From self-care to hospitalization: bipolar patients' health care practices in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: New research is continually improving the comprehension of bipolar disorder (BD). However, many challenges remain to be addressed, such as understanding the health care practices (HCPs) chosen by bipolar patients and the determinants of seeking treatment. MATERIAL: Using a qualitative approach, we studied the HCPs of six patients with BD through focused interviews. DISCUSSION: Even patients who report using primarily allopathic care usually test out and combine different HCPs. CONCLUSION: Pathways to care in BD are composed of a combination of HCPs because patients need to develop a stock of potential treatment alternatives to deal with the suffering involved in living with BD.