How to Find Information About Bipolar

In this medical health video expert Patient John McManamy shares the top resources for finding information about bipolar disorder.

Question: How can people get information about bipolar disorder? John McManamy: The information has got to get out there to people and the Internet has been revolutionary in getting it out to the people. The Internet is one of the huge advances that has changed people's lives. People can in complete anonymity, without even going to the public experience of checking a book out of the library or whether somebody is looking over the shoulder on the book store, can go on to the Internet and check information to see if this plays with how their life seems to be appearing. And if they know that they've got the illness, they can check information and it doesn't have to be the parting line, what the medical establishment says, because bipolar patients are pretty smart people actually. We can talk to each other and say, well, this is what we're experiencing with the illness. This is one of the things with how health center they are promoting the concept of Expert Patient and this is the revolutionary thing in the field. We're taking power in our own hands and we're saying, okay, we respect the medical establishment, but here's our view too, respect our view, listen to us. So I am getting this information and I am helping people, because I don't want to see people go through the sufferings I went through and I don't want to see people going through the suffering, my loved ones have been going through. Now this is one of the worst illnesses on earth. The suicide rate depending on whose figures they're around between 10% and 20%. The jails are crowded with us, there is homeless on the streets, we lose our jobs, we are stigmatized. This is a tragic illness in every way. But there are lots of gifts about the illness too and I know those gifts, if we learn to appreciate our gifts, it can lead to a healing. So the more we know about our illness, the better. We can accept it, we can understand it, we can get treatment for it and we can heal ourselves.