I first discovered this article in May of 2003. I did a search on my posts for the word “present”, and this is the second post that came up. The first is this one on a trip to Disneyland. This seems to be around the time when I actually began to wake up from my […]

I’ve written a previous post about celebrity lives and why they predispose people towards problems with their mental health. In it I mention Britney Spears, who has been regularly described in the press as ‘troubled’ for some time now. Things took an altogether more serious turn when on Thursday she was taken […]

Results from a new global survey on bipolar disorder, released today at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress, indicate that both patients and healthcare professionals face significant challenges in managing bipolar disorder. At least 90% of patients surveyed reported that the illness is difficult to understand and to live with due to the episodic symptoms.
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Genetic findings converge with previous research to reveal what goes wrong in the nervous system of bipolar patients. A large genomic study suggests that defective sodium and calcium channels in neurons may explain an important part of the physiological mechanism of bipolar disorder.

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Despite being very famous, Heath Ledger had somehow passed me by until a few weeks ago when I watched ‘Monster’s Ball’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ within a few weeks of each other. It seems likely that his death was caused by an overdose of sleeping pills, either mistakenly or intentionally. As a psychiatrist […]

The mind’s sense of freedom, it’s ease of distraction, it’s continuous diversions, it’s never ending choices and ultimately the influence on all of these by mood are what sometimes make things so difficult. All of the above appear to free us and set-up the conditions that create the ultimate challenge of defining meaning to […]

I keep looking at my life like it is somehow supposed to make sense. Like portions of it can be added up to equal something greater than its parts. Like these intense impulses that have controlled so much of my life will eventually lead me somewhere with greater understanding than where I was […]

Sleep has been very erratic once again, and its effect on my productivity has been disastrous. In the past several days, I have spent a grand total of about 30 hours awake, most of which was squandered playing play-money poker online. In short, I feel like a lazy sloth and I’m hating the feeling.
In my […]

Article Date: 05 Feb 2006 - 15:00pm (UK) The recent discovery of the gene responsible for bipolar disorder holds scientific interest, but certainly no consolation for the many thousands of bipolar sufferers in the U.S. whose symptoms have become so severe that they can no longer hold down regular jobs. These symptoms range from […]

Growing up, my dad played the Beatles over and over and over again. He played other artists as well but the Beatles where sure to be heard in the house, on the eight track in the car. Each time I hear a Beatles tune it brings me back to a time of innocence. There have […]