Mental Health Update

When I was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder Mr. MFBA and I were equally ill-equipped to handle the new world that would become our lives. I painfully watched as he went through the stages of grief: denial, inward anger, outward anger, depression, and acceptance.

Despite the popular disgust for this treatment, ECT is still used in patients with psychiatric disorders that have not responded to other therapies, most commonly major depression and bipolar disorder.

Dan is more acerbic than Gordon Atkinson of Real Live Preacher (who wrestles with depression) and not as witty as the UK’s Mad Priest of Of Course I could be Wrong, who has also wrestled with mental health issues. As has yours truly.

Some studies have recently shown that inositol may acually help treat certain problems like bipolar disorder, depression, and panic disorder.

Unfortunately, the researchers or articles doesn’t even mention if medication may be a cause. Since many mood stabilizers are forms of salt and it is well researched that Hypernatremia {which is an abnormally high plasma concentration of sodium ions} causes brain shrinkage and that lithium can cause hypernatremia….

I think I mentioned before that Stephen (my boyfriend, or so it seems) suffers a malady of the mind. Before I even met him, he confessed he occasionally suffered from panic attacks. This didn’t bother me. As I got to know him, I realised his condition was a little more complicated than your garden variety anxiety: he is diagnosed with manic-depression, also known as bipolar disorder. We talked about it a lot and I told him that if ever he was having a rough time, a panic attack or anything, he should call me.

I met my friend, R., for breakfast. It was the second time I had seen her since she had walked out on her marriage in order to save herself from becoming even more mentally unstable than she already was. She told me this morning that she had to leave because she couldn't live the lie anymore...couldn't continue going on getting up every day and pretending everything was going to be alright. Since she left she's begun therapy with a new psychiatrist who has diagnosed her with bipolar disorder and she has begun the medication that is needed to help her put the pieces of her life back together again.

Ah, sleep. A good’s night sleep, for those of us fortunate enough to get it, is usually taken for granted and arguably a rather boring subject to think about. However, for those of us struggling with depression, bipolar or anxiety disorders, a good night's sleep is truly more precious than gold and as I’ve learned from studying psychology, and managing my own depression, extremely important to maintenance of mental health. I wanted to write about sleep because I feel that it is often overlooked in the treatment plan for people wanting to overcome mental illness.

Something that you should remember though, is that approaching other bipolars and asking if you’re crazy, can hurt them too. It smarts, partly because some of us have been in that position, and partly because that’s how some of the less knowledgeable members of society see bipolar disorder.

photographer and author marja bergen recently sent along this email. her thoughts on the topic of mental health in the community - in this case religious communities - are very important. i asked for her permission to reprint her letter here, and she graciously gave it.

Recently those more noticeable highs, when taken into consideration with the familiar lows, were diagnosed as bipolar II. I learned that bipolar is actually not as black-and-white as its manic-depressive origins would have us believe. It is a spectrum which, in my case, because I am not showing the extreme behaviours of the highest and lowest points, puts me at a bp II, perhaps III. I am beginning the appropriate medication changes.

I’m not sure where BPDs learn about boundaries, and this has me curious. See, I never even thought about boundaries until I started reading about BPD and learned that it was a very important thing. The only way to deal with a BPD person is to set “boundaries”. Imagine my surprise when I realized that “my BP” knew about boundaries and deliberately crossed mine.

in 2001 patrick kennedy admitted he has bipolar disorder, while he was in the company of tipper gore who has been very public about her depression. after crashing his mustang convertible into a capitol barricade in the middle of the night last month, mr. kennedy, was thrust into a clash between personal privacy and political beliefs. hours before he told the world he was checking himself back into the mayo clinic, he wrestled with going public. his advisers say he now views these incidents, as well as his addiction and bouts of binge drinking, through the prism of his bipolar disorder, a type of depression marked by extreme highs and lows. you can read the full story here.

I know a little something about the power of mood to disrupt a life. I suffered with bipolar disorder through my 20’s and early 30’s. Whether high or low, emotions dominated everything else. Rational thinking, relationships, commitments, all were vulnerable at any moment to being overturned or sabotaged by the overwhelming power of my moods.

