The Wellness Workbook for Bipolar Disorder: Your Guide to Getting Healthy and Improving Your Mood - Softcover

Louisa Grandin Sylvia, PhD, is associate director of psychology at the Massachusetts General Hospital Bipolar Clinic and Research Program, director of health and wellness at the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program, and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. She is a skilled cognitive behavioral therapist who develops psychosocial interventions for bipolar disorder and serious mental illness. She is currently examining the efficacy of a nutrition, exercise, and wellness therapy for bipolar disorder.
 
Foreword writer Andrew A. Nierenberg, MD, is director of the Bipolar Clinic and Research Program and associate director of the Depression Clinic and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Nierenberg has published over 400 papers and has been listed among the Best Doctors in North America for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders continuously since 1994. He received the Gerald L. Klerman Young Investigator Award from the National Depressive and Manic Depression Association, the Brain and Behavior Foundation Colvin Prize for outstanding achievement in mood disorders research, and was listed among the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2014 by Thomson Reuters for having the top 1% of literature citations in psychiatry/psychology worldwide.

“A must-read! Louisa Grandin Sylvia’s wellness plan addresses the key ingredients essential to creating a healthy lifestyle.”
—Muffy Walker, MSN, MBA, cofounder and chairman of the International Bipolar Foundation

“When dealing with depression and other mood-related issues, we who have mood disorder diagnoses can become laser-focused on deficits or ‘fixing’ what’s ‘wrong.’ While symptom reduction and elimination are naturally goals of most people’s treatment plans, these can—and I’d say must—be joined with concurrent creation of wellness practices. Louisa Grandin Sylvia’s book is an empowering road map for those of us who want to shift our focus from solely reaction to symptoms to proactive creation of resiliency-enhancing diet, exercise, sleep, and other wellness-related choices.”
—Allen Doederlein, president of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

“There is no easy solution to creating a healthier lifestyle, especially if you have bipolar disorder, but this book can help. It offers user-friendly tools to increase your motivation to make the necessary lifestyle changes that you need to improve your mental and physical health. Anyone living with mood disturbance could benefit from reading this book.”
—Lauren B. Alloy, PhD, professor at Joseph Wolpe Distinguished Faculty and director of clinical training at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA

“Louisa Grandin Sylvia has assembled an extraordinary resource that succinctly and comprehensively brings together empirically supported science and recommendations to preserve and regain health. I would strongly recommend that this book, written in an accessible manner, be on the reading list of any individual who strives for optimal physical and mental health.”
—Roger S. McIntyre, MD, FRCPC, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Toronto, and head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network


“We have only recently understood that lifestyle factors including smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet contribute to a person’s risk of developing mood problems. We now know that addressing these factors reduces symptoms in people who have mood problems. What’s missing is a practical synthesis of this information to guide people who have mood problems on how to target these factors to improve their physical and mental health. This book by Louisa Grandin Sylvia, an acknowledged expert in lifestyle and mood disorders, is an invaluable aid for those wishing to take control of their lifestyles and improve their mood.”
—Michael Berk, MD, NHMRC, senior principal research fellow and Alfred Deakin Professor of Psychiatry at the Deakin University School of Medicine


“Despite decades of research, there is no silver bullet that will quickly end bipolar disorder. The best way for someone with bipolar disorder to reclaim their life is by crafting a health-promoting lifestyle. The research on the effects of sleep, diet, and exercise are each compelling. This book brings the pieces together into an integrated approach that is clearly explained, with examples based on stories of people who have succeeded, and based on ongoing research. Experts advocate a lifestyle approach for ‘heart health.’ Louisa Grandin Sylvia provides a plan for ‘brain health.’ The strategies will complement other treatments by focusing on quality of life, energy, and functioning, not just reducing the symptoms and stress associated with bipolar disorder. This book is a leading example of the next-generation approach to mood disorders, recognizing the connection between body and mind and using that to help the whole person.”
—Eric Youngstrom, PhD, professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


“In this important book, Louisa Grandin Sylvia provides readers with a step-by-step approach for improving diet, exercise, and sleep—all habits that can have powerful effects on mood and health. Readers will find this book rich in information and clinical examples, with crucial attention devoted to the barriers and bad habits that can derail wellness goals.”
—Michael W. Otto, PhD, professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University and author of Exercise for Mood and Anxiety Disorders