How Could Light Help?

There has been considerable skepticism about the value of light therapy for people with seasonal depression, despite a very compelling research literature. Perhaps this might, in part, be because the way that light might affect mood has not been clear. In a recently published animal study, change in light exposure increases stress hormones, depresses mood, and impairs learning through changes light …

To Tell or Not – Part 1

One of the hottest topics on our forum, and one that led to a request for a blog post ,is the topic of whether or not to tell someone about your moods, particularly if you have a mood diagnosis. For mostly historical reasons, this issue is especially a concern for people with bipolar mood variations as opposed to unipolar moods …

Christian Mindfulness

I will be writing posts from time to time that are a response to questions posed on this site. The first question that we received had to do with whether mindfulness can be reconciled with Christianity. And, if not, if there is an alternative practice that can achieve the same goals. Since I am not a theologian, I am not …

Thank you

We have gotten a couple of thought provoking requests for new content, but the combination of an extremely busy week and the desire to do a good job replying has meant that we haven’t finished the job of writing the posts. Nevertheless, we want to thank those subscribers who sent us requests. And to reiterate our intention to answer every …

A Little Romance

This week we spent some time with a couple of people who, in different ways, have become “addicted” to romantic relationships. One is a man in his early 40’s. The other is a woman in her early 30’s. They are quite different in terms of personalities, but there are some very strong similarities in terms of their childhood and relationship history. Both had quite …

Stormy Weather

The first of the big winter storms blew through the Bay Area today.  Winds whipped up the already large waves and the pouring rain made it hard to see much more than a few feet in any direction. Of course, there were some hardy folk out there surfing anyway.  But we assume that most of you recognize that when there …

Traveling

Traveling can be exciting, but it can also be very stressful. It is particularly important for people living with moods to do prepare for travel before they leave. A surprisingly high percentage of serious mood catastrophes, in our experience, happen during trips. And they are almost always preventable. First, if your traveling to some place without good medical care, it’s a …

Forum Update

Update– Our Forum has been gradually picking up steam, but the current setup, using Bublaa, has been difficult to administer. We are considering making a change to a system hosted by WordPress (the folks who host this site) called BuddyPress. If you have thoughts about this plan please let us know. If we do make the switch the Forum will …

Family Scapegoat

I had a conversation with two women today about their relationship with their husbands and children. They often find themselves feeling scapegoated for things that go wrong in the household. While I was talking with them, I recalled many other women who have described similar experiences. I started to wonder how this happens, and what can be done about it. …

Problems

We have begun to think of 2013. What does the future hold for this blog? Next year we plan to take the content from this site, revise it, add to it, organize it and make it the basis for a book. Then we will start working on a MoodSurfing app. Meanwhile, we really need your input in order to make …

ACT

The “hot” thing in the therapy world these days is something called ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). The radical notion behind ACT is that therapy should not be primarily about reducing symptoms (like depression) but rather increasing our ability to have a valued life (a life that is based on our deepest values) even though we have symptoms. And, by …

Giving Thanks

A friend asked “What is Thanksgiving all about?” There is the traditional answer about the Pilgrims and the Indians, but Thanksgiving as a national holiday has a shorter history. The holiday was first celebrated on the same date by all states in 1863. The idea was largely the product of author Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote letters to politicians for …

Talking to Yourself

Sometimes talking to yourself is a sign of health. Those of you who have been following this blog for a while, know that I am very impressed with how mood shapes our reality. One day I wake up and the world is bright and filled with hope, and the next day, nothing works, nothing feels right, and there is no …

Money and Security

How much money does it take for someone to feel really secure? This seems like a sensible question. Certainly, many of us have been dealing with  insecurity because of a lack of money. In other words, there is a relationship between money and security. On the other hand, over the years, we have never run into anyone who managed to …

Forum News

On the second week anniversary of our forum I want to take a moment and thank all of you who have contributed to it. We have doubled the number of members in the past week. I hope that I can encourage all of you to select an avatar (it really does make the thing seem more personal, even if the …

Anger and Change: “It’s Wrong” Mentality

Anger and Change: “It is just wrong, I can’t accept it, I have to stand up to things that are wrong.” We were talking with a young man who was frustrated because he had to complete a year’s worth of general education requirements before he could graduate with his degree in film. He was very upset, and noted at a later point …

reclaim your world

Reclaim Your World

Why You May Need to Reclaim Your World Threats from disasters, and other dangers in the world around us, can lead us to withdraw from normal activity and then we may need to reclaim our world from fear. I have always loved what I now call the territorial sports: the cross country skiing, running, hiking, bicycling, etc. These are sports …

Trust and The Kindness of Strangers

On this famous day, September 11th, it is worth reminding ourselves how much we all depend on the kindness of strangers. This has certainly never been more clear… we live in a world in which there is an increasing interdependence. Of course, being able to rely on the kindness of strangers has always been important. One of the hallmarks of …