Monday, October 10, 2011, is World Mental Health Day, a global effort by the United Nation’s World Health Organization (WHO) to promote education and awareness about mental illnesses.
The theme of this year’s event is “Investing in Mental Health,” with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging international leaders and organizations to increase resources and services for mental health treatments.
In an international message, the Secretary stated that worldwide financial recessions, unemployment, wars and poverty have contributed to an ongoing global mental-health crisis. Despite mental disorders accounting for 13 percent of diseases throughout the world, a majority of poor to moderate-income nations spend less than 2 percent of their budgets on mental health services. And many do not have nearly enough healthcare providers to serve the needs of their citizens with mental illnesses, with less than one specialist per one million people available in many parts of the world. Furthermore, whatever funds are allocated tend to be utilized by mental hospitals, which reach only seven percent of patients in developing nations, rather than for local, community-based services and as part of primary care efforts. In fact, in poor countries, four out of five people suffering from psychiatric conditions do not receive treatment.
Those with mental disabilities and their families suffer from undue hardships due to the stigma associated with their illnesses which consequently limits their participation in public and social life within their communities, Ki-moon added. The Mental Health Gap Action Programme of WHO, he states, is an example of a new and innovative approach in cost-effective prevention and treatment of mental disorders. He stressed the need for renewed leadership and global collaboration to begin to address the problem, calling for providers, policy makers, donors and individuals to take action and invest in improving mental health throughout the world.
Mental disorders refer to a host of illnesses including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, mental retardation and drug and alcohol abuse. Many of these conditions are present simultaneously, with several others arising from AIDS and other non-communicable diseases that are disproportionately high in underdeveloped nations.
The World Federation for Mental Health, a global grassroots organization representing over 150 countries and a partner agency involved in the World Mental Health Day, provides informational packets for health care providers on schizophrenia, caregivers support, depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and suicide, among others.
The GAD document provides facts about the psychiatric condition, which is marked by excessive worry that interferes with daily life. The illness often triggers physical symptoms including headaches, muscle tensions, nervousness, sleep problems, and difficulty concentrating and breathing. In the United States alone, about 6.8 million adults are affected, with stress and genetics playing a role. While in advanced countries, women suffer at far greater rates than men, in developing nations, the condition is equally split among men and women.
GAD and many other mental illnesses are highly treatable with psychotherapy and medications. Cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of talk therapy, for example, has been shown to be effective in training patients to connect feelings, emotions and behaviors. Medications for psychiatric disorders include benzodiazepines, such as valium, and serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which increase brain chemicals that regulate emotions and mood. Research is continually finding new ways to prevent, treat and understand the causes of mental illnesses.
Elevated or low levels of the stress hormone cortisol are associated with depression and lower quality of life in bipolar patients, a new study from Umeå University in Sweden announced. The study found that depression is almost twice as common and poor quality of life is five times as common in people with bipolar disorder.
Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adults in the US every year. People with bipolar disorder experience unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Previous studies confirmed that stress triggers bipolar episodes in patients. Mania and depression further contribute to the stress load experienced by people with bipolar disorder. The relationship between the stress system, depression, and quality of life, however, had not been examined until this study.
“In bipolar depression the stress system is often activated, which means that the affected individuals have elevated cortisol levels in the blood. We have now been able to show that both over- and underactivity in the stress system, with corresponding elevated or reduced cortisol levels, can impair mental health in terms of depression and poor quality of life in these patients,” said Umeå University PhD student Martin Maripuu.
The study examined the cortisol levels in 145 type one and two bipolar patients and matched them with 145 controls. Researchers used the Dexamethasone Suppression Test (DST) to measure cortisol levels in patients, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S) to measure self-reported depression, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment–100 and the Global Assessment of Functioning to measure self-reported quality of life.
Depression was twice as common in bipolar patients with high and low cortisol levels, as compared to people with normal cortisol levels in their blood. Low quality of life was six times more common in patients with bipolar and low cortisol levels. It was five times more common in patients with bipolar and high cortisol levels. Additionally, patients with low cortisol have, on average, had their disorder for a longer period of time. This could mean that people with bipolar disorder experience chronic stress, which causes an “exhaustion” of the stress system, resulting in reduced cortisol levels.
