Helena Smole presents her own successful path out of her daily struggle against extreme mood swings, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, and other delusions in her book Balancing the Beast: A Bright View of Schizoaffective Disorder - Bipolar or Manic-Depressive Type. The book describes a unique combination of humor and hard work along with psychiatric medication. The mental exercises, lifestyle choices, and other alternative medicine approaches that she combined with clinically-prescribed medication eventually led to the alleviation of her illness. As shown in the book, her success is to a significant extent due to having fully accepted herself the way she is, the illness included.
This is a positive thinking book for people with mental illness, as well as for their relatives, friends, and co-workers.
You will discover:
- That you can learn how to live a happy life with schizoaffective disorder.
- That the stickiest label anyone can put on your forehead is the one you put there yourself.
- The way the author lets her psychiatrists deal with her mental illness while she chooses to improve her personality and self-image, and to change her life style in order to support the efforts of the psychiatrists.
- That your sensitive brain is your greatest treasure and that it reliably sends you messages that you are under too much stress.
- That you are not responsible for having become ill. However, it is YOUR responsibility to do something about your illness NOW that it has happened.
- And last but not least: you will re-discover the power of humor in wonderful illustrations by Leon Zuodar.
The author definitely decided to switch her destiny to an optimistic mode and is more than willing to motivate other
mental health consumers as well.” – Peggy McColl, New York Times Best-Selling Author
Regarding your book, the following things appealed to me:
-the sincere personal confession, which at the same time does not reveal too much;
-its humor and warmth;
-the clarity and wisdom with which you evaluate your experience of mental illness;
-the very balanced perspective on medication and other forms of treatment;
-how much work and persistence is needed to bring about change! Many of my patients have read Louise Hay’s books, but the majority of people (and this does not depend on whether a person has a mental illness or not) think that reading by itself will help without any effort from oneself;
- I also liked how you described your relationship with your psychiatrist (I agree with your definition of a “winning combination”);
-the awareness of how crucial in life a good intimate relationship is, like the one you have with your husband (and which is a true blessing);
-while reading the book, I was wishing that my patients would read it as well;
-it was inspiring also for me personally, perhaps above all due to its attitude that everything, no matter how difficult, can turn out for the better;
-congratulations on your courage! – Dr. Alenka Helena Petek, MD, Psychiatry Specialist
While Bipolar Disorder for Dummies is an encyclopedia of bipolar disorder, Helena Smole’s book is a first-person story of a successful medical case. – Professor Rok Tavčar, MD, PhD, Psychiatrist, Head of the Rehabilitation Department, Psychiatric Clinic of Ljubljana
Excerpt
Helena Smole presents her own successful path out of her daily struggle against extreme mood swings, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, and other delusions in her book Balancing the Beast: A Bright View of Schizoaffective Disorder - Bipolar or Manic-Depressive Type. The book describes a unique combination of humor and hard work along with psychiatric medication. The mental exercises, lifestyle choices, and other alternative medicine approaches that she combined with clinically-prescribed medication eventually led to the alleviation of her illness. As shown in the book, her success is to a significant extent due to having fully accepted herself the way she is, the illness included.
Professional Reviews
A successful medical case
While Bipolar Disorder for Dummies is an encyclopedia of bipolar disorder, Helena Smole’s book is a first-person story of
a successful medical case.
Professor Rok Tavčar, MD,
PhD, Psychiatrist, Head of the Rehabilitation Department,
Psychiatric Clinic of Ljubljana
A sincere personal confession
Regarding your book, the following things appealed to me:
-the sincere personal confession, which at the same time does not reveal too much;
-its humor and warmth;
-the clarity and wisdom with which you evaluate your experience of mental illness;
-the very balanced perspective on medication and other forms of treatment;
-how much work and persistence is needed to bring about change! Many of my patients have read Louise Hay’s books, but the majority of people (and this does not depend on whether a person has a mental illness or not) think that reading by itself will help without any effort from oneself;
- I also liked how you described your relationship with your psychiatrist (I agree with your definition of a “winning combination”);
-the awareness of how crucial in life a good intimate relationship is, like the one you have with your husband (and which is a true blessing);
-while reading the book, I was wishing that my patients would read it as well;
-it was inspiring also for me personally, perhaps above all due to its attitude that everything, no matter how difficult, can turn out for the better;
-congratulations on your courage!
Dr. Alenka Helena Petek, MD, Psychiatry Specialist
Recovery can be a rebirth
About a year ago, a friend of a friend of mine from Slovenia, Helena Smole, sent me her book, Balancing the Beast: A Bright View of Schizoaffective Disorder – Bipolar or Manic-Depressive Type.
I tend to drag my feet when asked to do book reviews, and I was turned off by the use of the phrase “mental patient” on the cover (in a quote from someone other than Helen Smole, but it still made me hesitant to read the book).
Well, I finally recovered from my knee-jerk reaction and read the book. I’m glad I did. Smole provides keen insight into the experience of a severe mental breakdown, important reminders about taking enough time and investing enough focus on recovery, and helpful information on the treatments, therapies, self-help techniques, and supports that she has tried over the course of her recovery and is currently practicing to maintain her mental health and well-being.
People with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental illnesses and their loved ones are likely to benefit from Smole’s description of the series of breakdowns she experienced on the road to accepting the fact that she has a mental illness. She describes the fear and denial she had to overcome. Her over 11 years of denial seem inconceivable, but when you read about her journey, it seems perfectly understandable why the diagnosis can be so difficult to accept.
What struck me most about Smole’s journey is how hard she worked at her recovery, and this is true for many who struggle with mental illness. It is almost like a full-time or at least a half-time job to keep appointments with doctors and therapists, research the illness and different medication and treatment options, keep a log of moods and medication changes, engage in therapy and self-help strategies, and make lifestyle adjustments to remove stressors and triggers.
Smole also reminds us that recovery doesn’t necessarily mean a return to life as it was before diagnosis. Recovery can be a rebirth, a transformation to a new and better life. Such a hopeful message is always welcome.
Joe Kraynak, a co-author of Bipolar Disorder for Dummies
Re-Release! No longer back-listed. Return to the Olde Ways. The hustle and bustle of modern day life has brought many of us to a quick fix attitude.This book is for those of you who are fed up; have looked at your life and your loved ones and realize
