From my perspective this movie helps one to consider the possibility that we as a society may not be managing mental health related concerns in the most effective manner but may actually be creating more problems in the long run by labelling people and over prescribing medications rather than dealing with what's at the heart of most, if not all, psychiatric conditions; trauma. Medications were never intended to be used as a long term solution but as an aid as one works on what brought on the symptoms to begin with. Lithium is not only addictive but can cause liver damage within 10 years of first starting on the medications, as is the case with most anti-psychotic and mood altering medications. So if there are other possible ways to resolve and heal from trauma that are not going to cause further damage to the body and result in addictions why not incorporate it into someone care plan as a first line of treatment?
8 Reviews
Leading people down a bad path
rockchalk-1788116 March 2019
As a person who is bipolar and takes lithium this documentary can be misleading. If you have a good dr who does the proper procedures and get regular blood work lithium can be controlled. I have been safely treated for 20 years and this drug has saved my life. Not all drugs work the same with every person. Not being medicated and being bipolar is a dangerous thing.
Potential danger to suffers
katiegathright10 October 2019
I must say that when I came upon this movie I was curious. I struggled for 20 years with acceptance of my illness. When I finally made the decision to start medication on a consistent basis, my life changed. I would never in a million years go back to being unmedicated. In my experience, going off of my medication leads to a downward spiral very quickly. And unlike what I found depicted in this film, it leads to serious symptoms. And it can take quite a bit of work to become balanced again. I was appalled by some of the comments made by individuals in film. One woman going as far as to say it is a spiritual issue. Clearly she has never suffered from mental illness. I feel that this film could be very dangerous for individuals that struggle with maintaining their health and balance. I thank God everyday for modern medicine, to think where I would be spending my life in a different century makes me shudder.
Not for everyone
l_moverin15 July 2019
I guess what disturbs me about this story can't actually be extrapolated for people who actually have bipolar. This is a tale of someone who was misdiagnosed detoxing from lithium and gradually learning to meet their own emotions and inner selves. Along the way it picks up many of the themes of the anti pharma movement. The thing is if you really do have bipolar medication is one of your best options combined with other therapies. To put the development and use of lithium in perspective I recommend the documentary Troubled Minds about John Cade. I feel a lot of compassion for Ross and what he goes through but I wonder how much of it is about the drug and how much is about what it is simply like to have to carry the label of mental illness in this society. People who really have bipolar still need effective treatments.
No one in this film has bipolar
adium9 May 2020
The very end of the film the main subject of this film is re-diagnosed as having PTSD and never actually being bipolar. Which makes spending an entire film talking about how he has been living with bipolar misleading for anyone looking for answers on bipolar disorder.
Misleading disinformation.
ckelly_j8 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Spoiler Alert
Turns out in the end the subject of this documentary does not even have bipolar disorder, he has PTSD. In the first 10 minutes he talks about detoxing from lithium and how dangerous it is. Lithium carbonate is a salt, it is not addictive and no, you don't have to go to an expensive fancy clinic in Costa Rica to detox from it. It can be dangerous to stop taking certain medications suddenly when a patient has BD, but lithium is probably the safest drug in the regard that it doesn't cause horrible withdrawal. Anti-psychotics, anti-convulsives, benzodiazepines are totally another matter and yup, stopping those unsupervised could turn out real bad. So right off the bat, I know this film is NOT an accurate portrayal of what rethinking bipolar disorder is. Please, don't waste your time.
Turns out in the end the subject of this documentary does not even have bipolar disorder, he has PTSD. In the first 10 minutes he talks about detoxing from lithium and how dangerous it is. Lithium carbonate is a salt, it is not addictive and no, you don't have to go to an expensive fancy clinic in Costa Rica to detox from it. It can be dangerous to stop taking certain medications suddenly when a patient has BD, but lithium is probably the safest drug in the regard that it doesn't cause horrible withdrawal. Anti-psychotics, anti-convulsives, benzodiazepines are totally another matter and yup, stopping those unsupervised could turn out real bad. So right off the bat, I know this film is NOT an accurate portrayal of what rethinking bipolar disorder is. Please, don't waste your time.
Well told story...sadly it veers into fringe territory
kiwibc18 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I was looking forward to understanding the perspective of someone with bipolar..sadly there wasn't an in depth coverage of the different perspectives and views. It was just a 'medication bad, alternative treatments are the way forward'. If I've learnt anything in life its a) People will seek information that conforms to their views as they don't like cognitive dissonance in this case he didn't like either the label of bipolar or perhaps the side effects of lithium. B)Even though life is complex people like to have a simple cause and effect, starting with a hypothesis and finding supporting info to validate which in this day in age can mean the earth is flat to aliens are walking amongst or in this case an over dominating dad caused it i.e. PTSD not bipolar. If that was the case good for him he got a correct diagnosis in the end but what about others that had this occur and didn't? Is there a genetic factor? Is it something else? It could have been a different message conveyed rather than if you have bipolar you don't it's PTSD so go see a shaman and do yoga...
I still think he was manic
funndsunxoxo4 February 2020
He wanted to give all his money to homeless, he was talking super fast and he thought he could fly off the Empire State Building. Yeah he was going through a bipolar manic phase. It kicks in at that young age. Did he get effective medical treatment? Does anyone really? Most get pills and a label and no real follow up. I like how he explored other things but did they really change the outcome or was it time, getting older and taking care of himself that did it? I still believe he was bipolar when young.
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