Beyond the Bipolar Label: A Workbook to Overcome Self-stigma, Break Free from Shame and Live Authentically

You are more than your bipolar disorder. Cultivate self-worth, reclaim your identity, and live fully with this innovative and proven-effective workbook.

If you have bipolar, you may experience painful self-stigma that is driven by others’ opinions, discrimination, and your own life experiences. Self-stigma can affect your self-esteem, relationships, and work―and can lead to more emotional distress and even trigger future episodes. So, how can you move past the shame and negative self-talk that stand between you and lasting recovery?

Written with deep warmth by an expert in bipolar―who lives with bipolar herself―and based on her Overcoming Self-Stigma in Bipolar Disorder program, this step-by-step workbook offers innovative, proven-effective, and empowering tools to help you increase your well-being and sense of self. You’ll learn to challenge negative messages about what it means to have bipolar, humanize your mental health struggles, and cultivate unwavering self-compassion and self-acceptance. Most importantly, you’ll come to understand that you are so much more than your diagnosis.

Discover validating activities and skills to:

• Unmask shame and reclaim your identity 
• Replace negative thinking patterns 
• Navigate talking to others about your bipolar 
• Improve your confidence 
   

Bipolar is a part of your life experience, but it doesn’t have to define who you are. If you’re ready to move beyond the pain of self-stigma, reclaim your self-worth, balance your moods, and live your best life, this workbook can help guide you, step by step.

Andrea B. Vassilev, PsyD, is a clinician, academic, and advocate who has lived with bipolar for nearly thirty years. Vassilev is the creator of Overcoming Self-Stigma in Bipolar Disorder, the first program of its kind, which is now being implemented worldwide.

An award-winning advocate, Vassilev collaborates with major outlets and organizations across the globe to speak and write on her unique mix of clinical and personal expertise in an effort to increase knowledge and combat stigma.

Vassilev serves on the board of directors for the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, as well as on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

Vassilev is a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in bipolar and cooccurring disorders, and sees clients across California.

Foreword writer Devika Bhushan, MD, is a pediatrician, public health leader, author, and keynote speaker on a mission to drive health innovation, equity, and resilience. Her clinical, research, and policy expertise spans health innovation, trauma-informed systems, stress and resilience, mental health, and gender and health equity. Bhushan’s insights have been featured in mainstream outlets like NBC, NPR, Slate, Rolling Stone, Sesame Workshop, Yahoo, Teen Vogue, and The Los Angeles Times, and in peer-reviewed publications like The Lancet, JAMA, and Pediatrics.