A safe place to talk openly about mental health & illness
Ask anyone of a certain age what comes to mind first when they hear the term electroconvulsive therapy (aka ECT, aka electroshock therapy, aka shock therapy), and chances are they will mention the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest starring Jack Nicholson. The reality is very different.
The Ups and Downs – A Bipolar Picture Book by Kat Owens is an adult-oriented picture book, although there's no "adult" content and it would be very appropriate to help younger people understand bipolar disorder. The author aims to show the ups and downs of everyday life with bipolar. She herself lives with bipolar II.… Continue reading Book Review: The Ups and Downs: A Bipolar Picture Book
As a person with depression, being open and honest with treatment providers is likely to go straight out the window if it appears to conflict with whatever goal feels most pressing to me at the time.
This post is by Emma from Mental Health Matters. Hello, my name is Emma and this is a piece I wrote for my blog in 2018. Since writing this article, I have found a treatment that is helping me. I have a disease called PMDD, and the supplement I am taking is called Jubilance for PMS. Jubilance has… Continue reading Emerging Blogger Series: Emma (Mental Health Matters)
Cannabis. It's a plant that's well known for getting people high, but it's also become increasingly accepted for medicinal purposes, particularly for pain and nausea. But what do we know about the interaction between cannabis and mental illness? There's been a clearly established link between cannabis use and triggering the onset of psychotic illness in… Continue reading Cannabis & Mental Illness: What Does the Research Say?
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term is ultra rapid cycling in bipolar disorder. Rapid cycling and the DSM-5 Rapid cycling describes the frequency of switching between mania/hypomania and depression in bipolar disorder. The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders… Continue reading What Is… Ultra Rapid Cycling in Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Me by Janet Coburn explores her journey with bipolar II disorder. The book is made up of blog posts, which are divided into chapters based on theme. The chapters cover topics like the symptoms of bipolar disorder, the "med-go-round", times of struggling, dealing with social situations, and broader societal issues. Each post is pretty… Continue reading Book Review: Bipolar Me
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay I became a nurse in 2004, which was before I became mentally ill. Even then, I wasn't a fan of using a 1-10 mood rating scale with my patients. It struck me as a bit of a cop-out—a poor substitute for actually exploring with the person how they were feeling. Adventures in… Continue reading Why I Hate the 1 – 10 Mood Rating Scale
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a subtype of depression with symptoms that occur based on a seasonal pattern. Typically depressive symptoms occur during the winter, but other patterns are possible. For example, depressive symptoms may appear in the spring, or anxiety symptoms may show up in the summer. The potential symptoms of SAD are the… Continue reading What Is… Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
In 2013 the International Society for Bipolar Disorders and the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments combed through the scientific literature and put together these guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of bipolar disorder. Treatments are classified as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd line based on the strength of existing evidence to support their effectiveness. Also… Continue reading Bipolar Disorder Treatment Guidelines
