Why Veterans Don't Accept Help - Part 2

Getting men to ask and accept help is a subject that needs to be talked about at length. Out of this discussion, we hope to discover easy solutions to get men actively involved in their life and in the lives of their family and friends. It's a known fact that men in general don't pursue help or care on their own and have chosen to be "Unemotional or Disconnected" to life around them.

This is part two in a series to introduce why veterans/men don't accept help/care and to look at possible solutions. In part one, we took a look at Gaining an Understanding and The Culturalization of Men. In part two, we'll examine Why Men Don't Ask for Help and Possible Solutions.

Why Don't Men Ask for Help?

Men don't ask for help for a variety of reasons. The majority of these beliefs and behaviors don't hold-up when you begin questioning them. Men hold on to the beliefs far too long expecting different results.

• Men hide discomfort by becoming workaholics, alcoholics, loners, drug addicts, or by overeating.


• Often men experience physical aches and pains not realizing these are symptoms of depression, anger, or stress.


• Men feel stigmatized by other men as being weak when asking for help with mental health issues.


• Boys aren't encouraged to talk about their feelings or emotions. They perceive them as being a nuisance so they don't develop words to express them.


• It's easier to deny the truth of what you're really experiencing, if you don't acknowledge it. You don't have to deal with it if it does not exist.


• Everybody experiences aches and pain from time to time. Men's response to this is, "So what's the big issue?"


• Men are holding on to a lie, envy, greed, depression, stress, anger, fear, intimidation, shame, guilt, or something else that's affecting every aspect of their lives.


• They hold on to beliefs that because they're a male, they can achieve or engage in any activity despite their age or physical condition. They totally deny their fear, dizziness, chest pains, or danger to themselves and others.


• Staying busy all of the time is a diversion to hide a fear or inability to perform tasks you can't do perfectly.


• You abstain or become rigid in trying to deal with fears of powerlessness or losing control.


• Selective hearing, remembering, and engaging in only things that you deem pleasurable hide experiences that you have difficulty with.


• Men glorify real or fantasized accomplishments and feelings of importance to defend against a life of regret or lesser deeds.


• Redirecting your unmanageable feelings toward others is a form of uncontrollable rage.


• Service personnel are engaged in a military culture of "Toughing it out" and are reluctant to ask for mental health care.


• While serving in the military if you seek mental health care, it will undermine your career or delay your return home.


• If the spouse seeks mental health care for their active duty serviceman, it will have a negative impact on their partner's military career.

Men are only open to discussing problems that they think are normal and problems that other men are willing to share with other men. Most men would rather keep quiet and self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, and work, or just deny them. Over 26 million men are affected by depression annually and even professional athletes seek help for depression. Resources are in place within the public and private sectors to help men, but men are avoiding help at an alarming rate.

Holding onto old beliefs and behaviors and expecting them to provide the same results, a better outcome, or different solution is "Insanity!" Women and children see right through the charade!

"How you do anything is how you do everything!" T. Harv Eker

"You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger."Buddha

"Anger is one letter short of DANGER!" Anonymous

By holding on to old beliefs and behaviors, men isolate themselves from family, friends, events, and business opportunities that aren't retrievable! A lot of decisions men make and hold onto are made out of envy, stress, greed, depression, anger, fear, shame, guilt, intimidation, or blame. These positions aren't written in stone and can be softened or changed effortlessly.

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." Mark Twain

Possible Solutions

Boys learn at an early age how to lie to themselves and others, deny the truth, and to do whatever it takes to be a survivor. At some time in your life, you'll be faced with these questions.

• Are my learned beliefs and behaviors still serving me today? If so, how and why?


• Ok, so you weren't rewarded for expressing your feelings and emotions. So now what?


• If my past beliefs determine who I am now, why am I allowing these beliefs and behaviors to run my life?


• Am I willing to change the things in my life that no longer serve me and who I interact with daily? If the answer is yes, when am I willing to sit down to work through old beliefs and behaviors?

Men need to learn how to ask powerful questions and to connect with quotes to trigger the mind and awaken creative possibilities. This is only a beginning process and an opportunity to change your mindset. It won't work for every man and that's OK. One thing that we know for sure is that you're not going to force a man to do anything that he's set his mind against. Why not be one of those men who isn't preoccupied with the past and who's open to creating an extraordinary future?

"The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination." John Schaar

This is where the rubber hits the road! We're not talking about a quick-fix process or one-size-fits all approach. It's going to take a "Radical Transformation" to engage in another behavior or belief system. Men would rather stick with an old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"! But the realization is that old beliefs and behaviors don't work with current situations and relationships.

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." Dr. Wayne Dyer

As men we need to be open to a few basic concepts to open our mind and change our beliefs!

• "Be the type of person you want to meet." Anonymous


• "Don't ever be too prideful to ask for help. Asking for help when you need it is one of the wisest things you can do." Anonymous


• "Raise your words, not your voice. Its rain that grows flowers, not thunder." Rumi


• "Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten. John Dryden


• It's essential as we begin our lifelong journey of transformation to ask a few basic questions to initiate a radical shift in consciousness.


