Psychology Around the Net: December 3, 2016

{Flickr photo by asenat29}

Happy Saturday, sweet readers!

It’s pretty dark and rainy in my neck of the woods today, which doesn’t give me much Christmas spirit (I’m finally decorating today…or hoping to, anyway); however, such weather does do a little something interesting for my overall spirit.

Have you ever heard the term “pluviophile”? Basically, a pluviophile (a term that derives from “pluvial,” meaning “of or relating to rain”) is someone who — you guessed it — can find joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

Don’t get me wrong; I love the sunshine as much as the next person. However, for some reason, rain puts me in quite the contemplative mood and, according to Lifehack, it might actually make me in tune with a few things (though this isn’t too scientific!).

Anyway, there’s your extra thought for the day. Let’s move on to all the new mental health news from this week!

10 Gifts to Ourselves for Minimizing Holiday Stress: For those of you who spend a lot of time and money picking what you hope will be the perfect holiday gifts, you’re undoubtedly aware of how stressful it can be; however, you might not be as aware of the importance of giving yourself a few gifts, too. Here are 10 gifts you absolutely should wrap up for yourself — and probably give yourself — this holiday season and all year long. (HINT: Nearly all of them are FREE.)

Pregnancy and Low Self-Esteem Have Put a Stop to Our Sex Life: Pamela Stephenson Connolly, a patron of the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists, offers one new mother advice on how to overcome her lack of interest in sex due to pregnancy (and her overall low self-esteem, which started years before the baby came).

Army Says It Fairly Dismissed Soldiers With Mental Health Problems, Brain Injuries: An Army report ordered by Secretary Eric Fanning concludes commanders did nothing wrong when they discharged more than 22,000 soldiers for “misconduct” after returning from Iraq and/or Afghanistan, despite those soldiers being diagnosed with mental health problems and even brain injuries. Psychiatrist Judith Broder, who received the Presidential Citizens Medal for organizing the Soldiers Project from President Obama, calls the report “unbelievable” and “bizarre,” while Senator Chris Murphy says he doesn’t the the Army “understands the scope of this problem.”

Mental Disorders Top National List of Health Conditions: According to a recently published Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Index, mood disorders and substance abuse are at the top of the list of health conditions that negatively impact Americans with commercial health insurance. The BCBS used data from more than 40 million of its own customers.

Hallucinogenic Drugs Could Soon Work Like a ‘Surgical Intervention’ for Mental Illness: Two studies — one at Johns Hopkins University and one at New York University — are the first major studies to research the “effects of psilocybin [“magic mushrooms”] on patients dealing with depression and distress related to facing the end of life,” and the results left researchers hopeful that they can get consent from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a third study — one that is necessary before the FDA will consider approving a new drug.

Do Android and iPhone Users Have Different Personalities? They sure do, according to a recent (albeit small) study conducted by the University of Lincoln, Lancaster University, and the University of Hertfordshire.

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/12/03/psychology-around-the-net-december-3-2016/

Could an Antidepressant Prevent Depression After Traumatic Brain Injury?

The prevalence and functional effects of depressive disorder following traumatic brain injury are significant. Now, sertraline may be effective for preventing depressive symptoms after TBI.

A group of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine evaluated 94 patients aged 18 to 85 years who had been hospitalized for mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Most of the patients (n=92) were Caucasian and more than half (n=56) were male. The research team randomized the patients to receive either 100 mg daily of sertraline (48 patients) or placebo (46 patients) for 24 weeks or until symptoms of a mood disorder occurred.

Overall, sertraline was effective at preventing the onset of depressive symptoms compared to placebo. Sertraline was also well tolerated and adverse effects in both treatment groups were mild. It is unclear how long the effects of sertraline last in this patient group.

The incidence of TBI is rising and it now is a major cause of death and disability. TBI can occur from injury, stroke, falls, motor vehicle accidents, and violence. People suffering moderate to severe TBI are at risk for depression and loss of life roles. Life satisfaction declines in this population, so prevention of depressive symptoms is imperative for maintaining health and function.

Sertraline, an antidepressant, has been used to treat PTSD but its effects in TBI are still being defined. The results of the study, which were published in JAMA Psychiatry, need to be confirmed with larger sample sizes and in multicenter trials. Further, a question remains if combining sertraline with cognitive behavioral interventions will optimize long-term outcomes.

