Lessons, meditation and SSRIs

There's a nice blog in the US called Mental Health Notes and its author, who has bipolar disorder, has written about the 25 things she has learned at reaching 25.

The first one is:

"I would rather give birth to triplets - naturally, without any pain medication of any sort - in the back of New York taxi cab that does most of its business escorting drunken club-goers home, with only the help of a driver who doesn’t speak English, than go through Cymbalta-withdrawal symptoms again."

And there are others on spotting triggers, music and being active.

Those looking for useful tips might also add meditation to their list. Researchers have found regular meditation can improve mood and reduce depression and anxiety. The research only seemed to involve 40 people, however.

Meanwhile, there's a new book out claiming that genes explain "malevolent behaviour", according to this article in Medical News Today.

It also reports that SSRIs can double the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding,

And finally, a new approach called neurofeedback, which allows people to monitor how their brain activity reacts to different situations, appears to show some promise