Last week, sniffling and certain that I might perish at any moment, I made an appointment with my doctor. I am an impatient person. This is why I make appointments when seeing my physician. I assume he will stick to a schedule and I will enter and exit, with a prescription in hand, within fifteen minutes. A nice, compact, amount of time.

This time I was left waiting. Children screamed and people who may be as impatient as I am moved their legs up and down rapidly. Everyone made a socially concerted effort not to look at each other.

I decided to settle in and read. At the rate the room was moving — sort of like a turnover rate at a bad job — it was clear I had at least 30 minutes longer to wait.

I have always found ‘literature’ in doctors’ offices disconcerting, though equally fascinating. After all, where can you find a magazine on parenting (a beautiful woman is holding a golden-haired toddler) and a celebrity magazine (apparently, Angelina Jolie has adopted five children from Nigeria) sitting side by side?

A little while back, I received this question from an anonymous reader:

I have a question. I have bipolar and depression and things like special family events, birthdays, and the holidays are always hard for me as well as all most everyday of my life. My husband has a hard time dealing with it as well as the rest of my family. How can I make it easier on them and get through the holidays and most important save my marriage from my mental illness?

My husband wants to fix it and instead he makes it worse.

A great question deserving of a great answer.

Bipolar disorder is a serious and difficult illness that affects all facets of a person’s life: their education, work, relationships, health and finances, said Julie A. Fast, author of several bestselling books on bipolar disorder, including Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder and Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder, and a coach who works with partners and families.

Fast was diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder II at 31 years old in 1995, a time when very little was discussed regarding the diagnosis. Fortunately, knowledge and media coverage of bipolar disorder have improved dramatically over the years. “I’m astonished at how much more people know about the illness,” she said.

Even TV shows are featuring more accurate portrayals of bipolar disorder. “In the past, people with bipolar disorder were practically frothing at the mouth,” Fast said. Today, writers and producers make it a point to get it right. Recently, Fast served as one of the advisors on the hit Showtime series “Homeland” and talked with Claire Danes about her character’s bipolar disorder.

While information has gotten much better, many misconceptions still exist and endure.

Below, you’ll find five persistent myths about bipolar disorder

If you have bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizophreniform or a schizoaffective disorder, you may have some free money coming to you if you want to go, or go back, to school.

Eli Lilly — you know, that big pharmaceutical company — announced earlier this week that applications for the 2013-2014 school year are now available for the 15th annual Lilly Reintegration Scholarship.

The program provides funding for tuition, books and lab fees to people living with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and related schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, so they may pursue and achieve their educational and vocational goals.

I think it’s a good thing when a company gives back to the community they serve. So I’m happy to pass this information along to interested readers.

The people of Japan experience one of the lowest bipolar disorder rates in the civilized world. Compared to the 4.4 percent lifetime prevalence rate of bipolar disorder in the U.S., in Japan it’s just 0.07 percent. That’s no typo — that’s a crazy large difference.

The Japanese don’t live a less stressful lifestyle than people in the U.S. In fact, in the white-collar world, the stress levels are often higher and the people often work harder. The Japanese people live on a small, crowded island and rely heavily on imports to sustain their way of life. Japanese schools are results-oriented, and students spend an enormous time engaged in study.

So what gives? How come the Japanese have such a low rate of bipolar disorder compared with other high-income, developed nations?

In a word: fish.

I’ve been part of too many heated discussions lately on bipolar disorder among kids. Because I know of several cases where it’s been sheer heartache for the parents, it’s difficult for me not to respond defensively at folks who dismiss all child mood disorders as proof of an over-medicated nation.

So I thought I’d republish excerpts from Jennifer Egan’s excellent, comprehensive article that ran awhile back in the New York Times Magazine. She profiles several different families as well talks to experts in the field, asking doctors how they go about diagnosing a child with bipolar disorder and why the percentage increase among kids.

