by Julie Fast, co-author of Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder

It's time to get the word out about Charlie Sheen and mania. He is in a manic episode. It's 100% certain. I know because I have been there as have the tens of thousands of people who come to my blog every month. Mania has very distinct symptoms that are not matched in any other illness, nor are they similar to what a person says when they are drunk or on drugs. This is an important distinction.

To show that this is bipolar disorder and why Charlie Sheen needs to get help, I have created a list of manic symptoms along with his quotes. This can be a reference for the media that continues to exploit him instead of recognizing a very obvious illness. When reading through this, note that it's impossible for a 'normal' brain to come up with these quotes. This is 100% mania.

Quick Tip for Therapists by Sasha T. Loring, MEd, LCSW, author of Eating with Fierce Kindness .

In dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), individual sessions are structured so that the ongoing crises do not become the sole focus of therapy, with the most important material discussed first and the less important material left until later in the session. But how can you differentiate between "most important" and "less important,"and what if our opinion of this is different from our clients'? Here's the structure that DBT follows:

by blogger Marcia Cannon, Ph.D., MFT, author of The Gift of Anger

From talk show hosts and political party candidates to newspaper headlines and popular books, so much of what we see and read has to do with anger. Anger has become big business. This certainly makes sense, given the extent of the problems we're facing today. Still, it makes it all the more important to understand this primary human emotion that many think of as bad or dangerous and others are eager to quickly embody and act out. Since much has already been written about anger as a negative emotion, let's consider how anger can be positive. Let's consider how your anger can actually be a gift.

review by Wendy Millstine, NC

The Whole-Food Guide to Overcoming Irritable Bowel Syndrome offers helpful and nutritious guidelines for what to eat and what to avoid to prevent IBS symptoms, as well as supplements for healthy digestion and tips on lifestyle changes, stress reduction, and exercise. The best part is the recipe section. Among my favorites, the book’s mouth-watering recipes include: chicken breakfast patties; gluten-free golden carrot pancakes; liver pâté; Japanese-style fish soup; and sweet potato pie. They’re all delicious and easy to prepare, and even better, they don’t require too many ingredients. Savor and enjoy good food and good health!

Quick Tip for Therapists by Robyn Walser, PhD, co-author of Learning ACT, ACT for PTSD and The Mindful Couple

There are times in therapy when you can feel the "Yes, but..." coming right after you and your client have just explored a way to take valued action. You can almost hear the brakes being set before any attempt at change has been made. This "brake-setting" can show up in a number of forms: "I can't because..." or "I could if only..." Sometimes this is because the action needs to be re-evaluated and there truly is a practical issue at hand. At other times, however, the brake-setting is about experiential avoidance.

Randi Gunther Ph.D., author of When Love Stumbles

There are many ways to check out how your intimate relationship is doing but the following eight areas are the most important markers. If you and your partner go through them carefully, you'll end up with an informative and concise evaluation of where your relationship stands.

As you read the interpretation of each area, you may want to ask questions of each other to clarify and make certain you're on the same page. Then each of you will give that area of your relationship a score of 1 to 10 based on the following guidelines:

Quick Tip for Therapists by Thomas Bien, Ph.D., author of The Buddha's Way of Happiness .

To facilitate the transition from daily life to therapy, practice a few moments of mindful breathing with your clients as a regular part of the work.

Begin by offering a brief rationale, indicating that this practice eases the transition to and deepens the nature of the work. Then provide these instructions, pausing a few seconds between statements:

excerpt from Emotional Fitness for Couples

The course of working through a healing process in your relationship can be a burden. You can spend so much time working things out that you forget the reason you came together in the first place. Sometimes you stop doing those things that created the fond memories you are trying to hold on to.

Sometimes it’s important to put aside the working-it-out process and just have a good time. This gives you a chance to allow the other feelings you are processing to settle and find their proper place. It gives you an opportunity to reconnect on a different, yet familiar level.

We can forget how to play with each other because our competitive lifestyles have taught us how to play against each other. Playing with your partner will help heal your relationship. Remembering how to have fun takes a little time and experimentation, but, like riding a bike, it’s something you never forget.

As you may have noticed, we have made a lot of changes to our website over the past few months. One of the features on the bookstore page is an editor's pick. They name a book that they like and share why they enjoy it.

by guest blogger Ronald Alexander, Ph.D., author of Wise Mind, Open Mind

I think everyone from young to old is aware that Valentine's Day is Feb. 14. But did you know that starting Feb. 13 it is also Random Acts of Kindness Week? Now this seems appropriate, since Valentine's Day is supposedly based on the martyred saints who, around 200 A.D., performed marriages for soldiers ordered by the Roman Emperor to remain single. Their acts weren't necessarily random, but they were based on kindness and service.

Today, service -- or Seva, as we say in Sanskrit -- is essential for one's transformation, personal growth and tapping into their creativity. At every step of the way in your journey, you need to be sharing in some shape or form, whether it's to somebody in need of comfort or financial help. I think it's important to see that we are all in this together; it's not about acquiring more stuff or taking care of what you have. It's about actively -- in a social, political or spiritual way -- contributing to the whole thing.