Lauren Yang is a doctoral student studying clinical psychology in New York, NY. Born and raised in California, Lauren began her mental health journey at the end of her senior year in college when she experienced her first hypomanic episode. Since then, it has been an ongoing process for her to accept her condition. It is this journey that has...
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How Managing My Nutrition Improved my Mental health
April 1, 2019
By: Sydney Batt
After three months of my diagnosis of having Bipolar II disorder I decided to join a group therapy that was specifically for people that have mood disorders. In the first session of this therapy we learned the importance of nutrition and diet.I was confused about the relevance of nutrition and why we were taking the time to learn about it instead...
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World Sleep Day
March 13, 2019
By: Brandy Higgins, RN,BSN
National Sleep Awareness Week is March 10-16, 2019 this year! I love to sleep. Unfortunately, I have battled all of my life to sleep normally. My mental illnesses make it really hard for me to sleep like an average person. I have insomnia. When I’m depressed, I will have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. When I do finally fall...
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Brandy Higgins, RN, BSN
March 13, 2019
Brandy Higgins, RN, BSN is the writer of Live Mentally Well - Better Living Thru Mental Wellness. Lifelong mental health survivor and former mental health nurse. Live Mentally Well is impacting our community and the world by empowering, encouraging, and educating one person at a time to end stigma for good. She writes about Mood...
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Life After Psychosis
March 11, 2019
By: Allan G. Cooper
Do you know what it feels like to help NASA calculate the speed of light? Or, maybe you know what it's like to find a formula that makes nuclear fusion possible. How about being the sole person responsible for averting a disaster that would crash the entire internet. Do you know what that's like? I do. Well, I know what it's like to believe I am...
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Allan G. Cooper
March 11, 2019
In 1995, Allan was teaching English in Japan enveloped by a culture he adored and well on his way to achieving his dream of being a completely fluent Japanese speaker.His carefully laid out plans were derailed at the tail end of the year when he experienced his first psychotic manic episode at the age of twenty-five. His family had to travel to...
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Lay Our Burden Down
February 26, 2019
By: Jayson Blair
When I first went to a therapist office, a little more than 15 years ago, there was an intake form that included a long list of conditions under a question about family medical history. Diabetes? Check. Heart disease? Check. Auto-immune diseases? Check. Cancer? Check.When I reached the section on mental health disorders – depression, bipolar,...
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When It Rains...
February 22, 2019
By: Laura Sanscartier
...it pours. Or at least it does in my case. I bet it does in a lot of cases out there. I wish I could meet each and every one of you and give you the biggest hug. What am I talking about? Multiple diagnoses, often called comorbidities. It's when God or the big unicorn in the sky or whomever is running things decides to give a...
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Wellness & My Mood Disorder
February 20, 2019
By: Liz Wilson
“Mindfully focusing on wellness in our lives builds resilience and enables us to thrive amidst life’s challenges.” National Wellness InstituteWellness is a relatively new construct that encompasses our level of connectedness to the world around us. It involves our social and support networks and relies on our commitment to our personal recovery....
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Are You a Perfectionist? Bipolar and Perfectionism May Go Hand in Hand
February 15, 2019
By: Conor Bezane
A perfectionist strives for that which is flawless. Impeccable. Immaculate. My name is Conor, and I’m a perfectionist. I also have bipolar disorder.According to Psychology Today:Perfectionism is a trait that makes life an endless report card on accomplishments or looks. A fast and enduring track to unhappiness, it is often accompanied by...
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