Sequelae: Chronic conditions that are a complication of an acute or on-going condition. It is described as a further condition that is different to, but a consequence of, the first condition.
It's Not Just Being Happy or Sad...
For people with lived experience of Mood Disorders, it's more than just experiencing highs or lows. There are many sides to living with these conditions. Below are just some of the other ways we are affected. If you have other articles that you feel would fit into this category, please email the link to MagneticMinds.DBSA(at)gmail.com. Be sure and note in the subject line that this is regarding the website. I will do my best to include as many relevant issues and distressful feelings as possible.
It's Not Just Being Happy or Sad...
For people with lived experience of Mood Disorders, it's more than just experiencing highs or lows. There are many sides to living with these conditions. Below are just some of the other ways we are affected. If you have other articles that you feel would fit into this category, please email the link to MagneticMinds.DBSA(at)gmail.com. Be sure and note in the subject line that this is regarding the website. I will do my best to include as many relevant issues and distressful feelings as possible.
Bereavement, loss, and depression in older adults and the elderly
As you age, you experience many losses. Loss is painful—whether it’s a loss of independence, mobility, health, your long-time career, or someone you love. Grieving over these losses is normal and healthy, even if the feelings of sadness last for a long time. Losing all hope and joy, however, is not common. Is it grief or depression? Distinguishing between grief and clinical depression isn’t always easy, since they share many symptoms. However, there are ways to tell the difference. Remember, grief is a roller coaster involving a wide variety of emotions and a mix of good and bad days. Even when you’re in the middle of the grieving process, you will have moments of pleasure or happiness. With depression, on the other hand, the feelings of emptiness and despair are constant. MORE 
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Stigma: What If People Treated Physical Illness Like Mental Illness?
It's no secret there's a serious stigma attached to mental illness. According to the CDC, only 25 percent of people with mental health issues feel that other people are compassionate and sympathetic toward them. It's a shameful statistic when one in four people have been touched by some form of mental illness. Experts say that part of the problem when it comes to criticizing someone's mental health is a lack of empathy and knowledge about the ailments...people still don't get that being diagnosed with a mental illness isn't something that's in their control -- just like having the flu, or food poisoning, or cancer isn't in their control. MORE Resiliency: How to Know if You’re Truly Resilient by Jan Bruce
If there’s a word people in the top ranks of human capital are buzzing about these days, it’s resilience. I get asked all the time what it means — followed by questions about how to get more of it. I’ve done lots (and lots) of reading and thinking and speaking about resilience. I’ve watched it in action, experienced it myself, and heard more than one person oversimplify it (“The ability to bounce back,” for instance), while hearing others attempt to explain it biologically and psychologically (and go on far too long). The fact is, resilience in a person is far more than a tough-as-teflon surface or rubbery resolve that helps you rebound from stress or disappointment. MORE |
Sleepless in America: Why Is Sleep So Important? How much sleep do we need? What is good sleep? What are the stages of sleep?
We sleep to restore brain chemicals and rest the body. Some researchers believe that the brain organizes and stores memories during sleep. Lack of sleep can affect our daytime functioning, hormonal balance, appetite, and immune system. We have internal clocks that tell us when we need to sleep. They cause us to feel alert when the sun is up and drowsy when it’s down. We are sleepiest between midnight and 6 a.m. , and between 1 and 3 p.m. That’s why some cultures have afternoon siestas (naps). MORE Research: Study Probes Neuroscience of Bipolar Risk-Taking by Jane Collingwood
Researchers are beginning to discover some of the reasons why bipolar disorder can cause people to engage in risky behavior. The condition involves fluctuating depression and mania. In the manic stage, the patient often feels intense excitement and irritability, which can trigger unpredictable risky behavior. Work, family, and social life all can be impaired by this risk-taking. Professor Wael El-Deredy of Manchester University, UK, and colleagues investigated the neuroscience behind this risky behavior. They engaged 20 individuals with bipolar disorder but not taking antipsychotic medication and 20 without bipolar disorder. MORE |
Creativity and Depression: Is There a Link? by Amy Scholten, MPH
The mad genius, the tormented artist, the melancholy poet. History is filled with writers, poets, artists, musicians, composers, and other creative people who wrestled with mood disorders. A list of just a few of them would include Dickinson, Poe, Emerson, Dickens, Faulkner, Hemingway, Melville, Tolstoy, O'Keefe, Gaugin, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky. But is this portrayal just a stereotype, or is there really a link between creativity and depression?
