Stability can get lost
1.
In the first chapter of the book, I describe what it feels like when stability is lost. As pictures often say more than words, I describe the many faces of bipolar disorder with the help of Peter Ruge’s beautiful cartoons.
2.
Because nobody explains how things really work in psychiatry, who you meet there and what is behind many of the terms, I have written a chapter entitled “Psychiatry for beginners”. It is intended to explain to people who usually end up in this system unexpectedly how things work there.
You find out who or what is:
- Psychiatry
- The closed ward
- Treatment equivalent to the ward
- Diagnosis
- Psychiatrist
- Psychologist or psychotherapist
- Day clinic
- Music and occupational therapy
- Outpatient care
- Self-help groups
3.
In order to understand why psychiatry is understood and practiced today in the way that patients experience it in the present, you will learn briefly and concisely about the eventful history of psychiatry. In particular, I would like to introduce you to the pioneers of psychiatry to whom we owe new approaches to treatment. Such pioneers still exist today. These include Prof. Christian Schubert (psycho-neuro-immunology), Prof. Felice Jacka (nutritional psychiatry) and Dr. Sabrina Mörkl (gut-brain axis).
4.
A major issue among patients is the use of psychotropic drugs. In this chapter I describe and explain what the doctor and pharmacist usually do not tell you. Psychotropic drugs can do some things, but not everything. Sometimes they are the only treatment option offered to patients, so you should know what these drugs can and cannot do and what you need to be aware of when taking them.
You can find out more about these topics in my book “Stability as a way of life”.