BiPolar In Kids - What to do? [NYT]

NVDL: BiPolar is essentially a mood disorder. One of the easiest and best ways to treat mood disorders, and to enhance moods in general, is to exercise regularly. Part of the process that exercise is, is the effort to move oneself - not only physically, but mentally. The mental effort requires a shift in thinking and in attitude, and associated with this shift is an associated shift in energy - from a generic negative state to a more constructive, affirmative state.

...family therapy [and]..stress reduction...might help fortify a child against a genetic proclivity for bipolar disorder. “If we wait too long, they will probably need chronic medication treatment,” he told me. “But if we can get in early enough, they may not need to stay on medication. So we’re hoping to get in and get out, and not subject them to the long-term side effects.” - NYT

(As for short-term side effects, Chang says medications like lithium may actually be “neuroprotective” — i.e., might actually help a developing brain.) And while it is wildly unclear whether this picture of prevention will ever become a reality, Chang says he is a believer, and his hope is infectious. - NYT

clipped from www.nytimes.com Mental illness wreaks brutal damage on a life, crippling decision-making, competence and self-esteem to the point where digging out from under years of it can be next to impossible. And there is also a biological theory for why going untreated might worsen a bipolar person’s long-term prognosis. Some scientists say that a kindling process may happen with mania, too — that simply experiencing a manic episode could make it more likely that a particular brain will continue to do so. “Once you’ve had a manic episode, you’ve already crossed the threshold, you’ve jumped off the bridge: it’s done. The chances that you’re going to have another episode are extremely high.”