• Are my beliefs and behaviors a fit for what's true for me now?


• Do I absolutely know that my beliefs and behaviors are a truth that serves me and others in my life?


• When questioned about my beliefs and behaviors, how do I react?


• Who would I be without my past beliefs and behaviors?

When you're able to sort through your past, you'll usually find that some things happened differently than you remembered as a child. You acquired your set of fight or flight survival beliefs and behaviors at childhood and added to them during your life. You applied them to every situation and relationship whether they worked or not.

Important: Does Male Depression Cause A Man To Fall Out of Love?

Depression does not choose any gender. Although, depression is more prevalent in women, men also experience depressive behavior and have higher risk of suicide. Many men prefer to ignore the symptoms and refuse to participate in any treatment method. This could just lead to more serious consequences.

Depression on males may have different signs and symptoms compared to women. There are different factors on which there is such difference, like hormones, socio-cultural factors, and even chemicals.

Some of the signs and symptoms of depression on men is tending to spend more time on extreme sports and work to escape their feelings. Aside from extreme sports, depressed men engage in unhealthy activities like infidelity and unhealthy sexual encounters. Men also tend to be more controlling, violent, aggressive and would often lead to abusive behavior.

Men would also often complain fatigue, tiredness and feeling physically drained. The number of suicide cases associated with depression have higher number of males. This is why it is important for males to understand their problem and get treatment.

Usually, men refuse to recognize the signs and symptoms and depression. They would also show reluctance to discuss the problem. Men try to control expression of their feelings or emotions, because that is the "manly" thing to do.

Because men fail to recognize or admit depression early on, this affects their relationship with friends, family and with their partner. When a person is depressed, then would usually question their self-worth, thinking that they are useless, helpless and hopeless. However, these feelings are not verbally expressed. They are often exhibited on escapism and violence or aggressiveness.

For men in intimate relationships, this will appear as if they are "falling out of love" with their partners, when it fact is a manifestation of a behavior disorder. Depressed men can engage in extra-marital affairs and can lead to the end of a relationship, which is why it is important to address depression early.

It is important to get help when you need it, even it is difficult for a man to do that. Admitting that you have a depression is not a sign of weakness. Often, you may downplay your symptoms, but without any treatment, the symptoms will not go away.

There are different treatment options, not only taking medications. However, doctors would often recommend psychological counseling and lifestyle changes to keep depression at bay for a long period of time.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Causes, Symptoms, and Relief

Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects about 54 million people in the United States, or about 20% of the population. It is an intestinal disorder with no indications of disease, but which for unknown reasons causes discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, cramping, gas and mild to severe pain in the abdomen. The pain of IBS can vary from a throbbing "internal bruising" feeling to sharp cramping sensations. Patients often complain that it feels like they got punched in the stomach or stepped on by an elephant. IBS is not known to lead to any other diseases, but can be inconvenient at best.

IBS is a general term to describe general irregular bowel functions that do not show up during examinations, blood tests or x-rays according to the FDA. Yet doctors know that it exists and that it is not completely psychological as previously believed. The National Institute of Health say that people who live with IBS simply have more sensitive digestive tracts. Their colons are more likely to react to stimulus than other adults or children with normal colons. IBS "attacks" can be triggered by eating greasy or fatty foods, some kinds of dairy products, certain medications, depression, gas, stress, lack of exercise, and even by eating raisins or corn.

An FDA report quotes many IBS research subjects as saying that the disorder has affected their everyday life. One teacher in Connecticut told them that she had to give up teaching in a classroom because her condition prevented her from being able to stay with the kids all day. She even purchased a van to give her more "privacy in her time of need" and keeps a fresh pair of underwear, anti-diarrheal tablets and other emergency items in there just in case.

Constipation is also an effect of IBS. Some adults and children have reported not having a bowel movement for up to 10 days at times. When they finally go to the bathroom, it is extremely painful and rectal bleeding often occurs. In both cases of diarrhea and constipation episodes, severe pain usually occurs. This is why this disorder can, and often is, mistaken for other spastic colon disorders such as colitis. While both conditions usually cause spasms in the colon, only colitis causes inflammation. IBS does not. Dr. Marvin Shuster, a gastroenterologist from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center states that "Irritable bowel syndrome is the most suitable and accurate term... because it emphasizes that the condition is a motor disorder manifesting irritability (that) involves many areas of the gut."

Humans' digestive system has a nervous system that is separate from the brain and does not depend on the brain in order to function properly. Instead, according to Marcelo A. Barreiro, M.D. of the FDA's gastrointestinal division, the intestines "respond to its inputs under various conditions." He also says that in patients with IBS, the central nervous system (controlled by the brain) and the gastrointestinal nervous system are "out of sync". This means that if an individual is under particularly heavy stress, then the brain may send a conflicting message to the intestines that invokes irritability within the digestive system.

Treatments

Unfortunately, because IBS affects everyone in different ways there is no "cure-all" treatment.

