BIPOLAR WELLNESS: How to Recover from Bipolar Illness

Bipolar Wellness, by Michael Rose, is a self-help guide for those who suffer from bipolar disorder. The book is separated into different parts, each part corresponding to a stage in a model for helping those with bipolar disorder. The first sage, Body-Mind Connection, explores the different aspects of bipolar disorder. The second stage, Recovery–An Inside Job, describes the various obstacles that are associated with bipolar disorder. In the third stage, Connecting the Dots with Support Networks, Rose shows that many sufferers of bipolar disorders aren’t alone and that there’s a community out there that can help them in their time of need, such as friends, family, and support groups. In the final stage, Bringing Your Recovery Into the World: Becoming Proactive, Rose describes how to cope with living with bipolar disorder.

There were many aspects of the book that I enjoyed. Rose is very particular about labeling those who have a mental illness, ensuring that they are treated with respect. Rose offers a helpful model as to how bipolar disease can be dealt with holistically and how to balance it in a way that’s healthy. He encourages bipolar sufferers to engage in support groups and hobbies in a way that helps stabilize these patients, thus promoting an atmosphere of cooperation rather than hostility. What’s more, Rose goes into describing a potentially new treatment involving nutrition, all the while involving the input of the psychiatrist. This part of the book was a rather beautiful description of the integration between traditional and alternative medicine.

One important detail in the book that I was thrilled by was how Rose continually kept engaging the reader. There were various questions and activity sheets that the reader could do in order to manage the disease. As a result, this book isn’t just an informational tool; it can serve as part of a treatment plan that can assist individuals living with bipolar disorder. His clear explaining of the models helped as well. However, they were just a bit repetitive at times. Because Rose has the image of these models scattered throughout the book, I found this a bit distracting.

Personally, I have quite a few friends who have bipolar disorder. After all, bipolar disorder is a mental illness that affects many people daily. And while I myself don’t have it, this book allowed me to gain insight into the disorder as well as the holistic approaches that ensure the health of the patient. Because of this, I’d recommend the book to those who suffer from bipolar disorder as well as those who are interested learning about the disease.