Oh! Speaking of which, go to this page and click on “Watch a Brief Educational Video on Bipolar Disorder.” I laughed until I was in danger of dilocating something. Not because mental illness is funny–so please, NO HATE MAIL–but because this video is so far removed from my experience growing up with a manic depressive. Said video is, however, an excellent portrayal of my time as a speed freak.

Earlier that morning I had attended a series of lectures about the latest research findings in the treatment of bipolar depression. One of the speakers was Dr. Fred Goodwin, author of the textbook Manic Depressive Illness, and arguably the preeminent world authority on bipolar disorder. After the session I talked with Dr. Goodwin and asked him why they used a particular symptom scale in assessing severity of illness and treatment response. He agreed that the scale (called the MADRS) was inadequate, but he said it’s better than the scale that is most often used for recurring Major Depression (the HamD). I asked why not use the scale developed by Dr. Rush (the QIDS-C). Dr Rush is the director of research at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and one of the leading experts in mood disorders. Dr. Goodwin admitted that the QIDS-C would be better – since it includes excess sleep not just lack of sleep as a symptom and since it better assesses the more typical symptoms of bipolar depression like lack of energy and motivation. The problem is he said that the FDA likes the HamD scale. They compromise to allow the MADRS. I then asked “so why not use overall clinical improvement as the primary outcome instead?” Well the FDA prefers the HamD or the MADRS.

Drug Addiction And Mental Disorder: Right At Home In The DNC

Henninger makes a few salient points, most of which are about the new lack of repression that has come with the blogging age. Hell, I’m guilty of it myself; I’ve used this space for self-therapy more than once. Last night, in fact. If no one wants to read about my insanity, then there are plenty of other sites (and growing!) that they can surf instead of mine; and I’ve gotten some good feedback from both friends and strangers, not just about issues involving my bipolar disorder but my writing, my music, my life.

They have also actively worked to redefine or blur the definitions of recognized conditions so as to justify diagnosing them in more patients, thus increasing the potential market for their products, and have publicly advertised their products for conditions which affect small proportions of the population in order to create demand for medication for conditions - especially ones affecting children - that the public fears but does not understand, such as ADHD (by publicizing controversial treatments to parents and teachers) and bipolar disorder (through advertising literally intended to convince women that they are crazier than they or their psychiatrists believe).

As I’ve made clear elsewhere, I have Bipolar Disorder, also called Manic Depressive illness. The condition was diagnosed when I was twenty-six. (Most likely, the onset of symptoms came nine years earlier.) I have never attempted to hide the disorder from friends and work associates and I have been “out of the closet” — in the sense aknowledging it to whoever stumbles upon my blog(s) — for about a year. The candor is a little uncomfortable at times but I’d feel craven if I did anything else. “If,” I’ve written, “a tenured professor cannot summon the modest courage required [to be upfront about having Bipolar Disorder], then I don’t know who could reasonably be asked.”

Similarly, when a married woman suffers from mental diseases like schizoprenia, bipolar disorder, it creates problems and conflicts in her marital relations. When such a girl commits suicide(even at the residence of her own parents), a dowry case against the husband is filed promptly. A woman who may have an affair(la hum dil de chuke sanam), may commit suicide as she is not interested in conjugal relations with her husband and her parents are against her. In that state of “nowhere”, she commits suicide and a dowry death case is promptly registered.

I’ve tried to eliminate jealousy from my life. I’ve had such a battle with it in the past that it could have easily torn Melissa and I apart before we ever got started. Fortunate side-effect of self-therapy for bipolar disorder #6: you learn to recognize the irrational thoughts and behaviors in your life, and to maybe take a few moments before acting to let your rational mind take the reins again. I think that’s how I’ve learned to spot the difference between a third party who is totally out of mine and my significant other’s control, and the sort of valid and rational jeaousy (which I think is better described as behavior that signals a bad or unhealthy (for me, at least) relationship.

When I mailed the letter, I had an appointment with my psychiatrist, but I hadn’t gone yet. After I got home from the psychiatrist that day, I was freaked out and as white as a ghost because the only connection I had to the bipolar disorder was my friend Giles, who when he went into mania he would stay up for two or three days at a clip and he would talk a mile a minute. I sincerely thought that’s what would start happening to me, so I called Angela on the phone. I asked her if she’d read the letter I’d sent. It was on her dining room table, but she hadn’t opened it because she was afraid.

