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One researcher shares her experience studying and living with bipolar disorder

Two main treatment options for bipolar disorder include medication, like the mood stabilizer lithium, and therapy.
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Two main treatment options for bipolar disorder include medication, like the mood stabilizer lithium, and therapy.

Around 40 million people around the world have bipolar disorder, which involves cyclical swings between moods: from depression to mania.

Kay Redfield Jamison is one of those people. She's also a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and has written extensively about the topic, from medical textbooks to personal memoirs. In fact, Jamison penned one of the first memoirs ever written by a medical doctor living with bipolar, An Unquiet Mind.

Today on Short Wave, she joins us to talk about the diagnosis process, treating and managing bipolar disorder.


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Got a question about mental health? Let us know at shortwave@npr.org.

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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Emily Kwong (she/her) is the reporter for NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast explores new discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, Monday through Friday.
Rachel Carlson
Rachel Carlson (she/her) is a production assistant at Short Wave, NPR's science podcast. She gets to do a bit of everything: researching, sourcing, writing, fact-checking and cutting episodes.
Rebecca Ramirez (she/her) is the founding producer of NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. It's a meditation in how to be a Swiss Army Knife, in that it involves a little of everything — background research, finding and booking sources, interviewing guests, writing, cutting the tape, editing, scoring ... you get the idea.