As we get older, some individuals find that enjoying activities, or the people, places and things that were once very rewarding and enjoyable are just not pleasurable anymore. In fact, they just can’t find pleasure in life at all. The things that used to bring joy to their life noContinue Reading
All of us have bad moods from time to time. Bad moods are generally short periods of “the blues,” when you would rather be left alone. Although withdrawal, isolation and peace and quiet can be nice sometimes. For example, it can be difficult to read a good book or concentrateContinue Reading
Keeping track of your mood from day to day is fairly simple as well as an important part of having a clear view to your recovery. By accurately recording your moods and activity you can begin to identify patterns. For example, you might start to see that your mood improvesContinue Reading
The quality of our life is determind by the quality of our focus. When we are aware of our feelings we choose which feeling to focus upon. Focusing on negative feelings shortens the time that we spend on the positive parts of our lives. Tools for Shaping Emotions Part ofContinue Reading
Dysthymic Disorder is a similar but less severe form of Major Depressive Disorder. People who experience Dysthymic Disorder have a low mood or mild depression for a few hours to most of the day on most days. Most of the extreme symptoms exhibited in those having Major Depressive Disorder areContinue Reading
Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder in which an individual’s mood alternates between helplessness and lethargy or depression and the overexcited state of mania – formerly called manic-depressive disorder. Highs and Lows Episodes of major depression usually end, and people go back to previous behavior patterns – either permanently orContinue Reading
What was once thought to be exclusively an adult mood disorder, and seen earliest in the late teen years, bipolar disorder among children has become much more common since the mid-1990s. A review of national diagnostic trends in the United States found that the number of children, including very youngContinue Reading
Prior to the 1970s Bipolar Disorders were unsuccessfully treated with antidepressants until the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Lithium. Some patients responded better with litium than with antiseizure drugs such as Tegretol (Carbamazepine) and Depakote (Valproate), or to a combination of such drugs. (Altamura et al., 2011;Continue Reading
Almost everyone gets angry sometimes, but statistics show that one out of five Americans – twenty percent – has an anger management problem. They allow their anger to completely dominate and take over, reducing the quality of their life. If you want to maintain control, no matter what life hurlsContinue Reading
You may have noticed that certain situations can make you angry. Knowing what makes you angry can help you prepare a response strategy to use when you find yourself in one of these situations. It is important to remember that people, events or things do not cause you to experienceContinue Reading