35 Year Old Mental Patient Discovers Potential Cure For Mood Disorder

(posted by ange written March 2)

From Albufeira, Portugal. A 35 year old Canadian woman believes she has found a CURE for Bipolar Disorder. While this is an unscientific, single subject study with no controls, she feels the results look extremely promising.

Ms. Simpson was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, a mental illness affecting a number of the population unknown to her at the moment (but it is significantly large). Bipolar Disorder is characterized by mood swings – manias, or highs and depressions, or lows. This is an extremely debilitating disorder, although it does not have to be with proper treatment and medical care. Many people find treatment quickly, stabilize and go on to lead relatively normal lives.

Unfortunately for Ms. Simpson, she is in small percentage of Bipolar patients that are “difficult to treat”. Diagnosed four years ago, Ms. Simpson is still working with her doctors to find a treatment that will work to provide her with long term stability. “I have tried so many different medications; I am beginning to lose count. Slowly I am running out of medications to try. We are beginning to look at unconventional treatment options,” says Ms. Simpson.

It is with all this in mind that she stumbled upon her own findings of a likely cure. Being unable to work, Ms. Simpson has the luxury of free time to plan long-stay vacations. After working hard to save what she could from her shamefully small disability benefit, and with donations from family, Ms. Simpson and her boyfriend booked a one month vacation to Portugal. While the excitement and planning of said trip caused a psychotic episode just prior to departure (and almost putting the whole trip at risk), arriving in Portugal seems to have provided the cure.

Since arriving in Portugal Ms. Simpson has felt excellent. She has had energy, her mood has been great, she sleeps well and she has genuinely been enjoying every moment of the day. She feels ecstatic to be in such a wonderful place.

Ms. Simpson believes the combination of leaving rainy Vancouver, coming to sunny Portugal, staying in a town where everyone is friendly, the scenery is beautiful, the beach is close by, the amount of walking is great, and the pace of life is slow have all worked together to cure her of her ailment. She recommends staying in an apartment with a pool, and spending a few hours each morning at said pool. A leisurely lunch should follow. The afternoon should be spent doing whatever you happen to feel like doing (i.e. a stroll on the beach; wandering through town) and same with the night (i.e. checking out bars, enjoying sangria on the patio). “Being away from it all, being here in this beautiful, sunny place where there are no cares and life is carefree… there is a sense of freedom and peace not found at home and I really believe this is the key to a happy mood,” Ms. Simpson says.

While she has not gone off her medication, she plans to submit her findings to her psychiatrist, along with a proposal to her disability insurer that such future trips be covered as a medical expense. She is also considering just sending for her things and recruiting other Bipolar patients so as to embark on a more scientific long term study: The Effects of Portugal on Mood in Bipolar Patients.