References

Almeida OP, Hankey GJ, Yeap BB, et al. Prevalence, associated factors, mood and cognitive outcomes of traumatic brain injury in later life. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2015;30(12):1215-1223. PMID: 25703581

Ashman TA, Cantor JB, Gordon WA, et al. A randomized controlled trial of sertraline for the treatment of depression in persons with traumatic brain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2009;90(5):733-740. PMID: 19406291

Hien DA, Levin FR, Ruglass LM, et al. Combining seeking safety with sertraline for PTSD and alcohol use disorders: a randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2015;83(2):359-369. PMID: 25622199

Jorge RE, Acion L, Burin DI, Robinson RG. Sertraline for preventing mood disorders following traumatic brain injury. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2189

Juengst SB, Adams LM, Bogner JA, et al. Trajectories of life satisfaction after traumatic brain injury: influence of life roles, age, cognitive disability, and depressive symptoms. Rehabil Psychol. 2015;60(4):353-364. PMID: 26618215

Schneier FR, Campeas R, Carcamo J, et al. Combined mirtazapine and SSRI treatment of PTSD: a placebo-controlled trial. Depress Anxiety. 2015;32(8):570-579. PMID: 26115513

This guest article originally appeared on the award-winning health and science blog and brain-themed community, BrainBlogger: Antidepressant May Benefit Traumatic Brain Injury.

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/12/02/could-an-antidepressant-prevent-depression-after-traumatic-brain-injury/

Reached Your Goal But Still Unhappy? 4 Steps to Take

Do these sound like promises you’ve made to yourself?

Once I get the promotion, I’ll feel like my career is on track.
After this busy period, I won’t have to work so much and can spend time doing things I enjoy.
When I make six-figures, I’ll be financially secure enough to move across the country/start a family/write a book.

In our goal-oriented society, setting an objective to work toward is often a powerful motivator that drives professional and personal progress.

In theory this may not sound like a bad thing, but what if when you achieve that goal, life doesn’t really look or feel any different? For example, have you ever completed one project only to realize that there’s now even more to do, meaning you’re further from the work-life balance you so desperately crave? Others may relate to the confusing feeling of finally getting or a raise or promotion, only to remain haunted by anxiety and a sneaking sense of disillusionment.

This disconcerting let down has name. Commonly known as the arrival fallacy, it’s a psychological thought trap high-achievers are all too familiar with.

Here’s how the arrival fallacy works along with what you can do to counteract it and reach new heights of success.

The Arrival Fallacy: What It Is And How it Works

The arrival fallacy — a term introduced by positive psychology expert Tal Ben-Shahar in his book Happier — operates on the idea that in the process of working toward a goal, you come to expect that you will in fact reach it.

Anchoring on a future goal triggers reward centers in the brain, inducing a cognitively soothing effect. That feeling of accomplishment becomes part of your day-to-day identity. You readily adjust to this new state of being so much so that actually attaining a goal turns out to be less satisfying than expected.

While dedication to continuous personal improvement is admirable, it’s a slippery slope. When we get too caught up in future outcomes, we may attach to an unattainable illusion of perfection. We seek goal after goal, hoping something will make us happy, which reinforces a cycle of self-doubt and not feeling “good enough.”

Instead, it can develop into a cycle of searching for external things — accomplishments or material objects — to fulfill and complete us. There’s always new goals to take the place of those that have already been fulfilled. We go for bigger clients, seek larger raises or want to lose 15 pounds instead of five. We keep upping the ante.

Moreover, oftentimes once we reach the place where we thought we’d be happy, there’s new challenges and responsibilities to face. Getting a promotion may mean working longer hours, launching a side hustle involves constantly seeking new business and losing weight may incite jealousy among co-workers or mean fewer happy hours and fancy lunches, straining your networking strategy.

Steps to Overcoming the Most Common Goal-Setting Mistake

What the arrival fallacy teaches us is that although you may fill your life with evermore ambitious goals and projects, sometimes reaching these heights does not necessarily deliver happiness. Yes, as cliché as it sounds, it’s the journey not the destination that teaches lessons, reveals simple pleasures, brings new people into our lives and instills in us a genuine, internal sense of contentment.

All this isn’t to say that setting goals or shooting for success in a particular area of your career is a recipe for unhappiness or failure, rather it’s how you allow that goal to dictate your daily mood that can bring you down.

