Bipolar Depression

Here's something that is often discussed when people with bipolar disorder get together. I'm not sure there's a definitive answer on this question, but I'm interested in everyone's opinion.

Is bipolar disorder a lifetime condition that cannot be "cured"? Obviously through therapy, or medication, or both, many of us can live a normal life if that's our desire. But can all of us? And is a cure possible?

being in the maintenance and reapir trade all of my life i have to say yes.in my field we learn how something works normaly,if there is a problem we start from the begining and trouble shoot till we find the part that stopped working and repair or replace it.now,ofcourse the human body is alot more comlicated,however the principal is still the same.its is a fact that chemical inbalace is the main problem.so figure out what part is causing the inbalace and fix it.repair the damaged nurotransmitters,set the chemical balace to the correct specs and Bp is gone.how that can be done...i have no idea.will it be discovered in our lifetime,who knows.modern medicine has come along way.just look at what can be done today vs 25 years ago.or 50 years ago.i think the biggest problem is docs know that meds and therapy can lessen the illnesses effects,so why spend alot of energy on a cure.i also believe that many more illnesses could be cured,but what would that do to the health care industry.just imagine if a single surgery or shot could cure BP.thnk of the billions of dollars that are spent each year on meds and therapy.that would stop.the poor pdocs couldn't afford the gas for their new corvett.if they only treat the symtoms they know you are coming back.many illnesses are treated this way."dont treat the cause,just the symptoms."
a memory loss pill would be nice also,i would lokk to forget certain memories from the last 18 years.

I think that mental health issues do not get the social attention that they need to promote the funding for research.

We are in an age when we see commercials for anti-depressants constantly. There is now a mood stabilizer one too, right? Geeesh.

Now, a hyper liberal would say that they are advertising depression and BP, but the reality is that the sales of psychotropic drugs will go down if a cure is found, so the chances of getting big money to find one is decreasing slowly.

Mental illness is trendy now, man. People think that they want to be like us.

I cure is possible, but not likely at this point.

I say they keep pushing the Chantix. Now THAT is a psychtropic medication that needs to be taken by more people! It is a miracle pill....for real.

The most important thing anyone can do for a man who may have depression is to help him get to a doctor for a diagnostic evaluation and treatment. depression medication

My first thought when I read this was "why would I want to be cured? As messed up as I am I like myself and changing that would change who I am."

That has opened a whole new line of thought for me.

Does anyone else feel this way?

In my humble opinion, there is no "cure" for Bipolar disorder, any more than there is a cure for MOST illnesses. There are, however, a vast number of treatment options that can decrease the potential negative outcomes of the illness.

Recovery, stability, enhanced quality of life- all of these are possible.

From what my doc and bp therapy group says, bp can be successfully managed, but not cured because of the lack of certain chemicals in our brains.
However, I'm thinking that in the future, a new drug can manage it better, or perhaps even surgery. However, I know of nothing new like that on the horizon.