Prevalence of Mood Disorders in Creative PeopleThis question haunted Arnold M. Ludwig, a researcher at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. He embarked on a 10-year study of 1,004 men and women who were prominent in a variety of professions, including art, music, science, business, politics, and sports. Ludwig found that between 59% and 77% of the artists, writers, and musicians suffered mental illness (particularly mood disorders) compared to just 18% to 29% in the less artistic professionals.
Most studies on this subject have consistently shown higher rates of mood disorders in creative people, differing only in the magnitude of the results. Are creative people destined to experience depression or bipolar disorder ? Or does having a mental illness make people more creative? MORE
Sexuality and Bipolar Disorder by Kelly Connell, PhD
As with other aspects of living with bipolar disorder, sexuality and sexual activity can swing back and forth between periods of hyper sexuality during a manic phase, and complete loss of sex drive during a depressive episode. This can wreak havoc on relationships and a person’s sexual self-esteem. [...] In persons with bipolar disorder, hyper-sexuality is often the most troubling and challenging symptom to cope with. Adolescents and younger children with bipolar disorder often act out with inappropriate sexual behavior with older persons. Adults often ruin their marriage or relationship because they are not able to control the urge to have sex with someone other than their partner. Sexual health issues are increased due to poor judgment, failing to use birth control or condoms, and having sex with unknown partners. It is not clear why, but research indicates that more women are subject to experiencing hyper-sexuality than men. [...] When someone with bipolar disorder is at the other end of the spectrum and experiencing a depressive episode, just as the symptoms are the opposite from mania, so it is with sexuality. It is not uncommon for the person to experience low or diminished sex drive or hypo-sexuality. Hypo-sexuality and depression can be interrelated and for patients who are experiencing them, it can seem like and endless cycle. Depression can lead to lack of interest in sex and lack of interest in sex can lead to depression, particularly when the hypo-sexuality causes relationship problems and the other partner doesn’t understand the low desire issues. MORE |
Employment: Employers Urged to Improve Depression Interventions by Rick Nauert PhD
A new survey may motivate employers to consider proactive strategies to address depression in the workplace. Researchers found nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of U.S. respondents indicated they have been diagnosed with depression in their lifetime and two in five (nearly 40 percent) of those patients reported taking time off of work because of depression. Notably, the time off work for depression averaged 10 days a year. The findings stem from The Impact of Depression at Work Audit (IDeA) an initiative charged with determining the societal and economic burden of depression in the workplace. Results were presented at the National Business Coalition on Health’s annual meeting. MORE 
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Fear: Three Tips for Getting Rid of Fear by Terri Trespicio
I’ve lived too much of my life in reaction to fear: Fear of being hurt, of being embarrassed, of not being good enough. It has kept me from being as strong as I could be. It’s contributed to a life riddled with anxiety and straitjacketed by stress.
So I’ve attempted to manage those fears by doing things you’ve probably tried yourself: asserting control, being “good,” being liked, being right. Inflicted worrisome thoughts as a way of inoculating myself against “real” danger. Ha! Like that worked. It just made me more miserable. MORE
I’ve lived too much of my life in reaction to fear: Fear of being hurt, of being embarrassed, of not being good enough. It has kept me from being as strong as I could be. It’s contributed to a life riddled with anxiety and straitjacketed by stress.
So I’ve attempted to manage those fears by doing things you’ve probably tried yourself: asserting control, being “good,” being liked, being right. Inflicted worrisome thoughts as a way of inoculating myself against “real” danger. Ha! Like that worked. It just made me more miserable. MORE
