{"id":9756,"date":"2016-11-14T00:22:22","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T08:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/?p=9756"},"modified":"2018-10-31T12:04:07","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T19:04:07","slug":"guest-blogger-dr-fred-von-gunten-shares-his-experiences-and-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/guest-blogger-dr-fred-von-gunten-shares-his-experiences-and-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blogger: Dr. Fred Von Gunten on Bipolar Disorder and the Power of Positivity"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\"fred-and-linda-one\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Fred Von Guten Shares His Personal Story of Dealing with and Overcoming Bipolar Disorder<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The following is a guest post by Dr. Fred Von Gunten, a retired Optometrist specializing in developmental and behavioral vision for more than 33 years, and the author of\u00a0<\/em>The Power of Positivity for Bipolar and Anyone Else<\/span><\/a>, a book in which he explores the challenges of living with bipolar disorder and his ultimate achievement of episode-free stability.\u00a0 Dr. Von Gunten can be reached at\u00a0fvongunten2@gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0and invites readers to follow him on Facebook at\u00a0Promoting the Power of Positivity<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and his Personal Facebook\u00a0Page\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fred.<\/wbr>vongunten<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

I wrote this article to help others understand what bipolar is like and that living episode-free is possible using my own experiences with both.\u00a0 At 74, I have gained the knowledge and experience from which others may benefit when it comes to dealing with Bipolar Disorder. I lived with over 50 years of Bipolar I, and for the first 25 years, I dealt with five episodes. Since then, I have transformed my life by changing my thoughts (cognitive-behavioral) and committing to a consistent supply of Lithium (physical-psychiatric-mood stabilizer).<\/p>\n

I was one of the first to receive Lithium when the FDA approved it in 1971.<\/p>\n

I have maintained 32 years of \u201cepisode-free emotional stability.\u201d Some would classify this as being a \u201cFunctional Bipolar,\u201d but I like to view it as \u201cFunctionally Cured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Self Medicating My Bipolar With Alcohol<\/h2>\n

The term \u201cself-medication, is defined as \u201cthe process by which some individuals may abuse substances in attempting to use them to relieve other problems such as anxiety, pain, sleeplessness or other symptoms of bipolar disorder.\u201d Obviously this is a very serious and widespread issue, but why? What makes those with bipolar disorder turn to alcohol?<\/p>\n

Research and theories about this abound, but for the most part it is generally believed that a biological or physiological cause may be the root. There is an \u201cunderlying vulnerability of the individual that precipitates both mental illness and substance abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I entered my beginning manic episodes, I felt like overnight, I was in high gear\u2014getting by on three hours of sleep. There were nights I would go to the bar for a couple of drinks before heading home from my office hours. Looking back, I now acknowledge I was self-medicating. \u201cWhen Fred was manic, he became a person I didn\u2019t know and who was hard to live with,\u201d says my wife, Linda. \u201cIt was lonely, it was difficult, and there were long hours not knowing where he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-occurring Disorders | Dual Diagnosis \u2013 Bipolar and Substance Misuse<\/h2>\n

I then needed to consider the comorbidity of bipolar disorder and substance use illness, including its prevalence in my daily life. There was an impact on the course and presentation with this bipolar disorder, and the associated diagnostic and treatment difficulties I experienced; along with the pharmacologic approaches to my treatment. I discovered that dealing with bipolar disorder is very likely to co-occur with alcohol or drug abuse, and that bipolar patients who also abuse drugs or alcohol have an earlier onset and worse course of illness compared with those who do not. I need to also warn that those of us with bipolar who also abuse substances\u00a0are more likely to experience irritable and dysphoric mood states, increased treatment resistance, and a greater need for hospitalization.<\/p>\n

It was seventeen\u00a0years ago that I started a new phase of my life (since January 1999). It included retirement, contentment and enhancement of stability with bipolar disorder. And I have to thank my wife, Linda, who for 52 years and counting has supported me during my episodes \u2013 I owe her my life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"fred-1963\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In terms of retirement, I wonder whether the retired mind frees us from the constant biochemical changes that cause bipolar disorder? Perhaps it is the changes in environment that relaxes the mind in retirement. I don\u2019t know for certain, but in my opinion, therein lays a possible answer to enhancing stability. To answer the questions why I feel it is so important to maintain a positive attitude with bipolar disorder, I felt that I needed to \u201cchange\u201d so many areas in my life. The negative symptoms with bipolar required a positive change in dealing with everyday demands.<\/p>\n

And it was the practice of using the power of positive thinking to overcome the many challenges of living with Bipolar Disorder that prompted me to write my book. I share these in my book as well as what it took for me to ultimately achieved episode-free stability. I hope it can help others achieve long-term stability, to encourage \u201cpositive thinking\u201d\u2026 to inspire\u2026to motivate\u2026to give hope\u2026to answer questions or concerns regarding bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Fred<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dr. Von Gunten can be reached at\u00a0fvongunten2@gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0and invites readers to follow him on Facebook at\u00a0Promoting the Power of Positivity<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>and his Personal Facebook\u00a0Page \u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fred.<\/wbr>vongunten<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"fred-book-cover\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Note from Julie: I also call this post Growing Older with Bipolar Disorder- Fred and I are past our early years with this illness and as we age, we learn more ways to successfully manage\u00a0our symptoms. We do get better with age.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n

\"fred-and-linda-one\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Fred Von Guten Shares His Personal Story of Dealing with and Overcoming Bipolar Disorder<\/p>\n

The following is a guest post by Dr. Fred Von Gunten, a retired Optometrist specializing in developmental and behavioral vision for more than 33 years, and the author of The Power of Positivity for Bipolar and Anyone Else<\/a>, a book in which he explores the challenges of living with bipolar disorder and his ultimate achievement of episode-free stability. Dr. Von Gunten can be reached at fvongunten2@gmail.com<\/a> and invites readers to follow him on Facebook at Promoting the Power of Positivity<\/a> and his Personal Facebook Page https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fred.vongunten<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I wrote this article to help others understand what bipolar is like and that living episode-free is possible [ Read More ]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11118,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9756\/revisions\/11118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bipolarhappens.com\/bhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}