Description

---

About 'Life With Bipolar Type Two: a guide to stability'
Eleanor Worsley's excellent mental health book is targeted at people with Bipolar Type Two (BPII), those who care about someone with the disorder, and mental health/medical professionals looking to deepen their insight into what living with BPII is actually like. Life With Bipolar Type Two is one of only a few books available focusing on BPII rather than Bipolar in general, and carefully explores some of the features more unique and/or common to the specific diagnosis from both a personal and educational perspective.
Life With Bipolar Type Two is an unique research and lived-experience based guide to living stably with BPII. Topics covered include: depression, hypomania, rapid cycling, hyper-sexuality, self-harm, suicide, catatonia, medication, psychiatry, and stress; several of which topics and symptoms, while mentioned in medical guides and textbooks are rarely explored in any depth and even less frequently addressed with any mind towards helping people to reduce the symptom or mollify its negative impact on their lives.
This is an accessible and thorough guide to managing your bipolar well and living a whole, balanced and healthy life with the disorder. The author herself has BPII and is a qualified teacher, so has a deep personal connection to the content of the book and the research and communication skills which allow for a well grounded yet accessible study of the disorder.
Usefully broken down into easy to read subtitled sections which are digestible whether you are stable (euthymic), depressed, or hypomanic; incredibly comprehensive covering a great many parts of the disorder and its challenges which are often omitted from the traditional literature.

Review of 'Life With Bipolar Type Two: a guide to stability' by Eleanor Worsley
Many books on mental health related subject areas cover theory or talk about the subject from a personal point of view, this book is rare as it covers both aspects, and does this skillfully and convincingly, so that the author's experience aids the understanding of theory, and research gives weight to the author's observations.
The book is comprehensive and extremely well referenced, covering material on diagnosis, causes, symptoms, treatment, management and lifestyle. It does so in a refreshing way that illuminates subject matter with the author's personal observations throughout. The style is engaging, thought-provoking and very readable. Insights range from managing depression and hypomania, addressing risk, accessing the right help, medication, therapy, and tips to manage related problems such as sleep and stress.
I would recommend this book to a variety of people: professionals who want to deepen their understanding of bipolar type two; people who have this diagnosis who want to increase their knowledge of the subject area as well as gaining practical ideas to feel a greater sense of control and hope; and those close to someone with this diagnosis who wish to understand and support that person more. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a clearer idea of how bipolar disorder impacts on a person's life, and also what the person - and other people in their life - can do to impact on the bipolar disorder. Eleanor speaks with authority and experience on the subject matter, and what results is a book that is informative about both bipolar disorder itself and the impact it has on a human being. It is a welcome addition to books on Bipolar type two.
- Steven Spendley, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist