A recent New York Times article entitled “How Exercise Keeps Us Young” prompted me to write this post. Those of us who are thinking about getting older may find the whole topic discouraging. There seem to be very few cultural models of successful aging (other than not doing it). The New York Times article summarizes a study that appeared in …
Chronotherapy for Depression
Chronotherapy for depression was recently shown to be effective in a fairly large and well designed study from New Zealand. What is chronotherapy? As discussed in the article, which appeared in Acta Scandanavica Psychiatrica, chronotherapy involves some combination of three separate sleep and wakefulness related interventions: Wake therapy. Wake therapy (previously known as “sleep deprivation” therapy, a harder sell to patients) …
Effective Communication
A friend recently asked for my advice about how to talk with his manager about some concerns he was having at work. He explained that these concerns were growing in intensity over the last few weeks, and he had yet to mention them because he did not want to “cause waves,” didn’t want to offend anyone, and didn’t actually know what to say …
Boredom
Boredom is one of the most common negative emotions, and yet relatively little explored in the psychology literature. A woman, Kate, wrote to me recently – “I am bored all time. I have very few friends. I can’t get motivated to do anything to move my life forward. I don’t know what to do except mess around on my computer, watch movies and generally …
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: 2 – Depression Assessment
…I’m returning to do the test suggested by my therapist in our previous meeting – the Beck Depression Inventory II. Tremendous. Doing a test sounds like something you see in those silly magazines that tell you how good a lover you are are some such other rubbish, but apparently this test is rather serious. So I return that afternoon and Dr Black …
Meditation Tricks
Most of us in the Gateway Clinic have been encouraging our patients to take up meditation for years. We will explain how it works, and what the benefits are, we’ll suggest books on the topic, recommend guided meditation sources, follow up on those recommendations, and follow up, and follow up… And yet, this has been an exercise in frustration. Very rarely …
Circadian Rhythm Self Assessment
I ran across a wonderful tool for circadian rhythm self assessment on the website of the Center for Environmental Therapeutics. The Center is devoted to providing the public and clinicians with high-quality information about natural interventions for people with stress, anxiety, and depression. I took the online test and it said I was definitely a morning person. Which is true now, …
Art Therapy – Lyndsey
When I was in the hospital, one of the activities they provided for patients was art therapy. I sat in a room, silent and bewildered as I was, and methodically glued tiny pieces of glass mosaic tiles on a black wrought iron trivet frame. I called it my Crazy Trivet ever after, and it was remarkable only because it was …
I Can’t Stand It! (ACT)
This week began with me spending three or four hours writing up a summary of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for one of the people I saw two days ago. For those of you who haven’t heard the term, ACT is the “hot” new approach to therapy (although much of it dates back thousands of years to Buddhist practice). I enjoyed the …
Exercise and Stress – How Exercise Prevents Depression
Exercise seems to reduce stress. But how does this work? And what about exercise effects on depression? An article in the New York Times summarizes a recent publication in the journal Cell which may explain how exercise prevents depression. A wealth of research shows that regular exercise reduces the risk of depression. A very large study in Britain, for example, suggested that …
Seasonal Affective Disorder – Fall Reminder
Seasonal affective disorder affects many of us to some degree. Once again, it is nearing the Autumnal Equinox. This is the so-called “beginning of fall.” And for many people, it is around this time that they notice the shift from summer towards fall and winter and begin to experience a sense of fatigue or lethargy that can be the precursor …
The Power of Daily Rituals: A Morning Walk
What is the power of a morning walk? Even such a simple daily ritual can have profound effects on mood. After two years working with a young woman who is now heading off to graduate school and bright future, we were reflecting on lessons learned. “I can be a bit dense about cause and effect. I am surprised when something …
Robin Williams: Preparing for Depression – Lyndsey
Much has been made of Robin Williams’ ongoing struggle with darkness culminating with his suicide after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. People have commented mostly on how confusing it seems that someone who gave so much laughter could be visited by such exquisite pain. But we bipolars know all about this. It’s almost like living with two distinct personalities in …
Working with a Psychiatrist Effectively
If you are a psychiatrist, sometimes you have an opportunity to experience a response to treatment that seems like a miracle. But when miracles don’t happen, what are strategies for working with a psychiatrist effectively? Early in my career, the serotonin re-uptake inhibitors SSRIs) were released, and I had a chance to see a number of people who had given up hope …
Foundations of Wellbeing
Rick Hanson’s Foundations of Wellbeing online seminar has helped many people enjoy better, richer, happier lives. As regular readers of this blog know, we very much like Rick Hanson’s books and other writings, and now he has created a wonderful online seminar. We don’t usually make such a big deal about programs, but we think this is going to be …
Rick Hanson – Trust in Love
It has been a while since we mentioned Rick Hanson’s wonderful website and listserve – Just One Thing. Along comes not only a wonderful blog post from him (see below) but also an exciting online seminar series that he will be leading this coming year. The post below will give you a sense of Rick’s work, I encourage readers to …
Getting Things Done: Four Quadrants and Setting Priorities
First Things First The process of gaining or regaining a greater sense of confidence and control over your life can seem overwhelming to almost anyone. That is part of the reason why having someone who can be a guide or facilitator (a therapist or coach) can be so helpful. Having someone who can look at your situation with a greater …
Mood Charting Part 1
“My medications work for a while and then they just stop working…” “I have tried everything and nothing works…” “I have been in treatment forever but I just never seem to get better…” In our experience these very common concerns are often symptoms of an everyday problem in psychiatric treatment of mood disorders: it is very hard in a traditional …
Self-Esteem: A Key Aspect of Mental Health
Much has been written about the topic of “self-esteem.” Sometimes the idea almost seems like one of those “buzz” words that doesn’t really mean anything. A significant amount of research points to the development of self-esteem as a key aspect of mental health. Self-esteem builds slowly and its foundation is the sense that we are loved and valued by others. …
A Healthy Diet
We are glad to have recently added a page to our “Topics” section that discusses a healthy diet and also reviews some information about nutritional supplements. This is a huge topic, and none of us are dietitians, but it is an important issue and so, with the caveat that we approach the topic from the standpoint of what helps people …