Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know

By far the most realistic, based on true experience book I've read on depression and bipolar disorder is by John McManamy "Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder". I take 40mg of Lexapro for severe depression because without it I can't even use the best of behavior tools because my depression paralyzes me. Having said that, using the tool of medication, I can be open to people who have struggled for years with this terrible disorder, but found multiple ways to manage it. There is no cure!! McManamy tells us the many tools he has in his plethora (tool kit) that he uses to manage his dispair. No one thing is a panacea, but one tool might comprise 20% of what helps, another 10%, another 40% and so on. John McManamy's book is extremely well written, based on his own miserable expience and experiments, and while medical experts tend to pat him on the head like a good little boy who has a personal experience to tell, frankly his book is more informative and instructional than ANY book written by a medical professional. He's been through this tricky and insidious condition--still has to manage it--so his take on the disorder and managing it is NOT based on theory and phony sympathy, but true empathy and the experience of the many letdowns by modern medicine and the consescending approach so many of us have experienced by our own doctors and therapists. They all know what "should" work, but John has tried them all and knows what it took for him, and I've found his suggestions to be extremely true and workable for managing my depression. Professionals do not have a handle on depression or bipolar--they have medication and frankly we're all guinea pigs and sources of great riches to the pharmaceutical industry, so if you want some common sense and authentic, tried-and true insight into one man's struggle and his incredibly hard-earned course of improvement and manageability of this disorder, using every tool from medication to vitamins to a plethora of other useful tactics, do yourself a favor and read this book.

I applaud John McManamy for writing an excellent, insightful and information packed book! John has the unique perspective of not only being a very knowledgeable authority on depression and bipolar disorder, but also a consumer himself because of his diagnosis. He is brutally honest about issues ranging from medications, the role of sleep in wellness, the seriousness of the illness . . . there is no sugar coating or glossing over topics. At the same time, John intersperses the book with a refreshing sense of humor and candor. Unlke many books that present the facts in a dry clinical format, this book will bring a smile to your face or have you laughing out loud at comments such as "anyone taking ***** with either of these drugs is simply begging for an audition as the next Macy's Santa" (in reference to medication induced weight gain).I am a licensed social worker, working in job that brings me in daily contact with families of children with pediatric bipolar disorder. I read and review books on a regular basis, some good, some great, some forgetable. "Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder" is one of my favorites and one that I will be recommending highly.

When you read this book I suggest 2 things. #1) You use a highlighter and mark everything that helps you explain your bipolar to your loved ones. #2) and use stick-it notes to tag those pages to make then easy to find your highlights.This book is very good at explaining the good, bad, and ugly of Bipolar. I like the sections on the meds and how they work.Also read, An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison, An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and MadnessAnd get a subscription to BP Magazine [...] well worth it....All the best in understanding this difficult condition.

I was fortunate to have found the author's newsletter serendipitous while doing an internet search in 1999. Reading his reporting over the years has helped my abilities as an advocate and played a key role in my recovery.The mental health community is very fortunate that a professional journalist decided to use work skills in processing his own recovery, and then elected to stay in mental health developing an uncharted career path.His newsletter, website and blog have benefited countless mentally ill.This book will play a pivotal role in recovery for many more and will soon become an asset for mental health professionals who will now finally have an answer when patients ask, "What book should I read?"Harper Collins was brilliant in choosing John as their mental health author for their highly acclaimed "Living Well" book series:[...]%20wellEnjoy reading John's book and incorporating "our" journalists writing into your recovery.For those of us who have benefited from reading John's information over the years we finally have a book to recommend as a resource to those creating their own journey using "knowledge is necessity" in living well with their mental illness.Consumers and loved ones rejoice that intelligent, logical content has arrived in book format.This is the personal mental health library book that will stay at your fingertips!If you want to give yourself, or your loved one, a mental health gift that will keep on giving --- this is it!