You Don't Know Crazy

By Mary Stanhope
Mental Illness - It Is My Turn Please, anyone who has been affected by someone they love that was or has recently been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder should read this book. It is from the inside view of the person with the diagnosis versus the person trying to deal with someone else having the behavioral health disease. There is nothing fun about it and if it is not caught early will be mislabeled as a troubled child, person or problem person.

Wambui Bahati basically goes through her life and lays it out on her sleeve for us as she starts from the beginning in her childhood and what she went through growing up. She went through multiple moves in her lifetime and dealt with racial issues during the timeframe when it was high on everyone's mind.

She was educated at New York University studying acting and even then was taking advantage of sexually. What people don't understand is people diagnosed with Bipolar are easy targets for drug, alcohol, sexual and physical abuse. Normally, they also fall in and out of depression easily and they have a hard time trying to find out who they are or constantly blame themselves and are unsure why they cannot make anyone happy.

It takes a strong person to live with someone diagnosed with Bipolar and vice versus. There will be many hospitalizations until medications and therapy find the right mix and the patient continues to take them or find something that works to allow then to get off the rocky road they are traveling. People with bipolar have ups and downs and some refer to them as peaks and valleys. When they hit a low or a valley it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It takes work, patience and lots of love.

As you read on you will see after her second marriage, she is finally able to have a family and is able to find some hope and comfort. After being misdiagnosed for so long at the age of 40 she is finally given the correct diagnosis and she was able to work with the natural remedies versus the harsher medications and moved forward. This in itself is a big challenge. "You Don't Know Crazy" is about a woman who is fighting the battle in her mind. In this case she is taking back control. She is one of the lucky ones; she had the support of the professionals, her family and her friends. To get an inside view of mental illness read this book it does not get any plainer than this.