Lithium, Love and Losing My Mind: Jamie Lowe on Her Life with Bipolar Disorder & Drugs to Manage It

democracynow.org - We speak with journalist and author Jaime Lowe about her remarkable memoir, “Mental: Lithium, Love, and Losing My Mind.” She shares and investigates her experience with mental illness and the drugs used to combat it. She was on lithium for two decades but was forced to go off it when she experienced serious kidney problems as a result of the medication. Lowe notes mental illness is still associated with social stigma despite affecting tens of millions of Americans.
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: democracynow.org
Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: democracynow.org/donate
FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:
Facebook: / democracynow
Twitter: / democracynow
KZbin: / democracynow
SoundCloud: / democracynow
Daily Email: democracynow.org/subscribe
Google+: plus.google.com/+DemocracyNow
Instagram: / democracynow
Tumblr: / democracynow
Pinterest: / democracynow
iTunes: itunes.apple.com/podcast/demo...
TuneIn: tunein.com/radio/Democracy-Now...
Stitcher Radio: www.stitcher.com/podcast/democ...

[@jennyl9452]

Ms Lowe is an excellent spokesperson for such a complex topic. Her own experience with bi-polar disorder combined with her intelligence makes her both credible and interesting.I also listened to her This American LIfe podcast where she discusses her sexual assault as a 13-year old by a stranger with a knife in an alley while walking to the school bus. I am eager to read her book and hope her future as a writer or journalist continues to be successful.

[@chrisanderson6435]

Do you have a friend who lives with bipolar disorder? Hidden within your friends exists a few of us who struggle each day with the illness. We live behind smiles and frowns, our minds flooded with ideas, thoughts and emotions. Many of us persevere despite the nature of bipolar disorder. Brilliant, successful and beautiful people hiding their difficulties because of social stigma. I want to break the stigma of mental illness. I'm tired of pretending to be like most. I'm very different from you. I cry more than you. I laugh more than you. I have to take antipsychotics and mood stabilizers to remain sane. There are days and months of pure bliss and happiness then times of great despair and fear. Coping is mandatory for successful people with bipolar. Overcoming stigma remains the most challenging task. Let's work together to break the stigma of mental illness. My best regards to you and have a positive New Year! Regards, Chris Anderson

[@VanessaSimon26]

Chris Anderson yes Chris, everything you said. I just reinstated Pristiq and Lithium. 450 in morning/lunch and 8:00 pm 450 Lithium. I am finally coming to terms with the medicine and it’s ok. I want to live normally with normal laughing, normal anger, normal sadness. But not horrible depression. I need to take of care of my children and wan to thrive in life and work on my life and work on my marriage. Medicine helps me. Thank you for your comments.

[@FleurPillager]

I read her book & loved it.

[@yehyeh5066]

Fleur Bandito... Did she talk more on how lithium made her feel in her book?

[@Froggythegremlin]

Is this the Jamie with officer Hastings in Portland?

[@carlakaybarnes2503]

Thank you for this ❤

[@Janewomanpower]

This was Amazing! so please to share with friends.

[@thedavischanger]

Good story! Get help and get better.

[@charleskesner1302]

Thanks for this a very courageous women.

[@roninpo9646]

"I am what I am like Popeye" that made me laugh, but yeah I've been to those depths before it gets wild.....

[@meowbrunei]

As someone with Bipolar, I relate completely

[@BadmamajamaC]

I wish this interview was longer

[@rakeem4620]

I wonder what is the name of the place in Bolivia she went to with the Lithium pools?

[@Dragon.Dmitriy]

I’m on lithium now. Can relate to this woman

[@scotcoffman864]

Me Too

[@DouglasASean]

“Everyone has a brain and it plays a pivotal roll in mental illness” that is some good writing

[@GrimLocke161]

Jamie Lowe really could’ve used a Part 2 for the web audience. All the same, 🤘🏻

[@elidoesartz6340]

I have been taking lithum for sevral years and I'm trying to get off of it now becuase of my good mental heath but also becuase I want to loose weight and I cant while on lithium

[@JackNiles]

Did you ever think that you are in good mental health because of the medicine?

[@shaykespeeer7040]

Wow, look at all the mental health experts that showed up to comment! lol

[@cultivateyourself]

Lithoum Carbonate or Lithium Orotate?

[@judithchandler7368]

As a sufferer of atypical mood disorder, a subset of bipolar, I found jaime’s account just so moving. I haven’t been really manic in years, but she made me think of the way it sneaks up on you. 🖖🏾🖖🏾🖖🏾

[@afrosheenix]

Is there treatment for vocal fry?

[@surfislands12]

You’re a dick

[@alloneword7427]

@@surfislands12 no really, we need a treatment for it. It's becoming unbearable. People are trying to do it, it's disgusting.

[@AZ-kr6ff]

It's a requirement at NPR.

[@USAcit]

Ok. So she's on depakote?

[@bobthebuilder3312]

I guess it was just me but I felt like she struggled to answer the basic questions asked of her. At one point Amy had to ask her the same question again because she went on a (what felt like) 20 minute tangent. I was not a fan of the interview.

