I was reminded this past week about the importance of staying active during the winter, as well as some of the challenges people face during this COVID-19 winter Why is this Hard? Our brains are somewhat poorly adapted to modern life. Our distant ancestors would go into hibernation mode during the winter. Food was not as plentiful, and going outdoors was hazardous, so sleeping more meant a greater chance of survival. This was also not a time to be taking on new projects or challenges. Our brains were naturally more focused inward and inclined to be more wary of the future. A bit like we are in a mild depression. In today’s world many of us are expected to perform ...
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Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is more than just the “blues”. Affecting up to 5% of adults in the United States, it can last as much as 40 percent of the year. SAD can cause significant impairment of normal daily activity, and can lead to deeper complications if left unaddressed. For many of us, 2020 has been a year of “affective disorder” with the pandemic, elections, environmental disasters like fires and hurricanes, a national reckoning with police brutality, and a general feeling of ideological conflict. Now, infection rates are skyrocketing, darker days are literally coming, with the seasonal change, and there is no end in sight. Now is the time to take proactive control of our mental health maintenance and take ...
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International Bipolar Foundation hosts virtual event The IBPF, a worldwide alliance of people with bipolar and those who love them will be hosting their annual Starry, Starry Night event virtually this year. IBPF also has an extensive website and blog roll, see our “outside blogs” column to the right of the screen. They write: Please join us on November 8th to take action and be a part of the change for good at our Starry Night virtual event! You will experience stories of hope and recovery from leading voices, including Good Morning America Anchor, Robin Roberts, bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize nominee, Pete Earley and more! Billed as a time for “illuminating the way for awareness, healing, and hope” the ...
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For those of our readers who live in the northern hemisphere this is the time when many people experience symptoms of seasonal depression. It is the time when the length of the day is shrinking most rapidly. And this weekend in the United States we will switch from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time with the result that many of us will start getting up about an hour later by solar time. For people with a seasonal component to their mood that means they are at risk of worsening depression since waking up later in the morning is one of the best ways of increasing depression, just as waking up earlier in the morning is one of the best ways ...
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Media Use and the Pandemic We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: media use is not always good for you. Now we have the pandemic-related phenomenon of “doomscrolling”, going obsessively through your feeds again and again, reading the bad news and skipping the good. Why do that? Well, 2020 has put a lot of stress on everyone. From Covid to wildfires to hurricanes to a long-delayed reckoning on racial justice, we have a lot on our minds nowadays. Many people are in a pretty much constant “fight or flight” mode, which wears the body and mind out fast. Doomscrolling is a response to stress that basically looks for more reasons to be stressed. If you can’t leave your ...
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A daily plan, a five-year plan, a crisis plan. Is it all too much to even contemplate? How can I think about a life plan when I can barely keep my head above water just getting through the day? If you’re “surfing” your moods on a regular basis, planning is essential. Bipolar is a roller coaster and it’s a lot of work to manage a life with bipolar shifting you around every day. But many, many people tell us: the plan is what makes it possible to move ahead. I’m the master of my life, not my illness. And to keep it that way, I need to use planning processes. A daily plan If just getting through the day is ...
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Welcome to MoodSurfing.com, the site that highlights strategies for living creatively with moods and coping with depression. This site is for people with bipolar, depression, cyclothymia, and others who experience powerful moods and want to figure out how to integrate these experiences into successful lives.
Although most of us are mental health clinicians of one kind or another, this site is not about providing people with medical or clinical advice (see below). We hope that we can help you cope with depression, maybe even allow you to live well with moods.
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We have done a series of interviews with people who have interesting things to say about different aspects of living creatively with moods. You can find those under the heading “Conversations.”
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This site is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and linkages to other sites, Moodsurfing provides general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through linkages to other sites, is not a substitute for medical or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call consultation or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. Moodsurfing is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information, services or product you obtain through this site.
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