Bipolar Beat » Online Resources

Social Security and Disability Resource Center

Joe Kraynak — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:41:04 +0000

One of our readers recommended that we include a link to the Social Security and Disability Resource Center. We checked it out, and it seems to contain some valuable content. Here’s a description of the site from our reader:

The Social Security and Disability Resource Center website provides answers to questions concerning how to apply for disability, how to appeal a claim in the event of a denial, how to navigate the federal system, and how to avoid certain mistakes that are commonly made by applicants filing for either SSD (social security disability) or SSI (supplemental security income) benefits.

Specifically, she thought our readers would find the article “Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression?” relevant.

We’re also adding the link to our Blogroll (on the left), so you have convenient access to it on return visits.

Photo by First Baptist, available under a Creative Commons attribution license.

Bipolar Disorder Reports Skewed?

Joe Kraynak — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:26 +0000

Bipolar disorder gets a lot of bad press, even among those of us who have struggled with it in our lives. I have noticed this particularly online, from exasperated family members and exhausted individuals with bipolar who haven’t yet found effective treatment.

I wonder whether it’s just the nature of the beast. Most people search the Web for answers and solutions, and when it comes to bipolar, they may be frustrated and angry, often understandably so. Those who have found their answers and solutions tend to go back to living their lives. Why dwell on it when life is good, right?

Unfortunately, people who achieve stability in their lives rarely return to tell their success stories. Hence, I think, the negative coverage of bipolar tends to considerably outweigh the positive.

This week, I’d like to commend those who are spreading a positive word about bipolar, including Web sites like bphope.com and bp Hope magazine, and encourage anyone out there who has a bipolar success story to share it with others. Please share your story or let us know of sources you have discovered online or off that present a more positive, hopeful view.

Hopeworks Community and Hope Sources

Joe Kraynak — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:20:54 +0000

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.”

We encourage you to read the Drain’s bipolar story, which they have shared with visitors to our Bipolar Blog and to visit their Hopeworks Community website and Hopesources website, where you will find information, advice, support, and perhaps best of all hope. Larry posts regular articles that encourage readers to look at things in a different (more hopeful) way and reminds us of all we have to be thankful for, which is easy to forget when dealing with bipolar.

We invite you to check out these websites and then please come back and let us know what you think.