[@afrosheenix]

BOB THE BUILDER she really does ramble, you can tell she's fighting chaos in her brain while she's being interviewed. She has developed some mental tricks to fool the peanut gallery but she really needs chemicals to help.

[@AZ-kr6ff]

She sounds really nervous at times. Her voice seems to be shaking.

[@davidwolf2562]

and???? this type of story is everywhere ... talk to megamedicine and bigpharma ...

[@greggasiorowski4025]

Then go give all your $$$ to Big Organic & Big Dietary Supplements.

[@GaryClutchClark]

+David Wold Lithium is dirt cheap. Wrong video, buddy. Pharma makes nothing off this natural occurring salt found in the mud.

[@jeanpolnareff6196]

Ahhh A karen

[@jwalkin5123]

*Psychoanalysis* is the best cure & protection for human mental pathologies. Drugs never work and only make your mental pathology worse.

[@jwalkin5123]

Tim Judd , dangerous ones are you drug dealers. People are now filled with all kinds of drugs that don't work and only make things worse. But you vampires only care about MONEY, not humanity. Tgere are chikdren now who use drugs and see nightmare every night and commit suicides because of the dangerous drugs side effects. Fuck you you evil Satanic drug dealers(i.e. Johnson & Johnson, etc.) You evil anti-life monsters WILL be destroyed soon.

[@BareknuckleBill]

Psychoanalysis is pseudo-science.

[@Jordenweiss]

I am a psychiatrist and also a psychoanalyst. Bipolar disorder is a condition that is primarily treated with medication and pharmacotherapy. While medication is essential in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder, talk therapy is so important and supportive in helping patients cope with their symptoms and the aftermath of their illness. In training as a psychodynamic psychiatrist we learn to use the combination of therapy and medicine... Bipolar disorder is an illness and it is a shame that the stigma persists...

[@jwalkin5123]

BareknuckleBill , no, drug therapy is the pseudo science. There is a difference between mind and body. Mind needs mind therapy, body needs body therapy. Drugs are only good for body, not mind. And I'm 100% sure you've never even read any books about psychoanalysis (stop lying, you haven't), you just repeat after the rumors others told you, most probably what your father told you about it, shallow hateful stupid uneducated negative judgements. In order to understand psychoanalysis first you should stop being shallow and quick to judgement, and then be more honest to yourself and think a little harder and deeper. Freud and Nietzsche ate the FUTURE, after all you shallow haters die.

[@BareknuckleBill]

Beyond Cosmic Nobody is denying the phenomenological difference between body and mind. That doesn't mean mind-body dualism is correct. Mental processes clearly arise from physiological brain-processes. It's undeniably true that certain substances have a severe effect on human consciousness. Some substances have the ability to ease or eliminate the symptoms of mental illnesses and certain forms of conversational or behavioral therapies have similar effects. In most cases, a mix of both is the most promising way to recovery.

[@greggasiorowski4025]

Man, She was seriously on the crazy train when she went off on the convoluted riff confusing the ELEMENT Lithium with the drug, its in everything mannn... your cell phone battery is mind control..., oh god...

[@emilyspinach4603]

LITHIUM is on the periodic table. It’s THE SAME LITHIUM in LITHIUM! What do you think LITHIUM is?

[@emilyspinach4603]

She did not CONFUSE anything

[@jasonbean7296]

"Everyone has a brain." Way to state the obvious.

[@Janewomanpower]

you left out the content "which plays a role in mental illness"

[@scotcoffman864]

Dont dis Mental issues...

[@russleckie2828]

I so wanted to listen to her story. But couldn't finish listening to her because of the forced vocal fry talking. What makes people go from their natural way of talking, to purposefully talking in a different way that is annoying?

[@lunacavemoth]

her voice is so annoying . unfortunately, this is what you encounter amongst girls in university/pretentious rich girls. encountered this too much up the bay area , california. hate that tone/voice so much.

[@AZ-kr6ff]

What makes people talk that way? Well...NPR does, for one.

[@jonmapa9418]

I can't concentrate on this story because of this woman's huge eyebrows

[@entlvr35]

in the grand scheme of things, it was a little bit funny.

[@jonmapa9418]

name please I am talking about the Latina presenter not the woman

[@mhikl4484]

Shallow, Jon.

[@yehyeh5066]

Jon Mapa.... It's just humour and some people don't have any.

[@nicolevonw8101]

This is not manic depression. What she describes is personality disorder and/ or schizophrenia. Mania is not hallucinating or talking to dead people. Life long manic person and it’s what happens when physiological hormones meets brain neurotransmitters. It is severe exhaustion and severe energy spikes. Any voices, and crazy out there episodes are definitely not bipolar. That’s schizophrenia. You can tell this woman has a personality complex. This isn’t bipolar.

[@mariapelengari3485]

Not necessarily true. As someone who used to work in Psychiatry and has a long term partner with Bipolar I, psychotic symptoms can definitely be part of the illness particularly the manic phase. It is not just a mood disorder, although it is for some