In a previous post I mentioned that I have bipolar II disorder and that is part of the reason that we decided not to parent. A reader asked if I thought that bipolar disorder should preclude any woman from parenting.

I forgot to mention, my psychiatrist (as well as my GP) thinks that bipolar disorder is caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, and she thinks that one day there will be drugs that will sort it out completely. Food for thought for all the people who try to tell people like me that bipolar disorder is due to weakness, wickedness, or any other daft idea - and believe me I’ve heard them all.

Many people with manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder, are living happy and fulfilling lives. How do they manage to stay well? Contributors to this book discuss many different ways to stay well. It is rarely just about seeing a psychiatrist and taking prescribed medication. It is often about so much more.

Hey there, many members of my family have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, including myself, and I aint ashamed. Sometimes I wake up feeling like a pretty flower hugging a rainbow, other times I wake up feeling like Chuck Norris after watching his own movies. Hmm... bad example, because I like Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris' tears can cure cancer, too bad he never cries.

I am now finished with my appointment and my fears are confirmed- a blessing and a relief. My doctor thinks I fit the Bipolar II description very well, and prescribes a mood stabilizer in addition to the medicine I’m already taking. Though I don’t like the thought of the diagnosis, I’m very optimistic about the treatment. The medicine I’m taking, Lamictal, is known for being very effective without weight gain, which is a side effect of most mood stabilizers. Additionally, this is a medication that can be used both in the treatment of bipolar disorder, but depression as well… so therefore even if the diagnosis doesn’t fit every one of my criteria, it is the equivalent of a broad-spectrum antibiotic… I should get some relief soon.

paula wrote: i want to share with you something that my therapist gave me last year. it's a brief text by kay redfield jamison, who is a psychiatrist who is also bipolar. here's the text:.

There is a fundamental, archetypal type of brain architecture that results in swings between poles in relation to moods, personality traits and capabilities. Someone with this architecture is a “polarite”. Brain polarity has something to do with erratic function of NMDA receptors. Polarity underlies some “mental illnesses” like bipolar disorder, hyperfocus/hypofocus in ADD, etc, which are usually polarity subject to stress.

I know a lot of what I write about my mother here may seem pretty harsh. Well, it is harsh, but it’s true, and this is the only place I have to vent my frustrations. Dealing with a loved one who suffers from bipolar disorder, or any mental illness for that matter, is most difficult. So please, as you read posts about my mother, understand that I do love her very much and I do appreciate the good things she has tried to do for me and my brothers in our lives. In the spirit of this post, allow me to tell you a few of the good any amusing things about my mother.

Researchers have found a gene that correlates with bipolar disorder. When I first heard, I thought I’d have to rant about neurovariant genocide / eugenics, but then I read further. (Can’t find the original anywhere so I’m piecing it together from different articles - all of which are appalling. The SMH was actually better than New Scientist.)

In addition to the lack of medication, travel and sleep disruptions can aggravate bipolar disorders, but the resulting behavior is rarely a danger to others. Unfortunately, in this tragedy of errors, a man lost his life.

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is the predominant water channel in the mammalian brain and an important drug target for treatment of cerebral edema, bipolar disorder and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. We determined the AQP4 structure by electron crystallography of double-layered, two-dimensional (2D) crystals.

Harriet had some serious bullying issues at school, mostly relating to her personality. I always knew something was quite 'right' with her and it took until last year when she was 17 to get a diagnosis that she did indeed suffer from bipolar disorder. But we had to live with her self harming and other impulsive behavour. No help from hubby here.

The reasons for not telling people are both simple and complex. The simple answer is that I feel like it’s none of anyone’s damn business. But the complex answer is tied up in that stigma I mentioned. People to this day think of mental illness like BiPolar (or manic depression if you will) as some sort of mental defect, or even worse something that is all in my head, like I have the capacity to control it with my will. When people think like that it is as if people who have BiPolar are not able to function normally. It’s as if people think I’m not capable of acting rationally. I really don’t need to have people feeling that way about me. It’s a hard enough struggle without that added bonus.

