I was recently talking with a friend of mine, Mikal Belicove, who happens to be a marketing and positioning expert. I was describing someone I had met during a recent trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia to help promote the release of the Slovene edition of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies – a well-traveled, well-spoken, accomplished businessman who has bipolar disorder.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Mrs. Tovornik, Cecie Kraynak, Tatjana Novak, Maja Valic, Darja Budja, Joe Kraynak, Sanja Svajger (Journalist) at Book Presentation in Ljubljana, Slovenia, October 12, 2009 "][/caption] Cecie and I participated in another book presentation for the Slovene edition of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies. Unlike the presentation on Saturday in Koper, this one was dedicated solely to the book and was much more effective in promoting it.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Sitting: Peter Smole and Roman Peklaj and Maja Valic; Standing: Joe Kraynak, Darja Budja, Cecie Kraynak, Emi Kladnik, Ana Sorc, and Katja Jus"][/caption] Cecie and I were invited to visit Ljubljana (lyoo-blee-ah-nah), Slovenia for the release of the Slovene edition of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies. We accepted and have been in Slovenia since this past Thursday, 10/8/2009. We flew into Venice on Thursday to meet our gracious hosts, Darja Budja ("j" is pronounced "y") and her husband Simon Perko. Darja translated the book into Slovene and is a devoted bipolar advocate. She has created her own bipolar blog (bipolarna.si) and is one of the organizers of an active bipolar support group in Ljubljana.

Actor Joe Pantoliano, best known for his role as Ralph Cifaretto on "The Sopranos," is rallying the troops in Hollywood to battle the stigma of mental illness through his organization No Kidding, Me Too!

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.

If you're dealing with mental illness yourself or with a family member, friend, or colleague, you're probably already playing the role of mental health advocate. Every time you spread the word about mental illness and teach someone else what you know about it, you make it a more acceptable topic of conversation. Every time you mobilize services for you or your loved one, despite tremendous roadblocks within the mental health system and despite the stigma and resistance in the wider community, you are practicing grass roots advocacy. If you are ready to do even more, consider taking on an active role in mental health legislation, becoming a grass-roots lobbyist for the cause.

Larry and Linda Drain who have formed a local chapter of DBSA (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance) in Blount County, Tennessee. The group's mission is to provide information and support for people with bipolar disorder and their loved ones and facilitate connections among people in the bipolar community. As Larry has said, "The weight is less heavy when it’s shared."

Whenever we blog about medications used to treat bipolar disorder, invariably someone writes in boasting about their success at being medication free or sounding the alarm about the evils of psychiatric medications. If someone posts a comment about how medications have helped them, someone usually replies by saying something like, "I'm happy for you, but just wait a few years when you don't have a functioning kidney."