We have three cats. Since our dog passed away several years ago, I’ve been the one holdout in the family in our decision to get another dog. I like the freedom of being able to take off for a couple days without having to figure out “what to do about the dog.” Besides, bringing a clueless dog into a house with three crafty, conceited cats seems to me to be borderline animal cruelty.

As many people have discovered, regulating sleep is often one of the best ways to regulate mood. Unfortunately, maintaining a regular sleep schedule is not always as easy as it sounds, especially if your neighbors, your family or roommates, your schedule, your lifestyle, or your sleeping arrangements do not cooperate.

Over the past couple weeks, my wife, who happens to have bipolar, has not been sleeping well, which is always a bad sign. For two weeks, she’s been trying to get something to help her sleep – to get her through the often manic days that seem to reach full bloom about the time school lets out. You can read the whole account, “Tragedy of Errors” on our Bipolar Blog.

Mania isn’t usually a pleasant feeling, but hypomania can be. It can make you feel like you’re on top of the world – highly creative, energetic, effervescent… all that good stuff. Unfortunately, mania tends to follow with all its bad stuff – irritability, anger, conflicts, maybe even paranoia and hallucinations, and then sometimes the big crash into depression. Treatment can level out the highs and lows, when it works, but people who’ve experienced those highs often miss them.

In Bipolar Disorder For Dummies, we devote an entire chapter to the topic of building a winning mood-management team. For many with bipolar disorder, the team consists of a doctor (who manages the medications), one or more therapists, and family members. Teams can also include friends, mentors, people you happen to meet through a support group, and others. If you’ve managed to assemble an effective mood management team, please share your experiences and insights. Who’s on your team? What role does each person play? What sort of assistance do you find most helpful?