When we were in Slovenia a couple weeks ago, Cecie and I did an interview for a televised report on bipolar disorder. The interviewer asked me what it was like to be married to someone with bipolar disorder. I stammered and stuttered, not really sure how to answer and then offered up some feeble response about how terrible it is during the manias, but how normal it is most of the time.

Yesterday, on Good Morning America, accomplished actress Glenn Close and her sister Jessie Close spoke about mental illness in their family (watch the clip). Except for George Stephanopoulos saying that ...

[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.

In Bipolar Disorder for Dummies, we talk a little about the differences in how bipolar mania is seen from the outside as opposed to how it is experienced from the inside. Inside, a person experiencing mania may feel... I am amazing! Everything is wonderful! I can do anything and everything! I have all the answers! My ideas will revolutionize the world! Sleep is only for people who have nothing better to do! Everybody loves me! Outsiders may have a completely different perspective, saying or at least thinking...

Over the past couple weeks, my wife, who happens to have bipolar, has not been sleeping well, which is always a bad sign. For two weeks, she's been trying to get something to help her sleep - to get her through the often manic days that seem to reach full bloom about the time school lets out. You can read the whole account, "Tragedy of Errors" on our Bipolar Blog.

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.

Syndicated from the Bipolar Blog When you have bipolar disorder, you hear a lot about what a psychiatrist and psychotherapist can do for you, but you rarely hear about and may never even consider consulting an occupational therapist (OT). And why would you? OTs are trained to assist people with physical disabilities, right? People who are visually or hearing impaired, confined to wheel chairs, paralyzed, and so forth?

I can come up with a list of everything bipolar disorder has stolen from me and my family, including Income Health insurance Retirement funds Vacations Friends But the experience of having a loved one with bipolar disorder has also made me stronger and more understanding.

A visitor to the Bipolar Blog gave me the following heads up: This week on Johnson & Johnson’s YouTube channel, there’s a video of General Hospital soap star, Maurice Bernard, talking about his battle with bipolar ...

Question “Do some medications used to treat bipolar disorder actually cause anxiety attacks as a side effect?”