MoodSurfing

Six Ways to Build Stability in an Anxiety-Inducing World

Anxiety is a reality of our times. Sometimes it comes as a vicious attack with no clear cause, and sometimes it’s raised by the news on TV or the news from neighbors, friends and our own kids, parents, and partners. Whatever brings it on, battling anxiety can be a lonely struggle, often with no end in sight. In an anxiety-ridden and anxiety-inducing world, we need to nurture our own stability. We need to be like a tree beside a clear stream, sending our deep, strong roots into the soil, and reaching our leaves to the sun, offering what we can to clean the air, house the birds and shade people from the heat. Here are six ways to be stronger ... Read More

Insomnia and Technology: Helpful or Not?

Sleep and insomnia are one of the most posted topics on Moodsurfing! Just try typing “sleep” onto our search box and see how many posts come up. Sleep is one of the basic building blocks of health and management of mood swings. And sleep is problematic for many, many people. So what is the best way to deal with insomnia? Moodsurfing recommends Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which is a method of working out specific ways of behaving that enable lasting change. The disadvantage is that it usually requires working with a therapist, which can be expensive if not covered by insurance. One helpful option is SHUTi: Sleep Healthy Using the internet, an online program that can be completed individually for ... Read More

“Are You Living a Life You Value?”

Sometimes our lives can become so full of the myriad items to manage and tend to that we lose track of what is most meaningful. Rarely do we afford ourselves the time to stop and ask, “How do I really want to be spending my time? What is it that I value?” The end-result of this way of functioning tends to resemble, at best, a life that feels like we are just going through the motions, and at worst, an existence which feels devoid of purpose and meaning. It's not hard to conceptualize some of the difficult feelings that might arise alongside these acknowledgements--depression and anxiety, just to name a couple. At our clinic, Gateway Psychiatric, we’ve accustomed ourselves to ... Read More

What’s Wrong with the Chemical Imbalance Theory?

A thoughtful personal reflection in the New York Times about living with bipolar may be of interest to Moodsurfing readers. The author describes passing through a range of beliefs about mental illness and wellness, from a feeling of stigma about not being able to “snap out of it” to a sense of comfort engendered by a more “biological” paradigm. Later, however, she begins to question the dominant medical paradigms as well and moves into a greater sense of personal agency, where taking her medications remains an important strategy, but she also has learned to manage lifestyle, diet and exercise as approaches to her own wellness. Chemical imbalance as an explanation of mental illness, especially depression and bipolar has been popular ... Read More

Six Important Things to Manage Bipolar

Here’s an interview published by the website BP Hope, a colleague site of Moodsurfing. This expert researcher who also experiences mood disorder gives her top six coping strategies for dealing with bipolar. Her insights are both sharp and encouraging: there is a lot anyone can really do to make a life with bipolar be a better life. Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reminds us of the following: Stay on your medication. If you have questions or concerns about your medication, see number 5 below. Get regular sleep. This can’t be over-emphasized.Get involved with a support group. Check out this list of various types of support groups.Read and learn about your ... Read More

Stress Levels in Dogs Match that of Their Owners

A recent study from Sweden has uncovered a correlation between stress levels in dogs and in their owners. Though small, the study found some suggestive results, and the researchers believe that the dogs are mirroring levels of stress in their owners, not the other way around. The study looked at 25 border collies and 33 Shetland sheepdogs, all of them owned by women. Activity levels were monitored to see if there was any effect of physical activity on stress levels. Hair samples were taken of dogs and owners twice over a period of several months, and tested for the stress hormone, cortisol. The owners filled out personality inventories for themselves and their dogs, and the study found that the personality ... 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.