Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

forbes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–49 of 49 posts

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#41

Post by larve »

dirtyaura wrote: post #24
eggdude wrote: post #22

I just started reading the book he swears by (The UltraMind Solution: Fix Your Broken Brain by Healing Your Body First by Dr. Mark Hyman) and I am appalled at how sensationalist and unscientific it is. It mixes well-proven facts (e.g. exercise, diet, sleep, and relaxation promote mental health) with absurd claims like "Just as brain problems all stem from the same root causes, they all have the same solution - The Ul…

I'm all for this recent trend in understanding how nutrition affects us in many ways, but both Mark Hyman and his book looked dubious to me. Googling revealed this Salon article, which is worth of read after reading the Forbes article. http://www.salon.com/2009/03/12/mark_hyman/

I agree he's pretty much a self-healing new-age self-promotion marketeer. the books he suggests are just populistic ramblings. also, reading up about psychological disorders on the internet is even worse than reading up on "normal" diseases. just don't do it, either you will persuaded that you have a disorder while you don't, or be supported in whatever delusion you can come up with, as there probably is a whole community built around it. HN is no exception in this regard, as a lot of the "self-help" articles on here are just a ripe breeding ground for mania :)

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#42

Post by wallawe »

codeslush wrote: post #32

re: Cutting out refined sugar: Anyone have any good links for a balanced and nutritional daily food intake that is reasonably cost effective and doesn't take long to prepare?

You may have heard of Ray Kurzweil, who's very involved with the singularity theory of technology. I read a book of his that is co-authored with Dr. Terry Grossman called "Fantastic Voyage." If you take the time to read this book, it gives many eating choices along with supplement suggestions for excellent mental and physical health. It's definitely worth the read.

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#43

Post by [deleted] »

willidiots wrote: post #7

This is a dangerous article. A dangerous, slightly manic article. Someone close to me is affected with bipolar, which drags me into that universe. People who self-medicate - such as the author - are very common with this disease. There are a million people who claim they've "overcome" it, some through alcohol or street drugs, some through nutrition and lifestyle changes. The danger is that when you're manic, you are…

[deleted]

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#44

Post by Confusion »

logjam wrote: post #38
iole wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Each of those things he compounded by adding one to the other. He's successful and that support structure he's built around himself along with his nutritional discipline allows him to essentially "overcome" the disorder. The guy is giving speeches on networking to the first group of Thiel Fellows and he blogs on Forbes. Nothing he's saying seems irrational or ridiculous. Being a so-called "beast" in your…

> Cures exist for mental illness; mostly by nutrition, therapy, hard work and strong social ties. [Citations to peer-reviewed, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies needed]

This is one of medicine's major problems: such a study is considered to be required, yet no one with enough funds (read: big pharma) will execute a study of the enormous size required to control for all these variables (because there is nothing to be gained for them). For all we know, every mental illness is cured in 80% of the cases by changing to -- and adhering to -- a healthy lifestyle. As the situation is, there will never be a study that proves it.

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#45

Post by camilless »

larve wrote: post #11
willidiots wrote: post #7

This is a dangerous article. A dangerous, slightly manic article. Someone close to me is affected with bipolar, which drags me into that universe. People who self-medicate - such as the author - are very common with this disease. There are a million people who claim they've "overcome" it, some through alcohol or street drugs, some through nutrition and lifestyle changes. The danger is that when you're manic, you are…

I can relate to this article, having being diagnosed with bipolar I, and having had an extended manic phase (with psychosis) in which I was actually trying to save myself: - eating well - todo lists - self discipline - sports - stopping drugs / coffee / alcohol I'm kind of "scared" of these things now, but also realize that they are, while not the complete solution, necessary ingredients to living a "normal" life. It…

Some people can manage it without constant meds - some only need meds some of the time - BUT with managing the things that throws that person in a tail spin. (i.e. not sleeping, chaotic relationships, travel in some cases). When it's mostly mania the person experiences - life is probably pretty good, but for those who mainly experience the depressive side (like a friend of mine) - it cripples his life and he can barely function. Each case is different. I really think the key is having someone close to the person who can make sure they're doing all the things they need to - like sleeping, eating regularly etc.

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#46

Post by onetimer »

onetom wrote: post #37

so, drinking nescafe gold decaffeinated is a safe choice of coffee, right? because im drinking it for the taste only, without sugar but with milk... coffee was definitely not helping with my ADD / ADHD... im on ritalin / concerta 54mg for 2 weeks now, stopping for the weekend and it works great so far with a slight sleeplessness and a little loss of apetite which i perceive as normal apetite actually, since im over w…

I am interested to follow how your progress with your ADHD medication goes -- are you keeping a log anywhere?

Have you been able to get a full 8 hours of sleep every night?

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#47

Post by runjake »

I couldn't get through the whole article. I tried, but it was too long-winded and the author still seems like he has an inflated sense of self-grandiosity.

However, the resultant comments here on HN have been superb, and my hope is that many people share their own stories.

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#48

Post by codeslush »

wallawe wrote: post #42
codeslush wrote: post #32

re: Cutting out refined sugar: Anyone have any good links for a balanced and nutritional daily food intake that is reasonably cost effective and doesn't take long to prepare?

You may have heard of Ray Kurzweil, who's very involved with the singularity theory of technology. I read a book of his that is co-authored with Dr. Terry Grossman called "Fantastic Voyage." If you take the time to read this book, it gives many eating choices along with supplement suggestions for excellent mental and physical health. It's definitely worth the read.

Thank you!

Re: How I Overcame Bipolar II (and Saved My Own Life)

#49

Post by hellrich »

Confusion wrote: post #44
logjam wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cures exist for mental illness; mostly by nutrition, therapy, hard work and strong social ties. [Citations to peer-reviewed, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies needed]

This is one of medicine's major problems: such a study is considered to be required, yet no one with enough funds (read: big pharma) will execute a study of the enormous size required to control for all these variables (because there is nothing to be gained for them). For all we know, every mental illness is cured in 80% of the cases by changing to -- and adhering to -- a healthy lifestyle. As the situation is, there…

So how do you know it's 80% - sounds pretty confident.
Post reply on HN