Elizabeth Brondolo, Ph.D.
Posted December 2008
Elizabeth Brondolo, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at St. John's University in Jamaica, NY and a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Manhattan (see www.mentalhealthresourcegroup.com). She is a nationally recognized scientist who specializes in the study of stress. Her research specifically investigates the ways in which day-to-day life stress affect health.
Dr. Brondolo recently published a book for patients with bipolar spectrum disorder entitled Break the Bipolar Cycle: A day to day guide to living with Bipolar Disorder (see www.breakthebipolarcycle.com).
1) What is your professional designation and/or profession?
Dr. Brondolo: I am a licensed psychologist and a Professor of Psychology. You can read more about my research on the St. John's University website (www.stjohns.edu: just type in my name in the search bar).
2) How long have you been helping people with bipolar disorder?
Dr. Brondolo: Almost 20 years.
3) What advice do you have for a person recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder?
Dr. Brondolo: The best advice I can give you is to build a treatment team you can trust. It is important to recognize that you now have a name for the difficulties you have been experiencing. It isn't a mystery anymore. So you have overcome one major obstacle.
But that doesn't mean Bipolar Spectrum Disorders are easy to manage. It takes a fair amount of work to be able to identify your symptoms and your stressors, and to figure out which treatments work best for you. You need a treatment team that will be objective and collaborative to help you find the best approach to your condition.
4) What advice do you have for the family and friends of someone recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder?
Dr. Brondolo: The best advice I can give you is to be patient. It is really hard to have a Bipolar Spectrum Disorder. Making the treatment work takes careful observation and close monitoring. And it takes time, sometimes several months before you achieve effective mood stability.
It can be helpful for family and friends to develop a relationship with the treatment team (with the patient's permission). You can provide feedback about the bipolar symptoms, letting the doctors know about the ways bipolar affects everyday life. You can provide important information about which treatments are working & which are not.
And you can get some support for yourself. Bipolar spectrum disorders are medical conditions, but they have effects on personal relationships that can be hard to understand and manage. So use the treatment team to help you figure out the best way to give and get support.
Together you can make the treatment work.
5) What is the most common mistake that you see a person with bipolar disorder make after receiving initial or prolonged treatment (e.g. coming off medication, drug/alcohol use, etc.)?
Dr. Brondolo: It certainly is common for people with Bipolar Spectrum Disorders to have problems with substance abuse. And that makes it very hard to recover. It is also common for people to want to stop taking their medication. I can certainly understand that desire, but it can make things worse. It is very helpful to discuss your concerns about medication with your treatment team. They will work with you to figure out what kinds of adjustments you can make - to see if you can reduce your medication. Sometimes this is possible, sometimes it's not. It is important to work with the team to decide what makes the most sense. You don't want to have a relapse.
But I find that the most common problem is that people (patients, family members, and friends) do not recognize that there are often problems in information processing that last longer than the immediate problems in mood. So even when someone has stopped being manic or severely depressed, they may have significant problems with memory, concentration and attention, or organization.
These problems can make someone with bipolar disorder think they are lazy or not motivated. But that may not be true at all. It is worth considering whether the difficulties are really a problem with information processing. Individuals with Bipolar Spectrum Disorder may need some support for certain kinds of activities (e.g., some planning or paperwork activities), even when they don't seem "sick" or in distress.
Continued difficulties with home or work tasks can make people feel hopeless and very stressed - if they do not understand the causes of the problems and the strategies to make things better.
6) In your experience, do you think it is possible for a person diagnosed with bipolar disorder to live a relatively stable and productive life once they are receiving proper treatment?
Dr. Brondolo: Absolutely! We have worked with many, many people with bipolar disorder who are leading good lives. But it takes work.
Despite great strides, we are still in the early stages of treating this complex medical disorder. So everyone - you, the doctors, your family have to work a little harder and communicate very clearly to make the treatment work.
One of the most important things to recognize is that bipolar spectrum disorders affect your ability to tolerate stress. The problems with mood stability and information processing mean that many things that were not stressful before you developed bipolar are stressful now. And it takes more time to recover. So your job is to monitor your stress levels and recognize the kinds of stress you can take. As you get better, you will see changes in your ability to take on new challenges, including productive work or new relationships.
7) In your opinion, how has the mental health field changed over the past 10 years? Better or worse?
Dr. Brondolo: Overall things are much better. We have made great strides in recognizing and managing bipolar disorder. But there is still a long way to go.
What's worse is that the process of obtaining insurance coverage for treating these conditions has become more difficult. Although, that may change soon.
8) Anything else that you would like to add?
Dr. Brondolo: Keep up your courage. And remember that every effort you make is a way of giving to others. It is tremendously inspiring for doctors and family members to see you keep trying -to recover and to grow.
Websites
www.mentalhealthresourcegroup.com
www.breakthebipolarcycle.com
Published Book
Break the Bipolar Cycle
By Elizabeth Brondolo, Ph.D.
based on 3 reviews.