This is part two of the post about dealing with bipolar disorder.

This blog entry is not news, but rather an idea I have been nursing. I am interested in exploring the connection between a “fantasy-prone personality” and mental illness. I believe that a major study on such connection will greatly benefit persons with mental illness and further enhance the treatments and knowledge of such disorders as autism, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorder.

1. Never Give Up Hope: There is one piece of advice for anyone who loves someone with bipolar disorder – keep the faith and never give up.

I swear, cars DO have personalities, and somehow mine inherited my bipolar disorder! I once thought Hondas were supposed to be the bastion of reliability and economy, but this thing is a hunk of JUNK. It’s taking every fiber of my being NOT to run out and go MacGyver on this thing and make an oversized toaster out of it. Cars SUCK. Period. Exclamation point. Whatever kind of punctuation you want to put at the end of that sentence.

I have this aversion to the furniture being moved around. People often think that’s weird, but I’ve figured out that, for me, it’s perfectly valid. When I was little (too young to understand bipolar disorder), my mom would “go crazy” regularly and move all the furniture around. She’d arrange it in the oddest fashion, too. All the chairs would be facing each other in a big circle, almost as if she planned on lots of imaginary guests. Well, that was always my first clue that it would be to my advantage to lay low for a week or two - you know, hide in the closet or climb a tree and stay there. I did a lot of hiding when I was small. It always seemed like those times where when she would say very hurtful things in a matter-of-fact way, like she had been saving them up for a long spell.

If you were to know me you would agree that I am just a little bit off center. I used to hate that in myself, but now I wear my ecentric behavior as a badge of honor. You see, in 1998 I was diagnosed with maniac depression, in today's medical lingo--bipolar disorder. I still struggle with the effect it has on my life, but I also would not want the prism that I view my world removed. The maniacal view I see this world through has had a profound impact on me and those I love. Not always in positive ways. However, I can honestly say I have learned from, grown from and come to value the painful experiences in my life so that I more readily cherish the simple and beautiful facets of my life. Most importantly, I have learned the true meaning and value of love.

For some reason my week has gone by with too many mentions of “Bipolar Disorder”. I’ve been having thoughts that it is very possible that I suffer from Bipolar Disorder. Here’s some random research that might shed some light on the subject, and prove whether I am bipolar or not.

What was tragic? Donny’s guest was Jane Pauley who was flogging her new book, Out of the Blue. Jane is the epitome of a media personality, having anchored the Today Show with Tom Brokaw and Bryant Gumbel, and having earned many broadcast awards. Jane is also a promoter of psychiatry. She admitted to having developed “hypomanic” (milder than full-blown mania) symptoms on an antidepressant. At the time, she explained, her mind and thoughts were racing and she couldn’t control them. But then she added that of course the drug didn’t make her become manic; the drug just “brought out” her underlying or pre-existing bipolar disorder.

As harsh as that sounds, it rings true. Event though when I upset her it is like getting my back/bikini area waxed, it hurts, it tears me up. I just do not understand why I do it with her, and/or with anyone else. It seems like it’s my bipolar disorder, but that’s just an easy scape-goat, I cannot use that forever and ever. I need to become the man I need to be, and stop doing all this stupid stuff. Easier said then done at this point.

People with the condition swing between bouts of severe depression and periods of manic euphoria. Treating the symptoms and enhancing quality of life has been one of the challenges for this disorder.

Well, my mom has been diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder for the second time in 15 years, which is a worrisome thing. I went out and did a bit of research on the topic and found a nice little packet of information.

I’m single and looking to date. Although I view myself as a healthy person, most people shriek with fear if I reveal that I have a secret life; yes bipolar disorder is my secret. Shah.

i felt what it was like to have bipolar disorder for like 6 months and it was terrible. bc people who are bipolar are dealing with it their whole life, even if they are on the right medication. it's more treatable than like schizophrenia or ocd, but i can't imagine being bipolar and having to deal with that all the time. i don't think i'm a psychologist, btw. i could be saying inaccurate things bc i'm just saying what i think or remember is right. we watched a video about schizophrenia in psychology class and it basically talked about how debilitating it is and how severe it is. one was about child-onset and it was really sad bc the kids were like 8 and were schizophrenic. usually u don't get it until like 18. the girl in our class told us that her cousin used to do a lot of drugs and that he became schizophrenic, basically ruined his life, and she said they don't want to talk to him bc he'll call and leave all these crazy messages. it's really kind of weird.

