Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder: Understanding and Helping Your Partner

by Julie A. Fast, John D. Preston PsyD, ABPP

Overview

Maintaining a relationship is hard enough without the added challenges of your partner’s bipolar disorder symptoms. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder offers information and step-by-step advice for helping your partner manage mood swings and impulsive actions, allowing you to finally focus on enjoying your relationship while also taking time for yourself. This book explains the symptoms of your partner’s disorder and offers strategies for preventing them and responding to these symptoms when they do occur.

This updated edition includes a new section about the medications your partner may be taking so that you can understand the side effects and help monitor his or her bipolar treatment. As a supportive partner, you deserve support yourself. This book will help you create a more balanced, fulfilling relationship.

Improve your relationship by learning how to:

• Identify your partner’s symptom triggers so you can prevent episodes
• Improve communication by stopping irrational “bipolar conversations”
• Handle your partner’s emotional ups and downs
• Foster closeness and connection with your partner

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608822195
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	01/02/2012
Series:	The New Harbinger Loving Someone Series
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	103,938
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Julie A. Fast, freelance writer and Web master of www.juliefast.com, lives in the Pacific Northwest. She believes that with the right tools, bipolar disorder is a predictable and treatable illness.


John D. Preston, PsyD, ABPP, (1950-2020), was a licensed psychologist, and author or coauthor of twenty books. He was professor emeritus of psychology at Alliant International University, and served on the faculty of the UC Davis School of Medicine. Preston lectured widely in the United States and abroad. He was a recipient of the Mental Health Association’s President’s Award for contributions to the mental health professions, and was a fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Chapter 1 Getting Started 1

Chapter 2 Treat Bipolar Disorder First 7

Chapter 3 Multipolar Disorder 18

Chapter 4 Medication Basics 34

Chapter 5 The Holistic Treatment Plan 54

Chapter 6 The "What Works" List 65

Chapter 7 Bipolar Disorder Triggers 79

Chapter 8 A Couple Takes Charge 102

Chapter 9 The Bipolar Conversation 127

Chapter 10 Your Emotional Response to Bipolar Disorder 144

Chapter 11 Work and Money l56

Chapter 12 S-E-X 172

Chapter 13 What about You? 184

Chapter 14 The Hard Truths about Bipolar Disorder 196

Chapter 15 How to Create Laughter and Joy in Your Relationship 210

Appendix Quick Reference Guide to Medications 219

Resources 237

References 239

Editorial Reviews

"Resources for individuals with bipolar disorder are few and far between, but those for the people who care for them are even scarcer. Julie A. Fast and John D. Preston have put together a valuable resource for families and caregivers of people with bipolar disorder. Taking a holistic perspective, these authors offer advice that will help readers help their loved ones with bipolar disorder. More importantly, this book encourages and helps readers to take good care of themselves and their relationships."
—Sheri Van Dijk, MSW, RSW, psychotherapist and author of The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder, The Bipolar Workbook for Teens, and other books

"I am truly impressed with this wonderful book. I will have it in my office and recommend it to patients’ partners as a matter of course as they go through the journey with this illness."
—Steven Juergens, MD

"More than an education about bipolar disorder, this is a welcome to the journey, in the kindest language you will find in any such book. Open to any page and you will notice the tone and wisdom of people who’ve obviously been there. It’s a challenge to maintain a relationship with someone who has this illness. You’d do well to have a guide, and you will not find any better than Julie A. Fast and John D. Preston. Nor will you find any clearer advice than that which the authors have laid out. Their book is remarkably emotionally intelligent and a privilege to read."
—James Phelps, MD, mood disorders specialist at Samaritan Mental Health in Corvallis, OR, and author of Why Am I Still Depressed?

"This book will help the loved ones of people living with bipolar disorder to better understand its challenges. It provides clear, concrete ways of giving the support needed to keep their loved ones healthy and get them through the rough spots."
—Ruth White, PhD, MPH, MSW, associate professor of social work at Seattle University and author of Bipolar 101

"Julie A. Fast and John D. Preston have put together an impressive second-edition guide for couples struggling with the reality of bipolar disorder. They strive to decouple the diagnosis from the individual living with it. This premise lays the groundwork for their discussion of compassionate, non-blaming communication combined with effective couples-based solutions for those striving to work through the interpersonal complexities of a relationship impacted by bipolar disorder. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder really is a must-read for anyone who does."
—Russ Federman, PhD, ABPP, director of counseling and psychological services at the University of Virginia and author of Facing Bipolar

From the Publisher