If you have bipolar disorder, getting the right amount of sleep at the right time of day is absolutely critical in achieving and maintaining mood stability. Good sleep at night clearly exerts mood-stabilizing benefits. This article addresses several strategies for improving mood stability in bipolar disorder and discusses the tradeoffs faced in regulating your activities and schedule.

What is really happening behind the scenes at insurance companies to block patients from more expensive (and sometimes more effective) medical treatments? This article discusses the need for transparency and reform of the involvement of “hired gun” physicians in routine denials of medical coverage.

Some medications are not friendly to your thyroid gland. You would expect that all doctors would be well-informed of the most likely culprits. So, how did Seroquel (quetiapine) slip through the cracks? This article takes a look at Seroquel (quetiapine) – one of the biggest troublemakers of thyroid function – and what can you do to protect yourself and the people you care about.

While antidepressants often save lives, they can also result in very serious emotional and physical side effects from missed doses, reduced doses, or abrupt stopping. This article talks about the rarely discussed risk of acute depressive symptoms and the more widely known physical symptoms of serotonin withdrawal from switching or stopping your antidepressant medication.

Supportive psychotherapy is commonly used as a comparison intervention or “treatment as usual” in mental health research studies. While it is often expected by the scientific elite to be less effective than newer, manualized therapies, it has been proven to be an effective intervention for many conditions. This article covers basic approaches in supportive psychotherapy and who might benefit from the treatment.

Many people are not told what to expect when prescribed an antidepressant medication. Basic information, such as the dosing range, the goal of treatment, how side effects can be overcome and how long to stay on the medication, is frequently left out of a clinical encounter. This article outlines a methodical approach to antidepressant treatment for depression.

Many people with longstanding depression believe that they have tried every treatment out there. A detailed review of their history often reveals that they are mistaken and that there are several strategies that they have never tried. This article addresses what information is needed to make a well-informed decision about what treatment to try next and how a history of past treatments combined with a strategic, methodical approach can open up options to newer and potentially more effective treatments.

Rating scales for depression are being used routinely in primary care, but not all psychiatrists and therapists are using them. The use of depression rating scales shines a bright spotlight on your current mood and the progress you are making toward full freedom from depression. This article addresses how rating scales can help get you unstuck in your depression treatment.

When depression hits, it’s nice when the first treatment that you try works. On the other hand, depression that gets partially better only to worsen again is frustrating and demoralizing. Having a plan for treatment-resistant depression will get you better faster. This article outlines basic steps that are part of a larger plan for getting rid of your depression.

It has been definitively proven that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an effective treatment for treatment-resistant depression. The researchers in the Stanford SAINT study achieved better results in a shorter time, getting 90.5% of severely depressed patients to full freedom from depression.

It is important to know that medical conditions can cause depression or mimic the symptoms of depression. While dozens of medical conditions can contribute to depression, this article covers 10 of the most common. Knowing what these conditions are and screening for them can ensure better treatment and a speedier recovery.

Finding a good psychiatrist can be difficult and stressful. It's hard to know if online ratings are of any use or who can tell you who the good doctors are in your community. If you desire the best treatment, read this article on finding excellent psychiatric care and medication management as well as psychiatrist red flags to watch for.