Please join us for our third lecture of the free lecture series. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Russ Federman.This lecture is essential for any college bound student who struggles with a mental illness.
When we or a loved one seeks treatment for mental illness, the treating professional provides a diagnosis and treatment (hopefully!). The diagnosis comes from a very important manual known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual is periodically revised by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to reflect current research and knowledge.
In honor of Black History Month, we present three black singers who live with bipolar disorder. Rapper DMX has had significant successes along with problems. Country-western singer Charley Pride is another who has had a successful career. Bobby Brown, on the other hand, has had more difficulty than success.
Currently, a debate rages among doctors and academics about whether the symptoms of bipolar disorder can even emerge when a child is under 10. In fact, the current Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (and bible to all psychiatrists, doctors and other healthcare providers), doesn’t recognize pediatric bipolar disorder. In other words, looking under “p” for Pediatric Bipolar Disorder in the Manual (also known as DSM IV) won’t get you anywhere.
Too often, I hear older clients say that they just expected their mood to drop once their children were out of the home and their own illness and the deaths of friends and relatives began to weigh on them. After all, at some point, “it’s all about loss,” as one retired engineer told me.
It makes perfect sense intellectually that a support group can give you great ideas for coping with your diagnosis. After all, many of the attendees have experienced what you’ve experienced. They’ve tried treatments, been handled awkwardly by relatives and struggled with inappropriate shame on their own for years . . . just like you.
And yet when you stepped into that first support group meeting, it was torture, pure torture. The attendees obviously had far more problems than you did. They were weak, pathetic, WEIRD.