Though these new breakthroughs need additional research, this information could lead to a better understanding and better treatment of bipolar disorder. These researchers have shifted the focus of bipolar disorder treatment by suggesting that effective treatment of bipolar disorder should involve regulating and researching the stress system.
“The results may also ultimately lead to the development of new drugs that work by normalizing the stress system and cortisol levels,” said Maripuu.
New research shows that people with bipolar disorder who also suffer from an anxiety disorder are more likely to consider and attempt suicide, experience psycho-social problems and abuse drugs.
Published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the study also revealed that bipolar patients who experienced comorbid anxiety disorders had double the rate of emergency room admissions for depression related to their primary condition than their counterparts.
Bipolar disorder is characterized by a fluctuation between periods of mania and episodes of depression. The severity ranges, with the unpredictable mood swings varying in duration and triggered by different factors. The cause is unknown, though the condition tends to occur more frequently in families with histories of the disease.
Examining the relationship between the two psychological disorders, bipolar disorder and anxiety, lead researcher Regina Sala, MD of the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University, and her colleagues evaluated the symptoms and treatments of 1600 bipolar adults registered with the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Of the total 1600 patients, 1172 met the criteria for bipolar disorder type I and 428 for bipolar disorder type II, with the first type indicating a greater severity of the disorder than the second.
The scientists found that roughly 60% of individuals with a primary diagnosis of either bipolar disorder type I or type II also experienced an anxiety disorder once in their lifetime, and 40% suffered from two or more throughout their lives. Bipolar patients who suffered from an anxiety disorder had a much higher likelihood of suffering from psychosocial problems, such as work-related issues and interpersonal relationships, and substance-abuse problems.
This group also experienced a higher lifetime risk factor for more severe bipolar symptoms, such as more depressive and manic episodes and more suicidal thoughts and attempts. They also were more likely to seek treatment and mental health services that those with bipolar disorder alone.
Anxiety disorders account for a host of conditions marked by excessive stress that interferes with daily life. While certain traumatic events may trigger the emergence of an anxiety disorder, sometimes the onset is not clearly definable. Research is ongoing to determine biological and environmental factors that make some individuals more prone to developing the condition than others.
Given the results of this study, the authors recommend early detection and treatment of anxiety disorders in patients with bipolar disorder to improve the overall outcomes for these patients.
It is well established that people suffering from social anxiety fear being negatively evaluated by others. More recently, however, researchers have shown that even positiverecognition can set off triggers for those who suffer from social anxiety. In our recent paper, we looked into how different facial expressions affect social anxiety and found some insight on the mechanisms behind the act of avoidance.
Social anxiety disorder is a debilitating psychological condition. People with this disorder suffer from persistent and excessive fears of one or more social or performance situations, where there is potential for evaluation by others. Those who suffer from social anxiety also exhibit something we call ‘attentional bias,’ which includes behaviors such as avoidance. Attentional bias can happen when someone is faced with social situations that increase their anxiety. Because of these fears and consequential behaviors, the disorder can be severely incapacitating causing significant impairment in daily functioning and is one of the most prevalent lifetime disorders. Given the nature of the disorder concerning fear and avoidance of social situations, most sufferers fail to seek treatment unless they develop an additional disorder, which is associated with further impairment. That’s why identifying the causes and maintenance of social anxiety is so important.
Considering that the fear of being evaluated and judged by others is often at the core of social anxiety disorder, we were interested in finding out if this core fear could explain the relationship between social anxiety and attentional biases, such as avoidance. In our recent study, we simulated an anxiety-provoking social situation and used a computer task in order to assess how attention is distributed to differing facial expressions (e.g., angry, happy and neutral facial expressions). We found that higher levels of social anxiety symptoms were associated with a greater avoidance of angry facial expressions. Furthermore, the relationship between social anxiety and an avoidance of angry faces was explained by increased levels of fear of positive evaluation.
Currently, the most common and effective therapy for social anxiety disorder is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Present CBT interventions, which emphasize fear of negative evaluation, cognitive restructuring, and exposure work, typically do so with regards to situations involving apprehension of negative appraisal. As a result, fear of positive evaluation may not be specifically addressed during treatment. The information we collected from our study on facial expressions, attentional biases, and social anxiety can help change these limitations in treatment.
