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.

British Psychology, Irritability, Mental Health Reporting – 3 New Things

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 11, 2011

3 Things I’ve Learned About Mental Health This Week

In a continuation of the 3 New Things series, this week follows up on the British Psychological Society’s critique of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 5 (DSM-V), talks about irritable mood in bipolar disorder and expresses my general disdain for people who can’t report about mental health accurately.

Mixed Bipolar Disorder – Mixed Mood Episodes in Bipolar 2

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 10, 2011

As I mentioned, mixed moods are technically considered part of the manic phase of bipolar disorder and thus, by definition, are only a part of bipolar disorder type 1. However, those of us with bipolar type 2 can tell you we mix it up with the best of them.

So, in part II of this series on mixed moods in bipolar disorder, I look at mixed moods in bipolar type II.

Mixed Moods in Bipolar Type II

Now that we’ve wandered into Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-free territory, definitions on mixed states get a bit looser.

Mixed mood states may be, in fact, the most common way of experiencing bipolar type II. I find most people have a hard time distinctly separating “depression” from “hypomania” from “normal” moods. There is just too much crossover.

Two Types of Mixed Moods in Bipolar Disorder

Additionally, considering mixed moods to be part of the manic phase of bipolar disorder becomes useless when looking at bipolar II. As an article in Psychiatric Times suggests, there are really two types of mixed moods in bipolar disorder:

Mixed mood with depression as the primary mood (meeting the criteria for depression with some hypomania symptoms present)
Mixed mood with hypomania as the primary mood (meeting the criteria for hypomania with some depression symptoms present)

Those two mood types better reflect my own experience and I think the clinical experience of other patients and doctors.

Mixed Bipolar Disorder – Mixed Mood Episodes in Bipolar 1

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Aug 8, 2011

Ask a Bipolar – What is a mixed mood in bipolar disorder?

As one of the Burble’s commenters mentioned, there seems to be a lack of good information on mixed moods available. After some Googling, I would tend to agree. While mixed mood episodes are pretty common for us bipolar folk, few people seem to be discussing it.

This is the beginning of a four-part series on mixed moods in bipolar disorder:

Mixed Mood Episodes in Bipolar Type I
Mixed Mood Episodes in Bipolar Type II
Changes to Mixed Mood Episode Diagnosis in the Revision of the DSM
Treating Mixed Mood Episodes

Custom Bipolar Mood Scales for the T2 Mood Tracker

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 28, 2011

As requested, I’m going to provide the details on the custom mood / variables I use in the T2 Mood Tracker. These are just my variables, they certainly don’t have to be yours, but they might be good to glance over.

Custom Moods / Variables I Use to Improve Mood Tracking

As I mentioned, the difficult a case you are, and boy am I difficult, the more challenging the patterns can be to find. This is why I’ve included these extra variables. Custom moods / variables include:

Sleep
Exercise
Hypomania
Physical

Mood Tracking for Bipolar Disorder – How Do I Track My Mood? (2/2)

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 27, 2011

OK, you’ve sold me as to why I should track my mood (part 1); so just how do I track my mood?

Obviously, the simplest form of mood tracking is just recording depression and mania on a scale, say, of one-to-ten. You could use a “paper” and “pencil” (look it up on Wikipedia).

You might still notice mood trends but that type of mood tracking is not nearly as helpful as it could be. And the more complicated your case, the more you already know, the more subtle your shifts may be and the less you’ll see using simple methods.

There are far more useful, not to mention easier, options.

Ask a Bipolar – What Mental Health Topics Are You Interested In?

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 22, 2011

If you’ve been around for the last couple of weeks either at the Burble or at Breaking Bipolar, you know it’s been pretty much all suicide all the time. And there will probably be more to come on suicide as it’s an awfully big topic.

But I do have a question for everyone:

What topics would you like to see on the Burble?

Warning Signs You Need to Know – How to Predict a Suicide Attempt (2/2)

Posted by Natasha Tracy | Jul 20, 2011

In part one I discussed the details of a study about 100 people who attempted suicide in Florida. Part two outlines the predictive factors for suicide attempts identified in this study and how we can use this information to predict who will attempt suicide.

And perhaps more importantly, how you can prevent a suicide attempt in a loved one.