Let There be Light
I have been an emergency registrar approximately forever. Some people’s training years form a crisp, well defined, early-adult life phase. Mine are evolving into a meandering opus.
In early 2013, awake with a newborn in the wee hours of the morning, (a highly recommended setting for major life decision making) I concocted an audacious plan to Finish My Training. Rotations, exam sittings and an interstate move all slotted in with tetris-like precision, it was brilliant in theory but too fragile for in vivo conditions. Such was the interdependency of the various elements that an unexpected delay in the completion of one co...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - November 17, 2014 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Kristin Boyle Tags: Healthy Lifestyle Review Tech Tool Tech Tutes night-shift re-timer shift work shiftwork Source Type: blogs
Happy? Me? Strange, new feeling! : )
I am actually happy and content with my life right now! It is a wonderful, if not scary, feeling. I haven't felt this good in so long that I can't even remember when it was. I find it sad that whenever I am simply happy I don't trust my feelings. I have to analyze "am I too happy?", but no, I have zero hypomanic symptoms. I really am simply happy. Then I start worrying and even warning people about how depressed I can get and probably will be again soon. Surely this can't last? And I know it won't. Eventually, for everyone, something situational will happen to bri...
Source: bipolar.and.me - September 27, 2014 Category: Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
FDA Approves New Weight Loss Drug From Orexigen And Takeda
The FDA announced today that it had approved Contrave, the long-awaited and much-disputed weight loss drug. The drug is a combination of two drugs already approved for other indications: naltrexone hydrochloride, which is used to combat alcohol and opioid dependence, and bupropion, which is used to treat depression and seasonal affective disorder and as an aid to smoking cessation treatment. Contrave is manufactured by Orexigen and will be distributed by Takeda. … Click here to read the full post on Forbes. (Source: CardioBrief)
Source: CardioBrief - September 11, 2014 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: People, Places & Events Policy & Ethics Prevention, Epidemiology & Outcomes Contrave FDA obesity Orexigen weight loss Source Type: blogs
Can Weather Affect Your Mood?
As most of the nation suffers through some of the hottest temperatures on record this summer, people are asking the question of how exactly does weather impact our mood. For instance, how does hot weather affect our mood? Does it make us more aggressive — or even more violent?
Does rain make us sad? How about cold temperatures… do they make us feel more like wanting to hunker down, hibernate, and isolate ourselves from others?
Let’s revisit how weather affects our mood and impacts our lives.
I last covered this topic a few years ago, taking a broad look at the research to see all of the different ways we...
Source: World of Psychology - August 29, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Green and Environment Psychology Research Cold Weather Emotions heat High Temperatures Humidity Mood Rain Season Suicide weather affects our mood weather impacts our mood Source Type: blogs
Trazadone Side Effect and I HATE PRIME THERAPEUTICS
When I was rationing my klonipin because I used it faster than I could reorder, I took double trazadone thinking it would help my anxiety. It seems like it has an anti-anxiety effect on me. But I felt so very nauseous and when I finally got my klonipin and stopped doubling trazadone, the nausea went away. I attributed it to withdrawal from my daily dose of klonipin.Last night, I took Trazadone (my daily dosage is 100mg for sleep) right before I went to bed. I take it to sleep through the night and it usually works but not 100%. I woke up in the middle of the night so I took an...
Source: bipolar.and.me - August 15, 2014 Category: Mental Illness Source Type: blogs
Building Unity Farm - Signs of Spring
Today is the vernal equinox and many people in New England are suffering from seasonal affective disorder after the coldest, snowiest, most relentless winter on record.The 100 animals of Unity Farm are relishing the first 24 hours since November with temperatures above freezing.Around the farm, signs of early spring are upon us. When I walked the Marsh trail this morning I saw skunk cabbage poking through the icy ground. Skunk cabbage is biologically warm and is generally the first plant to leaf out in the wetlands. Our bees are likely to fly today and bring skunk cabbage pollen back to the hives...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - March 20, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Source Type: blogs
What Is Sad About Living and Dealing With SAD?
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder aka the Winter Blues? Tips to help understand the effects of SAD on your mental health.Contributor: Denise Nathan, M.A.Published: Nov 26, 2013 (Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content)
Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content - November 26, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Source Type: blogs
Coping for the Seasonally Affected
It just so happens to be an incredibly gloomy day today. And a Monday. The 1970s music group “The Carpenters” weren’t kidding.
Looking out the window the sky is a dirty white, there is no bright yellow sun poking through the clouds, and it is just dark enough to roll over and fall back asleep.
Starting in my early teens, the weather has consistently had a massive impact on me. It will take my low lower, my high higher. It can even make my high low, and vice versa. The sun, I have often said, can be all I need on some days. A part of me may just worship that sun.
It seems that those days when the sky is o...
