Bipolar’s Not Bad Enough – We Beat Ourselves Up – Advice

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Oct 3, 2011

Part of having a mental illness like bipolar disorder is having a brain that hates you. A brain that overreacts to the slightest perceived imperfection. All it takes is believing that we have done something wrong for our brain to see it as a capital offense and spend hours or days beating ourselves up about it.

This is pretty de rigueur for someone with a mental illness (especially depression or anxiety).

Beating Yourself Up Over a Perceived Error

And this morning I got an email from someone in just this situation. This person had spent some time with friends and felt they were overly-anxietious, overly-talkative, overly-hyper and so on. And unfortunately, this person was using this perception to beat themselves up.

This is wrong. Please read my response to this person. I hope it will help anyone in this situation (which includes me, from time to time).

Free rTMS, Brain Changes in Depressed Females, Why Anti-Benzodiazepine? – 3 New Things

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 29, 2011

Last week I didn’t post three new things but don’t take that to mean I wasn’t learning because I certain was, and always am. For this week I have these three new pieces of information to share:

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment for depression to be free for (some) Canadians
Brain changes are noted in depressed females
Why are some doctors anti-benzodiazepine?

I Can’t Get Pregnant – I Have Bipolar Disorder

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 22, 2011

Should People with Bipolar Have Kids?

I am now 33. And that’s one of those ages where the biological clock starts to have a deafening ring. But the thing is I can’t get pregnant; I can’t have kids; I have bipolar disorder.

Breaking Bipolar Articles You Should Read

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 20, 2011

Admit it – you haven’t kept up with your bipolar reading. Come on. I know it. I can barely keep up and I write the bipolar articles.

Luckily for you, I like you a lot, and I’m happy to give you a little cheat sheet on what’s been getting attention at Breaking Bipolar. We’ve got mental illness and higher education, mental illness and physical pain, how to tell if it’s a med side effect and oh so much more.

Articles Breaking Bipolar Over at HealthyPlace

Here is a sampling of recent articles written for Breaking Bipolar at HealthyPlace to which people have positively responded:

Is it a Med Side Effect? – What is a medication side effect and what isn’t a med side effect? How can you tell?
Temperature Dysregulation – Or Why I’m So Cold – Speaking of side effects – did you know psychiatric meds can change how your body temperature feels?
Yes, You Can Get a Higher Degree With Bipolar Disorder – So many people have written me to say how successful they have been in school. Read this for inspiration and hope. Some people have taken 10 years to get their degree – but they got it. Article includes tips on being successful at school.
Mental Illness Means Physical Pain Too – People think mental illness is “just” in your head. They would be wrong about that.
Is It Really Never the Psychiatrist’s Fault? – I’m tired of doctors acting like they never make a mistake.
Being Thankful Even When Anhedonic – Even when I can’t feel pleasure I can feel grateful for the things that go right in my life.
How to Keep Going When Medication Doesn’t Work – And for your final dose of hope and encouragement, here are some tips on continuing mental illness treatment even when everything is going wrong.

Popular Articles at the Bipolar Burble

And just in case you haven’t been glued to the Bipolar Burble, here are a few things you should read here:

Questioning the Evidence of the Efficacy of Therapy for Depression – Interesting information on how evidence-based therapy for depression really is. Less so than I would have thought. And do you think CBT is intellectual and analytical? I do, but a commenter disagrees.
When to Get Off Antidepressants if You’re Bipolar – The first in a three-part series on getting off of antidepressants.
Important Safety Warnings for St. John’s Wort – please read if you’re on or thinking about trying St John’s Wort.
Cutting Supplemental Security Income Hurts Mentally Ill Children – a guest post by Allison Gamble that garnered a lot of reads.
Psychiatric Myths Dispelled by Doctor – Fighting Antipsychiatry – Have you read this article yet? It garnered more comments than any other at the Burble. It’s always a hot topic.

Let me know what you think and of course feel free to suggest topics any time.

New Antipsychiatry Discussion, L-Theanine, Rapid Cycling Markets – 3 New Things

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Sep 1, 2011

This week’s three new things include:

A new supplement that may help brain health and mental illness: l-theanine
A poor comparison between rapid cycling bipolar disorder and the financial markets
A new discussion of antipsychiatry

Bipolar Disorder – When to Get Off Antidepressants

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 31, 2011

I try not to give medical advice here because I am not a doctor. But so many people ask me about this I felt I had to address getting off antidepressants without withdrawal. So many people with bipolar disorder (depression and others) need information about getting off psych meds and they are not getting it from their doctors.

This is the first in a three-part series:

When to Stop Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder
How to Stop Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder While Minimizing Withdrawal
How to Stop Taking venlafaxine (Effexor) and Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) – as they are particularly nasty to get off

Mixed Bipolar Disorder – How to Treat Mixed Mood Episodes

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 23, 2011

In the final installation of my mixed moods series, I talk about how to treat mixed moods in bipolar disorder. If you need a refresher on mixed moods in bipolar 1 or bipolar 2, see the first three articles in this series:

Safety Warnings for St. John’s Wort

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 21, 2011

Including the Dangers of Using St. John’s Wort to Treat Bipolar Depression

I mentioned last week that St. John’s wort has been shown ineffective at treating mild depression as well as moderately severe depression (major depression).

Nevertheless, St. John’s wort is the most well-known alternative treatment for depression and many people take it. However, there are absolutely some dangers in taking St. John’s wort that you should know about, especially if you’re bipolar.

Mixed Moods in Bipolar Disorder and Depression in the DSM-V

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 16, 2011

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the manual that defines all mental illness in the US, is being revised and a new version is due out in 2013. One of the proposed changes to the DSM is to the diagnosis of mixed moods. This change is being proposed by a mood disorders workgroup. It aims to reflect clinical practice where doctors already refer to a “mixed” mood that doesn’t officially meet the DSM criteria. (As I noted, mixed moods are only technically recognized in bipolar type 1.)

Changes to the mixed mood diagnosis will help people with bipolar 1, bipolar 2 and unipolar depression get better treatment.