I have excerpted more of the medical paragraphs. But the descriptions of the kids’ symptoms is worth reading.

Sharp: A Memoir is the beautifully written, harrowing story of David Fitzpatrick and his 20-year struggle with bipolar disorder and self-mutilation. One of five children, Fitzpatrick endured regular bullying from his older brother and later was tormented daily by his college roommates. He began cutting in his early 20s, steeped in self-loathing and spending years in psychiatric hospitals.

While Sharp is an intense and raw read — and may be triggering for some — it’s ultimately a hopeful and inspiring story. It’s a story of a man who gets caught up in the mental health system but finally finds himself, as well as a fulfilling life.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Fitzpatrick about his powerful book. Below, Fitzpatrick reveals what inspired him to pen Sharp, what it was like reopening old wounds, what helped him lift the veil of mental illness, how he maintains recovery today and much more.

Bipolar disorder is one of the more challenging mental health concerns to live with day-to-day. And because the disorder covers a wide range of behaviors, it actually is divided into two distinct disorders — Bipolar I and Bipolar II.

The primary difference between the two disorders is the presence or history of manic episodes (Bipolar I) versus the presence or history of hypomanic episodes (Bipolar II).

How does one live with this disorder? What are the unique challenges faced? What kinds of coping skills can be used to help make it easier?

All individuals have the right to aspire toward their own personal goals and desires. At times, mental health conditions and problem behaviors, such as aggression or property destruction, can create barriers to reaching those goals.

Fortunately, a number of treatment practices exist that can assist an individual in adopting positive behaviors. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a mental health condition and has problem behaviors, consider talking to a mental health provider about the benefits of Positive Behavior Support (PBS).

What is PBS?

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a philosophy for helping individuals whose problem behaviors are barriers to reaching their goals. It is based on the well-researched science of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). A key component is understanding that behaviors occur for a reason and can be predicted by knowing what happens before and after those behaviors.

When you’re in the throes of depression, it’s hard enough taking care of the bare essentials like showering, eating and getting up. Intellectually you know what you need to do.

But like a leech, depression saps all your energy and vitality. You feel lethargic, hopeless and pessimistic, according to John Preston, PsyD, professor at Alliant International University and co-author of Get It Done When You’re Depressed with Julie A. Fast.

So the last thing you want to do is… anything.  You might think “I’d like to do this, but I just can’t,” Preston said.

But there are several ways you can get things done when you’re struggling with depression. They do require effort on your part, but they work. Here are Preston’s top suggestions.

Subthreshold bipolar disorder is a set of bipolar symptoms that don’t quite meet the definition of bipolar disorder. Think of it as “bipolar lite.” There is no single, agreed-upon definition for this disorder. For instance, if you need 3 symptoms to meet the criteria for a manic episode, sub-threshold bipolar disorder might be met with fewer symptoms, or require that the symptoms be met for a lesser period of time.

In other words, it’s a way of characterizing people as having a potential mental illness — but who do not yet have one.

The DSM — the reference book that defines mental disorders — is under revision for a new edition to be published next year. One of the considerations is subthreshold bipolar disorder.

Yet Mark Zimmerman, MD points out that this is probably a bad idea. And I’d have to agree.

I wake up at the same time every single day. It is 6 a.m. The birds sing outside my single-paned window, and my partner sleeps beside me. I close my eyes and work to will myself back to sleep: It would be nice to sleep until 8 a.m., maybe even 9 a.m. But I get frustrated and I get anxious and soon I have made my way to the kitchen where I make myself strong coffee and sit in front of my laptop.

But I’m forgetting something. It’s important, I’m sure of it.

I sip my coffee, turn on my laptop, and remember: My pills.

I cannot forget to take my pills. Disastrous things happen. Things I try to forget and things that keep me up at night. It’s never easy living with bipolar disorder but the medication keeps me stable, most of the time, and that is invaluable in and of itself.