Celiac Disease and Bipolar Disorder

People with celiac disease are 17 times more likely to have bipolar disorder than those without.

Meditation and Mood Swings

Can meditation help you identify oncoming anxiety, depression or mania and give you time to intervene and avoid the worst? I’ve found that it can.

Meditation is simply being still and noticing things. Feelings in the body and thoughts that come up in the mind are observed without harsh judgment or fixation. They don’t need to be dismissed, but are instead observed and reflected on for their effect on one’s wellbeing.

Being conscious of the nature of thoughts and the sensations in the body can be a powerful tool in predicting mood changes.

Go for a Walk

Every time I take a retreat at a monastery walking is a key part of practice. At Zen monasteries they call it Kinhin. In Catholic monasteries it is sometime the only opportunity the monks have to speak to one another

Parenting and Mental Illness

It's been a challenging year for parents with mental illness. From shutdowns to job loss, many of us have struggled through the Spring and Summer of 2020. Now it's Fall.

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I'm transitioning from this blog to a weekly newsletter. It contains insightful news on how to predict, prevent and manage episodes of anxiety, depression and mania. I'll include compelling and irreverent information on meditation and features from "Getting Older With Bipolar."

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Maybe the News About Longevity isn't Really That Bad

Last week I wrote about longevity and bipolar disorder and the numbers were a little scary. When you dig into them a little bit the situation doesn’t look as grim. It turns out that lifestyle choices are key to living long with mental illness. Unfortunately, people with mental illness often make poor lifestyle choices.

The Average Lifespan of People with Bipolar Disorder

What’s the average lifespan of someone with bipolar disorder? Now that I’m in my 50s, and now that I’ve lived with the diagnosis for nearly three decades, I wonder if I’ll live as long as others without the disorder. According to research, probably not.