Holiday Gift Guide: Unique Finds from Small Businesses
Before I veer too far off topic, let it be known that this post isn’t about bipolar disorder, per se. Now, the reason I’ve tested products from all of these small businesses may be thanks in part to my mania… but now I’m going to introduce these small businesses to you, just in time for…
Understanding BPD vs. Bipolar: Key Differences Explained
BPD, which stands for Borderline Personality Disorder, has significant areas of overlap with bipolar disorder. Both disorders implicate a breakdown in the emotion regulation areas of the brain. But what are the differences? Cross-sectionally, they’re sometimes quite difficult to tell apart. More differences emerge when looking longitudinally across time.
Essential Fidget Tools for AuDHD Comfort
Like most AuDHD people, I have distinct preferences for stim tools. My preferences may vary from your preferences. I use these tools while trying to focus at work, and so most (but not all) of these stim tools produce little to no noise. These are in no particular order.
Bipolar Disorder: Egosyntonic or Egodystonic?
The concept of egosyntonicity comes from the days of Freudian analysis, although it is still used among psychologists all over the map of treatment modality. Basically, an egosyntonic syndrome doesn’t come into conflict with the self — whereas an egodystonic condition does create inner conflict and, in doing so, causes significant distress. Here are some…
Evaluating Popular Therapies in Psychology
As you may know, I am not only a patient with autism/ADHD/bipolar disorder, but I am a researcher with a PhD in Psychology from UCLA. My training has included exposure to various therapies, particularly including ABA, CBT, and DBT (check out my first-author paper on DBT). This post is a quick guide to different kinds…
10 Ways to Reduce Stress and Prevent Burnout
Recently, someone on another website reached out to me and asked what they could do to reduce stress, and in turn reduce their chance of burning out and relapsing in mental illness and substance use. This is what I wrote back. What works for one person won’t necessarily work for everyone. I will say that…
Bipolar Disorder vs. Manic Depression: Importance of Lived Experience
You may have heard that Bipolar Disorder used to be known as Manic Depression. This was the case until 1980, with the advent of the DSM-III. The committee over at the APA who decides these things had three goals in mind when they changed the name: I want to clarify that while the APA laid…
The Impact of Bipolar Disorder on Physical Health
Those of us with bipolar disorder can bear a heavy burden when it comes to co-occurring conditions, medication side effects, and we are at higher risk for many diseases. Some of these effects are ameliorated by efforts at early screening and detection. We hope (perhaps naively) to catch tardive dyskinesia before it becomes permanent and…
Things that I found useful living in the Upper East Side of Manhattan
About six months ago, I moved out of my parents’ home on Long Island. I had been living there since I graduated with my PhD in Psychology. About three years, I think. I was eager to have my own space and spent many hours looking at furniture, most of which I could not afford. My…
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