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Andy Behrman, the author of Electroboy, one of the hottest books on mental illness, soon to be a feature film, is, like many of us, a survivor of mental illness and a voice of sanity and hope for everyone suffering from manic depression. Andy is on a crusade to guide people with mental illness who falter along the way back to happy and productive lives. Andy, who wound up in jail and then house arrest during his years of partying too hard, has now become stable enough to be able to give a great deal back to our community. He tours the world in support of his crusade. Still on the medications Geodon and Depakote, Andy encourages, in addition to medication, a variety of healing treatments on the way to recovery.

Electroboy, Andy's memoir on mania, is an intense and candid account of how mental illness can take us to the brink of destruction and how Andy managed to survive with all the pain and confusion of falling ill. The book concludes on rather unsure footing with mental illness still being a largely incurable mystery and most people, at best, being brought to relative stability by sometimes random cocktails of medications. There are many success stories and this is what we must focus on. The harsh reality that Andy knows very well from experience is that medications are often experimental and the psychiatrists are often taking a gamble on what works.

Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT), from where Andy derives his book's title, is a risky and often premature procedure, most consumers and doctors still not knowing why it sometimes helps or sometimes hinders. Andy and I both agreed during our interview that we both would not have jumped into ECT knowing what we do now if we had to do it all over again. Andy believes that ECT is only necessary if the patient is at "death's door," which may not be the case with many people who are given ECT. Impatient to get well, some consumers resort to ECT. "Anything but ECT," Andy said. "I should have held out a bit longer." Andy personally believes there should be boards and commissions that come in to monitor doctors' work and patients' recovery from ECT. This seems like a necessary improvement that would allay many fears.

Andy's response to the speed of progress in the treatment of mental illnesses was that better treatment and better medications exist and that in ten years it's going to be "a different ballgame" with fewer stigmas attached to mental illness. However, Andy also recommends natural healing and wishes he had explored that more when he was in crisis. Andy pointed to "sacred sound therapy" that he gets from a guru, swimming laps for exercise, herbs, massage, acupuncture, and various other spiritual treatments as supplemental treatments.

Andy will remain on his medication but agrees with a common though somewhat unpopular point of view that doctors will give patients "anything" to get them better, that it's "very random and that's frightening." Andy knows very well that the right cocktail of medication ultimately saved his life even though he had some trouble with them at first. Since the ECT and natural healing methods, Andy takes his medication on a regular basis and knows how important it is for his recovery.

The future of medications is still unraveling before our eyes and it is very much a waiting game. New and better medications are always coming out or waiting for FDA approval. Many people will still suffer during this wait, but we have important crusaders and advocates like Andy Behrman, carrying messages of hope and survival that can be just as important as any ECT treatment or medication. It bodes well that there are people like Andy "Electroboy" Behrman on our side, people who can experience anything adversarial and life-threatening and live to tell the story. Find the right medications, seek new treatments, and choose a doctor who seems honest and forthcoming. These are all things that Andy would agree are essential to making it through the long, dark tunnel of mental illness. Hold on to the intangibles as well, like faith and hope. We're still in the Dark Ages in many ways. New technology and medications are on their way-many positive changes are taking place. This is a war you can win. Andy Behrman has been there and back. It takes a lot, but that's what you must expect on this journey of recovery and restoration. Keep going.