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Supplementary Materials by Chapter 16: Coming
Soon: Bipolar and Technology 19:
Mood-Lifting Stabilizers: The Full Details 21: Medications
for Breakthrough Episodes 23: Anxiety,
Concentration, and Sleep 25: Live Long
and Minimize Side Effects Updated 8/13/17 by Chris Aiken, MD |
“Perfect
book for the patient. Great information and many pearls, including how to
help your doctor help you. I highly recommend it.” “An
easy-to-read analysis... filled with pragmatic, valuable information...A
remarkable addition to the growing genre of mental health [books].” |
Post-release
Updates
We’ll keep you
updated here as new research continues to improve our understanding of mood
disorders. Follow more updates on Facebook [2/10/17] Mind Diet. We’re encouraged
that the brain-foods we recommended in Chapter 14 have recently been put to
the test by talented researchers. Bottom line: it worked as well as an
antidepressant for depression, and improved memory and reduced the risk of
dementia by up to 50%. [12/10/16] Brisk Awakening and Dark Therapy. Our lifestyle
chapters introduced these concepts, and new research has further refined them
and confirmed that the benefits they bring are indeed significant. [10/8/16] Cariprazine (Vrylar). This atypical
antipsychotic treats bipolar and unipolar depression. [9/22/16] CocoaVia. This flavanol extract of dark chocolate improves age-related
cognitive decline. |
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Chapter
7: Is it All
in the Genes?
Companies which
offer psychiatric genetic testing: |
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Chapter
9: Daily Rhythms
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Dawn Simulators Naturebright L6060 Per2 LED.
A good all-in-one model. Its long-lasting LED lights
provide a good spectrum of color, and it’s highly adjustable so you can
position it for the best wake-up time. It doubles as a bedside reading lamp
with a night mode setting to reduce blue light. Lighten Up. This low-cost
option ($20-40) plugs in to an existing lamp to convert it into a sunrise
alarm. That’s great if you want to keep the aesthetics of your bedside light.
The major down-side is that it does not work with LED or compact fluorescent
bulbs. Smart Bulbs. These
programmable lights are controlled through a smartphone
and can be programmed to create a dawn simulator. The iphone app Sunrise and Sunset for Hue works with the Phillips Hue system. Other
options include Belkin’s WeMo
and GE’s Link. Smartphone Apps. Several apps are
available which can help you wake up by turning on the flashlight on your smartphone. Unfortunately, most turn it on suddenly
rather than gradually, so they aren’t true dawn simulators. One exception is Rise & Shine for iphone, by
Peter Matthews. These apps won’t work if your phone is in standby mode, so
you’ll need to keep your phone plugged in to keep the battery alive. More options are
reviewed here. Funny Alarm
Clocks See them in action
on this youtube video. Amber Lenses LowBlueLights.com has a variety of
attractive models. Uvex makes the most affordable models, and Consumer Reports found the Uvex lenses offered the best protection: Ultraspec 2000 in the SCT Orange lens, model #S0360X.
These are large enough to fit over your glasses but can be worn comfortably
on their own. Available on Amazon and Airgas. SKYPER in the SCT Orange lens, model
#3S1933X. These are a bit more stylish but won’t fit over your glasses. To put your lenses
to the test, look at a blue object while wearing them.If
it still looks blue, the lenses are not working as intended. Low-Blue Lights LowBlueLights.com has an array of
products to reduce blue light. SomniLight has reading lamps
with low blue light, and the Per2 LED dawn simulator has a low blue light
feature for nocturnal reading as well. f.lux is a free
download for windows computers which will adjust the blue light in your
monitor as the sun rises and sets.
Candlelight by Oliver Denman
performs the same function for Macs. iPhone and iPad: the Night Shift
setting (under Settings, Display & Brightness) reduces blue light from your
device during the evening hours you specify. Choose “More Warm” on the
settings to maximize the reduction. Androids: search for the Twilight app to filter out evening blue. Kindle: Blue-shade is a feature on
newer Kindles which reduces blue-light for nighttime reading. It is available
on Fire HD 10, Fire HD 8 and Fire tablets. Alternatively, ereaders
with no backlight (e.g. Kindle’s Paper) emit no light at all, and could be
used with a low-blue reading light such as those featured above. |
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Chapter
11: Managing Insomnia
Breath2Relax: This app guides
you through breathing exercises that can help sleep and anxiety. CBT-i
Coach: This free app will guide you through
the full behavior therapy for insomnia (it was paid for with tax-dollars, as
the VA hospitals use it to treat insomnia in returning soldiers). CBT for insomnia can be learned
through: Online
programs: Shuti, CBTforInsomnia Workbook: Overcoming Insomnia by Jack Edinger Or, for free, Dr.
Aiken’s brief guide. |
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Chapter
12: Getting Active
Apps which help
you track the effect of daily activities on your mood include Ginsberg, MoodKit and MoodTools. A good workbook
is Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time by Michael Addis
and Christopher Martell. |
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Chapter 16: Coming Soon: Bipolar and Technology
Moodlog: The simplest
option. Tracks depression, mania, and, if desired, sleep and medications. DBSA WellnessTracker:
This app was developed by the National Support Group for
Depression and Bipolar, and tracks depression, mania, and everything else you
could imagine. This includes lifestyle factors, physical health, medications,
and labs. Fortunately, many of these are optional so you can keep it simple,
and it has good definitions for all the symptoms, which makes it a great
place to start if you’re just learning how to recognize them. ThriveSync: Almost as
comprehensive as the DBSA WellnessTracker, this app tracks depression, mania,
anxiety, irritability, self-care, and allows free-entry journals. Triggers: This one is not
specifically for bipolar, but is great if you like to customize things. You
can create your own names for the symptoms and stresses you track, as well as
lifestyle factors that might influence those symptoms. The bottom line: We recommend
MoodLog for simplicity, and DBSA WellnessTracker for
those who like to follow a lot more than just depression and mania. For paper
versions, see Dr. Aiken’s or Dr. Phelp’s guide to mood
charting. Ginger.io helps monitor
your mood in the background through smartphone activity, much as a pedometer counts
your steps. You can sign up for free through their research program. |
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Chapter
19: Mood-Lifting Stabilizers: The Full Details
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Chapter
21: Medications for Breakthrough Episodes
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Chapter
22: Anxiety, Concentration, and Sleep
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Chapter
23: Natural Healers
Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil) |
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Chapter 25: Live Long and Minimize Side Effects
Partnership
for Prescription Assistance, Together Rx, and RxAssist can connect you
with programs that provide free medication. These programs are not available
for generic medications and individuals above a certain income level. GoodRx will search for
the lowest price of a medicine at local pharmacies. Target, Wal-Mart,
Walgreens, Costco and other pharmacies often have lists of low-cost generic
options. |
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Chapter 27: Good Therapy
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Chapter 30: For Friends and Family
Parenting Guides Triple-P Parenting and Love and Logic are two programs
we recommend. A third, which focuses specifically on depression, is Parenting Strategies. When families disagree
about treatment |
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