I wrote two weeks ago about the powerful piece by Bernie Sheahan about her struggle with bipolar disorder and how that struggle will be infinitely compounded when her TennCare coverage is cut off.

But back to the question, “what was her motive"? She obviously avoided the wedding. We did learn that she had backed out of another engagement with little explanation some time in the past. We also learned that she had been arrested on occasions for shoplifting. In my clinical experience shoplifting is often associated with bipolar disorder. It is a way of stimulating excitement to either help fight depression or fan the flames of hypomania.

Two-thirds of people who have bipolar disorder are able to hold a job despite the disruptive mood disorder, according to a new Canadian study.

One such medication used to treat the symptoms of migraine may also chill hot flashes. The drug, called Neurontin, is approved by the FDA to control epileptic seizures and is also used to treat bipolar disorder as well as some social phobia disorders. In the June 2000 issue of Neurology, Thomas J. Guttoso Jr., MD, studied the effect of Neurontin on a handful of patients and found that the drug "reduced the frequency of hot flashes by about 87%" in the six patients he studied.

I love my family. Despite all the tangles bipolar disorder and sundry other issues love to throw in our way, there’s so much love and happiness here in the nooks and crannies of our lives.

I’ve got any number of health-related problems, bipolar disorder and diabetes among them, and three kids, all of whom have special needs of one sort or another. Two are bipolar, and one is on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum. Life is a raging torrent of unpredictable demands, loud noises, constant interruptions, shifting moods, and energy drains. At any moment, I could be eaten by a grue.

Ignoring such disabilities is, of course, fairly standard: anyone who was shocked - shocked! -- by yesterday's Times piece, hasn't known anyone even contacted by a military recruiter. A young man with bipolar disorder, almost shipped out of a psych ward, might have been a buddy to Lynndie, but for his parents:

The parents say they went back twice more after the recruiters failed to return their calls. At their urging, their congressmen in early October finally learned that the recruiters had indeed enlisted their son. Days before he was scheduled to ship out, the young man was disqualified only after the father told the commander of the regional processing station about his illness.

No one knows right now if Jennifer is mentally ill; the kind of psychotic break I know people with bipolar disorder can suffer when in the throes of a florid manic episode might apply here. Or perhaps she's just childish and selfish, completely unaware of the shitstorm she set off. As more than one Duluth resident said on the local news here in the Atlanta area; "She could have called someone, even one of the bridesmaids..."

Not for parenting. Manic dperessives often relate their mood swings to the swinging of a pendulum, back and forth. But really, bipolar disorder is less a pendulum (although I guess it is when you aren't in treatment of some sort) and more like a teeter totter. At least in my experience. On the one side you have events that contribute to depression and related emotional downs. On the other, you have events that contribute to mania and related upswings. A lot of our time is spent trying to balance the beam. Some people use medication, some people try to moderate lifestyle, some of it is natural but ultimately the goal is to get the beam into equilibrium and alternately keep from flying off or crashing to the ground.

I am also keenly aware that there is a high probability that my son will suffer from depression in his life. High because of my own bipolar disorder. I think back to my time in high school and I resolve to be more of a parent than my own parents were, to be involved, and to not let my son suffer in silence. But I think about the day I went looking for my father's gun and I know the real reason I will never keep a gun in the house.

Everyone knows entrepreneurs are a little crazy, and a new book claims it's both genetic and very American. In The Hypomanic Edge : The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America, author John D. Gartner claims that the personality traits that define entrepreneurial overachievers, like exceptional energy reserves, gut-instinct decision making, and an affinity for taking risks, are symptoms of hypomania, a psychiatric cousin of bipolar disorder. Gartner suggests the U.S. leads in churning out entrepreneurs because this is a...

“If you have been treated for mood, anxiety, or other psychological disorders, including panic attacks, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc. be prepared for a regression with many symptoms resurfacing after about a month in your host country…. This regression is due to the extra stress of living and working abroad.”