Striving for self-improvement is essential. Here’s how to do it in a healthy way that accelerates success.

Rediscover Your Mission

It can be easy to become so unshakably transfixed on achieving professional objectives such as banking a certain salary or earning a prestigious job title that your original purpose is forgotten. Mired in busywork and the daily ins and outs of your duties, you may lose sight of the bigger “why” that drives you. Without a sense of purpose, you climb the ladder of success with profound emptiness.

When this happens, dedicate intentional time to re-orient back to your mission. Take a day or two to refocus. You don’t have to travel anywhere. You can simulate a professional mini-retreat by asking yourself big questions like “What would I be doing if money wasn’t a problem?” or “When do I feel most alive?”

Through this internal exploration you may come to realize is what you covet more than a promotion or raise is the opportunity to make a meaningful impact, lead a team or simply feel more validated and appreciated at work.

Value The Process Over The End Result

In study after study, social scientists like Daniel Pink have found that external rewards and traditional financial incentives don’t improve employee performance. They may actually backfire, making it difficult for people to come up with creative solutions.

Instead research shows high achievement is the result of intrinsic drivers–that is, a desire to do something for inherent interests, self-fulfillment or enjoyment. Motivation increases when people have the desire to perfect their craft. Successful people enjoy the learning process and don’t mind when it continues beyond an expected time frame. They relish in the journey to mastery. They focus on the happiness cultivated along the path to a particular goal, not necessarily a material outcome.

Try savoring how satisfying closing a huge sale feels, how deeply loved and seen you feel when family take note of your accomplishments or appreciate the increased recognition your company is receiving in the industry.

Commit to a System

Setting an audacious goal–like publishing a book or launching a startup–can be a fantastic catalyst for change, but it’s not enough. You must commit to a process of taking action on a consistent basis.

Start with the question, “What could I do daily that would guarantee a result and move me forward?” to design your habit system. If you’re an aspiring author, create a weekly writing schedule. If you’re an entrepreneur, devise standard operating procedures to streamline your efforts. Whatever it is, it has to be an action you can sustain over time.

Recognize that Success Is Fluid

Understand that metrics of success — whether related to career, fitness, love or whatever else — are fluid and dynamic. There is always a higher rung in the ladder and over time your targets change. The ideal career when you’re in your 20s may be a poor work-life fit by the time you turn 35.

Instead of prescribing to career milestones society dictates you should have reached by a certain age or salary bracket, keep your options open, define success on your own terms and embrace the many opportunities you encounter on along the way.

Rather than work to attain a “cure-all” end goal, it’s important to view life as a succession of practices that build a imperfect yet wonderful big picture. Greatness comes from years grit, effort and many stumbles along the way.

Enjoyed this post? Get the FREE toolkit thousands of people use to better describe & manage their emotions at melodywilding.com.

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from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/12/02/reached-your-goal-but-still-unhappy-4-steps-to-take/

Best of Our Blogs: December 2, 2016

“I would say that there exist a thousand unbreakable links between each of us and everything else, and that our dignity and our chances are one.” – Mary Oliver, Upstream

You only need to turn on the television or open a newspaper, and you’d see it. I went to a holiday work party last night and it was inescapable. The election is still affecting us.

For those who have felt ignored or oppressed, who have been bullied or discriminated against, it might even feel re-traumatizing.

To protect ourselves, we respond in anger.

Perhaps the election unearthed some unhealed parts of yourself. Use the situation as an opportunity to grow. Unless we pause to be conscious of how we’re feeling we’ll never create positive change.

The only answer is healing. We might do this through therapy, or by redirecting our attention to things we can control. Doing so, reminds us there is hope in the world and we can do something to increase it.

Speaking of which, our top posts are all about building trust, self-healing and learning how to empower yourself.

10 Signs You Have Trust Issues and How to Begin Healing
(NLP Discoveries) – Do you have an issue with trust? Here are the surprising things you do when you’re afraid of being betrayed.

4 Relationship Red Flags Unloved Daughters Miss
(Knotted) – Wonder why you constantly find yourself in unhealthy relationships? These are the common problems that come from being an unloved daughter.

A Hypothesis on Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Benefits of Solitary Life
(Reflections on Applied Behavior Analysis) – A recent research article offers an evolutionary perspective to understanding autism.

