What’s the best way to cope with stress? Our friend Rick Hanson, whom we frequently quote in this blog, wonders why people don’t Take Pleasure. There are so many fun things to do, some take hardly any time or money, why don’t we just take time out to smell the roses, or the dinner cooking, or the perfume… Why don’t we take pleasure in good smells, nice music, soft fabrics? Why do we allow ourselves to block out simple things that could be giving us a break from stress, and even a pathway down from the high-stress level we stay on to more of a “green zone” as Hanson calls it, where there is less stress and more pleasure? Last ... Read More
What do you do when you make a mistake? Grit your teeth and try again? Or are you afraid to try again? Give yourself a pep talk and reminder to work harder next time? Or do you give yourself the compassionate response you would give a friend who made a similar mistake? Self-compassion is a technique that everyone can use in whatever situations they may be. It’s a way of listening to yourself and giving yourself credit for what you have done, not grief for failures. Most people would agree that they’re harder on themselves than on anyone else, and really, do we deserve that? Give yourself a break. Kristin Neff, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of ... Read More
March 30 is the day! There will be some great events, including an Ask Me Anything panel on Reddit resourced by CrestBD. The Collaborative RESearch Team to study psychosocial issues in Bipolar Disorder (CREST.BD) is a multidisciplinary collaborative network of researchers, people living with bipolar disorder, healthcare providers, and family members and supporters. They are offering a great lineup of specialists in the field who will be available to answer questions. They write: We’re hosting our THIRD annual “Ask me Anything” on Reddit in honour of World Bipolar Day! The AMA is an opportunity to ask our team of bipolar disorder experts your question about bipolar disorder. Date: March 30, 2021Time: Starting 10:00AM Pacific, 1:00PM Eastern (continues for 48 hours!)Link: ... Read More
Sometimes you just can’t get your mind working. You wonder what’s going on, things you want to remember just slip through your fingers, and time gets away from you. It happens to everyone, but major episodes of mania or depression can result in reduced cognitive capacity, which takes time to heal. Reduced cognitive capacity can be scary; we wonder if it will ever come back, or it we have changed for good. During these periods just living can be a hard task, and following good advice, like a morning routine, can seem like climbing Mt. Everest. How to we tackle things that are really hard to do? Here are some tips from a neuroscientist on completing hard tasks. A hard ... Read More
What are the connections between social media use and depression? Between social media and anxiety? Does social media cause depression, or do depressed people turn to social media more, or is there some third factor that accounts for any association or correlation? New research keeps coming out, and it’s kind of a jungle trying to follow it all. Screen time makes you anxious! No, anxious people are more prone to doomscrolling! No, Facebook makes you anxious, but gaming doesn’t! Let’s start with a few caveats before diving into the research studies. First, all these studies are pretty small, and the effects they measure are also small. Many rely on the subjects’ self-reporting of their internet use, which may have varying ... Read More
Seeking Local Events for World Bipolar Day Sadly, many of us are still isolated from big events this year, but there are still lots of ways we can connect and participate. The World Bipolar Day website now has a sign-up form available for those planning events to coordinate with WBD in your local area. World Bipolar Day is celebrated each year on March 30, the birthday of the artist Vincent Van Gogh, who may have had a bipolar condition. Nowadays, it gives us an opportunity to speak out, to raise awareness and to eliminate social stigma around bipolar conditions. World Bipolar Day is an opportunity to make connections, to educate the public, and to tell our own story in our ... 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.
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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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