This thread is for anyone who has Ian's book- (Don't have the title handy, I think it's [edited]. (I believe Exile and maybe Keenie have it too.)
Unfortunately, I will be abandoning this book about a third of the way through because of a book discussion on my other forum, I always have like five books going and this one needs to be replaced for the moment.
So, without further ado, i'll brush through the negatives quickly but I think we're all pretty aware of them so I won't dwell, and then mention the positives as well.
So far, we have risen from one to two to three stars.
Negatives:
*Virtually no science except for mentioning that there is not enough science.
*Simple writing, not intellectually challenging unless you think about a lot of stuff on your own.
*The advice is not suitable for all personalities, definitely not mine- a lot of it is about focus, goals, and achievement- three things that are not necessarily applicable to everyone- I think society already pushes us to do this too much. The authors want you to relax and have fun with these goals rather than pushing beyond your limits or stressing yourself out- but I personally have found it very useful to my mental state to indulge in a variety of healthy interests (not just coping stuff) but genuine interests. My state of mind and "what is good" for me varies from day to day and sometimes multiple times a day. Yes, there are themes in people's lives but total focus is not essential and can be detrimental to many people.
Positives:
*Motivating! Some of the stuff is actually pretty motivating outside of bipolar. Ian and the other author are mountain climbers, and I'm a runner, I love to run half marathons, it's something that I'm constantly focused on- The book helps you realize that goal setting and working towards something doesn't need to be stressful- it can be constantly fun, regardless of failures and setbacks. I've found that when taking this book with an open mind, it really motivates me to go for a run.
*The idea that life is a balancing act of spiritual, intellectual, and physical activities. It seems to imply that some bipolar people have more of a need in some of these areas, (the authors seem to have a need for immense physical and intellectual activity, more so than the general population.) I think there is a lot of truth in this for myself and with the intensity of feeling in bipolar people, this could be true- we need to satisfy a need.
In my case, over the course of my life, I have developed very intense need in all three areas- I need to be constantly reading, talking, discussing- challenging myself mentally- (in the case of reading the book, my level of agreement is low, but just the act of reading it challenges me because I'm trying to see the other perspective, and that has challenged me mentally a lot despite the writing style.) Spiritually I was almost out of control after developing bipolar, quickly going into grand views of how the world connects, or visions of talking to God that are parallel to many of the prophets in biblical times. (This is altered with the severe slowness of body and mind that follows).
I always need to be running or ripping my body apart with strength classes. I think my intensity of need in all three areas is so great for a large portion of time that it has driven me to madness.
In this sense- perhaps abandoning my normal view of "broad interests are good" and taking on set goals could be beneficial. (I don't think so, but it's possible.) Is this true for all bipolar people? Possibly, possibly.
*Most of all, props to the authors for both going off meds with these insights, and also the book only mentions this as an alternative to meds maybe once or twice in the beginning so far, but it really overall doesn't talk about meds at all- the posts by Ian imply that he has some kind of a fierce vendetta against people being on meds because of his own experience- the book barely says a peep about meds which makes it more palatable.
So yea, three stars for now, i'll get back to it soon! Thanks for the book, Ian- 10 dollars well spent despite my previous harsh words.
I'd like to hear what others think.
-- Sun Jan 27, 2013 2:17 pm --
Edit: And yes, I'm running a bit on the hypomanic today- the "intensity of feeling" is radiating through my post so much because of this. Too much time on the SAD light still, it's addictive. Don't tell my doc.