Researcher Dr. Sarah Russell has written a book called A lifelong journey: Staying well with manic depression and bipolar disorder, which gives a positive take on mental illness thanks to her own experiences and those of the many people she has interviewed.

It could be said that this book began in 1979 when Sarah was diagnosed with manic depression (“The word bipolar disorder wasn’t around when I was diagnosed,” she says.).

I’m working on a playlist for my party next Friday. Things are going okay with it, a lot of obstacles in my way of having the party, but it’ll go on! I started taking Depakote for bipolar disorder, and it might be working. Might because it could be a placebo, I don’t know. I’m in a clinical research study. I get my blood tested every week, and they just upped my dosage today to 1500mg! I got $5 Burger King coupons, a $10 Target gift card, a shirt, and more medicine.

Since 1998, Jayne and Abdelfatah "Ed" Elebiari owned a condominium at the Auburn Woods I complex. Seven years before their condo purchase, Ed was in a serious car accident and suffered brain damage that required three surgeries. He is hydrocephalic, has a seizure disorder, severe headaches, and suffers from depression.

His psychiatrist also diagnosed him as having bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Ed's doctor considers him to be permanently disabled and incapable of working.

Ed's wife Jayne also suffered from depression. Her condition was diagnosed as "major depression, recurrent" with depression episodes lasting from nine months to a year.

According to researchers at Columbia University in New York, in their report, Lyme disease: a neuropsychiatric illness, they state that “A broad range of psychiatric reactions have been associated with Lyme disease including paranoia, dementia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, major depression, anorexia nervosa, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depressive states among patients with late Lyme disease are fairly common,...

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and collaborating institutions found altered nerve cell function in olfactory receptor neurons – those that transmit smell – in patients with bipolar disorder. Because these cells share many characteristics with nerve cells in the brain, making these smell cells useful models for studying the neural effects of brain disorders that affect thoughts and emotions. See Olfactory receptor cells may provide clues to psychiatric...

Normally, you would expect that should a bipolar person go off of his medication, the bipolar symptoms would come up. Bipolar Disorder is an illness that you have to continue to treat, even when you are feeling well.

. . . A Tired Girl may suffer from migraines or depression or chronic fatigue syndrome (now called CFIDS) or fibromyalgia or bipolar disorder or the persistent, mixed-headache syndrome called chronic daily headache (CDH), which is Kamen's diagnosis. It's quite possible she has more than one of these conditions; scientists are now inclined to believe that these ailments (along with epilepsy and other seizure disorders) are related at the neurological level, and people who suffer from one are exceptionally likely to have the others.

Smell cell receptors within the nose are giving researchers vital clues to bipolar disorder that might someday improve treatment for the condition.

“A major issue in treating bipolar disorder – or psychiatric disorders in general – is that it is hard to predict which medication a patient will respond to. So, clinicians go through a series of trials and errors, and the patient suffers until the right medication is found,” lead author Dr. Chang-Gyu Hahn, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.

Individuals with bipolar disorder have an average of 30% more of a vital class of signal-sending brain cells, according to new data. This discovery strengthens the hypothesis that the disorder has inescapable genetic and biologic origins, and may clarify why it runs in families.

While lithium treatment has proved to be a godsend for many of the 2 million Americans with bipolar disorder, it is not without its downside. People on the drug may develop hypothyroidism, tremors, cognitive impairment and excessive thirst, urination and gain weight.

The atypical antipsychotics fall into three drug classes based on their chemical structure. Because the increase in mortality was seen with atypical antipsychotic medications in all three chemical classes, the Agency has concluded that the effect is probably related to the common pharmacologic effects of all atypical antipsychotic medications, including those that have not been systematically studied in the dementia population. In addition to the drugs that were studied, the atypical antipsychotic medications include clozapine (Clozaril) and ziprasidone...

I mean this guy did not know me from Adam. Adam...Adams�get it? Sometimes I just kill me. Literally. Like that time in college with the pills, the rope, the roof and the tube from my car exhaust. Talk about overkill. Oh, did you know that when you take Depakote, your bipolar disorder calms down really a whole, whole lot, and you focus much better? (Ooh, is that a puppy outside the window?) Hold on a sec.