Light and Dark: Cheap, Easy, Safe non-Medication Treatments for Bipolar Disorder
Recent studies highlight the role of light in mood disorders: as a treatment, and ironically, as a risk. Too much light, at the wrong times, may make some versions of bipolar disorder worse. However, if the opposite is true, and it does indeed appear to be, then darkness can be a treatment. And getting good darkness is perhaps the easiest non-medication approach to bipolar disorder!
Though not for everyone, most people with bipolar disorder should know about Dark Therapy. Roughly the opposite of light therapy, it has been shown in a very small randomized trial to add significantly to "treatment as usual". But in the essay you'll find linked below is the story of a single patient whose severe rapid-cycling bipolar disorder was treated, without medications, using very regular darkness. He improved tremendously and stayed well for over a year on this regimen.
I hope this increases your interest in understanding the roles of light and darkness in bipolar disorder treatment. If so, read the full essay on my website: Bipolar Disorder, Light, and Darkness: Treatment Implications.
I think you'll find some fascinating stuff in there.
JP
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Though not for everyone, most people with bipolar disorder should know about Dark Therapy. Roughly the opposite of light therapy, it has been shown in a very small randomized trial to add significantly to "treatment as usual". But in the essay you'll find linked below is the story of a single patient whose severe rapid-cycling bipolar disorder was treated, without medications, using very regular darkness. He improved tremendously and stayed well for over a year on this regimen.
I hope this increases your interest in understanding the roles of light and darkness in bipolar disorder treatment. If so, read the full essay on my website: Bipolar Disorder, Light, and Darkness: Treatment Implications.
I think you'll find some fascinating stuff in there.
JP
1 Comments:
It seems that total darkness isn't needed and one could use the amber LED lights, for example, and be able to read and otherwise be active as long as the critical range for the melatonin receptor wasn't available in the lights. Does that make sense? I have one old friend with a bipolar diagnosis and want to understand this a bit better before trying to talk about it.
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