By expanding upon current diagnostic and therapy techniques that identify and address not only the social anxiety fears that involve negative attention from others, but also incorporating strategies that address fears of being positively evaluated by others, our findings are exceptionally useful for clinicians who work with people suffering from social anxiety. This fear of positive judgement may be one potential explanation as to why such individuals tend to use avoidance strategies in social situations. As such, treatment strategies for individuals with social anxiety disorder that are more disorder specific may prove more successful for improving cognitive-behavioral symptoms associated with this debilitating disorder. Given that research on fear of positive evaluation is still in its infancy, future research is warranted to assess the inclusion of fear of positive evaluation in CBT in order to examine whether this does indeed diminish attentional avoidance often seen in those with social anxiety disorder.
The existence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse disorder comorbidity has been known at least since the early days of PTSD diagnosis. However, less understood is the relationship between other anxiety disorders and substance abuse. Not only PTSD, but Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-compulsive Disorder, panic disorder and social phobia (all forms of anxiety disorders recognized by the National Institutes of Mental Health), can reinforce or be reinforced by substance abuse.
For example, a study from the journal Psychiatric Services found that in a sample of 326 patients with substance abuse disorder, a full 48 percent also had significant anxiety or anxiety mixed with depression. In studies of military veterans or others likely to have experienced traumatic events, the rates of anxiety co-occurring with addiction are even higher.
Additional work shows that not only do anxiety and substance abuse happen to frequently be found together, but that anxiety may cause substance abuse – there may be causation as well as correlation. This is seen in studies that show anxiety predating substance abuse and also show that using interventions to decrease anxiety also decreases the later incidence of substance abuse.
For example, a study of children treated for anxiety disorders looked at rates of substance abuse 7.4 years later in those who had responded to treatment and those who remained anxious. There was a stark difference: children who no longer suffered from anxiety were far less likely to abuse substances than children (now adolescents and young adults) whose anxiety continued. The authors write, “Research suggests that the [results] of childhood anxiety disorders, if left untreated, can include…substance abuse.”
Note that in this work and also in the researchers’ interpretation of the work, anxiety and substance abuse are more than coincidentally paired; anxiety is a cause of substance abuse.
There are a handful of motivations or factors that explain these causative effects of anxiety. For example, some people struggling with anxiety turn to substances for escape. For others, substances bring a feeling of relative normalcy (self-medication). For still others, anxiety is factor of personality that also includes aspects like impulsivity that make the anxious person more likely to use substances.
The observation that anxiety causes addiction presents a unique treatment challenge. In fact, it is a challenge similar to most co-occurring disorders: treating substance abuse without treating the co-occurring disorder can lead to higher rates of relapse. Let’s take another look at the study in Psychiatric Services of 326 patients with substance abuse disorder. The study question was how do co-occurring disorders like anxiety and depression influence relapse. In this group, 73 percent of people who were without anxiety or depression remained substance-free six months after treatment. But for people with anxiety accompanying their addiction, only 40 percent remained abstinent at the six-month point.
Treating substance abuse without treating the anxiety that causes it is a fruitless endeavor. If the underlying cause of anxiety is allowed to remain, the addict’s reason to use may remain as well, and these motivations may drive the individual back into active addiction.
As you likely know, treating the anxiety that may underlie substance abuse can be anything but easy. In large part, the difficulty of treating co-occurring disorders is due to the fact that addiction and addictive behaviors are literally worn into the structure of the brain. Over time, substance abuse creates neurobiological consequences including loss of memory and impaired executive function; but also, the brain’s ability to adapt itself to its environment, known as neuroplasticity, means that the more you use specific brain pathways, the more accessible these pathways become in the future. Through neuroplasticity, the behaviors of substance abuse reinforce themselves, making these behaviors into brain-based behavioral patterns.
The more often you think certain kinds of thoughts or act certain ways or feel certain feelings like anxiety, the more these patterns are built into the architecture of your brain. Effectively treating anxiety (or other co-occurring disorders) requires neuroplasticity in the opposite direction – some call this “rewiring your brain.”
The second post in this series picks up where this post leaves off, namely with evidenced-based treatments for anxiety that co-occurs with substance abuse; next we will consider strategies to create positive neuroplasticity.
