Welcome to the Jungle, Revised Edition: Facing Bipolar Without Freaking Out

By Hilary T. Smith

“I wrote Welcome to the Jungle because it’s the book I should have been given when I was diagnosed." Bipolar disorder is one of the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric conditions among teens and twentysomethings, yet there are few books out there written specifically for this demographic.

This revised edition comes with a new foreword by the author, a revised and expanded discussion on diagnosis, an updated chapter on medication, a new chapter on alternative approaches, a revised and expanded chapter on symptoms, and updated resources. New research on the causes and risk factors for bipolar disorder are also included along with tools for observing patterns and making gentle changes to daily routines that can have a profound effect.

Going bravely where no other bipolar book has gone before Welcome to the Jungle offers devastatingly on-target, honest—and riotously funny—insights into living with bipolar and answers some of the hardest questions facing people newly diagnosed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Red Wheel Weiser
• Release date: Mar 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781633410541

Hilary T. Smith

Hilary T. Smith lives in Portland, Oregon, where she studies North Indian classical music and works on native plant restoration. She is the author of Wild Awake.

Reviews for Welcome to the Jungle, Revised Edition

[kittyjay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read the first edition of this book when I was first diagnosed in my early twenties. Unlike many, I had an accurate diagnosis almost immediately; nearly being hospitalized due to intense mania with psychotic features tends to have that effect. Go figure.

Smith's book came at exactly the right time and with exactly the right words. Especially when you're in your twenties, you try on new identities, and being diagnosed as bipolar hands you a brand new one to try on. It's a little like a hideous sweater from your Aunt Thelma that you have to wear to Thanksgiving to be polite; you don't necessarily want it, but you have to wear it anyway, so you might as well own it.

One of the best things I could have read was her advice about not over-identifying yourself with your diagnosis, and I'm not talking about the whole "you are more than your diagnosis" (which is good advice, but still touchy-feely and paradoxically, makes you identify more with your diagnosis); Smith is the opposite of touchy-feely. She tells you, "Dude, knock it off, or you're going to be That Guy with the one schtick he's defined by. Don't be That Guy."

At a time when I might have run with being That Guy whose whole schtick was wearing ugly sweaters, I needed that. (Like, really needed that. There's always that insufferable douche who manages to mention their ugly sweater in every conversation, and I could have been that douchecanoe.)

I do wish she talked about the opposite problem, as she briefly addressed in her first edition, which was under-identifying. Sometimes I go long spells without any episodes and think, "It was a misdiagnosis! I'm fine!" until, oh, right. During particularly uneventful long spells, I really start to get paranoid - "Am I making this up? I'm fine. I was just angsty" and I wish someone had told me that's (a) completely normal, and (b) no, don't do that, because you end up doing stupid stuff later on.

Also, Smith doesn't ignore Bipolar I. People, and authors, act weird about Bipolar I. Books give you hints and tricks and tools for living your best life with bipolar II, then give this dry, clinical account of Bipolar I diagnostics and basically tell you to take medication, like, "Yup! No way to have a normal life with Bipolar I. You're fucked." Well, thanks? Or they don't mention it at all, which is sort of worse and sends the same message. (I have a sneaking suspicion that this is because it's easier to destigmatize bipolar II because it's not as overtly scary, and we still don't know how to handle people who hear voices or think government agencies are following them, but that's just a suspicion).

Hers was the first book I read about bipolar that mentions bipolar I and II equally and doesn't get freaked by psychosis. "You think you're the Queen of Egypt? Cool! Maybe don't tell people that, but it happens." She doesn't ignore it or give the message that you will Never Have a Normal Life and should be Locked Away Forever, You Crazy Person. She doesn't make it this Big, Scary Thing. It's just another part that could happen, and that's okay. Here's how to not let it screw up your life. And honestly? I really needed that. I still do. People love making lists of successful, famous people who have/had bipolar... II. It can give a girl a complex, you know? But it doesn't have to! It can just be a different kind of hurdle.

I love her tone, as well. Some books are dry and just kind of repeat the DSM definitions; others act like you need to be ~soothed~ because you're so traumatized. What I wanted back then - and now - is practical, matter-of-fact advice that acknowledges you have a life and responsibilities and do not have the money or time to develop a comprehensive, thirty-year plan to handle your disorder, and Welcome to the Jungle delivers in spades. She strikes just the right balance between brutally honest, funny, and compassionate.

Oh, and by practical, I really mean it. Most books stop short at "Keep a mood chart!" and "Keep a routine!", which is great, but hey, I'm bipolar. I suck at routines. Bipolar is like, the anti-routine. Chapter 6 actually has some techniques for how to keep from going into a full-blown episode when you feel it creeping in, which is what I need.

She can get a little hippie-dippie, but she's upfront and completely okay with the fact that not everyone is into meditating and herbal teas; it's presented as another option that you can try, not, "These magic crystals will cure you!". The lack of information on medication can inadvertently lead to the assumption that she's anti-medicine, but she throws in just enough, "Maybe take your meds, that's a good thing", that I don't think it's that bad of advice. Mainly, she focuses on a holistic approach: treat your mind with meds, treat your body with stress techniques, and don't forget that one affects the other.

Finally, if you've read the first edition and are worried this is a rerun with a new theme song, fret not. About 80% of this edition is new material, with a more mature, though no less funny, take.