Jenifer Lewis has bipolar disorder. I had no idea. I’m surprised I didn’t run across it when I wrote Celebrities and Bipolar Disorder or Female Celebrities and Mental Illness.

In any event, I did run across it, when I ran across Broadway Star Battles Bipolar, a Health Talk with Dr. Manny video from FOXNews.com.

During the video, Lewis talks very frankly about her diagnosis, the length of time it took for her therapist to convince her to take medication, and why she was afraid to take medication in the first place (like many people with bipolar disorder, Lewis was afraid it would take away her “edge”).

Lewis then explains that her bipolar disorder treatment plan includes medication, weekly therapy, exercise, healthy foods, and a strong support system of friends and family as well as promotes Bridge to a Brighter Tomorrow as she discusses the different ways to reach out and get help.

Overall, it’s a worthwhile interview to watch when you have about six minutes to spare. Especially when you love listening to strong voices that cut to the chase and don’t pussyfoot around when it comes to topics lots of folks won’t even discuss – like mental illness.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Actress Jenifer Lewis Talks Openly About Bipolar Disorder

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

Now that we’ve nodded in the direction of celebrities who have bipolar disorder, let’s take a look at the illness itself so you can better understand what these famous folks are going through.

Keep in mind that this post is just an overview and by no means meant to act as a substitute for medical professional advice.

I gathered information about bipolar disorder from the same three major sources from which I gathered information for the Tell Me More About Depression: Signs, Symptoms, And Treatments post: The National Alliance on Mental Illness and their section on Bipolar Disorder; the National Institute of Mental Health and their booklet about Bipolar Disorder; and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance and their section on Bipolar Disorder.

So, after reading this overview of bipolar disorder, I highly recommend checking out those Web sites for more detailed information.

Read on!

Quick Facts about Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes extreme shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. (It’s interesting that NAMI is currently referring to bipolar disorder as “medical illness” and NIMH is referring to bipolar disorder as “brain disorder” – bipolar disorder is both, of course, but I’ll stick to the good ol’ fashioned mental illness for now.)

According to the NIMH, there can be as many as 5.7 million American adults (or 2.6 percent of the population) age 18 and older in any given year who have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops when a person is in their late teens or early 20s; however, the illness can develop at any age.

Signs and Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder

There are many signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder, but for simplicity purposes they can be broken up into two categories: symptoms of mania (the highs) and symptoms of depression (the lows).

When a person with bipolar disorder is experiencing mania, he or she may:

• Experience such euphoria that he or she actually feels high.
• Have little or no need for sleep, feel an increase in energy, and even an increase in productivity and creativity.
• Have racing thoughts, talk very fast, and be easily distracted.
• Exhibit an increased sexual drive.
• Have poor judgment; make bad decisions.
• Feel as if he or she is “on top of the world,” untouchable and unstoppable, and having special powers and abilities
• Engage in substance abuse.

According to the NIMH, “A manic episode is diagnosed if elevated mood occurs with three or more of the other symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for 1 week or longer. If the mood is irritable, four additional symptoms must be present.”

When a person with bipolar disorder is experiencing depression, he or she may:

• Sleep and/or eat too much or too little.
• Feel extreme sadness, worthlessness, anxiety, hopelessness, guilt, helplessness, and pessimism.
• Experience a decrease in energy, desire, and interest in activities.
• Feel restless and/or irritable.
• Have trouble concentrating and making decisions.
• Experience physical pain.
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts.

According to the NIMH, “A depressive episode is diagnosed if five or more of these symptoms last most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of 2 weeks or longer.”

Different Types of Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is not as cut and dry as the – ahem – media may lead you to believe. A person with bipolar disorder may have:

• Type 1 Bipolar Disorder, the most severe type of bipolar disorder when the mood swings are the most frequent and severe.
• Type 2 Bipolar Disorder, a less severe type of bipolar disorder that involves depression and hypomania more often than depression and mania.
• Cyclothymic Disorder, an even less severe type of bipolar disorder when the mood swings are quite mild.

Someone with bipolar disorder may experience:

• Hypomania, when the mania level is mild to moderate.
• Mixed states, when the mania and depression symptoms occur at the same time.
• Rapid cycling, when the episodes of mania and depression occur more frequently than the time frames given above.
• Psychosis, when the episodes of mania and depression are so severe they cause hallucinations and delusions.

See why it’s best to get a doctor’s advice? This stuff can get confusing!

Treatment Options for Bipolar Disorder

Treatment options for bipolar disorder almost always involve medications (such as lithium and anticonvulsants) and psychosocial treatments (such as psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, and family therapy). A doctor may determine that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) would be beneficial, and sometimes people with bipolar disorder opt for a more natural treatment option such as herbal and natural supplements.

