Book Review: The Bipolar Disorder Workbook: Powerful Tools and Practical Resources for Bipolar II and Cyclothymia by Peter Forster MD and Gina Gregory LCSW

The Bipolar Disorder Workbook: Powerful Tools and Practical Resources for Bipolar II and Cyclothymia by Peter Forster MD and Gina Gregory LCSW

Available October 9, 2018

If you are having thoughts of suicide, get help now. Call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 1(800)273-TALK . If you can’t locate that number, call 911. Get help NOW!!

The Bipolar Disorder Workbook: Powerful Tools and Practical Resources for Bipolar II and Cyclothymia by Peter Forster MD and Gina Gregory LCSW is written to help people with Bipolar Disorder II and Cyclothymia.

Our family has dealt with Bipolar Disorder and PTSD. We were unaware of Bipolar II until we were sent this book for review. This book was very eye-opening.

This book does not condemn medications at all. However, it does offer some ideas to help either supplement the use of medication or to help make it unnecessary.

We suggest The Bipolar Disorder Workbook for anyone who may be suffering from the condition. We also suggest it for family members or others who are concerned with the well-being of someone who does have it.

We give The Bipolar Disorder Workbook all five stars. We think you will, too.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the link below and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.


PS Annie! is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
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Book Review: It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine

It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine

Wow! It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand by Megan Devine is an amazing book! It is one of the best books that I (Suzanne) have read on the topic of grief. It deals primarily with sudden, unexpected loss, but I believe it applies across the board. Losing a loved one is heart-wrenching, whether you know it is coming or not. But, when it happens unexpectedly, it puts it right in your face just how little control we have and how unpredictable life can be.

Reading this book was like meeting a new friend, one who understands how you feel because she has been there. She hasn’t been exactly where I’ve been, but she has had the rug pulled out from under her, too, and knows there’s no putting things back as they had been before.

Ms. Devine has helped me to not feel so alone in my unresolved grief. She knows it takes more than two weeks to grieve the loss of a loved one. Two weeks, two years, a lifetime, we don’t ever get over it. The loss becomes a part of who we are.

She has also taught me that how I have handled the grief of others, though my intentions were to try to comfort, did nothing but potentially cause more pain to the one suffering. I had no idea that when I shared my sorrow, in an effort to say “I understand,” it set up a grief competition of sorts and feelings of “This is about ME, not you. Why isn’t my grief important?”, and many other hurt feelings in the grieving person. I am working on changing the way that I deal with the grief of friends and acquaintances, in an effort to not cause further pain. I didn’t realize the effect my words were potentially having because I never took it as belittling my grief when others shared theirs.

This book is emotional, well-written, and the education in grief that we all need, most especially those in the mental health field.

If you have lost someone, if you have been expected to process it on their timeline instead of your own, you need this book, if for no other reason than to find someone else who truly understands your pain.

We give It’s OK That You’re Not OK five stars and then some. It is a great book and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to read it!

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.


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Book Review: It’s All About You: A Guide to Good Mental Health and Wellness by Cynthia Rapazzini

It’s All About You: A Guide to Good Mental Health and Wellness by Cynthia Rapazzini

If we were to decide how good or bad It’s All About You: A Guide to Good Mental Health and Wellness by Cynthia Rapazzini is based upon whether or not we agree with everything the author writes, it would fail miserably.

Our family has had many experiences with the mental health care system, all bad. We have dealt with ADHD, Depression, PTSD, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and more. In every case, the mental health care system made the situation worse. Once to the point suicide was seriously a possibility.

Somewhere some self-appointed expert decided that if a situation lasted more than two weeks, it was mental illness; we beg to differ.

Too often all the mental health “professionals” have to offer are drugs. One so-called professional did not offer anything other than a drug and then said, “You are crazy if you don’t take it.“ Those are the exact words.

But, a review is supposed to be about the book and not about how well we agree with what the author has to say. In this case, we don’t agree with very much.

Rapazzini attempts to explain the mental health care system. She says we should choose our mental health care providers carefully. It would be great if it worked that way for poor people. When you have to go through non-profits and government programs to get mental health care, you don’t get to choose.

The author tells us that there are laws in place to prevent abuses. Tell that to our family member who found herself handcuffed to a bench after speaking with a mental health professional.

We cannot say this book is well-written because there are a few occasions where the author, or someone on her behalf, went back to edit her work and left an extraneous word or two. The most glaring problem is the misuse of the word “whether”. In school we were taught there was always another option given when the word whether was used. “I don’t know whether OR NOT I am going the the show.” Maybe that is nitpicking.

On pages 42 and 43, we are given statistics on suicide for 18-34 year olds. The two groups most likely to commit suicide, each with double digit figures, are Native Americans and Whites. The other two groups were the lowest Hispanics and African Americans, both with single digit figures. The author goes on to say that minorities are less likely than whites to seek mental health care. It would appear that the African Americans and the Hispanics benefit from this since their rates of suicide are lower. This would imply that you are less likely to commit suicide if you DON’T seek the help. We doubt this is always true but, statistically speaking, there is a case to be made.

We give It’s All About You three stars. We do not feel it is a useful tool in our toolbox.

We were sent a complimentary copy of this book. We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.  

Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
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Book Review: Out Of The Woods: A Journey Through Depression and Anxiety by Brent Williams. Illustrated by Korkut Ozekin

Out Of The Woods: A Journey Through Depression and Anxiety by Brent Williams.  Illustrated by Korkut Ozekin

Out Of The Woods: A Journey Through Depression and Anxiety by Brent Williams is the story written about one man’s journey from depression back to a normal life.

This book speaks of a young man who realizes he is depressed and seeks to deal with it without drugs. The book offers some ways of helping like diet, exercise, and not withdrawing from other people.

The book cautions that anyone struggling with depression should not try to handle it on their own.  It does not encourage the use of drugs.

In Out Of The Woods, readers are told that people experience depression different ways.  Therefore, different people will find different degrees of help from this book.

We were sent a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book.  We are under no obligation to write any review, positive or negative.

We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

 




Notice: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may financially benefit from your transaction, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
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Please be sure to visit David over at Random Thoughts and Observations.

I respond to all comments on this blog, ideally within 24 hours.  Please check back here for a response to your comment.  Thank you!
 
Please subscribe to David's YouTube Channel. Thanks!