Why Am I Up, Why Am I Down?: Understanding Bipolar Disorder [Mass Market Paperback]

Roger Granet (Author), Elizabeth Ferber (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Dell Mental Health Guide | Publication Date: August 10, 1999

Violent mood swings...suicidal feelings...unpredictable behavior...

Is your life a roller coaster of highs and lows? Do your moods vacillate between profound sadness and euphoria?

If so, you may be suffering from bipolar disorder, a complex illness that involves the mood centers of the brain and affects as many as two million Americans. Since bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as major depression, an accurate diagnosis is crucial to understanding and managing this often chronic condition. Now this sensitive, authoritative guide explains the challenging nature of bipolar disorder and how to get the right kind of treatment to minimize or prevent future episodes of this devastating illness. Find out:

What causes bipolar disorder and who is at risk
The symptoms of both manic and depressive episodes and their common triggers
How to get the very specific kind of help you need and why early diagnosis is your best bet for successful treatment
The latest facts on successfully managing bipolar disorder...why alternative therapies such as meditation and hypnotherapy can actually be dangerous to bipolar sufferers...plus news from the front lines of research

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Violent mood swings...suicidal feelings...unpredictable behavior...

Is your life a roller coaster of highs and lows? Do your moods vacillate between profound sadness and euphoria?

If so, you may be suffering from bipolar disorder, a complex illness that involves the mood centers of the brain and affects as many as two million Americans. Since bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as major depression, an accurate diagnosis is crucial to understanding and managing this often chronic condition. Now this sensitive, authoritative guide explains the challenging nature of bipolar disorder and how to get the right kind of treatment to minimize or prevent future episodes of this devastating illness. Find out:

What causes bipolar disorder and who is at risk
The symptoms of both manic and depressive episodes and their common triggers
How to get the very specific kind of help you need and why early diagnosis is your best bet for successful treatment
The latest facts on successfully managing bipolar disorder...why alternative therapies such as meditation and hypnotherapy can actually be dangerous to bipolar sufferers...plus news from the front lines of research

About the Author

Roger Granet, M.D., F.A.P.A., has practiced psychiatry for twenty years, focusing much of his work on mood and anxiety disorders. He is clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, lecturer in psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, consulting psychiatrist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, attending psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Division, and director of consultation-liaison psychiatry at Morristown Memorial Hospital. The author of numerous medical journal articles and textbook chapters and series editor for the Dell Mental Health Guides, Dr. Granet has also written essays in The New York Times, two collections of poetry, and four popular books on psychiatry: Why Am I Up, Why Am I Down?: Understanding Bipolar Disorder; If You Think You Have Panic Disorder; If You Think You Have Depression; and Is It Alzheimer's? Dr. Granet is married, with two children. He maintains a private practice in Morristown, New Jersey.

Elizabeth Ferber is a graduate of Barnard College and has a master's degree from New York University. She is an award-winning author of eight previous books including May the Circle Be Unbroken, The Vegetarian Life, and Diabetes. As a journalist, she has written dozens of articles for a variety of national publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and New York magazine.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Dell (August 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440234654
• ISBN-13: 978-0440234654
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,284,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Mood Disorders
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Depression
  • #81 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Reference

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most readable and practical guide on Bipolar Disorder., September 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Am I Up, Why Am I Down?: Understanding Bipolar Disorder (Mass Market Paperback)

As someone who has wrestled with Manic Depression for years, this is the first book that provided me with realistic hope, tons of information, and direction as to how to seek care from an expert. Being a chemical engineer, it was most reassuring to learn of the many new scientific advances. I am now in treatment with a psychiatrist who specializes in Bipolar disorder. The future looks bright. This book was a major help towards that end.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Re-assurance for a family member, November 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Am I Up, Why Am I Down?: Understanding Bipolar Disorder (Mass Market Paperback)

As a sibling of someone with bipolar disease, I found this book to be most re-assuring. It was remarkably reader friendly, while at the same time offering up to date and thoughtful information. In addition, the book balances biology, psychology and the environment in understanding the causes and treatment of this disease. This is a great book for anyone who wants to know that there is clear and realistic optimism for treating bipolar disorder.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Straight Answers..., April 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Am I Up, Why Am I Down?: Understanding Bipolar Disorder (Mass Market Paperback)

Doctors, whose heads are cluttered with statistics, case studies, and theoretical jargon, often write books that are too heavy, boring, and technical for the average person to want to understand. My sincere thanks go to the Dell Publishers, who have had the intelligence to create a series of easy-to-read guides for educating the public about mental health.

Having experienced Bipolar Disorder for several years now, I finally decided it was time to accept that I have this disease and to begin to understand it. "Why Am I Up, Why Am I Down" is a fast-paced, accessible book that tells you what you need to know.

The main idea that runs through this book is: Bipolar Disorder is a serious illness and needs to be treated by a psychiatrist. Having the disorder can mean a significant impairment in life functioning and, though it is not curable, it is treatable.

The book is written like a big brochure. It's organized into eight chapters covering aspects of identifying and learning to live with the disease: (1) Definitions/Overview; (2) Symptoms/Diagnosis; (3) Causes; (4) How to Get Help; (5) The Role of Psychotherapy; (6) The Role of Medication; (7) Alternative Therapies; (8) Coping. Each chapter is broken down into a friendly question-and-answer format, asking questions like, "What is the typical day like for someone in a hypomanic state," and then answering them.

While there is a chapter on alternative therapies, one of the main ideas in this book is that, if you have Bipolar Disorder, you'll probably be taking medication (combined with other therapies).

What this book drills over and over again is that Bipolar Disorder is a serious medical condition that needs to be treated. "Bipolar disorder is the leading cause of suicide in the country," the book says. ...