Loneliness is implicated in shortened lifespans, worsened physical and mental health, addiction, economic disruption and homelessness, among others. Its spread constitutes a true public health crisis in the USA, and intervention is urgently called for. However, at present, only individual efforts are offered as a solution. Reach out. Make sure your elderly relatives are getting a phone call regularly. Join a club, church, or book group at your local public library. Take control of your life. Taking these steps up a level means working to make sure the resources available in the community are accessible and inclusive of all who may need them. Maybe the library could expand its book group offerings to reach out to immigrants or the elderly, ...
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We’re coming up on a time of year that for many (maybe even most) people offers significant challenges. Now is the time to plan ahead for the difficulties you typically face during the holiday season, and call to mind coping strategies that have worked for you in the past, or new ones that you want to try. Depression is a major villain in disrupting holidays. A lot of the time, it just seems like the forced cheerfulness is too much to handle. Recognizing that nostalgia, remembering absent family members, and wishing for what will make life better are all intrinsic parts of the year-end holidays may help us accept and acknowledge depression or the “blues” when they do hit, and ...
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The Adult Psychiatry Clinic at UCSF has released the schedules of their Group Psycho-Education for Bipolar Disorder for January 2024. This activity under the Bipolar Disorder Program of the Department of Psychiatry is aimed at providing a community resource for individuals with bipolar disorder, mental health professionals and psychiatrists. Headed by Dr. Descartes Li, the program director, it is designed to augment the treatment of bipolar disorder and to help fill the needs due to the increased number of referrals from the community. Dr. Li describes this group as “an advanced class about bipolar disorder for people who have bipolar disorder.” Some of the topics covered in the sessions are: Self Awareness and Mood Charting Medications: How to Get the ...
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Addiction is a potent topic for debate in our debate-happy society, but, as with so many of those topics, the debates usually generate more heat than light. That’s why we are glad that the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association have put out this handy, easy to read guide about addiction, separating fact from myth. Addiction is an important topic for those of us working with mood disorders because anxiety, depression and bipolar are often found hand-in-hand with substance use disorders (see point 8 in the list above). Anyone seeking help with anxiety and mood should let their health care practitioner know about any substance use concerns they may have, and, conversely, anyone in treatment for addiction of ...
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Who Matters? Do you? Mattering is an important component of well-being Struggling with depression, Isaac slept late every morning, just dashing out in time to be “only a little” late to work each day. His apartment never got cleaned, and meals were a hit-and-miss combination of takeout and supermarket junk food. Then his mom went on vacation and brought her dog over for him to take care of. The dog needed regular food and water, and a walk each morning and evening. Surprising even himself, Isaac rose to the occasion and took good care of the dog. As the days went by, he found himself looking forward to the dog’s greeting at the end of each work day. He began ...
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What is Mood Charting, and why do we think it’s so important? In simple terms, mood charting is making notes, either on paper or electronically, about what your mood is at about the same time each day. The chart can include other data points, such as hours of sleep, or type and duration of exercise, but the main idea is to have an objective record of what’s going on in your life. If we’re honest, we all know that human memory is not good enough for data collection. Patients frequently tell us “the medication isn’t doing any good” “nothing has changed” or “I tried that and it didn’t work”. But when they start keeping careful track, a task that takes ...
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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.”
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.
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