Need a book or site to help explain bipolar to DH & family...

[sahmama]

Can anyone share some good ones? I was diagnosed this past year with bipolar, most likely bipolar I, and recently started treatment with Lamictal. So far, it's gotten me out of the dumps enough to realize I've put my family and my poor husband through some pretty lousy stuff - okay, not on purpose, but still. I've tried to explain the whole bipolar thing, why I act the way I do when I swing high or low, how I feel, etc. but I have a really hard time explaining it. I could really use a book or even a site or some paragraphs that explain it in summary, for a loved one's point of view, that doesn't make me sound crazy. : Anyone have anything?

[defectgrrrl]

NAMI's info on BP

I really would recommend referring family and friends to NAMI.

[perl]

I have the perfect website/book - by an amazing psychiatrist named Jim Phelps. Really, he is the sweetest, smartest, most stand-up guy. The website is www.psycheducation.org and the info on the book is there. I got the book off of Amazon and loved it. I believe there is a chapter devoted to educating family about the disease. Good luck!

[mosesface]

i was diagnosed with BP ten years ago and the very best book i have found is Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families, and Providers by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., and Michael B. Knable, D.O.; New York, Basic Books, 2002.

i read it and marked the most helpful chapters then passed it on to my husband, then my mother, and now my best friend (who is a social worker who wants to specialize in BP). some of it is very clinical and for family members and loved ones, that can get a bit long winded. but i do believe that it is one of the single best books out there to help understand bipolar disorder.

of couse, another wonderful read is kay redfield jamison's an unquiet mind. it is her own story and experience of bipolar disorder and there are several bits that i related to completely.

[kaydee]

I second the recommendation for Jim Phelps--but I prefer the book to the website (Just more organized, to me eye). This is better for bipolar II than bipolar I.

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (www.dbsalliance.org) also has great information (and information about support groups that might be in your area).