on doing a post about how to get family members more involved, but on second thought, I realized that sometimes people with bipolar want certain friends or family members less involved… and sometimes for good reason.

With this post, we continue our biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. We have already covered lithium, along with anti-seizure and atypical antipsychotics commonly used as anti-manic medications or mood stabilizers in bipolar disorder. We introduced our coverage of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressants with a post on Prozac (fluoxetine). This week, we continue our series on SSRI antidepressants with this post on Celexa (citalopram).

Among other things, your body is a chemical factory – breaking down everything you eat into a collection of chemicals and compounds and then reassembling them to build muscle, fuel growth and movement, heal damaged cells, fight infection, and much more. So it makes sense that whatever you consume is likely to influence how you feel – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Have the chef salad for lunch, you feel one way. Chow down on a Big Mac and fries, and you feel entirely different.

Janine Asks…

I was recently prescribed Lamictal and just started today. I’ve been online doing some research and noticed that a lot of people start off on 25 mg and slowly increase that dose. I currently started today on 100 mg. I’m supposed to take 100 mg a day for a week and then start on 200 mg next week. Is that too much too soon?

With this post, we continue our biweekly series on medications used to treat bipolar disorder and related symptoms. We have already covered lithium, along with anti-seizure and atypical antipsychotics commonly used as anti-manic medications or mood stabilizers in bipolar disorder. We introduced our coverage of SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressants with a post on Prozac (fluoxetine). This week, we continue our series on SSRI antidepressants with this post on Zoloft (sertraline).

Syndicated from the Bipolar Blog with a few changes

The Styles section of The New York Times ran an interesting article by Gabrielle Glaser entitled “‘Mad Pride’ Fights a Stigma.” In the article, Glaser highlights the fact that people with mental illnesses or “dangerous gifts” are speaking more and more openly about severe mental illness in an attempt to break down the stigma surrounding it.

March is Dummies Month – a time when John Wiley & Sons Publishing ramps up promotional efforts for books in its Dummies series, and Dummies authors like us have the opportunity to do our small part to support our publisher’s efforts. Please join us in celebrating Dummies Month and saving a few bucks on your purchase of Bipolar Disorder For Dummies.