Overcoming Depression and Manic Depression (Bipolar Disorder) A Whole-Person Approach

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Help and Advice!
Review: As yet another person who was diagnosed as bipolar, and who is now living a normal, sane life WITHOUT medication, I can say that Mr. Wider's book has been of great use to me! The advice and techniques, as well as the personal experiences he tells about, are invaluable to people suffering from mood swings and to those living with them.

There is something that is not mentioned in the book---something that should give those taking medication for bipolar depression reason to seriously consider learning to use the things Paul Wider is talking about, rather than to continue medication indefinitely. It is the toxicity of those medications. Lithium can be positively poisonous. Deaths from overdoses can and do occur, EVEN in those who have been faithfully having their dosage monitored for long periods of time. Substitutes for lithium, such as Tegratol and Valproic Acid, are similarly dangerous. Tegratol can, for instance, permanently lower one's blood platelet count, and both Tegratol and Valproic Acid can cause serious harm and even death if an accidental overdose occurs. And again, overdose can occur in those who have been faithfully having dosage monitored. This happens when, for some unknown reason, the body's dosage tolerance goes down.

When doctors talk about "medication" to control bipolar depression, they are talking about making very serious and complicated alterations in body and brain chemistry. Some anti-depressants---MAO Inhibitors, for instance---can permanently alter brain processes, causing permanent dependence on MAO Inhibitors.

For these reasons, which are not even mentioned in the book, I believe people suffering from bipolar depression, as well as their families, should give Mr. Wider's ideas serious consideration, and should seriously question whoever is prescribing the medication about long term effects and consequences.

Rating:
Summary: Uplifting and Informative
Review: Hooray and Hallelujah! This is a book that offers those who suffer from what some term "bipolar illness" a real and effective exodus from life-long dependence on "medication" and "mental health professionals!" I am delighted and deeply thankful that Paul Wider has gone the distance in conceiving, writing, publishing and marketing such a book!

I am thankful to Mr. Wider for saying at the outset of his book that he is by no means suggesting that those who are currently taking drugs to manage an illness should simply cease taking them. I believe there is every reason to believe that,(if the drugs were in fact having an effect), they would quickly "relapse."

But I am in agreement with Mr. Wider that the reason they'd relapse would not be so much because they "no longer had the drug in their systems," but because 1) they had not schooled themselves in such spiritual, emotional and mental health techniques as are described in the book,, and 2) they had, as part of the "drug therapy," surrounded themselves with people,(psychiatrist, family and friends), who believed in both the diagnosis and the drug, so that there simply was no one to support them once they ceased taking the drug.

I am, therefore, in agreement with Mr. Wider that cessation of drug therapy must be a gradual process, during which time the person is weaning himself onto and strengthening himself with the kinds of excellent beliefs, techniques and behaviors that are described so well in the book.

As a person who has recovered from a so-called diagnosis of "manic depression" or "bipolar illness," I agree with Mr. Wider that drugs and those licensed to prescribe them have a real place in things, but that they should not have as large or as permanent a place as they presently do, and certainly that drugs alone are not a real and safe treatment for what is categorized by many as "bipolar illness." I agree that drugs can be very useful when someone is either too overwrought or too depressed to think and communicate effectively, or if he is a danger to himself or to others. They were personally useful to me in both such instances. Drugs might also be an answer for the person who is satisfied to accept them as his particular solution, or for the person who is unwilling to do the work necessary to recover to the point where drugs are no longer necessary. But for the person who refuses to buy into his "bipolar" diagnosis, and who refuses to accept the "status quo," Paul Wider's book is a must read. I also strongly recommend it for family members or friends of those with a diagnosis of "bipolar illness."

A problem few people see, including John Vincent, who has also written a review of Mr. Wider's book, is this:

When a person who believes he is suffering from a "mental illness" seeks professional help, his recovery, or, in too many cases, lack of recovery, can have nearly everything to do with the outlook and opinions of the particular professional he sees.