There used to be a medication for IBS called Lotronex. However, it was taken off the shelf just 10 months after being released due to serious side effects and sometimes deaths related to the drug. FDA reports being concerned about mild to moderate damage occurring in the intestines due to reduced blood flow and obstructions and/or ruptures in the intestinal wall.

Other antispasmodic medications are being used to treat IBS especially when other treatments don't work. IBS sufferers should always try to manage their disorder with a high-fiber diet, lots of water and regular exercise. Also, individuals with IBS should avoid certain foods like dairy, cabbage, beans, sorbitol, artificial sweeteners and fructose. But most of the time, that just isn't enough.

Probiotic supplements (a safe alternative to yogurt for individuals who are sensitive to dairy products) are an effective way to reduce gas and harmful bacteria. Although, most healthcare practitioners don't recommend even bothering with probiotic treatments unless you have done a colon cleanse first. While probiotics can promote good bacteria in the intestines, it doesn't do anything for the build up of plaque and waste along your intestinal walls.

Colon Cleansing has been praised as an all natural, safe and very effective way to deal with IBS on all ends of the spectrum from constipation to diarrhea. Using colon cleansers containing psyllium or psyllimax is the best way "reset" your colon and get it back to normal quickly. A good colon cleanser such as Dr. Floras Colon Cleanse, will only take about 14 days to work and users will start seeing improvements in their condition in about 7-10 days.

Colon cleansing will relieve the bloating, water retention and cramping associated with IBS as well as some other symptoms that you didn't even know were related like headaches, acne and fatigue. This is why many doctors and healthcare practitioners recommend that everyone use colon cleansers for good colon health; because it is a safe and effective way to clean out the waste build-up that can accumulate in the intestines. This build-up can cause health problems such as IBS, diarrhea, constipation, cancer, fatigue and even promote the attachment and growth of parasites.

IBS is a difficult disorder to live with especially since an effective treatment can be difficult to find among individuals. However, with good diet, exercise, plenty of water, and regular colon cleansing it can be managed.

6 Reasons For Consulting With Your Doctor Before Taking St. John's Wort

I was first diagnosed as having clinical depression ten years ago by a marriage counselor who recognized that I had reached a psychological state in which I felt that "things were getting steadily worse" and that I no longer enjoyed activities that I used to like to do. I was also having fits of temper which seemingly came out of nowhere and had problems with sleeping and memory loss.

The counselor sent me to a psychiatrist who immediately recognized the symptoms of clinical depression. He prescribed Prozac.

"You'll have to take this for at least a couple of weeks before you see any results," he cautioned.

I was thankful for his cautionary advice - and not so thankful for the fact that he failed to tell me about the side effects of Prozac. While I began to feel more "peaceful", my sexual libido instantaneously dropped to zero.

My wife "wanted her husband back". Yes, somehow he had disappeared, to be replaced by a kind of detached Buddha with no sexual interest whatsoever.

I began to despair. Wasn't there a single antidepressant out there that didn't have moderate to serious side effects connected with it? I began to ask around, and a friend introduced me to St. John's Wort.

I noticed an immediate effect. My mental outlook drastically improved. I began to enjoy life again, and my fits of anger disappeared. And best of all, there were no side effects.

None that I could detect anyway.

Was this the panacea for depression, I wondered? The magical cure everyone could take without fear?

It has seemed that way for awhile...

SEROTONIN AND THE CHEMICAL SYNAPSE

Clinical depression has been traditionally attributed to a depletion of serotonin in the cells responsible for neural transmission, known as chemical synapses. These are gaps across which neurons signal each other, a process that involves serotonin, one of the three monoamine neurotransmitters in the nervous system. Neurotransmitters are synthesized by the presynaptic neural cell (the one that precedes the gap) to communicate with the post synaptic cell (which follows the gap).

It follows that once the neurotransmitter has been synthesized and accomplished its task of communication; it needs to be absorbed so that it won't go on stimulating the postsynaptic cell. This absorption is known as "uptake" or "reuptake".

Three types of monoamine neurotransmitters have been identified: norepinephrine NE, dopamine DA, and serotonin 5- HT. A drop in the level of serotonin was usually identified with clinical depression and is caused by abnormal uptake. Recent research has been showing that the cause of depression may be considerably more complicated, involving the other neurotransmitters, hormones and the immune system.

Serotonin levels have been traditionally enhanced by the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) such as Prozac.

MORE EFFECTIVE THAN SSRI'S?

For the past several years depression sufferers and the mainstream medical community have increasingly recognized that St. John's Wort is effective in treating clinical depression.

Until recently, nobody knew how it worked.

In a recent study, St John's Wort has been shown to influence serotonin and noradrenaline in the forebrain of the limbic brain circuits, an area that controls mood. Researchers in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Frankfurt in Germany have observed that St. John's Wort increases the effectiveness of norepinephrine, dopamine, L-glutamate, and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), as well as serotonin; in other words, it has a "broad uptake profile".

In short, it may be more effective than the SSRI's.