There are three kinds of treatment for nearly any condition: those proven to work, those proven ineffective, and those that are unproven. My previous article explored the role of anxiety in causing substance abuse, showing that treating anxiety along with addiction improves outcomes and leads to lower rates of relapse. Treating anxiety in the context of substance abuse requires therapies that help the brain exist in non-anxious states long enough that the brain can build new neural-pathways as alternatives to the pathways of addiction. The following evidence-based treatments help the brain build new architecture that counteracts patterns of anxiety.
The experience of mindfulness itself has been described in many ways and in many places, but essentially it is the process of overlaying your actions and emotions with understanding – it is looking at yourself through the eyes of an observer to become aware of how you move through the world. It is the ability to be present in the “now.” Likewise, various strategies exist to hone mindfulness. In a study by the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, these strategies included a self-directed body scan (awareness of sensations), sitting meditation and mindful hatha yoga. During an eight week session, participants devoted 45 minutes per day, six days per week to mindfulness practice. For 20 of 22 subjects diagnosed with anxiety disorders, gains were present not only immediately after the intervention, but also at three month and even three year follow-up evaluations.
Studies show that people who exercise tend to experience less anxiety than those who do not work out. Additional research shows that adding exercise decreases anxiety; just as anxiety is not only correlated with substance abuse, but is also causative of substance abuse, exercise is not only correlated with anxiety reduction but causes it. In addition, it seems as if exercise can be used to combat anxiety in two major ways. First, exercise can be used to diffuse acute bouts of anxiety – when feeling especially anxious it may be useful to exercise. Second, a regular exercise routine may be protective against both a background level of anxiety and also future acute anxiety experiences.
With or without inclusion in a broad program of mindfulness, meditation has been shown to decrease anxiety. For example, in the Journal of Clinical Psychology article entitled “Differential effects of relaxation techniques on trait anxiety: A meta-analysis,” the authors explored the effects of various relaxation techniques on clinical anxiety found that transcendental meditation outperformed other strategies for anxiety reduction, including biofeedback and progressive relaxation.
In studies of populations ranging from people taking math exams to young professional musicians, yoga has been shown to decrease performance anxiety. Yoga has also been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms of other forms of anxiety. Many studies show that yoga practice generalizes into decreased anxiety both in the context of acute distress and also the longer-term experience of trait anxiety. Yoga can also relax the muscles and central nervous system, inducing overall feelings of contentment.
A bit like mindfulness, psychotherapy is an umbrella term. In fact, there are many forms of psychotherapy, each with its own distinct methodology and best uses. For example, the goal of some psychotherapies may be to create insight into the roots of anxiety, whereas the goal of other psychotherapies may be to desensitize the patient to the experience of anxiety, either through diffusing triggers or offering strategies to deal with the onrushing experience of anxiety. Specifically, there is ample evidence to recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) for the long-term reduction of anxiety.
Modern research has further solidified the link between mind and body – as the body goes, so too goes the mind. If the body feels good, the mind will too. This is especially important in the context of substance abuse. For many people, massage is a sure way to please the body. For example, a study of 52 hospitalized psychiatric patients showed that massage not only led to lower reported levels of anxiety, but also lower saliva cortisol levels – a common biomarker of anxiety.
A large body of research, for example this study from the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, proves the benefit of acupuncture to decrease preoperative anxiety. Yet the evidence in support of acupuncture is somewhat inconclusive as acupuncture does not lend itself well to double-blind studies. A 2010 review summarizes the frustration of many studies that seek to answer the question of acupuncture’s efficacy, writing that, “acupuncture interventions employed in trials vary as do the controls against which these are compared. Many trials also suffer from small sample sizes.” This is a scientific way of saying that more study is required. That said, acupuncture has several thousand years of use and while we don’t know how acupuncture works or why, in clinical application, it is shown to be effective in treating both anxiety and addiction, as a complement to other therapies.
In most cases in which anxiety co-occurs with substance abuse, it is useful to treat anxiety along with addiction. The interventions described above can help to create new patterns in your mind. As your body learns to exist without substances of abuse, you can truly create new ways of being that are free of anxiety and addiction.
Acupuncture is the gentle insertion of very fine needles into specific points on the body. This process stimulates movement of energy within the body, allowing natural healing to take place. These points are selected based on years of training acupuncturists receive based on over 3,000 years of experience in China.
Acupuncture helps to prevent illness by improving the overall functioning of the body’s immune and organ systems. Acupuncture is helpful for:
Acupuncture originated in China over 3,000 years ago. It is part of the holistic system of healing known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (“TCM”).
Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory
The Classical Chinese explanation is that energy (Qi) flows in channels (meridians) throughout the body and over its surfaces. These channels are rivers of energy which are referred to as meridians. The Chinese have identified 71 meridians in the human body, which is a basic energy map for all people. The meridians are often compared to a series of interconnected highways. Each of the major organs in the body is associated with its own meridian. Through the network of meridians the internal organs are connected to certain areas and parts of the body including the muscles, bones, joints, and also other organs.
The Chinese believe that health is a manifestation of balance, both within the body itself and between the body and the external environment. When the body is internally balanced and in harmony with the external environment, Qi flows smoothly through the meridians to nourish the organs and tissues. If an obstruction occurs in one of the meridians, the Qi is disrupted and cannot flow properly. When the Qi cannot flow smoothly or is forced to flow in the opposite direction, the body’s innate balance is disrupted and illness results.
Acupuncture points are the specific points on the meridians where the Qi is both concentrated and accessible. Acupuncture engages the Qi by inserting needles at these specific points, the goal being to restore the proper flow of Qi. As the body regains its natural balance, well-being returns.
Acupuncture and Modern Science
To the human body, acupuncture needles are a physical stimulus. In Western science, a stimulus is defined as a detectable change in either the external environment or within the body itself. When the body detects change, it produces a response. Although acupuncture is not yet fully understood by Western science, with modern technology scientists can now actually begin to “see” the body’s response to acupuncture. For example, using Functional MRI, researchers have shown that when a needle is inserted at specific acupuncture points on the body, corresponding changes occur in the brain.
In the West, acupuncture is most well-known for its ability to relieve pain so the majority of research thus far has been done in this area. Acupuncture points are now believed to stimulate the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) to release pain-relieving chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain. Acupuncture may also stimulate other chemicals to be released by the brain, including hormones that influence the self-regulating system of the body.
About Herbs
Herbal medicine is by itself a powerful method of healing. Western drugs are usually used to control symptoms but do not alter the disease process. For example: antibiotics kill bacteria but do not improve a person’s resistance to infection; diuretics drain excess fluid from the body but do not improve the kidney function. Chinese herbs can also rid the body of disease but they also nourish and balance the body in very specific ways, thereby improving organ function and building up a person’s constitution and immune system.
Chinese herbs are traditionally given as a very strong tea. The acupuncturist will give the patient several bags of herbs. Each bag contains a formula of about 12 or so raw herbs that has been prepared specifically for the patient and his or her condition. The patient then prepares the herbs at home by boiling them in water for about a half an hour. The benefit of this method is that the formula can be customized to the patient’s particular condition. The acupuncturist may prescribe herbal pills, powders or tinctures instead because these are more convenient. However, the raw herbs are usually stronger and always more adaptable.
Oriental medicine has been around for thousands of years, and has provided us with a unique and holistic approach to help prevent and treat disease. Western science and Traditional Chinese Medicine ultimately rely on the body’s natural healing ability to maintain health and protect against disease. Both have the same goal of helping a person stay healthy. Western science tends to use drugs and surgery as needed. Acupuncturists tend to use gentle needling and herbs. A combination of both systems creates an ideal environment of health and healing.
Bipolar debt is frequently a problem for members of the bipolar community.
Manic episodes, bipolar spending sprees and reckless decisions can all result in serious financial consequences – and damaged credit.
Lack of money is the root of all evil. ~George Bernard Shaw
The following information is for people seeking to improve their credit, achieve credit repair, and get out of any debt that can be attributed to their bipolar disorder.
On our “Applying for bipolar disability” page we suggest it may sometimes be a good idea to hire an expert. This page has more of a “do-it-yourself” approach.
This is because applying for disability is more complex with a lot of paperwork and “gotchas”.
Also, by the time a bipolar person feels they can no longer work, they tend to be agitated and stressed or depressed. Way too stressed for dealing with paperwork and angry creditors.
In fact, at this point the person with bipolar disorder may feel utterly overwhelmed. However, help with bipolar debt and credit repair is a less complex process.
Not to mention that if you are already feeling financial strain we figure you may want to keep your costs down.
