Talk Back: What suggestions can you share to help a reluctant person see a therapist? What techniques have worked on others or worked on you? There are no wrong answers and please read the comments to look for inspiration. Thank you, Gabe “Loved One Therapy” Video Transcript I get asked a lot how people can talk their [...]
Talkback To Gabe Howard & Psych Central: Using the comments below, talk about a time when you had to explain that, while you live with or advocate for mental illness, it’s not all you are. Share how you educated the listener to the differences and helped bridge the gap between the misunderstanding and truth. ‘Mental [...]
The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ was coined by Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in his book ‘Physiologie du Gout, ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante’ which was published in1826. Brillat-Savarin wrote of the correlation between diet and, in this instance, gout; but it wasn’t until the 1920s that this phrase becomes part of the everyday vernacular. If [...]
I’ve lived with depression my entire life. As far back as I can remember, I thought about suicide every day. On good days, I decided that I wouldn’t commit suicide and on bad days, I would think about how I would do it. When I was younger, I didn’t realize this was abnormal. I assumed everyone thought about suicide daily. I [...]
I love hope-filled stories of recovery from mental illness. Living with bipolar disorder has led to many instances of triumph over my circumstances and I often write about them. As anyone who lives with or knows someone with mental illness is aware, it’s a horrible disease. Do Positive Experiences Glorify Mental Illness? As a writer and speaker [...]
Anyone who has a basic working knowledge of bipolar disorder knows all about the extreme highs (mania) and extreme lows (acute depression) that a person with the disorder experiences. Anyone who knows someone with bipolar, or has studied the disease, knows about some of the other common symptoms, as well. There are literally hundreds of symptoms to manage, [...]
The internet is filled with articles about living with bipolar disorder. There are scientific articles written by medical professionals, but the most common examples are the “lived experience” articles, written by people living with the disorder — people like me. The lived experience articles typically cover two viewpoints: After diagnosis, but before recovery. These are written by people who [...]
When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2003, I knew exactly one thing about it: Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, had it. And he died by suicide in 1994. As a Nirvana fan, I paid attention to the news about his life — and death — but, with the exception of repeating [...]
In my role as a mental illness speaker and blogger, I receive a lot of comments and questions. The one item that stands out is that there is a lot of confusion over what bipolar disorder is and what it isn’t. Many folks believe that bipolar disorder is just a more socially acceptable form of [...]
When I got into advocacy work, public speaking, and blogging, I knew there would be people who disagreed with me and even disliked me altogether. I am familiar with pop culture references to “haters” and I know the comment section can be a difficult place to get opinions about my work. Much of the feedback [...]