REASON #1: SIDE EFFECTS - I THOUGHT IT DIDN'T HAVE ANY!

In double-blind studies, research in Missouri has shown that of the 43 people taking St. John's Wort, 84 per cent reported an improved mood, while 47 percent reported SSRI type side effects, such as

o mental confusion

o nausea

o cardiovascular and motor abnormalities

o food-drug interactions

o withdrawal symptoms

o depressive relapse

Of the twelve percent who discontinued use, 13 people experienced withdrawal symptoms, and 1 reported to the Emergency Room

REASON #2: SEROTONIN OVERLOAD

In addition, taking St. John's Wort concurrently with one of the SSRI's may result in a serotonin overload.

REASON #3: CONCURRENT DRUG LEVELS CAN BECOME DANGEROUSLY HIGH

Taking it with other drugs can reduce the drugs' effectiveness. St. John's Wort has been shown to activate a set of enzymes in the liver which is used to break down many substances.

One should not suddenly stop St. John's Wort if it is being taken with other drugs, because the drug level in the bloodstream can become dangerously elevated. The herb and the drug need to be carefully adjusted and balanced with the help of your physician.

REASON #4: SKIN SENSITIVITY

It has long been known that skin sensitivity to sunlight is a side effect of St. John's Wort. Just be careful about sun exposure. Use a lot of sun block, a hat, and a long sleeved shirt while in the sun.

REASON #5: MANIA AND BI POLAR SYNDROME

St John's Wort has been shown to trigger mania in people with bi-polar syndrome, and can result in psychosis, according to a recent study by researchers in Amsterdam.

REASON #6: PREGNANCY

So far no studies have been made to determine the effect of St. John's Wort on pregnancy. Until studies have been made, it seems only wise to avoid taking the herb during pregnancy.

THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BOTTOM LINE

The good news is that double-blind clinical studies have definitely established St. John's Wort as effective in alleviating mild to moderate clinical depression, and the side effects, for those who do experience them, are similar to SSRI's. Drastic side effects are experienced only in a very small number of cases.

The bottom line is that it's probably best to consult with your physician before taking St. John's Wort, especially if you are taking other drugs. With the herb's new found credibility, your doctor will take it seriously and be more than happy to advise you and monitor your usage of St. John's Wort.

Depressed Inventors, Innovators, and Creative Geniuses - More Common Than You Know!

Not long ago, a gentleman from contacted me about an article I wrote, as he was researching issues concerning depressed inventors, innovators, and highly creative genius level individuals. So, is the stereotype type true? Are those who are so highly creative really mentally problematic, and often suffering from depression? Well, it turns out that is not typically the case, but there are still a higher number of depressed creative people by percentage than in the overall society as a whole.

So, when we talked about "Depressed Inventors" - I asked him if he himself was depressed? Why you ask? Well, because it seems that with brilliance often comes baggage. I've read several books on creativity of some of the greatest geniuses of all times, it seems this is quite common, but those innovators which succeed the most seem to have very mild depression (if any) and then hyper-manic states. Interesting isn't it?

Indeed, I asked my acquaintance; "what have you learned on this topic in your online personal research?" Turns out there is not a lot of relevant information on the topic, but there is some, in fact, I have studied this dilemma the prior, perhaps we need more research on this. Maybe rather than giving depressed folks pharmaceuticals, we might instead test them for creativity, and move them into some sort of creative study, at least when it comes to kids in school. It's a thought.

Interestingly enough, as a coordinator for a think tank which operates on the Internet, I've run across some wicked smart people, and some truly genius level creative types, and I have noticed at least some which do have mild depression now and again. It seems it may be something that just goes with the territory sometimes, and that's why we have the stereotype, that we've all come to believe in. But, I'd warn the reader from buying into this line in every case, because, I've also observed folks who seem very even keel, and are definitely genius level innovators.

You see, stereotypes are fun to contemplate, and they are also worthy when profiling, but, they can be damaging too, and quite problematic. Therefore, be careful if you think that all creative geniuses are manically depressed, it simply is not so, in fact the chances are greater that they are not. However when pitted against over all society in percentages it is true that there are more chronically depressed or mildly depressed artists, painters, musicians, which fall into the genius category spectrum. Please consider all this.

Cheap uPVC Double Glazing - A Twenty First Century Guide

With the advent of the internet no longer should cheap double glazing rustle up visions of poor quality product shoddy workmanship or home owners worse nightmares. With a little homework, householders can now buy cheap double glazing and save huge amounts of cash.

Instead of buying from household names whom everyone is widely aware still employ the same old sales tactics to get a signature on an order tonight! often at greatly increased cost to the homeowner (visions of a 瞿2000.00 door spring to mind etc), people are becoming more aware, more savvy of both the big company direct sales tactics and their outlandish prices, with the recession sparking the need for the homeowners cash to go much much further.

What to look for in a good double glazing company.

