Welcome to the Jungle

Bipolar is currently the most commonly diagnosed emotional/psychiatric condition, and diagnosis tends to come when one is in ones late teens or early 20s. And yet almost nothing has been written about it from eye level and a young persons perspective. This book brilliantly fills that gap.When I was diagnosed at age 19, my parents went to a bookstore and bought me a pile of books about bipolar. I threw them away in disgust (actually, exchanged them for books of poetry)not because I wasnt curious about bipolar, but because all the books treated the subject with clinical rubber gloves. They were dry, annoying, and made me feel like a disease, not a person. I wrote this book because its the book I should have been given when I was diagnosed.With chapters of advice on everything from how to get off the floor after the blow of a bipolar diagnosis to how to think about psychiatry and manage your meds to how to deal with thoughts of suicide to hippy shit like meditation, herbs, and other non-medical bipolar helpers to navigating the healthcare system, this is the first self-help book by a bipolar young adult to other bipolar young adults.

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.*