Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Self Help”
Present Moment Awareness in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a way of learning to live outside of your head. So often we spend time and energy thinking about how we wish our situation was, or (even more often) trying to avoid thinking about how it isn’t what we wish it was. ACT encourages us to start by Accepting what …
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. …
Do you have a five-year plan? Are you a goal-setter or do you prefer to “muddle through”? For some the idea of making a written life plan is a no-brainer, while for others it sounds like an idea from an alien planet. Making a plan for the future is a strategy that can help when life feels chaotic and directionless. …
Can the Mediterranean Diet work like medicine? Can food be even BETTER than medicine? Studies have consistently shown that the Mediterranean Diet, heavy in fish, vegetables, nuts and seeds has great benefits for health and weight loss, but what you may not realize is that this way of eating also shows great promise for the reduction of depression, cognitive impairment …
Avoidance behavior, or avoidance coping, is a way of trying to stay calm by trying not to pay attention to disturbing thoughts or feelings. Avoidance may work in the short run, but it also tends to take a short term problem and make it a long term one. James Edgar Skye, a bipolar blogger we follow, has a blog post …
Are you finding yourself a part of an unhappiness epidemic? Researchers have found sharp drops in reported happiness among adults since about 2000, and in adolescents since 2012. While there are significant drops reported during economic hard times, such as the recession of 2009, there have not been associated rises in happiness as the economy has improved, making it unlikely …
Moodsurfing and Music. We’ve all felt the effect that music can have on moods, from a jumpy, cheerful marching band, to a sad-story country and western ballad to an uplifting inspirational song remembered from childhood, music can affect us powerfully, sometimes changing a whole day with just one excerpt on the radio during the morning commute. Syd Baumel in his …
How can something as simple as manipulating the time you sleep – chronotherapy – work so well to improve the quality of your sleep, your energy during the day and your mood? A young mother who has often complained of feeling tired with many problems with aches and pains came in with a big smile today… “I am feeling so …
Everyday Contemplation: Maintaining a Hush for Mental Health “Contemplation:” The word’s Latin root means “a space to view auguries.” (Those are implements used for divining the future.) I say that you don’t forecast the future by quiet sitting: you change it, and for the better! You reach into your heart, bring up from it your essence, and refine that into …
Moodsurfing has frequently recommended the concept of the “morning ritual” or “morning routine” to help all of us live more creatively with moods. However, keeping a morning ritual is easier said than done! For people with kids, jobs, pets, plumbing emergencies and all the rest of life, keeping to a routine may get moved to the back burner more often …
How can we reconcile acceptance and the unacceptable in our lives? A new blog post from Rick Hanson sparked me to thinking about the relationship between acceptance and acquiescence or even complicity. So many things are wrong with the world. Is there no role for righteous anger? And yet… Acceptance in the sense that Rick means is really about not …
There are two characteristics that seem to define people with bipolar and depression who do well, one of them is persistence despite depression, a trait which is described well in the post Trust the Process by a favorite blogger, Bipolar on Fire. The other is a willingness to “do what it takes,” meaning a commitment to wellness even if it may …
Self care is an essential aspect of a stable mood. Perhaps that statement seems obvious. You might be surprised, though, by how often people try to ignore that fact. It is common in my practice to be asked, directly or indirectly, to make a person feel good about themselves even though they are not taking care of their most basic …
Crisis prevention is a great goal, but it sometimes seems like the goal is always moving ahead into a cloudy future. How can we get crisis prevention into our action planning right now? First, think ahead. Any big changes coming up? Starting school, kids starting school, travel, new job, new home. These are the kinds of changes that can be …
How can you make meaningful resolutions for 2018? Maybe not something like “adopt more healthy habits”, which can be hard to do. How about resolving to work on something that research shows is foundational to healthy habits and healthy motivations? Cultivating a sense of purpose in life has been shown to affect health and longevity through numerous avenues of study. Those …
Early birds can save 180$ on a remarkable program that will help put them on the path to wellbeing in 2018. Longtime readers of this blog have been exposed to the ideas and insights of Rick Hanson in many previous posts. I think he is one of the most important figures in the field of positive psychology. Once a year, …
The holidays can be a hard time of year for many people, which makes holiday planning such a challenge, and so important. The holidays can disrupt daily routines and schedules, cause financial stress, be associated with increased drinking and family functions that can be stressful for anyone. For those living with bipolar disorder, this time of year can be especially …
The mind is naturally drawn to threats and often acts as though the world is filled with powerful dangers, this bias towards threat-seeking makes the practice of noticing your power essential. Without conscious effort we run the risk of acting in ways that are self-destructive. This is the powerful insight of psychologist Jim McCullough about people who have experienced repeated …
A morning ritual improves mood – For people who are trying to live creatively with moods, how the day starts can have a powerful impact. And the morning ritual is an effective way of changing that experience. Researchers have found that organized patterns of behavior (rituals) help our brains cope with uncertainty and reduce anxiety. So if you’re not sure …
Progressive Muscle Relaxation is the relaxation technique that I have had the most success with, (and I have tried many of them!) – by that we mean a technique to help in the moment with stress and anxiety, as opposed to something like mindfulness meditation or another meditation technique, which works best as a regular practice that over time reduces anxiety. …
