Welcome to the Jungle, Revised Edition - by Hilary T Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

Previous edition published with the subtitle Everything you ever wanted to know about bipolar but were too freaked out to ask.

Book Synopsis

A Bipolar Guide from a Bipolar Person

Welcome to the Jungle has a greater focus on bipolar people, not the diagnosis: the ways in which each person can find his or her own way through the extreme emotional states and intense experiences that we are calling "bipolar"-whether that means medication or meditation, psychiatrists or vision quests, good sleep or good all-night dancing, or a little bit of everything.

An honest, relatable book that can help you figure out how to live your life with bipolar disorder. Many bipolar books are too clinical, too alarmist, and too clearly written for family members and caretakers of people diagnosed with this mood disorder. Welcome to the Jungle is different. Author Hilary Smith wrote this guide because it is the book she wishes she'd been given when she was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It answers questions, points to resources, and most of all, comes from someone who understands what it's like to be thrown off course by an overwhelming mental health issue-and what to do afterwards.

Know that you are not alone-and that many paths can lead to healing. Just like for everyone else, there are many, many paths that bipolar people can take in life. Learn more about how to live your own life with a mental illness using the help of the insights in Welcome to the Jungle, which covers topics such as:

• Wrapping your head around triggers, causes of mood swings, medications, and therapists
• Recovering from mental breakdowns, manic moments, and major depressive episodes
• Living your life beyond the diagnosis-and helping your family to do the same

Readers of bipolar mental health books like The Bipolar Workbook, Rock Steady, or OMG That's Me! will love the devastatingly on-target, honest insights offered in Welcome to the Jungle.

*This book is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any illness or act as a substitute for advice from a doctor or psychiatrist.*

Review Quotes

Among the wealth of works on bipolar, this title (wisely pulled from a Guns N' Roses lyric) nicely stands out as a super reference for younger readers interested in or actually experiencing bipolar disorder and is also a valuable resource for professionals. --Library Journal-- "Reviews"

Hilary Smith has come through big time with a book about bipolar disorder targeted to teens or 20-somethings experiencing mental illness for the first time. --Washington Post-- "Reviews"

Hilary Smith's Welcome to the Jungle provides readers with wise and excellent counsel about the thing called bipolar disorder. At once radical education and exuberant conversation, this combo memoir and self-help book is a must read for the millions whose ups and downs cause them to collide with psychiatry and the current supremely flawed mental health system. --Eric Maisel, Ph.D., The Future of Mental Health and Rethinking Depression-- "Reviews"

Hilary Smith's wise, hilarious, and candid book is a veritable lifesaver not only for those suffering from bipolar disorder, but for those struggling to keep their sanity while loving them. Maybe because the author suffers from the disorder herself, her book is an actual survival guide, brimming with insight, anecdote, and tough love. Recovery was never so inspiring. Allison Burnett, author of Undiscovered Gyrl-- "Reviews"

This book is flatout fantastic. Funny, smart, and unflinchingly astute, Welcome to the Jungle is exactly the guide you want on your journey from chaos to stability as you learn to manage bipolar disorder. Smith's sure voice is a welcome companion over some hard road, and her wry wisdom lights the way. Indispensable. Marya Hornbacher, author of Madness: A Bipolar Life-- "Reviews"

About the Author

Hilary T. Smith is a brilliant young writer and artist living largely off the grid (but very reachable by email and snail mail--and telephone, when necessary) in the Pacific Northwest.