Bipolar Disorder: Meds, meds and more meds
A quick jaunt around the Internet would lead you to believe that the only treatment options for people still in the “suffering” stage of bipolar disorder are meds, meds, more meds, talk therapy, electo-shock therapy, and still more medications.
Now here’s something interesting — take a look at who advertises on these sites . Sure, there are the Google ads on some of the sites, which most site owners don’t know they can control the content of. But look at the non-Google ads, and you’ll see a trend: the advertisers are major pharmaceutical corporations.
Check out the fine print at the bottom of some of these “informational” sites and you’ll see that the major pharmaceuticals actually own them.
Geodon ads are everywhere these days — despite the unethical tactics drug reps used a few years back for off-label prescriptions. But what happened to good ol’ lithium? You hardly read about it anymore, though it’s the most tried and true mood stabilizer. (I know the answer, as I’m sure you do, too — it’s unpatentable, therefore unprofitable.)
Amazing, isn’t it?
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-medication in the least. When I look back at the year I spent off meds I wonder how it is that I’m still here writing to you. Medication can create a safety net for you to start to grow from.
Medication can be part of a balanced approach to dealing with the various mood states of bipolar disorder, but it is also a choice. There are many people out there who have chosen to do without medication (others still who can’t afford it), and some of them are doing well. Many more aren’t doing so well, but that’s their choice.
The key here is balance, though. Medication is but one slice of the pie. Talk therapy is another - CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) has finally been proven conclusively to help with bipolar outcomes. For me and others, yoga is a huge slice of the pie. Then there’s sleep, diet, and so on.
Why are so few sites discussing these other options?
Tags: balanced approach, bipolar disorder, bipolar medication, bipolar treatment, CBT for bipolar, Geodon, lithium, yoga and bipolar
glad i found your site. I use intermediate physical yoga, Thai chi, and meditations all helped me with my bipolar recovery.
What works for one ,wont work for the next… but yoga is always worth exploring for mental health.
Chris, great point. Sometimes I hear “yoga is for everyone, everyone should do yoga” and that makes me cringe. Yoga is for those who want yoga, and it’s open to anybody. Saying everyone should do yoga is like saying everyone should have the same religion. It’s well-meaning arrogance.
Very interesting site. I have been getting back my yoga practice since being stabilised with hospitalisation & the correct meds.
A couple of observations I have made in my own history with both yoga and bipolar… I believe that for a number of years, my yoga practice really helped with the bipolar depression. However, when I practised ashtanga yoga (for approx 8 years), it actually increased my manic episodes - to the extreme. I’m not by any means suggesting that this would be the case for any one else, and I think ashtanga is a great practice, but this experience taught me that some practices are more helpful to me than others in particular phases of the illness.
I must also make the comment that when my illness became severe it was impossible to have ANY sort of yoga practice. The tools that I had had for so many years became inaccessible to me. When I recently entered a mixed state with extreme suicidal compulsions, my ONLY option was hospitalisation and meds. The hospitalisation and meds have set me back significantly financially, but I would not have been alive to be doing yoga again if I had not taken this path. Sometimes, it’s necessary to be well before we can consider yoga, and sometimes the only way to do that is through the meds. And in my case, I know that it’s a lifetime of meds… hopefully with a lifetime of yoga to accompany it
Anais, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.
Vata style yogas like Ashtanga, vinyasa, power yoga, etc, would have that effect. And some who take an ayurvedic approach might propose that bipolar disorder is already a sign of imbalanced vata dosha, so there you go. I find that if I do sun salutations in an evening class I simply can’t get to bed.
I recommend Kripalu Yoga for people with bipolar disorder. It is very grounding.
And meds should always stay an option. Good for you, it sounds like you’re taking care of yourself and making good choices for your health.