Flipswitch

What’s going on in the world of mood disorder in the 3rd Week of October 2009.

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On this episode, we take a closer look at the experience of loneliness and go over one clear method in order to deal with it.  In addition, we introduce our new co-host, Catie.

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Emily’s final show.  Take a walk down memory lane with Emily and find out what she’s learned and experienced in her time on Flipswitch.

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On this show we go over several ways to get involved fighting stigma on campus.  We also interview Active Minds founder, Alison Malmon.  Activeminds.org is an organization with over 200 chapters on campuses across the nation that fights stigma and gets conversations started about mental health.

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On this episode we give some common responses to some common anti-psychiatry claims.  On our last episode, we went over five common claims made by the anti-psychiatry/anti-psychology movement and this time we aim to answer them.

We also introduce guest co-host Jenn.

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In this supplemental, the crew mulls over some of the arguments we discussed in our first anti-psychology/anti-psychiatry.

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On this episode, we open up the Anti-psychology/Anti-psychiatry can of worms.  People with any kind of mood disorder are going to run into these ideas sooner or later; so, we unpack some the arguments and see what the Flipswitch crew thinks.  This episode is the 1st of a 2-part episode on the anti-psychology movement.  On this episode we focus simply on laying out the in broad strokes what some of the major arguments of the movement are.  On the next episode, we’ll focus on some of the common responses to the the anti-psychology movement.

We always defer to the knowledge of your doctors, and suggest you consult him or her if any of these arguments resonate with you.  Asking questions is always a good thing, but get another informed opinion before you start making any major decisions like discontinuing treatment.

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We interview author Andy Behrman, better known as Electroboy, a moniker given to him by a nurse after one of his many experiences with electroshock therapy (ECT).  He is also author of a book by the same name, Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania. He also has an upcoming book about his time as a spokesperson for a drug that ended up havng extremely serious effects on his health.

Andy talks with us about everything from his own struggles with compulsive buying and compulsive sex, to his experiences with the pharmaceutical industry.  Andy minces no words in his brash, in your frace style.

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In this supplemental to episode 48 about disclosure, Chris rejoins the crew to discuss more about the topic of when and what to disclose about one’s disorder.  The team uses Emily’s upcoming enrollment in college as a prime example of a situaton in which someone gets to decide exactly how much and what to disclose to others.

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On this episode:  NO CHRIS.  Emily, Gopi, and Ryan talk about disclosure; when to tell someone about what’s going on in your life, be it about a disorder or otherwise.  They talk about when to tell someone, how to tell someone, and how to know who to trust.   They don’t have any concrete answers, but offer some things you might want to think about. As well, they revisit some of the ideas of past guests on the topic of disclosure

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On this episode, we talk about the ins and outs of procrastination.  The bad habit of procrastination is devastating to many people and can be a stressful trigger for many people already dealing with mood disorders.  We go over some facts and theory about this specter.  Also, we talk about just a few ideas on what might help you to get started addressing your own procrastinating ways.

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This is the full interview we did with Lizzie Simon, author of Detour: My Bipolar Roadtrip In 4-D. This version is less edited and twice as long as the one that we featured on our last show. In this version, Lizzie expands on a number of topics including the nature of American society to responsibility in youth, drug companies, and being careful on who to trust to disclose one’s disorder to.

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On this episode, we talk about the slippery concept of personal responsibility and try to nail down just what people mean when they use the word.  We even trip up Ryan when we talk about his taking responsibility for not getting to the gym.

Also, we talk to noted author Lizzie Simon, whose famous book, Detour: My Bipolar Roadtrip in 4D, features her interviews with a lot of people that have dealt with bipolar disorder and been successful in life.  (note: this is an edited 10 minute version of her interview.  Her full 20 minute interview will be posted by itself next week).

Shira stops by from the tech corner to talk about checking your own responsibility at a site.

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On this show, we talk more about advocacy.  You can change the world, whether you realize it or not.  It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.  The wall of stigma comes down through tiny cracks put in it by individuals just like you.  To drive home that point, we talk to a teen that produces videos about depression and bipolar disorder for Youtube, Claire.  You can find Claire’s excellent series of videos on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/depressionfree.  Claire deals with her own mood disorders issues and is fed up with all the stigma surrounding the issue, so she did something about it.  She develops videos and has engaged her school with the idea of bringing a seminar on the topic to the student body.  Regardless of whether that part of it occurs or not, Claire has shown that, having few resources, one can still be a force for positive change in the world.  Listen and think up ways you too can advocate for raising awareness about mood disorders!

