Author Archives: David

About David

I am an environmental writer, journalist and speaker living in Cape Town, South Africa.

A care plan for living with bipolar depression – how you can help

Posted on May 13, 2013

A few years ago, a dear friend asked me to please write down for her exactly how she could help me when I’m depressed. I had to write it when I was well, of course, couldn’t think this clearly when … Continue reading →

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Notes on bipolar depression

Posted on May 13, 2013

I have written at length, publicly, about my experience of bipolar II depression elsewhere, and as I seem now to be emerging from my latest bout (thanks, probably, to the antipsychotic drug sulpiride), it’s a good time to capture a … Continue reading →

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Bipolar disorder and why we hate taking the pills

Posted on May 13, 2013

In which I attempt to analyse why we resist taking psychiatric drugs, but suggest that for all their evils, they’re the least worst treatment option for serious endogenous mood disorders. My reluctant recommendation, if you’re diagnosed bipolar is that you … Continue reading →

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Mitigating your abuse – a checklist for psychiatrists

Posted on May 13, 2013

I am of course not a psychiatrist. But I regularly marvel at the omissions of psychiatrists. Matters that are pure common sense never seem to enter their repertoire, or do so but occasionally. Patient relationships with psychiatrists and psychologists are … Continue reading →

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The tragic and unnecessary evil of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Posted on April 28, 2013

The standard lie about the end of the second World War is that the use of atomic weapons was essential to force the Japanese to surrender and so save the lives of Allied troops. There is a lot of evidence … Continue reading →

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Fix for Macbook Air audio problem: no sound

Posted on March 31, 2013

Summary of the fix: Re-route the audio flex cable in the Macbook Air to run around the other side of the battery from where Apple has installed it. About 90% of the traffic on this blog comes to one post … Continue reading →

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Three email rules

Posted on February 20, 2013

Email can be a volatile medium. Here are three suggestions I try to bear in mind to keep my inbox clear of dynamite. 1. For emotional stuff, rather phone: If you’re writing something that’s emotional, or might provoke negative emotion … Continue reading →

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Mountain Lion bug fix: a Mission Control frustration resolved

Posted on September 11, 2012

Summary of the fix: Trash the com.apple.dock.plist file in ~/Library/Preferences. I recently upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion directly from Snow Leopard. Mostly I’ve been very happy with the upgrade. There are many new features I’m enjoying that I’ve not … Continue reading →

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