Make sure the company is reputable not take your cash and run, Certass or Fensa Registered normally sorts the wheat from the chaff, look for genuine insurance backed guarantees and the paperwork to back them up, check with the governing bodies are they really members? Check the internet for happy or disgruntled customers by typing in the company's name. Does the company provide a full survey and fitting service? Steer clear of large national household names to them its just another job. Look for smaller independently owned firms who genuinely care about their installations and their reputation. These are all check points that you must be totally happy with before investing hard earned cash.

Product. Products are the actual uPVC doors, uPVC windows, composite doors, and conservatories the prospective company is offering, are they energy efficient? A or B rated? What locking mechanism is been used standard espag or improved shootbolt locking? Are all windows manufactured to manufacturers specification with all reinforcement in place, are all windows and doors fully welded? inferior windows and doors often have a mechanical transom in, giving a weakness to the door or window creating major security issues as they are easier to break into.

Are all double glazed units 28mm thick, offer the latest warm edge spacer technology and filled with argon gas for improved heat retention? Again inferior products will be missing one of these key factors which are of great importance for both heat retention, cutting heating bills in the winter and solar reflection, to give greater cooler comfort in the summer.

Do the windows comply to building regs with an escape window fitted as standard, can the homeowner benefit from easy clean friction stays or (hinges) fitted so that the windows upstairs can be cleaned more easily by the depression of two buttons on the friction stay (or hinge) and sliding the window across the outer frame in order to gain easier access for wiping?

An important question to also ask any double glazing salesperson is what profile is being used in the manufacture of the windows and doors? Some high end industry, indeed world recognised profiles include Veka, Kommerling, and Rehau, which any window fitter in England would tell you are profiles that are synonymous with high quality security and most importantly longevity.

The cheaper profiles among many faults do not offer the same wall thickness, important again in security issues with locks and hinges all being secured and screwed through the profile where a full 3mm wall thickness must be in place along with suitable reinforcement to give maximum strength and anti burglar characteristics.

As often happens in life quality comes from Germany which all the aforementioned profiles do, however two British stable mates worthy of a mention and worth looking at are WHS Halo and Synseal both of whom have excellent industry standing.

Deposit Levels and Guarantee

Nowadays every reputable replacement window company in the UK should have a full deposit indemnity scheme accompanied by a full insurance backed guarantee. The deposit scheme is normally given when a customer signs a contract and protects the house owners deposit should the company cease trading for any reason. Normal / acceptable levels of deposit should be no more than 10% of total contract value for windows and doors. Be aware of smaller companies asking for large deposits, giving no deposit guarantee forms or paperwork at the point of sale, delaying work, or even worse not doing any work at all and running off with the money!

Conservatories however normally have a higher deposit level of 25% of total contract value but still should be fully deposit indemnified. The larger deposits being the norm simply due to the extended building works prior to any windows and doors arriving. A further payment of 35% of contract value would also be deemed acceptable subject to the base being totally completed (obviously not including plastering electrics or heating as this is an internal job that can only be completed once the conservatory is in the dry and erected) and all the windows doors glass and roof being on site. The remaining balance of 40% of contract value naturally paid when the homeowner is completely happy with every aspect of the installation to include a part P certificate issued by a fully qualified electrical contractor if any electrical work has been undertaken.

Quotation Availability

Most window companies want or even insist to see the customer in order to put a sales person in to pressurise them into buying their windows and doors on the night or been barraged with phone calls in the week later until they sign, however with the help of the internet thankfully these days are beginning to be numbered.

Most people simply want a quote and don't want the hassle of sitting through a two or three hour sales presentation with quite often heaps of pressure being applied to buy now or lose the discount. Genuine companies who offer none inflated products can give quotes straight from the net with no hassle what so ever. The homeowner will naturally want to see what they are buying which can easily be arranged when the surveyor calls to take final manufacturing sizes.

Sales Techniques.

Sadly an awful lot of people still take sales people at face value, examples of sales techniques used to gain orders are the show home offer using the house for future references which companies never do, agreeing for a board to go outside or the possibility of a refund due to the increased business levels again a very rare happening. Sign now or your lose the point of sale discount is another common technique or let me phone my manager as he has more authoritative to give more discount. The truth being these are exactly the techniques which give horror stories where people have been charged outrageous or hideous amounts of money for product, thus giving the whole double glazing industry a bad name where homeowners perish the thought of having their windows replaced.

The Net - a Twenty first answer to cheap double glazing

The internet now can genuinely help with real reputable companies offering quality reasonably priced double glazing compared to the high street names who still today are ripping people off, with so many people still falling victim.

The moral of the story being do your homework find reputable companies who are reasonable and who are willing to quote without the need for sales people, phoning their manager, or using any sales techniques, who will give a quote over the phone and who can install correctly and offer a real after sales care! with fully insurance backed guarantees. After all its not rocket science or splitting the atom just double glazing!

Manic Depression Bipolar Disorder - Interesting and Helpful Facts About the Manic Signs

I looked up mania in the dictionary and I didn't like what I saw. You can look it up too when you have the chance - it's right after madness and just before stupidity. Specifically, one dictionary I looked at referred to it as "A mood disorder; an affective disorder in which the victim tends to respond excessively and sometimes violently".