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On this Episode, we veer off markedly from our usual format to bring you a dvd commentary. If you’re not familiar with dvd commentaries, they are audio tracks that you listen to that comment on the movie/show while you’re watching it. So, we’ll tell you when to cue things up to listen to podcast at the same time as the video. We watched the episode online at the CW site at http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/90210.

1)Click the “Off the Rails” episode in the full episode section of the site.

2)When the show comes on, hit pause, and then hit resume when you hear Emily hit the play button.

The online episode has 30 second commercials every now and then. If you watch the episode on dvd or on rebroadcast on air, you’ll have to pause the podcast for around 2 minutes and make sure we’re talking about what’s currently on-screen.

Throughout the commentary, we’ll talk about the situation of Silver, who is later discovered to be bipolar, and we’ll comment on the accuracy of the portrayal. Also, we’ll be mentioning the often typical things that can happen with bipolar disorder that may or may not be addressed on the show. And, of course, we’ll just be having a lot of fun.

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In this episode, we talk about the bare basics of bipolar disorder. We cover mania, depression, risk factors, and more. We’ll talk about what bipolar disorder is, what to look for, and what to be on guard against in a struggle to combat the disorder

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On this episode, we continue analyzing our two teen round tables, this time asking them about their sleep habits. They share their insights with us. In addition, we find out that one of our hosts also hasn’t been sleeping well. We’ll discuss the why and what can be done to help.

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In this episode we continue our review of our two teen round tables: one college, and one high school aged. In this go round, we asked both round tables how they know who to trust when revealing their own problems. Both sets of answers are strikingly revealing and not what you might expect. We also discuss the pervasive fear that seems to be instilled in teens to keep their problems hidden at all costs.

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In this episode, we continue our series on our teen round tables. We asked each group, “Who would you tell if you were depressed?” Their answers were quite honest and quite shocking.

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On this episode, we begin our series talking to teens about issues related to mood disorders. We talked to groups of teens: one group from high school and the other from college. We talked to them about a variety of topics ranging from their knowledge about what depression actually is, how much sleep they get, all the way to how they believe men and women handle mood disorders differently. We got their insights about what teens face in life today in deciding what to reveal about their own personal struggles. In this episode, we began the series by simply asking, “What is depression?”

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Flipswitch is back for the new year. We bring everyone up to speed by revisiting what we talked about in the latest 16 shows. We also talk about using the tradition of making new year’s resolutions to recommit one’s self to structured, positive living.

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On this episode, we’ll talk to several parents about their experiences raising children with mood disorders. We’ll go over some of their challenges and their triumphs throughout their journey. Note, we usually focus on teens and young adults, but this time, we’ll be thinking in terms of the parents’ perspectives: what was important to them? What caused them grief? What helped them? Etc.

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On this episode, we talk about the issue of loneliness and isolation that often accompanies depression. We talk to University of Chicago professor Dr. John Cacioppo about his new book “Loneliness: Isolation and the Need for Social Connectedness.”

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On this episode, discuss time management. We can’t go over all the different systems of time management out there, but we’ll try to hit as many of the major themes that run throughout the research on time management. Shira directs us to a website that helps academic time management and Gopi shares some of her time management that have led her to be so successful at such a young age academically.

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On this episode, we continue our discussion on the mental health stigma and the media, this time focusing on what all of us can do to help make things better. We talk with Dr. Otto Wahl, author of Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness.” Also, a special message from Ally Sheedy.

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On this episode, we talk about the issue of advocacy. We explore how advocating for the betterment of people with mood disorders, cannot only help you out if you have a mood disorder; but, also, moving towards helping others while helping yourself is one of the clear signs of good mental health. We interview a young woman in college that was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 16 and bounced back to go on to college and advocate for other people with mood disorders by setting up an on-campus support group for people living with bipolar disorder.

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On this episode, we talk about comorbidity, ie. having more than one disorder at a time. We’ll define what it means and talk about the various other diagnosis that tend to overlap with mood disorders. As well, we’ll introduce a new co-host.

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In this episode, we discuss different kinds of media and how they tend to present issues associated with mood disorders and mental health in general. We cover radio, news, television, movies and more. The results? Negativity sells.

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On this episode we go over a few tips on what to do to deal with depression. Many of these ideas have been covered in greater detail on previous podcasts, but we give a quick hit version of quite a few ways to start battling depression. We make special note that these ideas, though they are based on the available data about depression, should never be taken instead of seeking a professional mental health clinician’s advice. See if one of these ideas works for you, and share with us your own methods for overcoming depression.

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On this episode, we devote an entire episode specifically to the topic of depression. We hit on a number of themes about depression. We define it’s clinical usage and get a more everyday definition from our college roundtable. Also, we get a bit of trivia on depression in 20 Facts In 120 seconds.

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