Welcome to the Jungle: Everything You Wanted to Know about Bipolar But Were Too Freaked Out to Ask (for Fans of All These Flowers or Readers

I never feel compelled to write reviews. It has to be either amazingly awesome or just unbelievably bad. This is amazingly awesome. The reason behind me saying that is because of how I felt after completing the book. I read it in ONE DAY. I had actually bought 2 bipolar II books (diagnosed beginning of the year) and the first book gave me panic attacks while reading it, I felt overwhelmed and depressed. When reading Welcome to the Jungle - there was so much of a light feel to it (for me) that it did not overwhelm me. I almost feel like Hilary's position to being Bipolar was..."I'm Bipolar...So what?" Not to indicate that she doesn't care but that she isn't allowing this "disorder" to define who she is. I felt relieved, I felt like I can definitely overcome this and that I can combat the struggles of the episodes more comfortably than when I read the other Bipolar books. I highly recommend this to anyone that is recently diagnosed that have done their own research and overwhelmed with the thoughts, the depressive episodes and the spiraling out of control feeling. Hilary writes this book in a way to make you feel like you always have control over this disorder no matter what people say or no matter how you might feel that in the end you can combat this with some hard work and dedication. Good luck to everyone

Mental illness is a disease that gets a definite stigma attached to it and bipolar is one illness that many have a hard time understanding. With acute depression you can take an antidepressant to keep it pretty much under control all the time. Bipolar is a life long disease and even when on a good medicine regimen the illness will cycle over and over throughout the person's lifetime. There are times where all is well and suddenly major mania sets in, then a deep depression, then normal. Mood swings can last minutes, hours, days, weeks or longer. Bottom line is it is a disease that must be dealt with throughout the person's lifetime. I have read many books on bipolar. Many read like mere text books. Then we have autiobiographical stories that are great but after reading basically just let the person know they are not the only sufferer. Bipolar effects all aspects of a persons life and this book here WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is the first I have ever come across to deal with all the serious intense aspects of bipolar with humor, intelligence, wit and well done research. Of course it helps that the author Hilary Smith has bipolar and she uses her personal journey to add hilarious antedotes along the way. We deal with bipolar from being diagnosed, dealing with mania and depression, medications, dealing with relationships and all life throws at us. Bottom line is that bipolar is serious and must be treated as such but it is not a death sentence. There are caregivers, support and ways to deal that make sure you can still have a good life. It is very true that bipolar people tend to be very creative and imaginative. Manic phases can provide amazing things. Too bad the depressive states can be just as strong and many deal with thoughts of suicide throughout their life. But this book is an excellent resource for suffers and their loved ones. It acknowledges the seriousness of the illness but lets sufferers know they are not alone with tools to deal with life with bipolar. And for the loved ones it may provide answers to questions you didn't even realize you had. Highly recommended.

I have read many books about being Bipolar and I have to say this is the best one I have read yet. Hilary Smith makes you laugh with her insider's view on bipolar and what you can do about it to make yourself feel better and live better. Being an insider myself, I have to say I have tried many of the things mentioned in this book such as, sleeping, nutrition, exercise, taking time for myself and taking care of myself. All which have helped tremendously, but Hilary has taught me so much more in this book. If you or someone you know is Bipolar, even if they don't realize it, get them this book. They will have an "Aha!" moment and hopefully put some of the tips that Hilary gives into practice for themselves and start to see that they can feel better and that they are not alone. Highly recommended read with insight and actual exercises you can do to begin your healing process.

***** I have read many books on bipolar illness, and I just love this book! Its intended audience is young people, but it is suitable for everyone--from teenagers to middle-aged folk like myself. It's raw, funny, and very honest, answering questions that other books just don't get near, perhaps because they're very personal. But people with bipolar illness need to know about these things, and so do their families and friends! In fact, this is the perfect book to give to others to help them to understand just what the illness is and how to deal with it. Interesting topics include: when and how to tell your friends and romantic partners you have bipolar illness; how it really feels to be bipolar; recreational drug use, alcohol, and bipolar; cohabitation issues with bipolar; telling family; how to decide what type of professional to see; all the options and considerations in health insurance (the section on health insurance is really good for young people); managing your bipolar with food-sleep-exercise; being in college with bipolar; working with bipolar; and much more. The book gets really specific, for example, how to deal with a social life or a significant other when you have to go to bed at the same time every night, and you have to take your drowsiness-causing meds early. One of my family members has to do this, and it's hard for people to understand about "bedtimes" and such as an adult. This book gives ideas (including humorous ideas) about what to say. I think that it normalizes and reassures people with bipolar, and is invaluable for this. The book does contain profanity, but it fits in with the tone and writing style that appeals to many in modern youth culture, so that the book will be perceived by them as hip and cool. I didn't like that per se, but I didn't find it distracting. I thought it was more important to have a book that everyone would actually read that didn't sound like a medical textbook, and this book manages to inform, entertain, and reassure while not sounding technical at all. Highly recommended. *****

As a step-mother to a recently diagnosed bipolar 20yr old female in college, I found this book to be very eye-opening and comforting. Being young and in college is hard enough but to add bipolar to it adds yet another level they have to work through. It covers everything from being diagnosed and accepting their disease to managing it in college with the pressures of drinking, partying, and dating to living a productive, fulfilling, and happy life. I highly recommend it not only for young adults but for parents as well to help get a better understanding of the thoughts and feelings their children have. Hilary offers great references and links to support sites/groups that I am currently following up on.