Customer Reviews

Soft Bipolar: Vivid Thoughts, Mood Shifts and Swings, Depression, and Anxiety of the Mild Mood Disorders Affecting Millions

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I find this book very hard to read due to all of the typos, left out words, misspellings, and poor grammar. Additionally, much of the book is a series of lists of symptoms or signs without much explanation. The author does provide many web site listings where you can get more (and much better) information though. I would not recommend this book at all as it would be a waste of money.

A really good book on the same topic is "Why am I Still Depressed?" by Jim Phelps, M.D. Dr. Phelps provides much more explanation when he discusses topics. There are no "laundry lists" of symptoms. Additionally, Dr. Phelps provides a very good set of additional references at the end of his book.

So, if you like checklists of symptoms, this book is for you.
If you prefer real information, clear explanations, and good writing, "Why am I still Depressed?" by Jim Phelps is your better choice.

For those of us just diagnosed and searching for detailed information about "softer" forms of bipolar, this book is discouraging. If you can get past the typographical errors (I couldn't--geez, mister, at least get a proofreader if not an editor!), there's still not much "hard" information. There are some "case histories," but there are no studies to back up this guy's conclusions (he refers to "my experience" a lot). It's just not good enough.

There are a lot of references to "helpful" web sites, but did we really need to spend extra money to figure out we can use the web?

I found the information that IS there disorganized and unenlightening. I should have known that an author who begins, "I love working with bipolars..." might be a bit of a goof.

Save your money and buy "Why Am I Still Depressed?" It's much better.

Dr. Bunch defended the hard copy of his book by saying that his e-book does not have typos and grammatical errors. WRONG! You'd think he would get it right at some point. I didn't think the errors would be a big deal, but it makes the reader think that perhaps the doctor doesn't really know what he's talking about.

I'm not sure what to make of Dr. Bunch. I'm certain he has helped many people as a therapist, and I think he genuinely cares about the topic of cyclothymia. But, I'm skeptical because as far as I can tell from his credentials, he did not attend medical school. There's nothing wrong with receiving a Ph.D. online, but a physician should be clear about his ability or potential inability to give medical advice, expecially when dealing with mental health. The field of psychiatry and psychology has many professionals who have the experience and the medical education to correctly identify and treat mood disorders.

I'm going to continue muddling my way through the book with some skepticism.

I am still trying to read this book. I am not a grammatical genious, but there are so many errors in wording, spelling etc that I can't get to what the book is saying to me, because I am not sure if that what was written on the page was really what was meant. Being bi-polar is hard enough, but making it harder to understand doesn't help either.

I have worked in an inpatient Psychiatric/Behavioral Health unit for many years. Dr. Bunch really nails down what the problems are. His book presents new information for even a seasoned professional, yet the book is an easy read and simple enough to understand for anyone. Whether you yourself are suffering from bipolar or related to/friends with/in a relationship with someone with one of these disorders (i.e. everyone knows someone....whether they know it or not!)this is a MUST READ! You will gain a deeper understanding of the problems and issues people face, giving you a deeper ability to cope with or understand.Suffice it to say, I recommend this book.

What I liked about this book is that the author is really an expert about soft bipolar. I've been suffering for more than 20 years and STILL have not been properly diagnosed, though I've seen many psychiatrists. I'm sure I'm suffering a form of soft bipolar, but this seems to be a problem most psychiatrists can't even label, much less help. They will throw all kinds of medicine at it though -- and just hope something sticks. I am glad to see someone pay attention to the various types of soft bipolar and pull all kinds of valuable information together in one book. My one caveat: all people like me want is HELP. The part about finding a good doctor or therapist -- which is, in a nutshell, call around and ask a bunch of questions about their experience and background -- is really too much to ask from someone suffering from this disorder. It's hard to get organized; it's hard to speak up for yourself; it's hard to get to get to a doctor's appointment at all in the best of times! I honestly can't imagine any psychiatrist I've ever seen answering all these questions for someone who wasn't already a patient. I would go anywhere and pay anything to see a doctor who had this much knowledge and empathy -- there aren't many out there. You deserve much more than 5 stars for that, Dr. Bunch.

As a newly diagnosed Bipolar II woman, I chose this book, sight unseen, because it sounded helpful. What a shock to receive a book that was so poorly written that I questioned the authors abilities as a writer, much less Counselor. It's called proof reading! It's called editing...please! Amazon, could I get my $12.42 back? What a disappointment!

This is Dr. Bunch. Soft Bipolar was written with great passion and the desire to get information out to people. I wrote this at a time when all local psychiatrists doubted the existence and treatment of soft bipolar. In 2006 there were three reviews of the book posted here. They coincided with the publication of Dr. Phelps book. In at least one review, the book was not read by the reviewer. Of course Dr. Phelp's book is great, but it's different from Soft Bipolar. Every bipolar person's arsenal should include several good bipolar books.

I've found over time two things:

1. rancid criticism is often a reflection of the critic and not the book. Ranting says something about that person. The book was the first printed on soft bipolar, and of course....there will be better books on the topic. But only Soft Bipolar has gotten the comments I still get: its real and soulful and speaks to me....it helped me.
2. the book sells, I get letters, I get calls, and I have patients who fly in to seek bipolar evaluations or treatment.

Finally, I have a full Ph.D, accredited University. That says all. That included 5 years of study in Mexico, Brazil and in residential training. I completed 350 credit hours of which only 125 actually went on a transcript.

Coming out soon are two new soft bipolar books, about April 2011. Soul of the Soft Bipolar: finding your place in a treatment world. And, Soul of the Soft bipolar supporter. Both will use the method of therapeutic questions and not duplicate content of other bipolar books and workbooks.

Finally, I'm not a writer and state in my book my sole motive in writing is to get the important information out. Those who wanted it got it. I also have some free websites and blogs: [] and []. There you'll find soft bipolar and cyclothymia news and articles. Also, i recommend to all BP Hope Magazine and Bipolar Network News, featured on the site and of great help.


Further, an essential bipolar book is A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback by Wiley Jolley. It's not specifically about bipolar but on recovery and rebuilding your life.

I'd greatly appreciate your soft bipolar stories counted at the free social soft bipolar site, Bipolar Connections.

Grow. Hope. Dream.

Dr. Bunch

This book is one of the best i have read on the subject, i have even shared it with friends. It is very helpful and knowledgable. It is in easy to understand terms and suggestions.

This book made it easy to understand the so called soft, or lesser forms of bipolar, and how important it is to get treatment. I found it informative.