One of the horrible ironies of bad credit is that, at a the time you need every financial break you can get, EVERYTHING will be more expensive:
1. Lenders will charge you higher fees, but folks with good credit will pay low fees, or no fees at all.
2.Higher interest rates – remember the principles of compound interest.
Even a small rise in the number of points adds up to you paying a lot more interest over time.
3. Higher insurance costs – today insurers use your credit score as part of rating you as an insurance risk.
4.Lower income – now we are getting to some of the more personal parts which can really suck. Some employers check your credit and may not hire you if you have bad credit. This is increasingly a factor in promotions
as well.
5. Sub-prime loans – if your credit is bad enough the reputable lenders will turn their backs, forcing you to the “lenders of last resort”. The current melt-down in the sub-prime market in the US has highlighted how expensive and unfavorable these sorts of loans really are.
For bipolar people who are already wrestling with shame, guilt or self-esteem issues, knowing they have a bad credit report and low credit score can be very demoralizing. Cleaning your credit up as fast as legally possible will boost your morale and is worth doing for this reason alone.
Also, credit repair is part of relationship repair. Your loved ones will benefit, and you will not have to feel bad about lost opportunities and added stress for them. Good credit is always cause for self-esteem and also for feeling an asset in your relationship. Fix your credit and don’t feel like dead weight in your relationship.
The great thing about getting bipolar debt help and doing some credit repair is the chance to repair self-respect and relationships at the same time.
This is a straightforward and methodical process. Just follow the steps and you will be fine. Right now it may <i>feel</i> as if your credit report and credit score are the enemy. Really though, these are your two best friends. Take care of them and they will take care of you.
1. The first and most important step in credit repair is to obtain a copy of your credit report. It will be necessary to get one copy from each of three big credit bureaus – TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. The TransUnion monthly subscription service is also worth investigating. You get unlimited access to your report and your score and tools that keep your score up and protect you from identity theft.
2. You are legally entitled to one free copy from each bureau every year, under the 2005 Fair Credit Reporting Act (FACT). There is an official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report: the Annual Credit Report Request Service.
3. Consider visiting the individual bureau websites as well, to check out the educational resources they provide. They offer some great services as well, but for a fee. We will talk about this a little more later.
4. Now for the big step – cleaning up. You will need to go through all three reports carefully. Look for anything that is wrong or out of date, and make sure all three reports are consistent. Verify that your name, address and Social Security number are all correct. Also make sure there are no accounts listed that you do not recognize. Another common error is accounts appearing more than once because of store or bank mergers.
5. Of course a major thing you are looking for is any negative information such as missed or late payments. Credit repair for bipolar debt is like all credit repair – it is all about eliminating the negatives and accentuating the positives.
6. If you have negative details like these and they are correct there is nothing you can do to have these unfortunate facts removed. Accurate negative information will stay on your report for seven years. Some things such as bankruptcy (10 years), a criminal conviction (forever), or a lawsuit/unpaid judgment (statue of limitations) can stick around even longer.
The best way to keep costs down is to do your own credit repair for free.
7. The good news is that if the information is inaccurate then you can dispute it. Contact the credit bureau or the creditor – they will have to investigate. Also, they will have to amend your credit report to say the negative information is in dispute. The source has 30 days in which to respond to disputed information. (Remember though, if it is correct, you are stuck with it, at least for a while.)
8. Make use of the 100 word statement. Your credit report has a section where you can insert a statement you write yourself. The credit bureau,
TransUnion, will even help you write your statement. This can be a critical step in credit repair. It gives you a chance to tell your side of the story. For example, you can explain if missed or late payments were due to illness or a job loss or divorce.
9. Fixing your credit report is not just about getting rid of inaccurate or hurtful
information. You may also want to add helpful information such as accounts in good standing that for some reason are not being recorded yet. Sometimes there is a fee to add an account from a creditor who does not routinely report to the credit bureaus. Paying the fee may be worth it to improve your credit.
10. Although this sounds weird,
opening more credit accounts can also be helpful. For example, the credit bureaus give you a better credit score if you have a variety of types of credit. Ideally you will have both “revolving” credit, which means credit cards, and installment credit such as car payments.
11.Try to get the balance of your accounts down to 30% of the credit
available or less. Your credit looks healthiest if you have credit available instead of “maxing out”.
