Category Archives: News & updates

Although popular culture tends to equate mania with happiness and depression with sadness this isn’t really the best way to think about what is happening in bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorder involves not so much a swing between happy and sad … Continue reading →

The American Psychiatric Association publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which describes the criteria necessary for the diagnosis of all mental disorders, including Major Depression. In the DSM, Major Depression appears as a member of the … Continue reading →

Major Depression The classic symptoms of Major Depression are described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR)*, the widely accepted standard guidelines for psychiatric diagnoses. Symptoms associated with Major Depression cause clinically significant distress and impairment in … Continue reading →

RASHMI NEMADE, PH.D., NATALIE STAATS REISS, PH.D., AND MARK DOMBECK, PH.D. SEP 19, 2007 UPDATED DEC 30, 2015 This section will focus mainly on Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), commonly referred to as “Major Depression” or simply, “Depression.” Other mood-related conditions will be … Continue reading →

MONDAY, May 12, 2014 (HealthDay News) — A smartphone app that uses voice analysis to detect mood changes in people with bipolar disorder is being tested by researchers. Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes extreme emotional highs and … Continue reading →

Bipolar Disorder, Light, and Darkness (updated 12/2014) Using light and darkness as treatment (less med’s!) How Light Affects the Brain Treatment Implications Yellow Eyeglasses to Avoid Blue Light? Where can I buy the yellow eyeglasses? Avoiding blue without wearing funny … Continue reading →

1. Q. What was the goal of the STEP-BD depression psychosocial treatment trial and how did it fit into STEP-BD? A. The study reported in the April 2007 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry describes the results of a … Continue reading →

This article exemplifies the AAFP 2000 Annual Clinical Focus on mental health. Bipolar disorder most commonly is diagnosed in persons between 18 and 24 years of age. The clinical presentations of this disorder are broad and include mania, hypomania and … Continue reading →

Antipsychotic medicines are sometimes used together with mood stabilisers to help treat an episode of high mood (mania). They are used as an initial treatment to help control the symptoms while the mood stabiliser begins to work. Antipsychotic medicines can … Continue reading →

Antidepressants in Bipolar Disorder: The Controversies Updated 11/2014 1. Do antidepressants even work in bipolar depression? 2. Can antidepressants trigger manic symptoms? 3. Are antidepressants “mood de-stabilizers” ?      (3b: Kindling and Long-term Worsening) 4. If you’re on an … Continue reading →