... a vast trove of knowledge and insight accumulated in the process of producing the most influential newsletter in the field. And, like his newsletter, this book will become a source of information that will prove indispensable not only to patients and families, but also to clinicians and scientists."

Frederick K Goodwin MD,  Professor of Psychiatry George Washington University, Author (with KR Jamison) Manic Depressive Illness, Former Director National Institute of Mental Health

Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder is the result of more than six years of research involved in producing my award-winning email Newsletter and Website, McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Weekly and McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Web. The  book reflects my uncompromising commitment over the years to provide patients and loved ones with information we so vitally need to manage our illness, in partnership with our treating professionals.  

It is the first book on mood disorders written by a patient that covers the clinical and scientific issues in depth. Why is this important? As author Amy Weintraub, who so kindly read the book in manuscript form and provided a blurb, put it: "What I love about this book is that John questions everything from diagnostic criteria to treatment, and in the process, he provides some inspiring and well-informed answers."

The result is a  book that is very different than the standard patients’ guides written by psychiatrists and therapists. For starters:

• Living Well is one of the few books listed on Amazon with both Depression and Bipolar in the title and the only one that covers the two together in depth. By looking at both illnesses as part of an underlying spectrum, for the first time the true dynamics of mood disorders are accurately portrayed, shedding light on what we really need to know in order to effectively manage our illness.

• Living Well is the only book on mood disorders to incorporate information from a wide variety of sources – including psychiatry, brain science, nutrition, spirituality, behavior, relationships, and much more.

• Living Well provides essential insights into the full range of issues vital to keeping personal relationships and careers on track and to winning back one’s life, including strategies for daily coping, managing crisis, handling stress and anxiety, breaking out of isolation, dealing with anger, getting the most out of one’s treating professionals, and making smart lifestyle choices.

• Living Well fully elaborates on the strategies that leading psychiatrists, therapists, nutritionists, and other practitioners use to treat their patients and clients, much of this revealed for the first time in a book for patients. At all times, individual treatments and therapies are presented in the context of the total wellness picture, with regard for the uniqueness of each patient’s situation.

• Living Well comes to grips with the tough issues involved in reaching acceptance with our illness and finding peace with ourselves.  

• Living Well features a highly readable section on how cutting edge research is reshaping how we think about depression and bipolar disorder. This scientific appreciation helps make patients fully conversant with their illness.

And finally …

• Living Well is the only book on mood disorders to satisfactorily integrate expert opinion with the unique insights and wisdom of hundreds of patients and their loved ones. All those who have written blurbs for the book have commented on this. Three reviewers use "weave/woven." Others say "brings together", "integrates", "blended together", and "trove of knowledge" as if describing a genre they have encountered for the first time.

At last, a book that validates what patients and their loved ones think and feel and need to know. Finally, a book that patients and loved ones can call their own, written by one of their own.

- CONTENTS -

PART ONE: DIAGNOSIS

1. GETTING ACQUAINTED: ME, YOU, AND THE SPECTRUM WE SHARE

2. DEPRESSION

Introduction; Situational vs Clinical Depression; Back to the DSM; Melancholic and Atypical Depression; Dysthymia; Major Psychotic Depression; Seasonal Affective Disorder; Things to Consider for the Next DSM; That Spectrum Thing Again

3. BIPOLAR DISORDER

Introduction; The Bipolar Time Warp; Bipolar I and Mania; Psychosis; Thinking; Bipolar II and Hypomania; Bipolar Depression; Cyclothymia; Rapid-Cycling; In Conclusion

4. BEHAVIOR

Poison-ality; Exuberance; Creativity; Gift or Curse; Spirituality; The Brain in Love and Lust; Moral Issues; Anger

5. ASSOCIATED ILLNESSES AND SYMPTOMS

Anxiety and Stress; Dual Diagnosis; Pain; The Perfect Mental Storm

PART TWO: BRAIN SCIENCE 101

6. NEUROTRANSMITTERS, NEURONS, AND THINGS YOUR PSYCHIATRIST DOESN'T KNOW

Neurotransmitters; Inside the Neuron; The Other Brain Cell

7. DNA, DOLLARS, AND DARWIN

Introduction; Speaking of Chromosome 22; Gene Quest; Peeling Away the Genetic Onion; Transition; Gene Therapy; Bad News; The Darwinian Challenge

PART THREE: ROADS TO RECOVERY

8. LIFESTYLE

Food and Mood; Messing with the Food Chain; Diet and Obesity; Exercise; Sleep; Staying Well; Suicide Prevention; Coping with Work; Support; Using Your Bag of Tricks; Meditation and Yoga; God Power

9. SEEKING HELP

Facing Facts; Your Next Step

10. ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND CONTROVERSIAL MEDS ISSUES

Antidepressants for Depression; The Players;  Efficacy; Why Antidepressants Aren't Magic Bullets;  Experimental Antidepressants;  Aiming for Remission; Augmentation and Combination Strategies; Long Term Treatment; Side Effects; Meds Management; Pregnancy and Breastfeeding; Drug Metabolism; Other Things You Should Know; Take Home Message; Controversial Meds Issues; The Crazy Factor; Paxil Withdrawal, The Placebo Factor

11. BIPOLAR MEDS

The Meds; No Magic Bullet; The Mood Stabilizers; Antipsychotics; The Drugs; Combination Therapy: Short Term Treatment for Mania; Treating Hypomania: Long Term Treatment; Treating Rapid-Cycling; Bipolar Depression Treatment; Pregnancy and Breastfeeding; Our Right to Remission

12. TREATING OTHER ILLNESSES AND SYMPTOMS

Anxiety; Sleep; Pain; Cognitive Dysfunction; Apathy; Meds Side Effects; Sexual Dysfunction; Overweight; Teeth

13. TALKING THERAPY

Turbocharging Your Antidepressant; Manual-based Therapies; Cognitive Therapy; Chewing the Fat

14. SINGING THE BRAIN ELECTRIC

Electro-convulsive Therapy; rTMS; MST; VNS; Deep Brain Stimulation; Brain Scan Therapy

15. COMPLEMENTARY TREATMENTS

Nutritional Supplements; Amino Acids; Omega-3; St John's Wort; Sam-e; Bright Light Therapy; Acupuncture; Experimental Therapies

PART FOUR: SPECIAL POPULATIONS

16. YOUNG AND OLD

Early Onset Depression; Early Onset Bipolar Disorder; Treating Early Onset Bipolar Disorder; Depression in the Elderly

17. THE SEXES AND RELATIONSHIPS

Depression in Women; Postpartum Depression; Male Depression; Why Psychiatry Fails Men; Midlife Crisis; Innocent Bystanders; Saving the Relationship; Getting Along With Our Families; Protecting the Kids; Should We Have Kids?

POSTSCRIPT: HEALING

RESOURCES

Patients’ and Families’ Organizations; Professional Organizations; Government Organizations; Disabilities; Free Meds; Suicide/Crisis; Finding a Professional; Informational Websites Specializing in Mood; Email Newsletter; Online Support; Medical Websites