12. Don’t fall for the scams from the so-called credit repair and debt consolidation companies. there are no magic tricks – not legal ones anyway. You can do exactly the same things and save the fees to pay down debt. The FTC has a warning page about these companies here: Click for FTC Credit Scam warnings. (This page also has a great example of a dispute letter.)
As well as cleaning up your credit report, credit repair requires doing all you can to improve your FICO score. This will get better rates for life and help you stay free from bipolar debt.
I use Trans Union to monitor my score and I have found that a credit monitoring service has been a huge help in raising my score. Trans Union actually explain how you can get your score up. I also like the protection from identity theft.
FICO scores are calculated based on a 100 point system, divided into 5 areas of major interest to lenders:
1. Paying your debt obligations on time = 35%
2. Your credit to debt ratio = 30%
3. Frequency of applications for new credit = 15%
4. What types of debt you are carrying, for example installment, bank credit, credit cards = 10%
5. How old your accounts are = 10%.
This means the two most important things you can do for credit repair are (1) pay on time, and (2) keep your debt below 30-50% of the total credit available to you.
An application for a new card may hurt in the short term, but may ultimately help by improving your credit to debt ratio and providing you with a greater variety of credit types. Welcome to the contradictions in how how our credit scores are calculated. I am sure you can see now why it helps so much to know the details – and good luck with your credit repair.
There are many ways bipolar debt occurs. The typical ones are:
1. Excessive spending as a form of mania.
2. Poor financial and career decisions due to impulsiveness and poor judgment.
3. Overspending when depressed as a form of self-medication.
4. Overspending when manic as an expression of grandiosity.
5. Medical bills from treating bipolar or high expenses from untreated bipolar – for example substance abuse or hypersexuality.
Part of what makes bipolar debt so terrible is the effect it has on the bipolar person’s self-esteem and the damage bipolar debt can do to relationships with loved ones.
Some couples handle the delicate matter of bipolar debt by using a bipolar treatment contract. A bipolar treatment contract is an agreement a bipolar person makes with their loved ones when they are well, to handle any bumps further on down the road. The folks at Real Mental Health provide excellent information about bipolar treatment contracts and a free downloadable sample contract.
This is very similar to the material on our Bipolar Excessive Spending and Bipolar Infidelity pages. Have a look at both of these as they contain additional relevant material.
Agree to some precautions with loved ones ahead of time. The bipolar person and their supporters need to have a plan to prevent bipolar debt in place BEFORE an episode hits.
1. Monitor and restrict net access in order to avoid bipolar debt through online shopping or gambling. Also, this is critical if pornography or cybersex are an issue, and is very helpful in preventing isolation and withdrawal.
2. As far as possible, put cash, credit cards and ATM cards out of reach. Also consider taking the car keys away for safekeeping in an extreme situation.
3. I have a close friend whose spouse is a very sweet and gifted bipolar musician. My friend manages their money by giving him a monthly allowance. He has an ATM card to access this account at all times, but if he goes off his medication or seems to be getting hyper, she cuts off all other access to their finances. This way he always has some autonomy and dignity but can’t get them into financial trouble.
4. I have heard some advice that the credit cards should be chopped up. To me this sounds like a problem – how will bills be paid? How will the groceries get shopped for? Sometimes a credit card is necessary. My advice is find a way to divide finances, like my friend did with her musician husband.
5. This sounds snoopy but it can be a lifesaver. At the moment the banks and credit card companies seem to be on overdrive. They are constantly sending out credit card offers, and those dangerous little checks – so watch the email and snail mail.
And please – don’t shoot the messenger. I don’t like these precautions either, but can be very helpful in saving whole families from the nightmare of bipolar debt.
Another important aspect of prudent financial management is bipolar life insurance.
If you have bipolar disorder, it will be difficult and more expensive to get life insurance – but it is NOT impossible. Look into term life for the protection of your loved ones and get your entire financial house in order. The peace of mind from resolving debt and insurance issues will greatly assist your recovery and help prevent bipolar disorder relapse.
“With money in your pocket, you are wise and you are handsome and you sing well too.” Yiddish Proverb
“Money can do anything.” Charles Dickens
“May we journey with the same candor, courage, and imagination as Merton mustered for his — with the same Spirit at our backs and in our hearts. May we, like he, journey back and forward to our true Source along a way of Creation Spirituality.”
Bipolar Support Groups.com blog 