Mood Charting

What is Mood Charting, and why do we think it’s so important? In simple terms, mood charting is making notes, either on paper or electronically, about what your mood is at about the same time each day.  The chart can include other data points, such as hours of sleep, or type and duration of exercise, but the main idea is …

New Year’s Resolutions

How to make New Year’s Resolutions What is a New Year’s resolution, anyway?  Are you always determined to make yourself a better person than you were before?  Or is it more like the wish you make when you blow out your birthday candles: quickly thought up and quickly forgotten? Before you set this weight loss goal or that gym membership …

How To Overcome Perfectionism

Perfectionism is defined as refusing to accept anything except flawlessness.  At first glance, this may seem like an admirable trait that will lead to, if not perfection, at least much higher quality in everything we do.  However, perfectionism doesn’t work that way, it makes sufferers fearful of attempting anything that may turn out to have flaws.  Human life being what …

Exercise and Bipolar

Abundant evidence shows that exercise is helpful in depression and anxiety, in fact, some specialists suggest that exercise should be the first intervention attempted in cases of mild to moderate depression.  However, research into the relationship of exercise and bipolar has been spotty, at best. The available studies have used very small study groups, and have not considered different types …

Rumination

What is rumination and how can it be overcome? Rumination, or repetitive negative thinking, can be a symptom, and possibly even a cause of depression.  But where does it come from, does it have any upsides, and what can you do about it if you feel stuck in an endless loop of regret, recrimination and overthinking the past? Psychologists distinguish …

Own Your Courage

Living with mental illness or mood disorder day after day can be taxing and tiring.  You have to be more disciplined, stronger, more organized and more on top of things than anyone else you know.  You are bombarded with advice about dealing with a chronic illness: exercise helps, diet is important, be sure to get enough sleep, but not too …

Horticulture Therapy

Gardening improves mood Spring has sprung and people are looking to the outdoors, plants and gardening for a mood lift, a lifestyle change and a tried and true path to happiness and fulfillment. For those who think such attitudes are maybe a tad over-optimistic, we can show a surprising amount of research on the mental and physical health benefits of …

Quit Smoking

Grade A for effort In a conversation with a patient who was trying to quit smoking we discovered that people often grade themselves only for final success and not for “effort”.  The patient said that he did feel like he is doing better, but he still has cravings for a cigarette, and he would like to be at a place …

take pleasure

Take Pleasure

What’s the best way to cope with stress?  Our friend Rick Hanson, whom we frequently quote in this blog, wonders why people don’t Take Pleasure.   There are so many fun things to do, some take hardly any time or money, why don’t we just take time out to smell the roses, or the dinner cooking, or the perfume…  Why don’t …

Shame, Guilt and Bipolar

A manic or hypomanic episode (mild or severe) can lead a person to taking actions that may be unhealthy, unwise, or even harmful to self or others.  This can lead, afterwards, to feelings of guilt and shame.  We feel bad about what we have done, but we don’t always know how to move on and make amends.  These feelings can …

Increasing joy in response to stress

Build in Joy

Time to build in more joy Anxiety, stress, loneliness, grief, and a welter of other emotions are becoming familiar to many of us during this pandemic.  Lockdowns and quarantines, being unable to visit or hug loved ones, worrying about employment, children’s schooling, and how to pay the bills – it’s no wonder it’s getting us down! The idea of increasing …

Resilience

How to develop resilience to face difficult times Resilience is a process that people can learn and activate to help recover from personal or community disaster, trauma or loss.  While it has sometimes been described as a trait that some people have and others don’t, it is better understood as a skill, or series of skills, that we can all …

Mood Homeostasis and Depression

MoodSurfing advocates identifying strategies for managing moods without medications, not because we think medications are bad, but because they do have potential adverse effects. We think that some of these strategies are very helpful, but the psychiatric establishment has not always agreed. A recent study1 provides evidence that choosing activities to stabilize mood can have a big impact on mental …