Know Yourself, Love Yourself, Be Yourself: 3 Keys to Recovering from Codependency
(Happily Imperfect) – The solution to overcoming perfectionism and codependency is here in this post. With the holidays, it’s the perfect thing to read right now.

Helping Clients Eliminate Cognitive Distortions
(Psychoeducation in Psychotherapy) – We’re taught math and english in school, but how about managing anger or stress? Whether you’re a therapist or need help in these areas yourself, these worksheets help teach the necessary life skills we didn’t learn in school.

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/12/02/best-of-our-blogs-december-2-2016/

Some of the Worst Cliches in Recovery Circles

If you spend time in recovery circles you will hear these same clichés over and over again. Some make you want to run to the nearest bar just for spite, others may become mantra.

You can’t not hear them.

If you have spent any time in a 12-step meeting of any sort, or if you have spent time in rehab, chances are that you are more than familiar with recovery clichés. They are often spouted by the old timers in a meeting, or if you are in rehab, by your group counselor.

When you first hear them, you might not quite know what just happened. Did that person just make that up? And if so, why did he say it with such confidence? You usually think to yourself one of two things: “Gee, that was an interesting thing to say, that really resonated with me, how clever that person is.” Or “What? Why the hell would anyone say something like that out loud?”

But then you start hearing those same phrases over and over from other people as well. You soon realize that they are all clichés, well-worn phrases used to keep you on the right track, which of course is clean and sober.

If you frequent recovery circles, you will hear these same clichés over and over again. Some will make you feel angry in a way you simply cannot explain and make you want to run to the nearest bar just for spite, while others will resonate with you in a way that you might say them to yourself when you are alone. They may even help you through a tough time.

Here are what I consider to be the five worst and five best recovery clichés. Use them wisely.

The Worst

“My Worst Day Sober is Better Than My Best Day Drinking.”

Really? I kind of tend to doubt that. Now, I get the point of what this is trying to say of course, but I really doubt that sober day you had when you got fired from your job and found out that your wife was having an affair with your brother was better than that day that you had an appletini at the hotel bar in Disney World when you were on vacation with your family. Here is the thing, some days on booze and drugs were fun. We all get that. It’s just that that kind of fun is not sustainable.

“Let Go and Let God.”

It’s not just that this is archaic and will probably insult a good percentage of the people you say it to who don’t do that whole “God” thing, it’s also just way too simplistic. Personally I know some people who are doing some things that are pretty crazy and are in some very dark places. Just “letting go and letting God” is not going to do a whole heck of a lot for them at this point. They actually need some sort of a plan, you know? Being the person who says this phrase probably feels really good, especially if you have a nice warm place to go home to at night. But if you are trying to have a positive effect on someone else, then pick another cliché.

“Have an Attitude of Gratitude.”

Okay, so this rhymes. Here is a pro tip. Don’t say words that rhyme to people in bad places. When you are right in the midst of a hardcore withdrawal, or are attending your first court-ordered AA meeting because of your fourth DWI, the last thing you want someone to say to you is something that rhymes. Trust me on this one.

“Keep it Simple, Stupid.”

The thought behind this well-worn cliché is that most things, your recovery included, work better when they are kept simple, as opposed to making them complicated. This actually makes sense, and if you leave it at “Keep it Simple,” I will leave it off this list. It’s really just the insult at the end that makes it so awful. I know that “Keep it Simple Stupid” becomes the acronym KISS, but is that really worth it? I truly doubt that “Keep it Simple You Enormous Moron” would catch on, but who knows, maybe next time I hit a meeting I will try it out.

“Easy Does It.”

Okay, so this one is really not so bad. While not that catchy, it is benign for the most part. But here is the thing. Some people accuse 12-step recovery groups of being a bit like a cult, and nothing plays into that more than a room full of people repeating the same pointless phrases to each other. While there is nothing inherently irritating about “Easy Does It,” it needs to die a quick death just simply because it is so overused that it has become trite.

Now, want to check out the top five of the best recovery cliches? Head over to the original feature article The Worst and Best of Recovery Cliches at The Fix.

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/12/01/some-of-the-worst-cliches-in-recovery-circles/

How to Be True to Yourself

Every once in a while I pull out my one-year sobriety chip, which reads on the front, “To Thine Own Self Be True.” I’ve been sober for more than 26 years now, but it was my one-year chip that meant the most to me, because it was during that first year that I realized how difficult it is to be true to yourself.

