U.S. Presidents and Bipolar Disease (BPD) or Major Depression Disease (MDD) It is tremendously difficult to search for reliable statistics about the incidence of BPD, MDD and Schizophrenia. After much effort on the internet the statistics that most jived were 0.8% for bipolar I, 1.8% for bipolar II and 1.0 % for schizophrenia. Looking for […]
My First Depression Psychotic Depression During my third year of medical school a foreboding of things to come occurred in January of 1973. To say I began to have anxiety puts it mildly. I faced issues I’d never experienced before. I’d awaken at four o’clock in the morning and lie in bed obsessing about “nothing” […]
Bipolar psychosis during mania is common and yet not so much familiar to me until I started meeting more and more peers with BPD who have had or routinely have psychosis when manic. The facts in this post are dissected from Jamison and Goodwin’s “Manic-Depressive illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression, 2nd edition 2007, Oxford […]
It is commonly accepted that schizophrenia and bipolar disease are diagnosed in the third decade of life. But, what about early symptoms as far back as grade school that may predict either disorder. In this article I will address just the case of schizophrenia. The term for what I am going to review is pro […]
“Opening the Black Box on Mental Illness” Seminar, part I: Depression & Bipolar Disorders and a Personal Recovery Story from EL NIDO PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.
Before getting into the subject of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) a review of the light spectrum is in order. The light we see is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) going through space. In physics, EMR is the waves of which or oscillations of electric and magnetic fields that move at the speed of light. EMR has different […]
Robert Lowell, Bipolar Disorder and Creativity My first article regarding Abraham Lincoln based on the biography, Lincoln, by David Herbert Donald emphasized that Lincoln’s unipolar depression disorder allowed for genius which we would like to see in all leaders. Mania of bipolar disorder adds creativity. Winston Churchill was a statesman whose bipolar disease allowed for […]
Abraham Lincoln and Major Depression During the Civil War: For over fifty years historians and psychiatrists have accepted the fact that Abraham Lincoln had major depression disorder. Also indicative of this Lincoln’s paternal line is rife with major depression, bipolar disorder and one cousin requiring institutionalization. It was not until the latter part of the […]
My First Depression A foreboding of things to come occurred in the summer of 1973. I was 25 years old and in my third year of medical school. To say I began to have anxiety puts it mildly. I faced issues I’d never experienced before. For example, I’d awaken at four o’clock in the morning […]
Laura’s Law (Also Called Assisted Outpatient Treatment or AOT) How do we prevent a seriously mentally ill (SMI) person from ending in the morass that is County mental facilities? The answer is 5150. Voluntary incarceration is uncommon. A 5150 means a “consumer” (a euphemism for folks with any mental illness) is a danger to himself […]
How Pets Help Bipolar Disease Pets and Mindfulness I grew up in an apartment in Arlington, Virginia across the Potomac from D.C. Pets were not allowed and my father being basically an immigrant and old school did not want anything to do with cats or dogs anyway. We next moved to NYC when I was […]
What are Personality Disorders and are they Mental Illnesses? By virtue of their being called disorders I guess they are. I feel that they are only disorders if they interfere with one’s daily life. There is nothing genetic or hereditary about them nor are there neurotransmitter imbalances as in major depression or bipolar disorder. To […]
What is Rapid Cycling? Most people with bipolar disorder will have between 0.7 and 0.9 episodes of depression or mania per year lasting three to six months. Between episodes euthymia or remission occurs. However there are some who have rapid cycling. Just as the name suggests rapid cycling is a form of bipolar disorder in […]
Paul Golden Interview with with Dr. Angela Join Us – Scheduled for July 5 at 3PM Pacific Standard time. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/modernliving/2016/07/05/an-insiders-view-of-bipolar-disease
Police Encounters with the Mentally Ill When there are police encounters with the mentally ill, the new normal for those with mental illness during a crisis (defined as a danger to self or others) is no longer hospital emergency rooms or calls to psychiatrists of record. First responders such as police officers, EMTs or fire […]
Bipolar Dictionary of Psychiatric Terms This is a bipolar dictionary of common psychiatric terms. Agoraphobia: one of the anxiety disorders characterized by feelings the environment to be unsafe, usually include unfamiliar places. The home is the only comfort zone. Age of onset is in the third decade and women outnumber men. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder […]
How Does Bipolar Feel? While having bipolar disease does not mean a person is always either feeling depressed (depressing) or feeling high (mania), people often ask, “How does bipolar feel?” Here is how the episodes of depression and mania can feel: How Does Depression Feel? The author William Styron (Sophie’s Choice) describes his bout of […]
Mental Health and Mass Shootings How is mental health related to the epidemic of mass shootings in recent years? Mass shooting, stabbing, clubbing, etc. is defined as victims of three or more not counting the perpetrator that are committed at random but usually premeditated. What are not considered mass shootings? Serial killings Terrorist acts either […]
How is bipolar diagnosed? Bipolar disease is a clinical diagnosis made on the basis of a series of diagnostic criteria, psychiatric evaluation, self-questionnaires, mood charts and individual retrospective evaluation at the onset of a first major depression episode. In the last three years the use of various brain imaging methods are now being added to […]
Bipolar Disorder and Bipolar Depression Treatment This article discusses the treatment of bipolar disorder, mania, hypomania and bipolar depression. The treatment of major depression is a topic for a separate discussion. Lithium is still the mainstay of treatment when bipolar disease is first diagnosed. Lithium was the first in the class of mood stabilizers. The […]
Famous People with Bipolar Disease People with bipolar disease and major depression can take some solace in the highly intelligent, creative artists, leaders, philosophers, writers and politicians who have been or have been diagnosed with either of the above diseases. There is evidence that these diseases go back to the Greek playwright, Aeschylus who, born […]
Bipolar Mania: Manic versus Enthusiastic For individuals who suffer with bipolar mania the onset of the first manic or hypomanic episode is very difficult to recognize. Sometimes even after multiple episodes it’s hard to recognize the seriousness of the problem. Often a spouse or good friend is the first to alert you that you are […]
What is Bipolar? Bipolar disease is a mood disorder and was previously referred to as manic-depressive disease. The mood disorders are major depression and bipolar disease. What is Bipolar Depression? Major depression is defined as having five of about twenty symptoms such as feeling sad, early morning awakening, dreading the day, hopelessness, feeling worthless, suicidal […]
What is Depression? Depression versus the Blues—In a nutshell: What is the difference between major depression and the blues? Everyone feels blue or sad many times. These feelings are usually short-lived and pass within several days. Major depression interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you. Major […]
Dr Golden now offers support calls for family members, loved ones and caregivers of people with bipolar disease. CLICK HERE to learn more.
