Bipolar Advantage

The Bipolar Advantage is a completely unique approach to dealing with bipolar, depression, anxiety, ADHD, as well as a host of other so called «mental illnesses». BA is the outcome of its creator, Tom Wootton, who in 2002 was diagnosed with bipolar I. Wootton had always suspected that his perspective of the world, and his behaviors within in it were somehow different than many others, but it took his official diagnosis for Wootton to do the hard work needed to construct an effective way to live with bipolar disorder. He has written 2 books; The Bipolar Advantage, and The Depression Advantage. Both are exceptional in part because they don’t attempt to paint depression with an elegiac brush; instead, Wootton describes his experiences and behaviors with merciless and sincere detail.
As Wootton states on his website; «Our Mission is to help people with mental conditions shift their thinking and behavior so that they can lead extraordinary lives. We are dedicated to the concept that recovery does not have to be limited to 90% of full function; true recovery means doing the hard work that brings you to 150%! We strongly believe that we can turn our ‘condition’ into one that becomes an advantage instead of an ‘illness’ or a ‘disorder’.» And Wootton makes his belief a reality.
The Bipolar Advantage holds workshops for people who have any type of «mental illnesses». Through these workshops, Wootton, who has an IQ of 154, who taught accelerated learning to employees of Fortune 500 companies, who lived as a monk in a monastery for 2 years, who made a fortune in the
boom and then lost it all, teaches attendees the advantages of being bipolar.
Workshops are given by Wootton himself, as well as psychiatrists from UCSF, spiritual advisers, nutritionists, etc. The main message of these workshops is that bipolar disorder and depression, when understood and embraced, show those of us who have these conditions that we also possess enhanced mental capabilities, insights, and sensitivities, which we can recognize, exercise, and live the rich lives that require these capabilities.
Of course we continue to deal with depression and/​or mania, but with the tools provided by the Bipolar Advantage we can make these experiences not only survivable, but also 150% fruitful.
For example, I have been bipolar for as long as I can remember, but I wasn’t officially diagnosed until 2000. From that time on I followed the usual route of therapy and medication combined, which brought me to a whopping 40% functionality. I believed that I would live to this degree for the rest of my much too long and excruciatingly painful life.
But after attending my first two-​day Bipolar Advantage workshop in November of 2008, I learned how to use specific tools to help me reach that 150% functionality.
First of all this was the first time in my life I was in a room full of at least 50 people who all suffered from bipolar, depression, ADHD, and as we brainstormed about the symptoms of our conditions, I suddenly realized that I was not the only person in the world who did the «weird» and «crazy» things I did – here were 50 other people who did them all too! This in itself was transformational. And this happened within the 1^st 2 hours of the 2-​day workshop.
After this realization, I really began to learn that I can use my perspective of the world to my advantage, and that’s what I’ve been working on ever since.
Sure I still get depressed, and I get manic (and I’m always depressed even when manic), but now, instead of seeking to feel numb, I’m learning to allow myself to be bombarded with the multitude of feelings and thoughts that unpredictably rule the way I view the world.