Even today, people still have a lot of stereotypes about mental illness, and one of them is that it’s a “First World” problem, meaning that people in poorer places don’t have time for mental illness. But studies consistently find that rates of severe mental illness are pretty constant across economic, religious, cultural and geographic boundaries. Here are some stories from India: “Bollywood” is the commonly used name for the huge Hindi film industry that reaches more than a billion people across South Asia and throughout their diaspora around the world. This article from an India-based news service collects quotes from Bollywood celebrities about their struggles with mental illness. Even if you have never heard of these stars or the movies ...
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More evidence for Mindfulness Mindfulness practices continue to gain in acceptability and evidence of effectiveness in a variety of settings. MoodSurfing has reported on several of these studies in the past, and we continue to monitor the state of the current research. A recent study1 looked at anxiety and considered pharmaceutical intervention compared with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), finding similar outcomes and acceptability with fewer adverse events during treatment for the MBSR intervention. MBSR consists of an 8-week training program with a one-day retreat mid-way, and a daily at-home 45 minute practice session. While noting that this is a considerably higher commitment than taking a pill (Escitalopram) daily, we do find that people committed to this type of practice have ...
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New Year’s resolutions actually tap into a very strong human impulse to create start-over points in our lives and to use them to motivate improvements that we wish to incorporate into our regular lives. Internet searches for items like “diet” and “gym” that may be prompted by a desire to do something healthy show increased activity around the first day of the year and of the month, as well as other holidays, and even on Mondays. The motivation for change is there, and it’s urging us to move forward. However, we all have the experience of resolving to do something and then being unmotivated to follow through. Month after month, year after year, the same resolutions, the same high hopes ...
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How to make New Year’s Resolutions What is a New Year’s resolution, anyway? Are you always determined to make yourself a better person than you were before? Or is it more like the wish you make when you blow out your birthday candles: quickly thought up and quickly forgotten? Before you set this weight loss goal or that gym membership plan, spend some time thinking through what your long-term goal is. What will really motivate you to make improvements this year? What is pulling you forward towards your best life? In my own reflection on making and keeping New Year’s resolutions over the years, I have come up with some rules, or a framework, if you like, for the process ...
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Is it true that people with mental illness, particularly mood disorders, are more creative? Or do creative people more often develop mental illness? Does the medication given for mood swings dampen creativity? Are there different types of creativity that manifest themselves during heightened, depressed and normal moods? What is creativity, anyway? These are hotly debated questions but clear guidance is hard to come by. Small studies have been done, but since each one uses a different baseline for “creativity” it is impossible to compare them. Danish study: one large study in Denmark took academic achievement as its proxy for creativity and looked at close family members of university professors. They found higher-than-usual rates of mental illness (bipolar and schizophrenia) among ...
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It’s coming again: the holiday season! Intended as a time-out; a time to take a break from work, enjoy life for a while, share gifts, and eat great food, the holiday season in our complex society has become a stressor, not a relaxer. But stressful or not, the holidays come every year, and we all have to figure out how to cope. For people coping with mood swings all year ‘round, the extra highs and lows of the holiday season can be especially difficult, and if you aren’t careful, can throw of your stability for weeks or even months. But with careful preparation ahead of time, the stresses can be minimized and the celebration enhanced. Here’s how: 1. Planning, planning, ...
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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.
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.
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