Monthly Archives: March 2012

Glasses on Book

Evidence-Based Medicine: Three Flaws and Three Solutions

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More and more, decisions about what medicine is recommended to people with bipolar disorder comes from ranked lists that stem from what is called “evidence-based medicine”. Evidence-based medicine, or EBM, relies on aggregating data in what are called “meta-analyses” in order to determine what is the best treatment for a given condition.

In principle, this looks like a good idea. After all, proponents argue, if we aren’t basing medical decisions on evidence, then it’s just based on “hunches”. Some have argued against this distinction as a false dilemma and a simplistic epistemology. I don’t disagree. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Dinner

After Disclosure: Bipolar Disorder and Family Relationships

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Disclosing one’s bipolar disorder to family members can be very difficult, because we never really know how people will react, and once we have disclosed, there is really no way to take it back. My own experience with disclosure has been a largely positive one, but not everyone has such positive experiences. For this article, I wanted to talk about some of the possible positive and negative reactions that we can get, and how to deal with them. Continue reading →

Clock Face

Time Management Skills for Bipolar People

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Time management is already a challenge for most people. However, for those of us with bipolar disorder, time management can become especially difficult. Our mood episodes can undermine our ability to get a handle on our schedule, and this can make it very difficult for us to use our time effectively.

Until recently, I was a graduate student, so I had a lot of time to, erm, work on my time management skills. Over time, I became gradually better at using my time well, and setting out the tasks that I needed to do. In this article, I will set out some of the things that I learned through this process, and I hope that it will be helpful to others. Continue reading →

Loves Me Loves Me Not

Looking on Tempests: Bipolar People and Love

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Having a romantic relationship with bipolar disorder can be challenging, and I have discussed some of these challenges before. In this post, however, I want to discuss something very specific: the bipolar experience of love. Love, as an emotional state, can be extremely powerful, even for people without bipolar disorder. For people with bipolar disorder, it mixes together with our mood episodes in various ways.

At the end of the day, this creates some special challenges for those of us with bipolar disorder when it comes to love. Continue reading →