Whereas there is relatively good evidence that mindfulness meditation has beneficial effects on health and mental health, the mechanism of action for the changes seen in mindfulness practitioners has been a little bit obscure. An article published online in Biological Psychiatry in January 2016 provides us with important information about how mindfulness meditation works. In particular it correlates changes in brain …
Kip Health – App for Collaboration
This week one of my fellow psychiatrists in San Francisco and one of my patients both suggested that I check out Kip Health, startup designed to improve collaboration between patients and their mental health providers. The App is in beta and so it is bound to change over time. For example, right now it is free for both mental health …
Aerobic Exercise Stimulates Neuron Growth
Moderate aerobic exercise appears to be the best form of exercise to stimulate neuron growth. One of the great challenges facing anyone who has wrestled with depression is how best to counteract the negative effects on brain development and cognitive function that have clearly been linked to recurrent depression. Depression leads directly to reductions in the brain’s growth hormone (brain …
World Bipolar Day 2016
World Bipolar Day 2016 World Bipolar Day is celebrated each year every 30th of March, the birthday of the well known post impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh, who was posthumously diagnosed as probably having bipolar disorder. The World Bipolar Day is the fruit of the initiative of the Asian Network of Bipolar Disorder (ANBD) in collaboration with the International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF) and International …
SAD and CBT by Eric
Say Goodbye to SAD with CBT. Light therapy might be the long-standing and go-to treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but the latest research puts promising new light on CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) as an effective treatment method. While light therapy does prove effective for some patients suffering acute SAD, there are downsides: nearly 50 percent of patients find it …
Hidden Psychosis
In the last six months I’ve had a couple of experiences that I’m still trying to make a sense of. Two very bright and personable women who seemed to have everything going for them, who both have bipolar, revealed to me that they have been suffering from severe symptoms that they had not told me about, symptoms which suggest that they really …
Nature Advertisement
The family member of one of our patients sent me this link. It reminded me of the post about “awe” from a couple of months ago. Ever since that post I have been searching to add more awe to my life. It really has made a difference. Of course nature includes more than just one ingredient, that’s why it’s so …
Adult ADHD
Adult ADHD May Be Distinct From Childhood ADHD Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children may be distinct from and unrelated to ADHD in adults, according to a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. It is long been understood that adult ADHD is the natural extension of childhood onset ADHD. In other words that adults with ADHD began as children with …
Psychopharmacology and Psychobiology
The wonderful thing about having two blogs (www.moodsurfing.com and www.gatewaypsychiatric.com) is that there are two sets of readers for the articles that I post. The problem is that sometimes I’m much more prolific in one area or another. For whatever reason, I have been writing more regularly on the Gateway Psychiatric website, which is where I post articles related to …
Depression Screening Recommended
Although it seems like nothing more than common sense, we were very pleased to see that the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which is the major organization responsible for guidelines for public health interventions in the United States, added depression screening for adults, in particular for pregnant women and women who recently given birth, to its short list of …
Childhood Bipolar: Mother Knows Best
A recent blog post in Bipolar News (one of our favorite resources for up-to-date information on bipolar research) argues that mother’s evaluations of their children are more useful than teacher’s report of symptoms and than reports from the children themselves when diagnosing childhood bipolar. The article summarized research presented at the 2015 International Society for Bipolar Disorders by Eric Youngstrom. Eric Youngstrom, Ph.D., is …
Antidepressants in Pregnancy and Autism
Antidepressants in Pregnancy: Is Excess Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder Believable? Journal Watch Psychiatry editor, Allison Bryant, MD, MPH, reviewed a recent article on this topic Boukhris T et al. JAMA Pediatr 2015 Dec 14. In this study the risk for autism spectrum disorder appeared to be higher in those women who used antidepressants (especially SRIs) during late pregnancy; but the question is whether maternal …
The Power of a Minute
I got this email from Rick Hanson because I have subscribed to his Foundations of Wellbeing Program. I found it inspirational and thought I would share it. Sometimes we feel too busy to do anything good for ourselves. But maybe just a minute of your time could make a difference. And who doesn’t have a minute… RICK’S REFLECTION: THE POWER …
Pregnancy and Mental Health
Pregnancy and mental health problems – how to reconcile the two – are often topics of discussion on this website and in my clinical practice. In the past we have often referred people to Vivien K. Burt, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychiatry and the Director of the Women’s Life Center at UCLA and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for …
Body Mindfulness and Peak Performance
If mindfulness training works to achieve peak performance in Navy SEALs and top athletes perhaps it’s not such a New Age idea. In fact what distinguishes people who are resilient in the face of physical challenges may be a natural capacity for the kind of self-awareness that mindfulness teaches. A New York Times article called my attention to fascinating research …
Psychiatric Disorders Are A World Public Health Problem
How can we start to better intervene with individuals facing psychiatric disorders in an effort to improve global health? Visibility is the key. When we consider the deleterious health effects of mental disorder on the actual—re physical—health of our bodies, our mind’s eye might be so often obstructed by the extremes—blocked by images of more severe and the most disruptive …
Breaking Up without Depression
Some people seem to find it much easier to weather the breaking up of a romantic relationship than others. Sure they may feel sad, they may worry about what it means that their relationship ended, but relatively soon they’re able to move on. Others get mired in doubt and find it hard to reenter the dating world. A study from Stanford …
Exercise Dose
What is the right dose of exercise, how much before you hurt yourself, or stop seeing more benefits? You could be the AM riser, out jogging predawn in neon sneakers and sweatband, having just donned luminescent jacket or slicker. Maybe you’re the lunch hour weight lifter. Or perhaps you take the evening shift, the post-work workout, at the hour when …
UCSF Psychoeducation Group for Bipolar Spring 2016
UCSF Group Psycho-Education for Bipolar Disorder The Adult Psychiatry Clinic at UCSF has released the schedules of their Group Psycho-Education for Bipolar Disorder for January 2016. 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, …
Awe Reduces Inflammation
What if you knew that the experience of awe could measurably improve your health, would you approach the world differently today? At the most recent TEDMED, psychologist Jennifer Stellar presented evidence that the experience of a number of positive emotions (joy, pride, contentment and awe) was associated with reduced levels of interleukin – 6 (IL6) a well validated blood measure …