Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “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, …
A link between creativity and mental illness has been a long-standing area of conjecture, and there have been some recent attempts to research such a link, with varying results. The first major problem is that there is no real agreed-upon definition of “creativity”, and therefore no way to pinpoint people in the general population who have it (or more of …
Several recent studies are looking at the interaction between bipolar and increased impulsiveness. Impulsivity is often found as a component of bipolar, but researchers remain uncertain whether it is a core trait of the disorder or a separate characteristic. Impulsiveness has different behavioral factors, including: “1) Non-planning Impulsiveness, which refers to a present orientation or failure to consider the future; …
Those of us in the United States tried to remember what happens to the clock with daylight savings time using the phrase “spring forward and fall back.” In California daylight savings time has been accompanied by a week of the sunniest weather in a couple of months. For whatever reason, in our practice at Gateway Psychiatric there has been a sudden uptick …
Moodsurfing continues to monitor developments in the field of online help for mood disorders and mental health generally, we have looked at several newly available resources here and here. Of course, there are negatives as well, but overall, we are observing a trend of more and more useful and useable online programs and communities. Here, we share a reader’s recommendation …
Another online resource that folks may appreciate is Bipolar Advantage, a program dedicated to helping people function at their highest potential during all mood states and levels. Their trademark is changing the discussion from “Bipolar Disorder” to “Bipolar IN Order”, where the student learns to thrive during manic and depressive episodes, and to consider the advantages of their states of …
Family members can be your best support, and they can also be a drag on your recovery. How to help them understand your needs better so that they can make positive impacts and let you get what you need? Having a family member diagnosed with an illness like Bipolar can be a significant shock. If it’s a child, parents may …
One of the popular and well-researched non-medication alternatives for bipolar and unipolar depression is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), a method of helping people identify and change unhealthy patterns of thought and/or behavior. CBT looks at the interaction between feelings, thoughts and behavior, and helps participants learn to analyze the connections between them and how they influence each other. For example, …
Americans with bipolar are more likely than Europeans to marry someone with a similar diagnosis, according to a study by Robert M. Post, MD, of the Bipolar Collaborative Network, Bethesda, Maryland, and the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, George Washington University. Post and colleagues recruited volunteers with bipolar I from four cities in the USA and three cities in …
Sharing information about a diagnosis, disclosure, can be a constant tension for people with bipolar. On the one hand, you need a support network that includes family, friends, co-workers and even employers. On the other hand, any or all of these people may create more difficulties, or even be a part of the problem from the beginning. Dr. Cannon Thomas …
Gateway Psychiatric Services is delighted to announce the release of our latest book, The Bipolar Disorder Workbook from Callisto Media. The Workbook is intended to be of use to those who are just beginning to think bipolar may be an issue for them as well as those who have been journeying with bipolar for a longer time. It is also …
Anxiety and panic attacks are some of the “comorbidities” (concurrently occurring disorders) that folks with bipolar have to contend with. Another concern is the complicated relationship between bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder. Social anxiety is often found in conjunction with bipolar. Although many people think bipolar is characterized by the extraverted and friendly attitude often experienced during hypomanic episodes, the …
What does it mean to have a diagnosis of Bipolar I or II? For some, finally getting a diagnosis can be a relief, as it was for Demi Lovato, whose story was shared in Moodsurfing a few weeks ago. For others, not so much. Mariah Carey was diagnosed with bipolar back in 2011, but she says “I didn’t want to …
New research may lead to a risk calculator that can help predict which young people at risk of bipolar go on to develop either bipolar 1 or bipolar 2. Young people with a history of depression and some features of bipolar (a brief period of being energized, for example, that doesn’t meet criteria for hypomania) are at risk for developing …
Why are there so many famous bipolar people? Will a diagnosis of bipolar make you famous? Probably not, at least not immediately. Nonetheless, it is a reality that a surprising number of famous people, contemporary and historical have a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of bipolar. Winston Churchill, Isaac Newton, Ernest Hemingway, and other household names are included in this inventory. …
What is a manic episode? Recognizing a true manic episode is critical to the diagnosis of bipolar 1 disorder. It is not merely feeling energetic, or high-spirited. During a manic episode, one may not be able to work, may avoid or seem fearful of family members and other close associates, and may require hospitalization. Similar, but at a milder level, …
An interesting opinion piece in the New York Times this past week highlights unintended consequences of the ways in which we talk about mental illness and the strategies we use to reduce stigma around it. Dr. Lisa Pryor, a mental health care practitioner in Australia comments that increasing discussion, publicity and stigma reduction around “moderate” mental illnesses like anxiety and …
How big a problem is undiagnosed hypomania? By some estimates as many as 50% of people being treated for depression may have hypomania (similar to mania, but milder) episodes as well. A recent article in Psychiatric Times encourages doctors to maintain an increased level of suspicion about the possibility of hypomania in patients who are receiving treatment for a range …
Sometimes people feel that it is time to end it all because they have become too old without having achieved a dream, or because they are no longer attractive. It seems to me that these feelings may have been behind Ms Kate Spade’s recent death. Everyone faces disappointments. And as we age we have to deal with more of them. …
A new smartphone app predicts mood in bipolar according to a recent series of studies. The mobile phone app shows promise for identifying early warning signals for users of mood episodes, based on a user’s keyboard behavior, such as typing speed and message length. The app does not consider the content of messages typed by users on their phones, but …
