The Devil’s Name is ‘Lithium’

Background of this drug and why I hate taking it

I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (Type 1) at the tender age of 15, but I was lucky enough to avoid the need for Lithium until I was in my 20s.

My Bipolar primarily had been controlled with antidepressants, anti-epileptic medication (also controlling my epilepsy), and anti-anxiety medication, until I started to experience hypomania and mania more frequently, both short-term and long-term, indicating ‘rapid cycling’ and even ‘mixed episodes’. Basically, it had happened ‘enough’ for my then psychiatrist to make the decision to prescribe me Lithium.

Bipolar is a mental health condition where people experience extreme mood swings — from periods of very low moods (depression) to episodes of very high moods and energy (mania), sometimes in ‘rapid cycling’ or ‘mixed episodes’. Psychosis can also be a symptom. People with Bipolar experience more drastic mood changes than the ups and downs most ordinary people have, and that is why we need to be stabilized in times when the moods get out of control.

Rather than Lithium as the element everyone knows about, you cannot get the same therapeutic benefits by licking a Lithium battery. Certain Lithium compounds, also known as lithium salts, are used as psychiatric medication under various…