Greatest Hits

I repost a lot here from my blog on PsychCentral, "Getting Older With Bipolar."  I plan on doing less of that in 2020, and putting up more original content here.  In the meantime, here's a link to my most popular posts in 2019.  Happy New Year!

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/older-bipolar/2019/12/aging-and-mental-illness-2019-in-review/

A Season for Giving

I love Christmas, so I’m not about to ruin it by making you feel guilty for worrying about yourself because some people have more challenges than you.  Don’t ever diminish your own suffering by comparing yourself to others who may be worse off.

But don’t stop serving them, either.

About Those Kids with Bipolar Disorder

Can children have bipolar disorder? 

After years of being told that the typical age of onset of bipolar disorder is late adolescence or early adulthood, we are now overwhelmed with elementary school-aged children with mood disorders.

Healing From Trauma

“In a recent government survey, 60% of US adults said that as children they had experienced significant abuse and/or neglect.”

That’s how James S Gordon kicks off his new book, The Transformation: Discovering and Healing After Trauma.  So, of course I was skeptical.

Gordon then goes on to include in his definition of trauma serious illness, discrimination and loss of a loved one, things well beyond physical abuse and/or neglect.  Suddenly, the 60% figure seemed low.  I expected another book for the “worried well.”

I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of useful information in each chapter.

Revolution, Madness & the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father

I often get the bus at Third and Walnut in Philadelphia.  There’s a beautiful garden there with a plaque on the wall that identifies the site as the location of Benjamin Rush’s residence.

Rush signed the Declaration of Independence and brokered the peace between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, but his most lasting legacy was as a physician and the role he played in the treatment of those with mental illness.