Everyone thought I was crazy for calling myself an “alcoholic” and going to 12-step support meetings. I mean, at 18 years old, I wasn’t even of a legal age to drink. My mom and dad certainly didn’t understand and consulted with a clinical psychologist who confirmed that I was not an alcoholic. My sisters made fun of my decision. Even my friends thought I had gone over the deep end.

But in the still part of my heart, I knew that alcohol was leading me to a dark place. Once I started to drink, I could rarely stop, and almost always blacked out. I tried to give it up for Lent three years in a row, and was simply unable to do it on my own. So after the last Lent — and the final scary blackout — I cried uncle and started going to meetings.

I return to that courage I had when I was 18 every time I’m about to make a difficult decision. Giving up booze during my senior year of high school is the second most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life — tied with staying sober during my freshman year of college, when most of the bonding experiences among incoming students revolved around drinking. (The most difficult thing was staying alive in the midst of two years of suicidal depression.)

I’m in the process of making another difficult decision right now — one that no one but my husband and my spiritual mentor fully understands. Like my insecure, 18-year-old self, I’m trying to tune out all the opinions and static around me so that I have the courage to listen to the small, still voice inside of me that knows what’s right for me.

Know Yourself and It Gets Easier

Recovery from depression involves navigating through a maddening maze. There’s the decision about which kinds of medication to take, or whether to wean from meds completely. You might research which supplements to take and which foods to eat, and wonder whether or not you should do a mindfulness course over more sessions of psychotherapy.

But all of this is pretty insignificant stuff in comparison to the excruciating job of getting to know yourself and accepting yourself for who you are: honoring your limitations and weaknesses, and trying to pedal forward to a place where you’re not ashamed of them.

I have always been (and probably always will be) a person who has a very low tolerance for stress. My body and mind are extremely fragile. I realize I sound like I’m surrendering to an attitude of “learned helplessness” here, but I’ve been that way ever since I emerged from my mother’s womb. As a baby, when you added a little stress to my environment, I couldn’t poop. That still happens, but I also get frigid hands and feet, stuck thoughts, inflamed intestines, and an irregular heartbeat. When I consider all of my present conditions (mood disorder, gastrointestinal disorder, thyroid disorder, heart disorder, and autoimmune disorder), I think that, first and foremost, I have a stress disorder.

Accepting this weakness is terribly frustrating, especially when I want to accomplish good things, worthy things, and things that will help lots of people. Even as I’m working at becoming more resilient — and I’m working at it harder than just about anyone I know — I realize that you have to acknowledge your baseline (in my case, being a constipated baby).

I’ve spent the last three months wishing I were someone other than myself, and comparing myself to other bloggers who make running a nonprofit look as easy as setting up a lemonade stand outside your house — people like Glennon Doyle Melton and Katherine Stone, who succeed at raising hundreds of thousands of dollars each year and manage a team of volunteers without breaking into tears at night — or at least I haven’t read those blogs yet. But comparing myself to them doesn’t do me any good, because I am not Glennon or Katherine. I am simply a writer without tons of technical or fundraising or managerial skills or money or time, and a highly-sensitive person who is easily frazzled and can become quickly debilitated if too much cortisol enters her system. For some reason, God created me that way, so that’s the package I have to go with. And the sooner I accept these weaknesses as part of the fabric of who I am, the sooner I’m free to operate as me, not Glennon or Katherine.

Quit Explaining

In her writings about vulnerability, best-selling author Brene Brown often explains that you don’t have to open yourself to everyone. Vulnerability isn’t about giving yourself away without boundaries: You can save yourself for the people who have earned the right to hear your story. “If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm,” she writes in The Gifts of Imperfection.

When I first quit drinking, I tried to tell my story to everyone, but people didn’t want to hear it. They wanted a companion to drink with, not some prude blocking their view to the hottie across the room. So they said things like, “Oh, that was high school. I’m sure you could have a beer now” or “Your parents were going through a divorce. That was the problem. You clearly aren’t an alcoholic.” I became so frustrated that I decided to keep my story to myself. For a good six months, I told everyone I met who inquired why I wasn’t downing cheap beer like everyone else that I was on a medication that didn’t mix with alcohol. I followed Brown’s advice until I found the few people who were worthy of my story.

