Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Uncategorized”
How does medication for bipolar affect creativity? The effect of medication on personal creativity and artistic productivity is often a concern for people beginning to manage their bipolar. A widespread belief is that mania produces creative power that artists and writers can transform into works of art; and conversely, that the medication which dampens manic episodes also reduces the ability …
Healthy lifestyle is a matter of establishing healthy habits and breaking unhealthy habits. We can’t make a decision each and every day to have the oatmeal for breakfast instead of donuts. The idea is to get in the habit of reaching for the oatmeal without having to think it through. Especially at this time of year, many people are thinking …
We’re all spending more time online these days, and learning to do things inside that we used to go out to do. How can we use this time positively to increase health, coping skills, mindfulness, and general well-being? There are more and more online resources for improving mindfulness and mental health. It seems like we just finish a list of …
Moodsurfing offers a guest post by Deborah Michelle Sanders, JD. Deborah has had lifelong PTSD and has had Bipolar Disorder (first Type I, then II,) since 1984. She is a lawyer in three States. She was first home bound in 2015. We think that this article is a thoughtful perspective on our current situation. The views in the article are, …
Blue light therapy is another interesting frontier of neurological studies. A recent study looked at the use of blue light therapy for patients with mild traumatic brain injury. In this randomized control trial, exposure to blue light helped study participants to improve their sleep patterns, and unexpectedly, showed actual improvements in brain structure, possibly because of better timing and quality …
Holidays. Family. Cheer. Giving. Stress. Conflict. All of the above… Fasten your seatbelt, December is here again, and it’s time to plan for defusing holiday stress. Over the years, we’ve developed a few pointers towards strategies that come up again and again. Take a deep breath. You can do this! Let it happen. All human cultures from the dawn of …
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is more than just the “blues”. Affecting up to 5% of adults in the United States, it can last as much as 40 percent of the year. SAD can cause significant impairment of normal daily activity, and can lead to deeper complications if left unaddressed. The symptoms of SAD overlap with those of major depression, but …
How much stress are you undergoing? And how much effect does it have on your life? Stress is a multidimensional feature of chronic illness. It can affect mood swings, blood sugar levels, weight gain or loss, inflammation and other problems. And stress can sneak up on you without warning. We all live with stressors in the modern world, and we …
Our friends at BPHope have done it again! A new post showing “Five Famous Females who are crushing stigma” gives us thumbnails of five interesting celebrities with bipolar, and only one of them has already been profiled on Moodsurfing: Demi Lovato. The others are three actors and a news anchor, all of whom are talking publicly about their diagnoses and …
How about if there was scientific evidence to support the notion that a sauna, or a nice, hot bath, or spending time lying in the sun on the beach is good for your mental health? Moodsurfing is always on the alert for evidence related to alternative treatments such as music, meditation, and nutritional supplements, so this article caught our collective …
A thoughtful personal reflection in the New York Times about living with bipolar may be of interest to Moodsurfing readers. The author describes passing through a range of beliefs about mental illness and wellness, from a feeling of stigma about not being able to “snap out of it” to a sense of comfort engendered by a more “biological” paradigm. Later, …
Stanford University will be hosting a Mood Disorders Education Day for families, communities and “Moodsurfers” themselves. The event is free, including a light breakfast and lunch, but you must pre-register to attend. Here’s the link for registration. The organizers say that the event usually fills up quickly, so it’s better to register early. Also, they request that you notify them …
Meditation sounds like such a good idea, but who has time? Especially when you’re energized and it feels like the world is your oyster. Colors are brighter and light and shadow so much richer – who has time for meditation? And yet, it’s when we’re in those high energy states that we know risky behavior is just around the corner. …
Does a stable romantic relationship give you a sense of security, or is it a source of anxiety? Do you have a partner who gets anxious at any potential separation between the two of you? Adult romantic relationships often reenact behaviors learned in infancy called attachment behavior. Attachment behavior theory looks at how infants develop relationships with their primary caregivers …
People often ask if there is some evolutionary or adaptive advantage to depression, perhaps hoping that there is at least some reason behind the painful experience. There are certainly some reasons to speculate about possible evolutionary advantages of depression, but it is difficult to structure research to give definitive answers to things that happened far in the past. First, we …
A well-documented link between media consumption and stress may be exacerbated by a “cycle of distress” in which individuals who feel greater stress and even trauma from watching televised coverage of violent events such as a mass shooting, are more likely to worry about such events re-occuring in the future, and therefore more likely to consume more media accounts of …
Are you trying to be the hero of someone else’s life? It’s surprising how often we fall into this trap. We want to be seen as good and helpful people, and we see that someone we love seems to be struggling. So we jump in and “help” them “solve” their problem. Why doesn’t that make them happy? “Rescuing” people can …
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 …
Can you change your brain? Recent research in the field of “neuroplasticity” suggests that the human brain continues to change and adapt throughout life. Furthermore, there is clear evidence that an individual can affect the changes to their own brain structure by how they pay attention to stimuli around them. The implication of this research is that, for example, a …
More and more studies are finding a link between religious and spiritual practices and improvements in mental health, including significant reductions in anxiety and reduced risk of depressive illness. While it is somewhat difficult to study this field, due to the wide variety of definitions and practices in the field of religion and spirituality, researchers are beginning to find ways …