If, for instance, (and there are all too many such instances), the particular professional a person chooses to see believes that person has "bipolar illness," and believes, furthermore, that "bipolar illness" is chronic and lifelong, then that person stands an excellent chance of being convinced that he suffers from "bipolar illness" and that he will suffer from it all his life. Not only that---and far worse than that---the very "fatal consequenses" Mr. Vincent mentions at the end of his review may occur specifically because this particular professional not only never gave his client any hope of recovering from the illness, he even actively sought to keep his client convinced that the illness was chronic and incurable! Such a suicide may occur not only because the client feels burdened by the spectre of many years of suffering, but because he remains in an emotional rut, and suffers "bipolar breakthroughs" DESPITE his faithfully taking the chronic, lifelong "medication" such a professional assures him he needs. The professional who believes "bipolar illness" is chronic and incurable is also likely not to challenge his client to change his behavior and is likely not to think well "outside of the box" his views on the illness necessarily put him in. The resultant years of stagnant, uneventful "therapy" can themselves be partially responsible for the "fatal consequences" mentioned by Mr. Vincent! Thank goodness someone like Mr. Wider has had the courage and the fortitude to publish his real alternative views and personal experiences!

Let us say, on the other hand, that through some miracle, such a person manages to find a professional who refuses to pigeonhole mental illness and to label his clients with a "diagnosis," and let's say he also insists on taking a whole, fresh look at any particular person who comes to him for help. Such a professional will necessarily know and prescribe at least some of the techniques Mr. Wider mentions in his book. He might well even suggest his client buy and read the book! In that case, the outcome for such a person could easily be entirely different, as it was with me when I, thank God, finally ran across such a professional.

As someone who has fully recovered from a misdiagnosis of "manic depression," I remember having a "highly esteemed" psychiatrist assure me I would "always suffer from a problem with rage." I was supposed to believe him simply because of "who" he was! It took a "mere" (and very gifted) social worker to convince me I ALWAYS had a choice about whether or not to get into a rage, and to teach me ways to cope with such behavior in real-time, real life situations. Mr. Wider's book is loaded with similar real, learnable, liveable, "debunking" ideas and techniques!

Through the grace of God, (which is, in my opinion, the most important "healing technique" Paul Wider mentions in his book), I gradually weaned myself off of "medication" and psychiatrists, as I learned new, different, healthful ways of being in and coping with the world. Today, as someone who has been through and recovered from mental illness, I daresay I am happier and healthier than a great many people who have been "normal" all their lives. Paul Wider's book is an excellent map---drawn by one who has explored and travelled the terrain himself---for getting to such a place!

Rating:
Summary: Not Good Enough
Review: I bought this book hoping it would give me insight into why I was feeling depressed. But it didn't. It gave pratical advice and just wasn't good enough.

Rating:
Summary: A mixed rating
Review: I have mixed praise for this book. I believe its positive attributes lie in the breath of alternative and supporting treatment options for biploar disorder the author discusses. Certainly these are all beneficial and well worth understanding and applying to manager this disorder. To that end I recommend the book highly. My concern lies in the authors implied belief that these are in fact possible alternatives to medication treatment plans; not adjuncts to them, his cautions not withstanding. In the light of the overwhelming research evidence that most patients with bipolar disorder need to be on a life long medication treatment plan this is not only misleading but potentially dangerous. Bipolar patient's have enough trouble trying to stay on medication withtout encouragement to discontinue them based on the errorneous belief the alternative treatment plans discussed in this book will be sufficient. A decision which could have fatal consequences for them.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable guide to wise and practical living
Review: Paul Wider's "Overcoming Depression and Manic Depression: A Whole Person Approach" is a remarkable tool--not only for those who suffer from bipolar disorder and depression, but also for those who do not. This is an extraordinary guide to wise and practical living, regardless of your clinical psychological condition. Mr. Wider emphasizes the importance of diet, exercise, and sensible healing activities and strategies as a sage approach to healthful everyday living. For those suffering from bipolar depression, the book provides a long list of ways of coping with and managing the disorder. I strongly recommend this title to all.

Rating:
Summary: Not Good Enough
Review: The author clearly cares about those who suffer from depression or bipolar disorder and has produced a substantial book to help them. However, I think it's a little delusional or uninformed to think that medication doesn't play an essential role in the recovery of a great deal of people suffering from depression or bipolar disorder. While I'm also not a fan of unnecessarily medicating people who don't need it, the "holistic" approach isn't enough in many, if not most, cases. Nonetheless, the author's approach may be effective in mild cases of mood disturbance, and may even help the more severe cases somewhat too. Definitely a book worth checking out for an alternative view of healing depression and bipolar disorder. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".

Rating:
Summary: This book is a true inpiration for all those who read it.
Review: This book is wonderful. It offers people suffering from depression many ways to cope other than prescription medication. The author has put his own experiences into book form, along with his expertise and compassion. I hope that many people purchase this book and put the "tools" in it to work for themselves in overcoming the terrible disease of depression. Thank you, Paul Wider, for sharing your book full of marvelous coping mechanisms to help deal with depression!