I didn’t see the interview but the whole mental health issue is very misunderstood. Some people even think an alcoholic can just stop it. If it were that easy there wouldn’t be any mental health issues.

I am someone who has struggled with depression & I think miss diagnosed for mild bipolar, now so does my 23 year old son. As a mother it is eating me alive. he is on wellbutrin which is not helping. he has fear, not able to sleep, etc. Dr’s I’m not sure know what they are doing. Its just try this & we’ll see.I wish Jim would open up what he is doing exactly for his treatment. I am hoping he will be an advocate like Jenny Mc Carthy in helping others with their struggles on how & where to find help.

I am the mother of a son with bipolar disorder and the founder & President of California Bipolar Foundation. For over 10 years we have been trying to get a celebrity to step to the plate about his/her own struggles with BPD. Carrie Fisher is on our board but have been unsuccessful with more celebrities than I can count. It is a shame since I agree we need what Katie Couric did for colon cancer, Michael J. Fox did for Parkinson’s, Mary Tyler Moore for diabetes, etc., etc.
Alicia; if you can help us, we and the 5.7 million sufferers of BPD THANK YOU!

@ Dee - If it were that easy there wouldn’t be any mental health issues. - Very true.

@ Rita - I’m so sorry about your son’s struggles. If I’m not mistaken, Jim said he’d be writing about the treatments he uses in the near future. Could be an interesting read, and one you might want to check out. Of course, you could also get a head start and ask your doctor about the tyrosine and hydroxytryptophan Carrey talks about in the interview.

@ Muffy - Wow, kudos to you for all you’re doing out in California! I’m sorry you haven’t had more success with finding celebrity advocates - I realize how much attention they can bring to an issue. Perhaps I could write up a sort of “call for celebrities” post? It might not do much (or any) good, but it might also be worth a shot, ha. At the very least, it could help bring more attention to the foundation. What do you think?

One treatment that is available (just approved in the US - has been in Canada and Europe for years) is Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or rTMS. It has had the same efficacy as ECT, without any side-effects.
This non-invasive treatment uses magnetic pulses to the brain to “reset” the chemical imbalances that cause a number of illnesses, including depression.
As a patient, and having been going for rTMS treatment of severe, treatment-resistant depression for 5 years, I can say that this is the one and only treatment that has given me back my life. I have been through every classification of medication, several types in each classification. I have done the “talk” therapy, and any other thing that I could find. RTMS worked for me.
More information on Repetitive Transcranial Magentic Stimulation (rTMS) can be found on the Mindcare Centre’s website: http://www.mindcarecentres.com/home.aspx

I didn’t see this interview, either, but something in your letter struck me, Alicia. My husband was in counseling for 5 years, dealing with depression, and it didn’t do a damn bit of good. Then a very insightful young doctor suggested he get medication for his depression, and started him on Celexa. Thank God for that doctor and that medication. After he started on meds, THEN–and only then–was he able to use all he had learned in counseling, all the insights and coping techniques and self-awareness he’d acquired. But not before.

It’s not that “dealing with the real causes” isn’t a good idea, it’s that sometimes the real cause is a chemical imbalance. When you get that sorted out, THEN you can much more accurately explore your emotional health.

So, do you think that was what Jim Carrey was saying?