Bipolar Disorder

Complementary treatments for bipolar disorder

Most alternative treatments for bipolar disorder are really complementary treatments, meaning they should be used in conjunction with medication, therapy, and lifestyle modification. Here are a few of the options that are showing promise:

• Light and dark therapy – Like social rhythm therapy, light and dark therapy focuses on the sensitive biological clock in people with bipolar disorder. This easily disrupted clock throws off sleep-wake cycles, a disturbance that can trigger symptoms of mania and depression. Light and dark therapy for bipolar disorder regulates these biological rhythms—and thus reduces mood cycling— by carefully managing your exposure to light. The major component of this therapy involves creating an environment of regular darkness by restricting artificial light for ten hours every night.  
• Mindfulness meditation – Research has shown that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and meditation help fight and prevent depression, anger, agitation, and anxiety. The mindfulness approach uses meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises to focus awareness on the present moment and break negative thinking patterns.
• Acupuncture – Even though Acupuncture has been used in China for thousands years on symptoms like bipolar disorder, in US, it is currently being studied as a complementary treatment for bipolar disorder. Some researchers believe that it may help people with bipolar disorder by modulating their stress response. Studies on acupuncture for depression have shown a reduction in symptoms, and there is increasing evidence that acupuncture may relieve symptoms of mania.
  
  
  http://helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_diagnosis_treatment.htm
  
  
  Acupuncture for Treatment of Patients with Bipolar Disorder
  
  - Dec. 17, 2001 - Dr. Tricia Suppes has long been concerned about the 1.9 million Americans with bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness. That's why she's investigating a new use for an old therapy: acupuncture.
  
  "Bipolar disorder is a common, severe and persistent mental illness that - without effective treatment - disrupts the lives of patients and their families," said Suppes, associate professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "If the treatment is inadequate and the patient does not respond well to currently available drugs, the disease may lead to loss of jobs, marriages and even lives. The need for new treatments is critical."
  
  Suppes is currently enrolling patients 18 to 65 years old who are in the depressed stage of bipolar disorder. In this disorder, patients cycle between depression and elation, extreme irritation or anger.
  
  The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is the first to evaluate acupuncture as an adjunct to medication for treatment of bipolar illness although an earlier published study at the University of Arizona College of Medicine reported positive results on the use of acupuncture as a treatment for major, or unipolar, depression. Suppes wants to learn whether supplementing bipolar patients' medications with acupuncture will allow some to reduce their medication.