h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Bipolar disorder - A3059697
Author: Edward the Bonobo - It tastes just like cherry cola - U803114

A long article.

Aside from the inevitable corrections to typos - I'd welcome comments from anyone with professional experience in this area. It's a serious topic, so needs to be got right.

I have just given this a quick read through as I am on my way offline.

My initial reaction is that it is a well balanced piece that covers the subject and treatment options well.

I think personal comments/quotes certainly add to the entry, in that they do show how feels from first hand experience, but I wonder if perhaps you have included a couple too many.

Just my first thoughts and I will be interested to see what others think.

I will be back to read this properly.

Excellent article - a real eye opener and thought provoker. Too busy taking in the content to notice any typos.

Good name by the way, really pushing the envelope and thinking out the box!

Wonderful Article!!!

Wonderin' if you should capitalize the 'd' and the 'p' in BiPolar Disorder .... or is that contrary to custom....

Black Cheetah -

Excellent article!



I'm a final year medical student (<panics about impending responsiblity&gt and I've passed my psychiatry finals. I can vouch that the factual information is correct to the best of my knowledge.

I'm also delighted that this includes positive aspects of treatment, because it's important to give people hope. I think this is an excellent and well balanced article on an important subject.

Good work.

Sorry, a few typos...

Under the header Medications
*tranquiliser/tranquilizer = tranquillizer
*an anti-psychotic tranquillisers = an anti-psychotic tranquillizer or anti-psychotic tranquillizers

Under the header Reaching Out
*desperarately = desperately

Under Reaching Out
*unususual = unusual
*devesating: = devastating:
*sto = to

Under Help in a crisis
*youself = yourself

Footnote 2 *compoment = component



Mort (not done reading this yet!)

Excellent entry - covers all the points, concise, easily disgestable, easy to read

Marvellous work

Stay ,
WD

Thanks, all for the kind comments.

Mort - thanks for ploughing through the typos. I'm confused by one, though:
Tranquilizer: It's definitely only got one 'l' - plus in the entry, I've got 'an anti-psychotic tranquiliser'...not 'an anti-psychotic tranquilisers'.

Have I misunderstood?

Or are you saying that I should use the Z spelling, rather than the S? I've just noticed that I've been inconsistent - but I prefer the UK spelling (Z)

(Where in Scotland, by the way?)

For an entry of that length there were surprisingly few typos. It shows you have put alot of work and time on this entry.

The US version has only one L. The UK spelling is LL with a Z. I double checked with askoxford.com as I thought LL looked wrong too.

I don't know why I thought you had an s on an anti-psychotic tranquillizer... must have been !

I live in Edinburgh and today it can't decide if it wants to be sunny or pour down with rain!

You'll have had your tea then! (I'm over in that other city. The weather can't decide whether it wants to rain or p**s down.)

LL looks horrible! It also doesn't make sense, because it comes from 'tranquil.' Therefore, I'm going to ignore it.

Anyway....since h2g2 says we have to follow US punctuation rules, we might as well follow thair spelling too!

Unfortunately it does specify that we use UK spelling!!

But you are right - it doesn't look right, I expect we are so used to seeing it spelt that way on info leaflets that are published by US based companies.

Good old Scottish weather eh?!

Just out of interest, what sources did you use for this? I mean are the quotes from reports, several people a single person etc?

Sometimes it is good to quote references, particularly in scientific entries such as Farlander did in A2986095 Spontaneous Human Combustion

Diana, are you implying that it ain't Bonnie beside the Clyde?

eh??!!

I'm sure my comment made sense to Edward.

i have worked out it out (I think) except for the Diana bit. But as long as he understands it then I won't worry about it

Hi Edward,

Great article.

Possibly a couple too many quotes but they do give a good view of the patient's perspective, not often seen in medical writing.

A couple of typos:

In one of the first italic passages:

"A few times I was in danger of being attacked by people who found by behaviour and conversation odd."

Should be "...found MY behaviour..."

And in another:

"My medication is working fine, and I'm holding down a well-paid professional job. I still have my 'blue periods' - but they're far less intense. I use what I learnt Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to manage my self-doubts."

Should presumably be IN or DURING or UNDER Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.



F

Great entry.

I don't think there were too many quotes.

I have slightly cheated with the quotes already. Most of them come from 5 first-hand sources (Including me!) One or two of the others are paraphrases from other sources. I've already combined a couple of them from my first draft into 'composites'.

Ideally I'd like to keep all of them - and I'd like to keep to the originals. However - if anyone believes there are 'too many notes' - then I'd welcome constructive suggestions as to which ones to either ditch or combine.

I suppose at the end of the day, what I want is something that will be read by a bipolar person who might think "Yes! That's what I'm going through"....Or by a loved one. I want the entry to be both a technical guide and something that will help people going through the turmoil of bipolar disorder - whether first hand or seeing it in someone else.

I hope I've done that (?)

I think it does that. If the quotes are from yourself then just add a footnote explaining that they are from you.