I can’t recall a single mental health professional who hasn’t emphasized one key point: The way I talk to myself plays a major role in how I live with and respond to my bipolar disorder.

THE BIG IDEAS: WHAT IS POWER? Each time I held myself accountable, I took a small part of myself out of the hands of others and put it back under my control. By Susan Fowler Ms. Fowler is an ...

Without commitments and responsibilities to a predominant other—a partner, a child— I’ve found myself wanting to identify what commitments and responsibilities I will choose to hold.