It is easy to read about bipolar disorder and learn how it is called the manic-depressive illness that levers you between phases of mania and depression at all kinds of indeterminate intervals. Sometimes you get the chance to function normally in between; sometimes you don't. However, I don't know if you have ever actually met someone in that condition before - someone who was actually being manic or depressive at a time when you were speaking with them. It is not a pleasant experience, I tell you. I'd like us to look at the mania for a moment.

Mania is obsession, and excessive and intense interest in someone or something, some kind of enthusiasm. But that is putting it mildly. Mania in the psychotic form is actually a psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive physical activity, rapidly changing ideas, and impulsive behavior. I'll help you understand: when you are manic, you are excited and enthusiastic, but you are never able to touch down on any one interest for any reasonable length of time.

Also, mania is an abnormal mental state that is characterized by an elevated irritable mood that is touched by self-importance, racing thoughts and hyperactivity. Did I mention a feeling of intoxication with you and with life? Or, are you manipulating people, spending money indiscriminately and pursuing sexual adventure to almost no end? And that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Who's Driving the Bus - Neuroscience and Teaching

Neuroscientists have now discovered that between 95-99% of what we think is unconscious.

When we understand how our brains work we know that with every thought there is a corresponding behaviour or reaction. So what are the implications if the majority of our thinking is out of our awareness?

Maybe like me you are thinking this means that the majority of our behaviours and reactions are not only automatic but are preprogramed by pour brains. Added to this we have no idea of why we sometimes behave the way we do. Well the good news is now you know why you sometimes behave in ways that are unproductive to yourself and others. At the base of all your behaviours are a bunch of thoughts. Now before we move onto what we can do about this let's take a moment to look at the implications to teaching and education that this can have.

If the majority of your behaviours are unconscious and consist of a lifetime of thinking both good and bad how might this affect your teaching and interaction with your students. Before continuing let me share an interesting study they did in USA some years ago. Researchers in the study followed around for an entire day 100 school children and monitored the number of positive and negative comments they received. The results where 694 negative comments to 72 positive comments. What this shows us is that we are conditioned from an early age to think more in negative terms than positive ones. To test this theory think about what happens when you get out of bed of a morning do you say to yourself wow this is going to be fantastic day and I know everything is going to be just perfect. Or do you think I better hurry up or I will be late for work or I wonder if I am going to get stuck in traffic again or I just bet X is going to give me a hard time today or Oh no I have to attend that meeting don't really have the time and I am not prepared. I could go on but I will spare you the drama. If we are truly honest with ourselves most of what we think is more in terms of negative outcomes rather than positive ones.

So the real question is what are you bringing into your educational environment each day and how is this impacting on students and work colleagues? If again we are truly honest with ourselves then we will start to realise and understand that the majority of our interactions are not based in the present moment but in the past and that past is shaped by negative influences. Now if we take this down a notch even further and start to reflect on our problematic students and work colleagues we would see that sitting behind those interactions are thoughts and beliefs that have negative based thinking. To test this out now compare the thoughts about students and work colleagues that you don't have issues with and ask yourself are the thoughts and beliefs positive. Why is it that we have positive thoughts towards some people and negative thoughts towards others? Yep you guessed correctly it is all part of that 95-99% of thinking that is unconscious to us and to add insult to injury it is a by product of our past experiences.

So getting back to our students how many are being adversely affected by the fact that we are unaware of the majority of our thoughts and beliefs? More importantly are you prepared to do something about it? You need to realise that this isn't personal we are not bad people because our brains have been conditioned to behave and react in less than perfect terms. In fact it is quite liberating to know that it is just a fact of life and the way our brains are built that we behave in less than productive ways. It has nothing to do with you as a person but the way that you brain works and the less than perfect environment we live in.

What is a measure of your character is whether you are prepared to do something about it. Do you want to take back control of driving the bus or will you continue to let your programmed brain run rampant?

Here are a list of suggestions for taking back control.

1. Start to become aware of your thoughts especially when things are not going the way you want them to.

2. When you realise that your thoughts are giving way to unproductive behaviours stop and ask yourself if I had to see this situation in positive terms what would that look like. Once you have a vision continue to hold this until the situation changes.

3. Surround yourself with positive minded people. Don't get into the habit of speaking negatively about other and situations. This will only reinforce the neurological connections that are causing you to be behave in unproductive ways. If you don't have a group which is solution orientated rather than problem centred create one.

4. Read and listen to inspirational quotes, stories and visualisations.

5. Get tough with yourself and decide if you are happy with your thinking and make a commitment to change it. Use the power of emotion and passion to change your thinking to envision outcomes that create extraordinary performance in yourself and your students. Your brain is very powerful and when used correctly all things are possible.

Metal Toxicity Causes Depression

Your exposure to Heavy Metal Toxicity is coming at you from a number of different directions, and it should not be a total surprise that rates of Depression, Insomnia and Neurodegenerative disorders such as Autism, Bipolar disorder are on the rise.

No margin of safety.

