Living well is not an empty dream.
Knowledge is Necessity. If you're one of the lucky ones, your medication will clear your head, restore your judgment, raise your IQ, make you lose 50 pounds, put ten million in your bank account, and have Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt breaking up over the prospect of 20 minutes alone with you.
On the other hand, if you're like the rest of us, you have your work cut out for you. The encouraging news is your diagnosis means you don't have to settle for a miserable half-life. The sobering news is getting well and staying well involves being smart and disciplined - a fairly daunting prospect when we have our illness and a host of side issues to contend with.
The articles in this section serve the dual purpose of letting you know what you're up against and of giving you some answers. The recovery techniques here are simultaneously as old as the hills and backed by modern science, but there are no guarantees. You won't find out if they work for you or not until you put in the work.
John McManamy sings and hugs a gorilla.
Knowledge is Necessity
Copyright 2008 John McManamy Contact
Mindfulness - The Ultimate Mood Stabilizer
What is arguably the most effective recovery tool requires a highly disciplined mind.
It's official. Good food is good for you.
If you have a mood disorder you have sleep issues..
This just in - religion and spirituality work.
Everyone is talking about recovery. These people are DOING it.
Don't just stand there - sit!
“Mind precedes its objects. They are mind-governed and mind-made.” - The Buddha
Mindfulness - Living in the Present
Successfully negotiating the present allows us to make peace with our past and face the future with hope.
An innovative researcher discovers that patients know best.
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic. Fortunately you don't have to be part of it.
Thinking of reaching for a chocolate? Think again.
Feeling depressed or fatigued? Check the ingredients on the bottle.
The definitive cheat sheet.
The catch is you have to do it.
We know our capabilities better than our clinicians.
Planning for a Better Tomorrow
Living well requires preparing for - and managing - the worst.
How do we find peace and acceptance in the face of adversity?
You're in the right place. Check out your video guide to McMan's Web.
"Be warned! These musings are addictive." - Kimberly Read, About.com - Bipolar.
Featured Blogs
Oprah Absolutely Totally Endorses Me - Well, Sort Of
Try my Dihydrogen Oxide Cure. Take it with water. [More]
New Imaging Studies Reveal Brains of Assholes
The findings explain radio talk show hosts, Fox News Commentators, and antipsychiatry bloggers. [More]
Latest Blogs
After two years, I finally summoned the nerve to do a didgeridoo video. [More]
Trick Question - Bipolar vs Cycling
Cycling is the key to understanding bipolar. [More]
Andy Behrman - Some People Don't Know When to Stop
Don't get me started .... [More]
The two countries have a lot going for them, but not for the reasons various parties would have you believe. [More]
No koalas were harmed ... [More]
Oprah is an Unmitigated Idiot and a Menace to Society
A Newsweek cover story takes on the cult of Oprah. [More]
Yet even more on personality from Robert Cloninger. [More]
Yet more on personality from Robert Cloninger. [More]
How does "smart" factor in? [More]
More from Robert Cloninger [More]
What the Hell is Well-being Anyway?
Famed personality researcher Robert Cloninger explains. [More]
What Does the Tango Have To Do With Recovery?
Leading lifestyle advocate Dearn Ornish eleaborates [More]
Recent Videos
"Nicely produced and edited. I'd love to see more frequent updates." - Sandra Kiume, PsychCentral
The world's oldest wind instrument brings out the playful and spiritual side in me.
Mindfulness - Living in the Present
We forget. The present is where life is happening - here, right now.
Don't just sit there. Build yourself a tree.
Don't be fooled. There's always a somewhere.
Nature heals. So do our brains.
No koalas were harmed making this movie.
Mindfulness: The Ultimate Mood Stabilizer
The Buddha was on to something ...
Do people with bipolar cycle in and out of time? Call me bichronic.
In the Spotlight

Lincoln and Darwin were born on the same day, 200 years ago in 1809. These two articles discuss how their actions and ideas apply to you:
His unremitting despair and constant failures steeled his character.
Is there a selective advantage to depression and bipolar?
A Random Sampling
Now that you're familiar with the DSM-IV, forget everything you've read.
A leading anthropologist explains the birds and the bees.
We're depressed way more than we are manic. Now if psychiatry only knew how to treat us.
Mindfulness - The Ultimate Mood Stabilizer
What is arguably the most effective recovery tool requires a highly disciplined mind.
Dopamine - Serotonin's Secret Weapon
A smart dopamine med may do wonders for your depression or bipolar or mental acuity. The problem is one doesn't exist.
No, it's not normal kid behavior.
An innovative researcher discovers that patients know best.
Living Well With Depression and Bipolar Disorder by John McManamy (HarperCollins 2006)
"I doubt there is a person in the world who knows these conditions better, inside and out, than John McManamy ... He weaves together the science and the inner experiences of depression and bipolar disorder in a way that is quite rare. This book is full of studies and personal insights, in about equal measure, leavened with the practical conclusions of its even-handed and often humorous author. It breaks new ground." - Nassir Ghaemi MD, Tufts University
Sample Amazon Reviews
"John McManamy has an outstanding ability to describe his and other's experience of having bipolar disorder in all its complexity. He never tries to take the place of the patiet's psychiatrist. He refers his readers to other sources of excellent more detailed clinical information. He tells the human side of the story. He teaches patients how to be better informed consumer's of psychiatric care. He encourages patients to be active participants in their recovery." - Raymond
"This is one of the best books I've read on the subject of Bipolar Disorder or Depression. Filled with real world examples, and crammed with information this book will empower you to take charge of your illness." - Eileen