It’s always been very difficult for me to not open up to people and tell them my absolute truth. I’m a mental health blogger, after all. But I’m learning that sometimes the best way to honor myself and be true to myself is to put the wall up until someone has earned the right to hear the truth. Currently when I hear opinions about what I’m doing wrong or why I didn’t succeed, I imagine these “experts” as the college kids who were trying to get me to drink. I nod politely, trying my best not to engage. I need to save my energy for people who have earned the right to hear my story, and to know the very complicated truth about me and what I’m made of.

There are some decisions we make in life that very few people will understand. It’s less painful, I think, if you acknowledge from the start that there probably won’t be any support — that you’ll be lucky to get one person to back you. In high school, my one person was my religion teacher. She was the only one who believed my story and encouraged me to keep going to meetings. But she was enough.

Stay Fearful

I was fearful the first year of sobriety. Moving off to college is stressful enough, but I was trying to follow the directions of the still, small voice in me that I wasn’t sure I could trust. There was so much static on the outside yelling, “Be like everyone else! Fit in! Loosen up and have a beer, for God’s sake!”

I’m fearful now, too. I’m swimming against a culture that says anything is possible if you put your mind to it, and if you follow your dreams, everything will work out. I’m immersed in a law-of-attraction kind of crowd where there is immense shame when a person can’t create the reality she wants with her thoughts. Folks are extremely uncomfortable when I bring up words like “illness” and “limitations.”

But fear is not such a bad thing. Buddhist Pema Chodron writes in her bestseller When Things Fall Apart, “The next time you encounter fear, consider yourself lucky. This is where the courage comes in. Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear.”

Looking back, I was very brave at 18, when I first began to be true to myself.

And I am brave now.

Join ProjectBeyondBlue.com, the new depression community.

Originally posted on Sanity Break at Everyday Health.

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/12/01/how-to-be-true-to-yourself/

PODCAST: Discussion with Award-Winning Bipolar Author and Blogger

In this week’s Psych Central Show, Gabe and Vincent interview popular bipolar author and blogger, Natasha Tracy.

Natasha Tracy is an award-winning writer and speaker living with bipolar disorder. She has written more than 1000 articles on mental health and is considered a subject matter expert in bipolar disorder. She has also been published in the peer reviewed journal, Primary Care Companion CNS Disorders. She was the winner of the Beatrice Stern Media Award presented by Didi Hirsch for her work in reducing prejudice against the those with mental illness.

Natasha writes the award-winning blog Bipolar Burble at NatashaTracy.com and her writings are also featured on many other sites. She recently released the book Lost Marbles: Insights into My Life with Depression & Bipolar which one reviewer said will “certainly save lives.” Her book is being received very positively by those with bipolar disorder or depression, their loved ones and even healthcare professionals. Lost Marbles and its reviews can be found on Amazon.

Listen as Our Hosts Discuss Bipolar Disorder with Natasha Tracy

About The Psych Central Show

The Psych Central Show is our newest offering — an interesting, in-depth weekly podcast that looks into all things mental health and psychology. Hosted by Gabe Howard and featuring Vincent M. Wales.

 

Gabe Howard is a professional speaker, award-winning writer, and mental health advocate who lives with bipolar 1 and anxiety disorders. Diagnosed in 2003, he has made it his mission to put a human face on what it means to live with mental illness.

Gabe writes the Don’t Call Me Crazy Blog for PsychCentral.com as well as is an associate editor. He also writes and Video Blogs for Bipolar Magazine Online. He’s been a keynote speaker for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), MHA (Mental Health America), OSU (Ohio State University), along with many other venues. To work with Gabe please contact him via his website at www.GabeHoward.com or e-mail Gabe@GabeHoward.com.

 

Vincent M. Wales is the author of several award-winning speculative fiction novels and the creator of costumed hero Dynamistress. He lives with persistent depressive disorder and is a trained suicide prevention crisis counselor with additional counseling background. A Pennsylvania native, he obtained his BA in English writing from Penn State. While a resident of Utah, he founded the Freethought Society of Northern Utah. He now lives in Sacramento, California. Visit his websites at www.vincentmwales.com and www.dynamistress.com.

 

Previous Episodes can also be found at PsychCentral.com/show.

Subscribe to The Psych Central Show on iTunes and Google Play.

 

 

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/12/01/podcast-discussion-with-award-winning-bipolar-author-and-blogger/