Source: World of Psychology - November 23, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Jillayna Adamson Tags: Brain and Behavior Depression Disorders General Mental Health and Wellness Personal Psychology Self-Help changes in mood Sad Seasonal Affective Disorder seasonal mood Weather Source Type: blogs
Best of Our Blogs: November 19, 2013
Someone told me recently that I strongly identify with labels. Instead of saying, “I’m worried,” for example, I might say, “I have anxiety.” Instead of saying, “I’m down,” I might say, “I have Seasonal Affective Disorder.”
In hearing this, I realized that not only did I begin to associate “I am” with illness, but that a lot of people in my life did the same thing. We were jumping from symptoms to diagnosis. We were categorizing experiences in neat, little file folders like good and bad, as if life could be placed that way.
Just because you received a d...
Source: World of Psychology - November 19, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Brandi-Ann Uyemura, M.A. Tags: Best of Our Blogs Agoraphobia anxiety Anxiety Disorder Fear Major Depressive Disorder Mental Health Humor Panic Attack Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Psychology Seasonal Affective Disorder social media The Psychology of Success Wo Source Type: blogs
How To Combat Seasonal Affective Disorder
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a type of depressive disorder that affects an estimated 5 percent of the U.S. adult population. Most people who experience SAD begin to feel melancholy at the onset of autumn and continue a decline in mood and energy throughout the winter months.
Up to 20 percent of the adult population may experience SAD-like symptoms. Some go on to develop the full disorder while others simply feel down as less daylight is available. In either case, no one wants to feel depressed, especially during the busiest holiday season of the year. If you have SAD or SAD-like symptoms, try these tips to help...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - November 17, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: alawrence Tags: depression self improvement happiness health pickthebrain sad seasonal affective disorder Source Type: blogs
SAD Days: a Personal Narrative
This isn’t about feelings of melancholia or unhappiness; those would be easier to handle. This is about Seasonal Affective Disorder. From someone who knows.Contributor: Jack GoblinPublished: Nov 12, 2013 (Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content)
Source: Most Recent Health Wellness - Associated Content - November 12, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Source Type: blogs
Are You Struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) — sometimes known as the “winter blues” — is an “equal-opportunity oppressor,” according to Norman Rosenthal, M.D., in his comprehensive book Winter Blues Survival Guide: A Workbook for Overcoming SAD. This form of clinical depression affects people of all ages — even kids — races and ethnic groups.
Fortunately, SAD is highly treatable. One of the keys to managing the disorder is knowing your personal pattern of symptoms. This plays a big role in how you’ll treat your disorder.
For instance, if your symptoms last during several months of winter, t...
Source: World of Psychology - October 29, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. Tags: Antidepressant Books Depression Disorders General Medications Mental Health and Wellness Self-Help Treatment Bupropion Major Depressive Disorder Sad Seasonal Affective Disorder Solstice Sunlight Winter Blues Winter Depressi Source Type: blogs
Two Quick Reminders: Seasonal Depression and Off to School
Labor Day weekend. Time for two quick seasonal reminders:
The days are becoming shorter. Many of you, from past experience, are already experiencing a state of terror. As bipolars, we are extremely sensitive to the change in the seasons, which makes us sitting ducks for winter depressions. Even in the San Diego area where I live, this is a major concern.
Winter depression - officially known as seasonal affective disorder - is... (Source: John McManamy's SharePosts)
Source: John McManamy's SharePosts - September 1, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Authors: John McManamy Source Type: blogs
Got the Summer Blues? 5 Ideas That May Help
Picnics at the beach.
Afternoons by the pool.
Three months of summer bliss.
Or not.
For many people, the summer months are the most difficult. In fact, 10 percent of those diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder suffer symptoms at the brightest time of the year. The summer’s brutal heat, bright light, and long days can contribute to depression for the opposite reasons that the winter does. Like typical SAD, the change of light can affect a person’s circadium rhythm, which may disturb overall health and sleep patterns.
But you don’t need to suffer from summer SAD to slog through the hot days. A substantial part of...
Source: World of Psychology - August 19, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Brain and Behavior Depression Disorders General Health-related Mental Health and Wellness Self-Help Amino Acids Brain Tissue Circadium Rhythm Coffee Drinkers Depression Anxiety Diet Coke Diet Soda Drink Soda Effects Of Dehydr Source Type: blogs
What tests are MORE important than cholesterol?
In the conventional practice of early heart disease prevention, cholesterol testing takes center stage. Rarely does it go any further, aside from questions about family history and obvious sources of modifiable risk such as smoking and sedentary lifestyle.
So standard practice is to usually look at your LDL cholesterol, the value that is calculated, not measured, then–almost without fail–prescribe a statin drug. While there are indeed useful values in the standard cholesterol panel–HDL cholesterol and triglycerides–they are typically ignored or prompt no specific action.
But a genuine effort at he...
Source: Track Your Plaque Blog - May 13, 2013 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Lipoprotein testing Omega-3 fatty acids Omega-3 index Thyroid health vitamin D Source Type: blogs
