Heading into Daylight Savings Time here in the Northeast, we are facing the darker, shorter days of winter. For many people that also means a dip in mood. And for a sub-group of those folks, the loss of daylight hours can trigger a depressive episode, which goes beyond a sad mood to include symptoms such as low energy, impaired concentration, trouble enjoying things, and hopelessness. This is referred to as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Shining a Light on Depression In addition to therapy and antidepressants, we also use “light therapy” to treat and manage seasonal depression. This means ..read more

David Blech would be a multi-billionaire today if only he had been asleep for the last 15 years. In his early 20s, David, his older brother, Isaac, and their father became pioneers in the biotech industry when they built Genetic Systems Corporation around a group of talented scientists including Robert Nowinski. The company was sold to Bristol Myers in 1986 for $294 million of Bristol Myers stock. Blech’s wealth grew with the industry as he served as the initial financial force behind more than a dozen biotech companies that continue the fight against many diseases including Parkinson’s, cance ..read more

After a month or more of stay-at-home orders — with daily onslaughts of news about the coronavirus pandemic and the fraying economy — almost everyone is reaching new levels of frustration, fear, and grief. With no clear endpoint or idea of what comes next, uncertainty is becoming a constant in our lives, which drains a lot of personal bandwidth. “Not knowing” keeps our nervous systems on high alert. Fear of the unknown is a built-in survival instinct — but one that’s built for instant challenges like a bear in the bushes, not for the 24/7 news cycle. Chronic elevation of our alert system is e ..read more

Just to let you know, I will be delivering a webinar called “Back to the Basics: Bipolar Disorder 101” hosted by the International Bipolar Foundation this coming Monday, March 30 at 4:00 PM EST. Register for the webinar here ..read more

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) is a childhood condition characterized by ongoing irritability and frequent temper outbursts (verbal or behavioral) that are inappropriate for the given situation and excessive to whatever provoked the outburst. This is a relatively new diagnosis introduced in the latest (fifth) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which was published in 2013. Prior to the DMDD diagnosis, many children with these symptoms (ongoing irritability and anger) were being misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder. Follow-up research sh ..read more

Although people who live with bipolar, depression, or other psychiatric illnesses often are relieved to receive an explanation for why they are feeling the way they feel, they rarely, if ever, appreciate being “labeled.” In fact, we go out of our way not to label people as “depressed,” “bipolar,” or “schizophrenic,” because these labels can be stigmatizing. Instead, we use “people first language” to describe people as “having” or “living with” these conditions, in an effort to reduce stigma. The question then becomes why are such labels even necessary? In medicine, the terms used to reference ..read more