Head First

Mar 22, 2019

★ 7.0

Survival Guide for Bipolar Disorder

Overview

Director Mathieu Arsenault and two other sufferers of bipolar disorder tell the story of their journey into mental illness and back, while the partners and family members who helped them through it tell the story as they experienced it.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

InformAction Films

Head First Trailers

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Cast

No Cast found.

Faced with the challenging behaviour of their kids, more and more parents in America are turning to psychoactive medication to help them cope, even though the drugs, and sometimes the diagnoses, remain controversial. Louis travels to one of America's leading children's psychiatric treatment centres, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to get to know the diagnosed children and hoping to understand what drives parents to put their kids on drugs.

7.0

The Hero's Journey to the Third Pole

Sep 24, 2020

Part road movie, part musical, part serious inquiry into the caverns of the mind. Þriðji pólinn follows Anna Tara Edwards, an Icelander raised in Nepal, and legendary musician Högni Egilsson, as they journey to Anna’s childhood home in the mountain jungles to explore the afflictions and superpowers that come with bipolar disorder.

8.3

Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace

Feb 2, 1972

A shocking exposé of the deplorable conditions and abuses from the Willowbrook State School for children with intellectual disabilities.

6.3

The Not So Secret Life of the Manic Depressive: 10 Years On

Feb 15, 2016

Ten years ago, in an award-winning series, Stephen Fry first spoke about living with manic depression and began a national conversation about mental health. A decade later, we return to the subject to understand where he and thousands of others diagnosed with bipolar (as it is now called) are now.

8.0

Männer und Depression: Das stumme Leiden

Oct 6, 2025

Why are men two or even three times less likely than women to be diagnosed with depression? Why are the figures reversed between the sexes in suicide statistics—some 47,000 people in Europe each year, more than three-quarters of whom are men? In men, the signs may differ from those generally identified with depression: anger rather than sadness, hyperactivity (at work or in sports) rather than asthenia, antisocial or addictive behavior, greater difficulty in asking for help due to modesty or shame, etc. But whatever form it takes, mental suffering is still often overlooked by those affected, misdiagnosed by many practitioners, and therefore generally underestimated.

8.0

SOS jeunesse en détresse

Oct 10, 2025

Today in France, one in five young people suffers from severe depressive symptoms, and the number of minors visiting psychiatric emergency rooms has tripled in the last five years. Despite the political will that has been demonstrated, child psychiatry is nevertheless faced with a severe lack of resources. The interminable waiting times for treatment are causing a surge in prescriptions for psychotropic drugs.

0.0

Beyond Silence

Feb 22, 2017

The lives of Jeff, Lauren and Lloyd—three very different people who share one common experience—have been transformed by speaking up for mental health. These inspiring stories depict what mental health in America really looks like and highlights just how important it is to speak up and seek help.

7.2

Framing Britney Spears

Feb 5, 2021

Her rise was a global phenomenon. Her downfall was a cruel national sport. People close to Britney Spears and lawyers tied to her conservatorship now reassess her career as she battles her father in court over who should control her life.

0.0

Chameleons

Nov 30, 2022

No overview available.

10.0

Trust Me

May 1, 2024

Animated short documentary following a young woman's diagnosis of bipolar: a journey of self-acceptance to challenge everyday stigma. In "Trust Me", a genre-bending short documentary, a young woman uses humour and compassion to share her moving and deeply personal story of coming to terms with her mental health condition. When she starts exhibiting atypical and extreme behaviour, her loved ones trick her into hospitalisation against her will. She is diagnosed with bipolar disorder which starts her challenging journey of self-acceptance, confronting internalised and societal stigma, and learning to trust herself and others again.

7.8

Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy

Oct 18, 2018

Crownsville Hospital: From Lunacy to Legacy is a feature-length documentary film highlighting the history of the Crownsville State Mental Hospital in Crownsville, MD.

0.0

ZAAD

Dec 8, 2025

ZAAD tells the autobiographical story of Dries Meddens. After the death of his mother, the care for Dries' bipolar father falls on his plate. He discovers how crudely and ruthlessly society and psychiatry treat patients. His father eventually dies in solitary confinement. While emptying his parent’s home, Dries discovers an old letter from his grandfather. The man appears to have led a busy, productive life. He is the founder of an internationally renowned seed breeding company and still has time to paint, write diaries and conduct intensive correspondence. Dries finds similarities between his grandfather, his father and himself. Slowly the fear grows that his father's psychiatric illness might be hereditary. Strolling through the family’s film and photo archives, with dramatic and sometimes hilarious finds, Dries tries to find answers. He also consults a psychiatrist. Together the consultations and reviewing of his archival material help Dries look at bipolarity with new eyes.

6.0

Running from Crazy

Jan 20, 2013

'Running from Crazy' is a documentary examining the personal journey of model and actress Mariel Hemingway, the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, as she strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness.

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6.0

Back from Madness: The Struggle for Sanity

Sep 17, 1996

In part of the HBO's America Undercover series, this documentary provides an insider's view of mental illness, and the use of psychotropic drugs to alleviate some of its symptoms. Tracks the odyssey of four psychiatric patients, beginning with their arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital and the affiliated Lindemann Center, revealing their personal struggles and inner strength as they enter the world of psychiatric treatment to seek relief from insanity.

0.0

Within my soul

Invalid Date

Between psychosis, delusions of persecution and trauma, A finds himself at an interface between past and present after a stay in hospital. What is still reality and what is a fearful manifestation of traumatic encounters? By confronting herself with old diary entries, she tries to come to terms with the emotional maelstrom. The breaches of trust from her youth keep pushing their way to the surface in her current relationships and make it difficult to grasp happiness.

7.0

Jon Richardson: A Little Bit OCD

Jul 24, 2012

Jon Richardson investigates OCD. Is he simply a demanding perfectionist or does he have obsessive compulsive disorder?

3.5

I Remember Nothing

Mar 28, 2017

January 2011 : the revolution bursts in Tunisia, my father’s country. The Tunisian people scream in a rage and I, here in Paris, can feel their revolt vibrating in my heart.

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