A few days ago, I asked for your strategies for getting through the holidays. We have a few excellent points made by readers.

As a Certified Professional Coach for supporters in the bipolar community and the wife of a man with bipolar disorder the most important thing I do and recommend others to do is be prepared and learn from the past. If you know that certain situations or people spark the triggers of the illness than make the conscious choice to stay away. If they don't understand then they're not the kind of people you want to be around. You must love yourself and your partner above all others and keep "family guilt" out of the equation when deciding what to do and where to go for the holidays. from Kathleen

Share what you are doing to ameliorate holiday stress.

And happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating this U.S. holiday today. On this day of thanks, let me say thank you to each of you for giving of yourself in this community even in the midst of your own difficulties. Each of you make a difference in other people's lives every day. Kimberly

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It is perfectly normal to have days where you feel low and days when you are on top of the world. The emotional rise and fall of life is part of the human condition. So how can you tell when your experiences are normal and when they've pushed into the extremes of depression or mania associated with bipolar disorder? Should you consider scheduling an appointment to be evaluated by a psychiatrist? Consider three basic rules of thumb. ~Kimberly

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The holiday season is usually a stressful time for most people; it is even worse for those with mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder. However, there are ways to alleviate some of the anxiety surrounding the many events associated with the holidays. How do you manage the stressful festivities? What are your tips for surviving the holidays? ~Kimberly

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That's what the family of Michael J. Gibson is saying after a San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officer shoved him into a window of a train station, breaking the glass and injuring both. According to The Raw Story, Gibson has been charge with "felony battery of a police officer, obstructing and resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and public intoxication." Gibson's sister, however, says the officer was way out of line, and that her brother suffers from "bipolar disorder and schizophrenia."

The incident was caught by a passenger with a cell phone and the video posted on YouTube, where it gained widespread attention. (Warning: there is a lot of foul language in the video.)

It is plain from the video that Gibson was out of line, and that the officer could not have determined the man was mentally ill. Regardless, it appears to me that there was absolutely no reason for the officer to slam Gibson into the glass. And would the officer have treated Gibson differently if he had known about the man's mental illness? What do you think?
~Marcia

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