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A Brief Timeline of Bipolar Disorder

Take advantage of every opportunity to find support and encouragement in your community, whether physical or virtual.

DBSA recently launched three on-line, real-time support groups for people living with mood disorders or mental illnesses. These virtual meetings, which function just like face-to-face support groups, provide another opportunity to find the hope and support needed for a lifetime of wellness…and in the comfort of your own home.

For more information go to: www.DBSAlliance.org/OSGhome

I encourage you to do all that you can to stay healthy and happy and productive!

Peace,

Kate

One of my faves, Rosie O’Donnell, tells bloggers and fans bound by depression to try a few vital things, which I’ve elaborated on here:

· Get outdoors every day, even if only for 15 minutes. Let the gift of sun and light wash over you. Let your light shine. (and YES! you have one…you are one.)

· Take a shower and shampoo your hair. It’s easy to sink deeper into the muck when you physically become part of it. Clean your amazing self.

· Move. A healthy body and mind require this. Yoga dramatically changed my life. It may change yours. Go to www.FacingUs.org for this calming yoga sample session.

· Know you will feel better. Know that you deserve to. Seek wellness. Embrace it. Love the wondrous creature that is you.

PEACE!

Kate

One Gene Overrides Another to Prevent Brain Changes that Foster Depression

“For what appears to be the first time in humans, scientists have detected an interaction between genes that may help prevent brain changes that increase vulnerability to depression.

“A variation on one gene affects how much of the brain chemical serotonin is available to brain cells. This variation is thought to raise the risk of depression in people who carry it. But NIMH scientists found that a variation in another gene, which produces brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) – a substance that enables growth and health of brain cells – appears to prevent or offset the changes generated by the depression-fostering variant.

“For now, the finding can help scientists track the biological roots of depression in the brain as they search for better treatments. In the future, it could help clinicians identify patients who are at risk and need monitoring or treatment.

“Results of the study were published online on March 12, in Molecular Psychiatry, by Lukas Pezawas, Daniel R. Weinberger, and colleagues from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Universities of Pittsburgh and Vienna, and Germany’s Central Institute of Mental Health.

“Using brain imaging in a study of 111 healthy people, the researchers found that those with the depression-promoting gene variation had alterations in brain-cell networks known to regulate mood. But those who had both the depression-promoting variation and the apparently protective variation did not have these alterations in brain-cell networks.

“Not everyone who has the serotonin-related variation develops depression, a disorder thought to be caused by interactions between variations in many genes and life experiences, such as stressful events. One variation in a single gene does not appear to cause the disorder.

“In this study, the scientists examined healthy people, rather than depressed people, because the illness might have introduced factors that would have confused the results. The study was not meant to show whether people became depressed, but rather to show whether the gene variations resulted in brain changes that set the stage for depression, or protection from it, in the mood-regulating brain-cell networks.

“Further research may tell if the different variations actually translate into differences in rates of depression among their carriers.”

Quoted from NIMH March 12, 2008 Science Update

Today on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, two families share their experiences with bipolar children. Although details differ greatly from my personal experiences, the similarities are astounding. Shows like this educate and illuminate truths long hidden in the dark.

The world learns. We evolve. Stigma abates.

It is good.

Kate

It is scary. It is hard. But you can do it.  

Here’s how:

• Learn eveything you can about bipolar disorder
• Separate the symptoms from the person
• Follow the doctor’s recommendations
• Find a support group
• Keep a log of moods and medications
• Take good care of yourself

And have patience with your loved one and yourself. You’re in this for the long haul. Take it one day at a time, one step at a time and you’ll get there.

Kate

A Swiss study has substantiated the fact that substance abuse and mental illness are often linked and both biologically based.

“People with manic symptoms and bipolar disorder type II are at significant risk of later developing an alcohol abuse or dependence problem, a long-term study conducted in Switzerland confirms.”

The results of the study were published in the January 2008 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry by lead researchers from the NIMH Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program.

Read the study update

This data should convince families and community services to treat addicts under a medical model rather than using the long-failed, crime & punishment, “war on drugs” approach. Let’s stop the insanity of wasting time and resources, and destroying relationships. Let’s treat these people with dignity, respect, and efficacious medicine.