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Susie Love Dows: captain of her ship
By SANDRA MUSGROVE, Contributing Writer
For more than 50 years, bipolar illness - called manic-depression in past decades - has been in my life. My husband, the father of four of my children, suffered the illness and died just into his 30s. My daughter, Jane, also has the illness - which may be inherited. She has battled this disease since she was diagnosed when she was about 30. With experience, perhaps tempered by age, it is managed most of the time.
Healthcare professionals estimate the frequency of this and other mental illnesses affects about 70 percent of the homeless.
Jane often says, “... but for close friends and family, I too might have become a street person.”
Without diagnosis, or medical assistance, and patient compliance aided by friends and family, self-medication often involves alcohol and/or drug use. Stigmas, often prompted by a lack of public knowledge, may result in bipolar individuals hiding, denying or failing to seek help for their illness. There does not exist a single, successful, long-term treatment for all bipolar people.
Rockport resident, Susie Love Dows was diagnosed as bipolar, the same as her father, when she was about 40. In the years I've known her, she's always been open about her illness, saying, “I think part of the reason God put me here is to educate others (about the illness).”
Born and reared with two siblings in and around Milwaukee, Susie is a “high-manic” bipolar individual.
She explained, “Throughout my life I've always multi-tasked simultaneously. Later in life, my activities consumed me, sometimes around the clock, for days.”
Susie married in college and has two daughters. One lives in Chicago, the other in Corpus Christi. Regularly they visit and travel together, sometimes with Susie's husband of 10 years, Richard.
After accumulating many credits at DePauw University, Susie earned her degree in education, minoring in arts, years later.
Mania is the dominant character of Susie's bipolar illness, while Jane is a rapid-cycling depressive, periodically falling “into a deep, black hole.” Though such characteristics exist in each, periodically, they swing to their opposite extremes - hence the term bipolar. Both women have often worked throughout their lives - predominantly in education and the arts.
Many bipolar persons hold jobs, often in the arts. Susie is an artist and Jane is an interior designer. Problems with management of the episodic quality of most bipolar individuals inhibits lifetime commitments to a single position - unless they own their business.
Successful treatment of bipolar disease is multi-pronged, regularly requiring adjustments. Medicines are always needed. Susie has long used lithium successfully, while Jane's regime is a mixture of available medicines which are constantly being developed. Typically, many bipolar people resist long-term medicines; almost part of the illness in bipolar depressives. Access to psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors are also essential for successful management and certainly informed family and friends provide “rocks” on which bipolar people rest, even during long terms of stability.
Access to funds and/or insurance are requisite for each of these resolutions, hence, a partial explanation of street-peoples' numbers. Often, with age, self-management becomes easier.
Susie said, “Within two days of any sleep-pattern changes, I seek help.”
Jane, about 12 years younger than Susie, is better today, but is well distant from acceptable self-management. Family and friends recognize symptoms, and alert others.
As Susie and I sat in her beautifully, color-filled home, accoutrements on walls, a bright pink ceiling, and other of Susie's artistic talents to be enjoyed, a massive barge passed, as it traversed the intracoastal in front of Susie's and Richard's home. A tug captain and crew guided the barge toward a distant destination. Sometimes smooth waters would be crossed. Other times serious weather would be faced. Susie commented, “They pass around the clock. We love them.”
It seems Susie's found the perfect spot to live her very full life.
Healthcare professionals estimate the frequency of this and other mental illnesses affects about 70 percent of the homeless.
Jane often says, “... but for close friends and family, I too might have become a street person.”
Without diagnosis, or medical assistance, and patient compliance aided by friends and family, self-medication often involves alcohol and/or drug use. Stigmas, often prompted by a lack of public knowledge, may result in bipolar individuals hiding, denying or failing to seek help for their illness. There does not exist a single, successful, long-term treatment for all bipolar people.
Rockport resident, Susie Love Dows was diagnosed as bipolar, the same as her father, when she was about 40. In the years I've known her, she's always been open about her illness, saying, “I think part of the reason God put me here is to educate others (about the illness).”
Born and reared with two siblings in and around Milwaukee, Susie is a “high-manic” bipolar individual.
She explained, “Throughout my life I've always multi-tasked simultaneously. Later in life, my activities consumed me, sometimes around the clock, for days.”
Susie married in college and has two daughters. One lives in Chicago, the other in Corpus Christi. Regularly they visit and travel together, sometimes with Susie's husband of 10 years, Richard.
After accumulating many credits at DePauw University, Susie earned her degree in education, minoring in arts, years later.
Mania is the dominant character of Susie's bipolar illness, while Jane is a rapid-cycling depressive, periodically falling “into a deep, black hole.” Though such characteristics exist in each, periodically, they swing to their opposite extremes - hence the term bipolar. Both women have often worked throughout their lives - predominantly in education and the arts.
Many bipolar persons hold jobs, often in the arts. Susie is an artist and Jane is an interior designer. Problems with management of the episodic quality of most bipolar individuals inhibits lifetime commitments to a single position - unless they own their business.
Successful treatment of bipolar disease is multi-pronged, regularly requiring adjustments. Medicines are always needed. Susie has long used lithium successfully, while Jane's regime is a mixture of available medicines which are constantly being developed. Typically, many bipolar people resist long-term medicines; almost part of the illness in bipolar depressives. Access to psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors are also essential for successful management and certainly informed family and friends provide “rocks” on which bipolar people rest, even during long terms of stability.
Access to funds and/or insurance are requisite for each of these resolutions, hence, a partial explanation of street-peoples' numbers. Often, with age, self-management becomes easier.
Susie said, “Within two days of any sleep-pattern changes, I seek help.”
Jane, about 12 years younger than Susie, is better today, but is well distant from acceptable self-management. Family and friends recognize symptoms, and alert others.
As Susie and I sat in her beautifully, color-filled home, accoutrements on walls, a bright pink ceiling, and other of Susie's artistic talents to be enjoyed, a massive barge passed, as it traversed the intracoastal in front of Susie's and Richard's home. A tug captain and crew guided the barge toward a distant destination. Sometimes smooth waters would be crossed. Other times serious weather would be faced. Susie commented, “They pass around the clock. We love them.”
It seems Susie's found the perfect spot to live her very full life.
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ZAGDA wrote on Feb 14, 2009 3:53 PM:
Instead of presenting this to the scientific world in a peer reviewed journal, these guys publish it in this book in an attempt to sway public opinion. I could go on as many of the statements in this article are misleading, or blatantly ludicrous. Suffice it to say, it looks to me like this book is much more about influencing public opinion than any scientific review of whether human activity is causing climate change.
It is sad some people will believe this as fact. "