There is no margin of safety with heavy metal toxicity, even the smallest amounts of these toxic metals can gradually build up in your soft tissues and bones, as in the crystal clear case with babies and children being deceptively given multiple toxic vaccinations that contain mercury. That onslaught of heavy metal accumulative exposure, that may have started in your childhood, has by now resulted in many pieces of mercury and other such metals lurking in your tissues and bones, as if they are ticking time booby-traps ready to cause mayhem to your health.

With some people, the health troubles emerge almost immediately after initial exposure, while for many others it is as if there is a time-lag. You will find aluminum in vaccines, popular antiperspirants and a number of cosmetics,nail-polish, and in the pots and pans that are in your kitchen at this minute.

Baby bottles, plastics and infant formulas.

The New York Times of April 19th, 2008 reports that the Canadian departments of Health and Environment have (at long last) imposed a ban on plastic bottles for infants, because they are made from polycarbonate, whose main ingredient--BPA (Bisphenol-a), a widely used chemical that also mimics a human hormone, is indeed toxic.

Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, ah yes! at times these good folks regain their senses and usually not for long, has risen to the occasion in defense of your health, intends to introduce a bill that would ban many uses of BPA related plastics, including non-food items, that toddlers may put in their mouths. That ban is also to include anything used to contain food or beverages, such as the use of BPA coatings inside Infant Formula cans.

Reader, were you a child before now?

The Canadian Health Minister Tony Clemont informed the gathered reporters, that well over 150 clinical research reports, prove that use of Bisphenol-a in baby bottles causes behavioral and neural symptoms later in life. Bingo! That is hitting the nail straight on the head. Right there is one of the causative factors of depression, bipolar disorder, autism, AD/HD, and the list continues.

Then there is lead in peeling paint and old water pipes. As if that's not enough, even CNN of april 19th/08 chimed in, the good folks at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in New Jersey, have issued stern warnings about the health hazards of lead found in artificial turf installed at schools, parks and stadiums across the country.

Now reader, just to begin with, there over 3,500 such fields in this country, and would you believe it, about 800 more are installed each year. It is indeed scary enough that two such fields in that State, the Frank Sinatra Park at Hoboken and at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, have been put off limits after detection of unacceptably high levels of lead (as lead chromate) in the synthetic turf.

According to that State's epidemologist Dr. Eddy Breswitz, that toxic lead can easily be inhaled or even swallowed as airborne tiny fibers or dust by you or your child or anyone playing on such fields. Lead causes brain damage and other illnesses particularly in children, and those same effects can manifest later in adulthood after hibernating, so to speak, for years.

Then there is industrial pollution, your use of pesticides, herbicides on your lawns or garden, and dare not forget the artificial wicked additives in the processed foods and in the artificial beverages. Monosodium glutumate is clinically well known as damaging to your nervous system.

The connection is clinically simple to make, but while the EPA has very very very lukewarmly, and with a velvet hammer at that, outlined exposure limits to ensure public safety against heavy metals, the medical mainstream has yet to fully acknowledge the threat that heavy metal toxicity poses on an everyday basis, at least to the human body. Consequently, the many subtle signs of ill-health that accumulate over time are easily mistakenly attributed to a different cause.

You can ably surmise what happens when the root cause of ill-health is not correctly identified and addressed. In the meantime, the only universally accepted method of heavy metal detox or removal, is a complicated and expensive process known as, intravenous chelation, available only at specialty clinics. It It takes a lot of time and often depletes your body's inventory of essential trace minerals.

Introducing the clinically safe natural chelator.

This natural chelator known as MCP is a complex polysaccharide in a class of polyuronides. Reader, no worries, this writer will simplify that for you shortly; and you are very familiar with it's components except they have to be in a very specific form. It's molecular structure is the key to it's abilities to bind to and eliminate heavy metals effectively and safely and in a very short time.

In solution, it forms what is referred to as an egg-box, in which long negatively charged fiber chains stick together in groups that create pockets. Positively charged metal cations are attracted to these chains, and are thus loosened from your soft tissues. They then become trapped in the pockets of the egg-box from where they are very easily excreted from your body. The effectiveness of that excretion is amazing, exactly as Mother Nature intended, because the major obstacle in the intravenous chelation modality, arises in the digestive tract.

Even when an agent has managed to loosen and bind toxins from your tissues, more often than not, this process is easily nullified in your intestines, where the heavy metals are easily reabsorbed. The only way to prevent this is to somehow block re-absorption, such that all the toxins are eliminated together with your body's waste.

Therefore, this natural chelator has a mistress, Alignates.

Alginates is another amazing group of polyuronides obtained from a specific type of seaweed and are historically used to treat acute radiation poisoning. Oh yes, you guessed correctly, that like MCP, the structure of the alginates enables them to trap heavy metals in pockets. So, by pairing the two in combination, the reabsorption of the toxins in the intestines is prevented.

Equally important is that neither one of this natural duo can bind to your essential trace minerals, therefore you wont be risking deficiency during the process of detox at your home. Do bear in mind that the loosening of the heavy metals from your tissues and bones occurs in a gradual manner, clinically proven safe and efficient and no side-effects whatsoever.

