[madisgram]

good article especially for recently diagnosed bipolar dx'ed people.

By James Phelps, MD | January 9, 2012

Dr Phelps is Director of the Mood Disorders Program at Samaritan Mental Health in Corvallis, Ore.

Teaching patients is a central role for physicians, and it is especially important in chronic illnesses, such as bipolar disorder. For an illness in which misunderstanding of the condition is the norm and in which patients often do not follow treatment recommendations, it is clear that psychoeducation leads to substantially better outcomes.1
What does a typical patient with newly diagnosed bipolar disorder know about his or her illness? Most likely very little—and what he thinks he knows may be working against you.
• I haven’t had a manic episode, so this diagnosis must not be correct
• They just want me to take handfuls of pills
• Lithium(Drug information on lithium) will make my kidneys fail/make me feel like a zombie/make me gain weight/etc
• I’ll never be well again/get a job/live on my own/get married/etc
• I’m better now; I don’t need to keep taking these medications

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/bipo.../10168/2015325