MoodSurfing

Too Much Healthy Eating Can Be Bad for You

Medical practitioners have begun to recognize an eating disorder associated with a concern for healthy eating, “orthorexia nervosa”, in which a zealous concern for healthy food leads to clinical concerns for possible malnutrition, micronutrient and macronutrient deficiencies, inadvertent weight loss and social impairments. Avoidance or refusal of foods due to fear of impurities, processed foods, additives and imagined contaminants, while motivated by a concern for health, can be taken to extremes and become a preoccupation that damages ones health. Practitioners are urged to be alert to this possibility when seeing patients whose overzealous adherence to superficially “healthy” eating patterns can sometimes have unhealthy consequences. Moodsurfing has explored topics related to diet and healthy eating on several occasions. Of course, a ... Read More

Suicide and Drug Overdose Increasing in the USA

2016 data now available from the Center for Disease Control show that suicide is now a leading cause of death for adults aged 25 – 44, at 16.9 deaths per 100,000, it exceeds the rate of death from heart disease in this age cohort. For those aged 15 – 24, suicide is now the second highest cause of death. It has also risen among children aged 1 – 14, and now accounts for 0.8 per 100,000 in that age cohort. Drug overdose is also a rising cause of death among people of all ages, and together these two, suicide and drug overdose deaths have brought about a drop in overall life expectancy at birth from 78.7 years to 78.6 years ... Read More

80 Pleasurable Things – Nancy

Here’s a list of 80 fun or pleasurable things to do. Some of them are simple to arrange and quick to accomplish, and some require some planning and preparation, or even money. But all of them can be enjoyable experiences. Remember that motivation is less important than just doing it. Even if you don’t feel like it, or don’t think it will be fun, it’s better to do it anyway, and let the motivation follow, not lead. First, go through the list and cross off things that really don’t look like fun to you. For some people, swimming, for example is never a fun thing to do or to contemplate doing. Then choose a few that you can go ahead ... Read More

Exercise Improves Sleep Quality – Nancy

Insomnia is a significant problem in the United States, and for individuals grappling with mood and/or anxiety disorders, sleep loss can contribute to ill health, including immune function, cognitive functioning, and even cardiovascular problems. However, use of medication for insomnia does not have a good track record. These medications have significant risks and adverse side effects, and often lose effectiveness over time. Those who, for whatever reason, choose to limit their medication use need to look for help in other ways. A recent meta-analysis covering patients with mental illness and insomnia considered the effectiveness of exercise as a non-medication intervention. The eight studies analysed found significant patient-reported improvements in sleep quality when following exercise programs. The studies included individuals with ... Read More

A Magic Solution for Children’s Behavior Problems

For readers who have children a common concern is what to do with children’s behavior problems. Of course, there’s no one size fits all solution to the problem but over the years we’ve been repeatedly impressed with the effectiveness of the solutions to be found in a series of books by psychologist Kevin Leman entitled Have a New Kid by Friday, Have a New Teen by Friday, and Have a New Husband by Friday. Jonathan finally decided to get serious about his kid’s bad behavior when he got hit by a crayon right next to his eye, while he was entertaining business guests at his home. Although his kid’s behavior had been disrupting his home life for several months, he ... Read More

A Social Media Resource – Reader Contribution

Moodsurfing continues to monitor developments in the field of online help for mood disorders and mental health generally, we have looked at several newly available resources here and here. Of course, there are negatives as well, but overall, we are observing a trend of more and more useful and useable online programs and communities. Here, we share a reader’s recommendation about Reddit, and its communities, called “subreddits”. Reddit is a site where people post about their own interests and concerns and others can comment or respond. The site claims 138,000 active communities, of which two are reviewed below: When I was first diagnosed, and ever since actually, the idea of going to a support group has been unappealing to me ... Read More

About MoodSurfing

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. 

If you like what you see here, be sure to sign up to get updated with new posts. 

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.”

DISCLAIMER

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.

IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CALL 911 OR YOUR PHYSICIAN. If you believe you have any other health problem, or if you have any questions regarding your health or a medical condition, you should promptly consult your physician or other healthcare provider. Never disregard medical or professional advice, or delay seeking it, because of something you read on this site or a linked website. Never rely on information on this website in place of seeking professional medical advice. You should also ask your physician or other healthcare provider to assist you in interpreting any information in this site or in the linked websites, or in applying the information to your individual case.

Medical information changes constantly. Therefore the information on this site or on the linked websites should not be considered current, complete or exhaustive, nor should you rely on such information to recommend a course of treatment for you or any other individual. Reliance on any information provided on this site or any linked websites is solely at your own risk.

Moodsurfing does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, products, procedures, opinions or other information that may be provided on the linked websites. The linked websites may contain text, graphics, images or information that you find offensive (e.g., sexually explicit), Moodsurfing has no control over and accepts no responsibility for such materials.