this book has turned my life around. having been diagnosed with bipolar type II in 2002 (age 19), i've spent the past 5 years on various pharmaceuticals, magnificently tempering the depression and mood swings, and my personality. but did i feel i was living? no. i had a strict circadium rhythm from the meds (13 hrs. of sleep a night), and i was an emotional and physical zombie. my intellectual brain stopped functioning, and i had to drop out of college. i didn't regret being on meds, because they did help keep me pseudo-sane and definately alive, but i wanted more for myself. i found this book in a health food store, and figured i'd educate myself on alternatives, not believing anything but meds could truly 'work'. well. this isn't true. every person suffering from a mental disorder needs to know that there are options to getting better, and traditional methods of psychiatric pharmaceuticals are only one of those options. i really wish someone had told me that at the beginning of my diagnosis (and really, at my first onset of depression at age 8).
all the chapters in this book are informative and useful. specifically, chapter five reviews a theraputic clinic outside chicago called Pfeiffer Treatment Center. after reading the review, i applied and became a patient last year, and started their program with immediate sucess (relief within days). it turns out much of my mental instability was due to candidiasis, being toxic with the mineral copper with a deficiency of zinc, and too little of histamine (and thus overmethylation.) i am taking very bio-specific supplements 3x daily to balance the mineral and neuotransmitter issues, and i'm on a copper-free, yeast/sugar-free diet, and i am loosely following the blood type A diet (who ever said life was easy?) the results? mood swings are gone. irritablity is gone. depression is gone. i've a healthy range of moods and emotions, and experience many other *unrelated* benefits as well (effortless weight loss, ocd spectrum disorder gone, increased energy, focus and clarity, improved overall health). and i'm not on any meds. most psychiatrists i've seen would call this sacriledge, even dangerous. i call it a smart application of science. and its a start to a new life. not something i could have achieved with meds and talk therapy (and i've been doing t.t. for 20 very long years).
on another note, i have had incredible success treating/eliminating my food allergies and ADD with NAET, a technique covered in chapter 8.
Please consider that this book has radically altered at least one person's life for the better. i pray it will help others as it helped me.
ps. it is vital to read this book with an open mind.
Product DescriptionThe Natural Medicine Guide to Bipolar Disorder,an innovative and inspiring book on natural medicine treatments for a healthy mind, is about healing bipolar, not merely enduring it. Within these pages, medical journalist Stephanie Marohn explores the key contributing factors and triggers for mood disorder and profiles a range of effective, nondrug-based approaches that can truly restore health. Treating the underlying imbalances, rather than suppressing the outer symptoms (as most drugs do), leads to lasting recovery. And only by considering the well-being of the mind and spirit as well as the body can comprehensive healing take place.
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The Natural Medicine Guide to Bipolar Disorder (The Healthy Mind Guides) (Paperback)
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