CREST.BD Home & Bipolar Disorder Slides

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CREST.BDBipolar Wellness Center Webinars
Connect. Learn. Engage.

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Bipolar Wellness Center Webinars
Connect. Learn. Engage.CREST.BD
Home

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Connect. Learn. Engage.CREST.BDCREST.BD
Home
Featuring: Don Kattler
CREST.BD Peer Researcher

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Defining home
Home and BD
Why home life is important to your QoL
How you can take action
Webinar focus

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Defining home
The daily elements of your home life
Encompasses:
• your living space and possessions
e.g., keeping your home tidy and comfortable
• household management
e.g., staying on top of daily household tasks

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Home and BD
1
Fagiolini, A., Kupfer, D.J., Masalehdan, A., Scott, J.A., Houck, P.R., Frank, E. (2005). Functional impairment in the
remission phase of BD. Bipolar Disorders, 7: 281–285.
Little specific research in this area
Existing evidence suggests:
• link between BD depression and decreased care for
your home
• episodes of hypomania and mania can be
associated with decreased ability to maintain home
order and organization1

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Why is home life important to QoL?
Increased messiness in your
home can be an early warning
sign of a mood episode1
Can have downstream effects
(e.g, may be less likely to
receive visitors, reducing social
contact, in itself a risk factor
for BD episodes)2
1
Fagiolini, A., Kupfer, D.J., Masalehdan, A., Scott, J.A., Houck, P.R., Frank, E. (2005). Functional impairment in the
remission phase of BD. Bipolar Disorders, 7: 281–285.
2
Johnson, S. L., Winett, C. A., Meyer, B., Greenhouse, W. J., & Miller, I. (1999). Social support and the course of BD.
Journal of Abnormal psychology, 108(4): 558.

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Why is home life important to QoL?
Some people with BD may experience OCD-type problems in
their home lives:
• obsessions (persistent thoughts, urges or images that feel
intrusive and cause distress)3
• compulsions (excessive repetitive behaviours, e.g.,
handwashing, in response to an obsession or rigid rules)3
• hoarding (compulsion to buy unnecessary and fairly useless
items that you’re later emotionally unable to get rid of)4
3
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington,
VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
4
Steketee, G., Frost, R. (2003). Compulsive hoarding: Current status of the research. Clinical Psychology Review, 23:905-
927. Page 910.

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SMART criteria. (n.d.). Retrieved Jan 13, 2015 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria#cite_note-
Siegert-12
Setting reasonable goals (SMART)
• S - Specific [what, how, where, when]
• M- Measurable [how will I know when it’s achieved?]
• A - Acceptable [will I feel good about this?]
• R - Realistic [can I do this?]
• T - Time-limited [when will this be achieved?]
Taking Action: Just Do It!
Assessing Your Progress

Goal setting

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Act first, motivate later!
Set goals even if you don’t want to, or don’t feel
“motivated”
If motivation is a problem for you in terms of home
tasks, try writing a pros and cons list of doing your
chores versus not doing them
Challenge negative thought patterns
Start small and work your way up

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Establish routine
Evidence that routine is important for health and QoL in BD5
Ask yourself, are there areas of your home life where you can
introduce routine and stability?
• Added advantage of helping you keep on top of mundane
tasks
Reward yourself after completion!
5
Frank, E., Hlastala, S., Ritenour, A., Houck, P., Tu, X. M., Monk, T. H. & Kupfer, D. J. (1997). Inducing lifestyle regularity
in recovering BD patients: results from the maintenance therapies in BD protocol. Biological Psychiatry, 41(12): 1165-
1173.

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Self-compassion
Practicing kindness and non-judgment towards
yourself
Seeing your experiences and flaws as part of a larger,
common human experience
Taking comfort in knowing that everybody shares this
human experience
Leary, M. R., Tate, E. B., Adams, C. E., Batts Allen, A., & Hancook, J. (2007). Self-compassion and reactions to unpleasant
self-relevant events: the implications of treating oneself kindly. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(5):
887.

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Practice self-compassion in your home life
Have realistic expectations
Avoid striving for perfection
If you struggle with this, ask yourself: what are the real
consequences of this task not getting done? Does it
really matter that much?

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Dealing with obsessive or compulsive issues in your home
Serious issues may require professional help and/or
specific psychosocial treatment interventions

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Tools and Resources

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Resources
How to keep your house clean in less than 30 minutes a day
Offers some practical tips for keeping your home tidy on the go.
Focuses on starting small and on the importance of the little
things.
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/14584/1/How-to-Keep-Your-House-
Clean-and-Less-Than-30-Minutes-a-Day.html

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Resources
Chorma for Chores
A free smartphone app that
offers an easy, lighthearted
way to keep track of and
organize your chores. Can be
used by one person or shared
between partners, families or
roommates.
https://itunes.
apple.com/us/app/
chorma-for-chores/

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Resources
How bipolar disorder can lead to clutter
A practical, BD focused article about clutter and hoarding
behaviours, the links and ways to cope.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/bipolar-disorder/how-bipolar-disorder-can-
lead-to-clutter.aspx

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Resources
Applying the QoL in BD scale: Vignette #2
This video touches on the relationship between home life and
mood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyVgxpAktbk

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For more information and resources,
visit our Bipolar Wellness Center at:
http://www.bdwellness.com/
To assess your quality of life,
visit our QoL tool at:
http://www.bdqol.com/

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Acknowledgments

CREST.BD Home & Bipolar Disorder Slides

CREST.BD Home & Bipolar Disorder Slides

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