Chapter 6, Treatments That Work Summary and Analysis

Lithium is a natural mineral that is found in rock. It was discovered to cause a calming affect in people who would visit natural springs that contained this mineral. Later, a doctor in Melbourne gave lithium to guinea pigs in an experiment to test a theory that urea caused mania and instead found that lithium calmed these manic highs. No one knows why this is true, although there are many theories. Lithium has become the standard treatment for manic depressive illness because it offers a treatment for the symptoms of the illness without harsh side effects as long as the medication is taken as prescribed. There are some minor side effects, including weight gain and tremors, but most of these will subside within a few weeks of beginning treatment. It is vitally important, however, that...