Bipolar disorder is often present for a while before it’s diagnosed. If you think you suffer from bipolar disorder, contact your doctor. If you think someone you know suffers from bipolar disorder, point him or her in the direction of these resources and encourage him or her to contact a doctor. There is absolutely nothing shameful or embarrassing about dealing with mental illness, and there are effective treatment options available.

Post from: Blisstree

Tell Me More About Bipolar Disorder: Signs, Symptoms, And Treatments

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some celebrities who have suffered from bipolar disorder – or had, in the case of the deceased. We’ll look at actors and actresses, musicians, writers, political figures, and other well-known figures.

Please note that I am not an authority on celebrities and mental illness. For a celebrity to be on this list, he or she or a spouse or reliable family member must have publicly discussed – verbally or otherwise – his or her mental illness, or, in the case of the deceased, professionals must have addressed it later on.

Many of the celebrities from the former Celebrity Health Week posts also make this list of celebrities and bipolar disorder: Britney Spears, Jane Pauley, Margot Kidder, Patty Duke, Carrie Fisher, Linda Hamilton, Vivien Leigh, Connie Francis, and possibly Marilyn Monroe from Female Celebrities And Mental Illness, and Barret Robbins, Francis Ford Coppola, Sting, Axel Rose, DMX, and Ben Stiller from Male Celebrities And Mental Illness.

Read on for more.

While cruising the Internet in search of famous people with bipolar disorder, I found an article from Canada’s Home Based Family Services Network appropriately titled Famous People with Mental Illness.

The article lists celebrities with bipolar disorder and celebrities with unipolar depression. I’ve seen many of these same names included on other lists I’ve read. I won’t republish the entire list (I don’t have permission for that!), but I will include a few of the more well-known celebrities with bipolar disorder – or, who are thought to have bipolar disorder – who I haven’t already mentioned during this series of posts.

• Ned Beatty
• Art Buchwald
• Tim Burton
• Rosemary Clooney
• Patricia Cornwell
• Ray Davies
• Robert Downey, Jr.
• Larry Flynt
• Daniel Johnston
• Jean-Claude Van Damme
• Brian Wilson

Seems like we’re in pretty good company, and that’s just a few of the names on the list of famous people with bipolar disorder – or, people thought to have bipolar disorder.

Check out the entire list, and stay tuned for more information about bipolar disorder as well as athletes and mental illness, celebrities with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and much more during Celebrity Health Week!

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Celebrities And Bipolar Disorder

Starting Monday, June 9, 2008 and running until Saturday, June 14, 2008, the b5media Health & Wellness Channel is rolling out the red carpet and holding Celebrity Health Week!

Given that this is a mental health blog, I figured I’d go the celebrities and mental health route.

While I generally try to stay away from talking about celebrities wait, that’s a lie, I talk about celebrities a good deal. Especially my Wenti. So let’s start over.

While I generally try to stay away from talking about the mental health of celebrities here at Mental Health Notes, there have still been times when I’ve written about celebrities and mental health issues.

Why?

Well, like I’ve said before, while I believe a person’s mental health (and any kind of health, for that matter) is his or her own business, I also believe that when a celebrity brings his or her mental illness out into the open, it helps bust stigma and show others that they, too, can live full and productive lives even with mental illness.

So, I try to limit my writings of celebrities and mental illnesses to posts only about celebrities who have either publicly spoken about or written about their mental health issues, or have had reliable sources such as family members come forward with the celebrity’s mental illness.

Seriously. If you were a famous actor or singer, would you want some random bloggers, journalists, and entertainment shows who don’t really know squat about you talking about what’s going on with your brain unless you’d already announced it?

I didn’t think so.

So, during Celebrity Health Week, I’ll be blogging about celebrities who have already publicly announced, talked about, or written about their own mental health issues; giving you more information about several kinds of mental illness; and publishing letters to three different people – alive and dead – who reportedly have or had a mental illness.

There will be 18 posts in all during Celebrity Health Week, and once it gets underway the chart below will act as a “home base” for all the links. You know, to help you stay organized.

As you wait for Monday, let these mental health- and celebrity-related posts tide you over:

• Meet Famous Poets Who Lived With Mental Illness
• Harry Potter Saved Rowling’s Sanity
• In The World Of Show Biz, It Pays To Be Crazy
• Celebrities With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Smile For The Camera!
• And The A.S.S Award Goes To…TMZ.com
• Is Paris Hilton Mentally Ill?

Image: Newscom

Do you want to tell the world why you ROCK? If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter This Is Why I ROCK! today!

Post from: Blisstree

Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness