Wellness

Fear, grief, shame, embarrassment, and other uncomfortable emotions are not pleasant. From time to time it is quite normal to avoid a situation, person, place, or thing that might trigger an undesirable emotion, but when it interferes with your daily functioning and/or becomes a problematic recurring issue, it is clinically defined as emotional avoidance.  …

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I’ve been learning about shame and guilt lately. As a writer, those words sound very similar to me. In fact, their psychological impacts couldn’t be more dissimilar. Guilt is normal and even helpful, while shame can have a toxic mental health effect. Let’s talk about how we all experience guilt and even shame but how…

Looking for a last-minute gift? I previously wrote a list of the 10 best mental health-related gifts for one with bipolar disorder. You might have one of them winging its way towards you through Amazon or another source right now. But if you’re stuck with only days to go, you might consider giving to a…

Every January 1, we exclaim cheers for a “fresh start” — but for many of us, that day brings crushing loneliness or worse. Studies show that suicide rates spike on New Year’s Day, shattering the myth that it’s a day of celebration for everyone. New Year’s can feel like a harsh spotlight, illuminating feelings of…

Please note: This is a sneak peek of Bipolar Rules! — that means it’s a draft. This is not the final version. When you have bipolar disorder, advocating for your health is critical and yet harder than it would be for the average person. Doctors are often to blame for this difficulty. Not all doctors…

Two lessons that take people a long time to learn are that thoughts are not facts and feelings are not facts. Reality testing can help us see this, but this is a skill many don’t have. These are hard lessons because our thoughts and feelings try to convince us differently. A lot in the outer…