To Do lists are often the only way I can remember all the various things I'm supposed to get done. Yet when ADHD fueled boredom settles in, managing and maintaining To Do lists is the very last thing on earth I want to do. Here's a tip I have found to keep To Do lists effective over time.

  I’ve long been a fan of the Rudyard Kipling poem, “If.” If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you… I can relate to this verse. I’m sure all parents of mentally ill children can. Often the greatest challenge we face is not going stark raving mad ourselves.

We often focus so much on romantic relationships that we tend to overlook those other folks in our life—our friends. Unlike the family we are born into, we get to choose who we want to be friends with. And sometimes we need to take a closer look at the people we surround ourselves with to see if they are enriching our lives or bringing us down.

Guess what? Women apparently aren't the only ones going through menopause (Male Menopause: Men and Depression). Our guest on this week's HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show, psychologist and author, Dr. Jed Diamond says male menopause is something every middle-aged man goes through, it's just a matter of degree. For the men who have a rough time of it, Dr. Diamond has coined the term Irritable Male Syndrome to describe a set of difficult-to-deal-with symptoms associated with male menopause.

The days leading up to the first day of school can be more nerve-wracking for parents of mentally ill children than trying to decipher your health insurance coverage. So how did school go for me and my bipolar child? Find out in my video post!

Last week I talked about the double edged sword of ADHD intensity. It could bring you to great creative heights, but also be hard on the people below. Ofttimes, however, that intensity is unintentionally released like an elemental force upon our loved ones when we are emotionally upset.

Last July, Bob’s psychiatrist handed me prescriptions for lithium, Seroquel, Clonidine, and Focalin. We had discussed this before. Using lithium to treat childhood bipolar disorder was his "last resort", something he waited to prescribe until nothing else worked for Bob. Lithium? Had it come to that? What if even lithium didn’t work?

Did you know you that being kind to yourself reduces stress? Do you realize when you're not being kind to yourself? Do you know what self-care means? A lot of people experience anxiety as stress and pressure: to be perfect, appropriate, correct, on time, grown-up, professional, controlled. It's easy for stress and anxiety to weave their way into your life. But you can be kind to yourself more often and reduce stress and anxiety in the process.

Last week I talked about Seroquel indications and dosage as well as the warnings and precautions for Seroquel. Today I complete discussion of the prescribing information on Seroquel and suggest why you need to know this stuff anyway.

On Thursday, I discussed trauma, a contributing factor in the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder, and how assumptions about the severity of that trauma initially scared me into rejecting my DID diagnosis. But through research, meaningful dialogue, and no small amount of rumination, I more clearly understand now why I have DID. I identify four categories of causation, the first of which I call The Sensitivity Factor. Having come into this world a highly sensitive being, traumatic stress can easily surpass my tolerance threshold. Subjected repeatedly to situations that overwhelmed my capacity to cope, dissociation became my only escape.