Mood Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Posture
People have always judged one another by their their stance and gait — he has a level head, she has a confident stride, or she is looking up. Posture professionals know your posture says a lot about you, but a new study is suggestive of how posture is truly an intimate connection between body and mind.
Researchers at Indiana University found a link between postural balance control and psychological problems– specifically bipolar disorders. The well known motor abnormalities of patients with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (as well as pre-schizophrenia) was further explored with a force platform to measure subtle shifts in balance and posture.
THE RESULTS: Bipolar disorder patients had greater postural sway and weaker balance control.
Can not having your head on straight affect how you see the world?
This was a small, beginning study, but it agrees that bipolar disorder and posture share some links, with anecdotal reports of people improving their outlook on life with Strong Posture* exercises. Attitude improvement was never the intent of protocols designed for rehab… but it makes sense that exercises designed to improve the alignment between the perception of where their body is in space and true reality may also align how people see the world.
*StrongPosture® Exercise is a step by step posture improvement program created by posture expert Dr. Steven Weiniger. The course is taught one on one by physicians, trainers and therapists internationally, and is available as an online course to improve your posture at home.
