The Practicing Mental Illness Newsletter

 

I have transitioned from this blog to a weekly newsletter and won't be posting new content here. The newsletter contains insightful news on how to predict, prevent and manage episodes of anxiety, depression and mania. It includes compelling and irreverent information on meditation and features from "Getting Older With Bipolar," as well as provocative original thoughts on the politics of mental illness and content on meaningful work.

Thanks for joining me on this journey on this blog, and please continue to travel with me as we approach mental illness from a unique, responsible and compassionate perspective.

Please have a look at and subscribe to the Practicing Mental Illness newsletter here.

Jobs and Benefits

What do you do when you can work, and work well, but mental illness increasingly makes it more challenging?

Excessive Spending by People with Bipolar Disorder

No one can blow through money quite like a person in a manic episode.  I’ve flown across the country to buy an expensive piece of art.  I’ve pulled into a car dealership and bought an Acura with my American Express card.

Bipolar Disorder and Unemployment

The unemployment rate for people with bipolar disorder is over 60%. This rate persists even in people with bipolar disorder who have achieved functional recovery.

Handling Anxiety

And now the surge they predicted would come, and now more restrictions as we shut down again to try and stop it. 

People had this hope that, as we came to the end of 2020, we would put up a new calendar on January 1st and all would be back to normal. Now we know that's not going to happen.

Anxiety is to be expected when we face challenges like the ones we face now. It's normal. The point is not to ignore it, and not to run from it. You can manage it and keep it from drastically disrupting your life.

That's what my book, Resilience: Handling Anxiety in a Time of Crisis is about. It's helping people. Check it out here. And thank you.

Treating Mania in Older Patients with Bipolar Disorder

Little effort is made toward treating bipolar disorder in seniors.  Geriatric psychiatry is not a sexy specialty for doctors in training, and research on treatment for older patients is scant.

Mental Health, Race and the Police

The death of Walter Wallace, Jr in Philadelphia is a tragedy. A tragedy of mental health, not of race.

 

Last night, knowing what was to come throughout the city, I went to bed sad. Seeing the video on the TV this morning, I am still sad. A man I have much in common with was killed in a police shooting, and the significant story has been lost in a melee of riots and looting.