[Nekorosu]

There isn't much of a difference between religion and psychology (I'm talking about applied one, psychotherapy). As far as I remember the only method coming from evidence-based medicine approach is CBT. Everything else is based on anecdotal evidence.

The problem of the article is that it ignores physiology which is evidently related to mental illnesses. A lot of illnesses have genetic factor.

I actually don't like calling inherited conditions illnesses. And I'm talking about anything including diabetes. You can't get sick with bi-polar disorder or diabetes. They're given from birth. You can't be completely cured and have to maintain yourself with medications for the rest of your life.

[krageon]

If you have the requisite genetic triggers, bipolar has only a chance of popping up. It's triggered by circumstances in your life that present significant stress/hardship.

Next to that, there are also plenty of people that manage to wean themselves off medication after they've been on it for a few years. It's not something you're necessarily stuck with for the rest of your life.

[Nekorosu]

I hope so. Have you got any links to read about first-hand experience of going off medications from a person with bipolar disorder?

[interfixus]

Yes you can. You can have all sorts of genetic dispositions, which may or may not express themselves depending to the lifestyle and environment they are up against.