Detoxes your body clean with just two capsules a day of MCP.

Clinical reports in the Biomedical Environmental Science of Sept. 1991, yes of course, that is almost two decades ago, establish a very clear connection between prolonged exposure to the toxins and the development of disease in you.

The reports clearly show that the diseases from heavy metal toxic exposure can be very effectively reversed, safely, gently, inexpensively and without any bad side effects whatsoever. Take the example of a 63 year old female who had a history of toxic metal exposure, and consequently suffered from chronic anxiety and depression.

Within two months of being administered MCP, her lead levels decreased by 100% and her mercury levels decreased by 83%. She hadn't felt better in years until MCP came along. The remainder of mercury is because her teeth carry dental fillings that are toxic.

Then there is a fifty seven year old male with suspected mercury exposure, and a decade long history of headaches, constipation, IBS and a family history of Alzheimer's disease. Within twelve months of using MCP his mercury levels decreased by 73%, and almost all his health complaints disappeared.

Teen Depression Symptoms

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for teenagers after accidents and homicide. Why do so many teenagers take their own lives? Major factors in many suicides are bullying, feeling a failure or failing an important exam, a relationship break-up or family problems. These are all major stresses but a lot of teenagers manage to get through them relatively unscathed. The difference between those who can cope and those who turn to suicide as a solution to these problems is that the majority of the latter already have a mental or substance-related disorder and they can't deal with the stress.

Substances include alcohol and drugs and the mental problems include depression and anxiety disorders. Teenagers suffering from depression and anxiety do not have the strength and self esteem necessary to realize that problems can be overcome and life does turn around and get better. They are unable to rationalize that suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems. They see it as the only way out.

The difficulty is in separating what is 'normal' adolescent angst and what is a problematic serious emotional state. Only about one fifth of teenagers suffering from depression get help despite the fact that the condition responds very well to treatment. While some depressed kids may be sad and withdrawn, others become irritable, aggressive or very angry.

Symptoms usually include two or three of the following and the amount of time they have been present needs to be taken into account:

- Loss of interest in hobbies and everyday activities
- Withdrawal and spending long periods alone
- Changes in eating and sleeping habits
- Hostility, anger and irritability
- Feelings of hopelessness and despair
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Tearfulness and crying
- Restlessness and agitation
- Lack of motivation and difficulty in concentrating
- Lack of energy
- Thoughts of death or suicide
- Substance abuse
- Aches and pains that have no physical cause

Because of the physical changes and rampant hormonal swings that accompany adolescence, teenagers are very susceptible to depression. While some may open up and try to express what they are going through, the vast majority is too embarrassed or shy to talk to anyone. They are not aware that they have depression or an anxiety disorder and simply feel that they are to blame for the hopelessness and despair they feel. Parents and teachers need to be made aware of these conditions and realize that the badly behaved, extreme or unsociable, withdrawn teenager in their house or class may be in desperate need of professional informed help.

A Free and Simple Test for pH, a Potential Health Tester

It is estimated that 80% of all deaths in the United States can be delayed and you have the power to
DO IT! The leading killers to the American population are heart disease, diabetes, and obesity is all avoidable. These health problems and other serious health conditions including; allergies, depression, poor digestion, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, anxiety and many more have a direct link to our diets and nutritional intake. By measuring your saliva pH at home you can quickly and easily gauge the nutritional stress your body is under and determine if additional nutritional support is needed. Americans are slowly killing themselves with fast food and prolonged nutritional depletion, but there is hope. By improving our diets and taking nutritional supplements we can reverse the effects of degenerative diseases. A saliva pH test may simple be the answer to the health care crisis America is facing.
Saliva pH is controlled by your diet and the amount of vitamins and minerals you have in your body. Lower saliva pH is a good indicator for the need of vitamin and mineral supplements. Saliva pH over 7.0 is a good indicator that you are taking in enough vitamins and minerals. This simple test is a good general way to measure the amount of vitamins and minerals you need. The benefits of saliva pH testing are that it is simple, inexpensive and the patient control over monitoring their path back to good health. Saliva pH has been used by physicians for decades as a general indicator of your body's health. Recent research has linked low saliva pH to poor nutrition and has been found to be an indicator in several leading diseases. Saliva pH is usually measured from 5-9, the lower your score the more acidic and the more likely to have health problems. Your ideal saliva pH level should be between 7.0-7.4, this is either 1st thing in the morning or an hour after any food or fluid intake. The good news is that you can monitor and improve your health without costly medications or doctors visits. You can improve your saliva pH by improving the foods you eat and the nutritional supplements you take.
To increase your saliva pH levels you need to know what foods to eat and which foods to avoid. The body recognizes foods as either acid , neutral or alkaline based. High protein foods like meats, fish, beans and chicken tend to make the body more acidic. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are more alkaline in nature and will help raise your saliva pH level. The worst foods in the American diet; coffee, soda, alcohol, sugar, saccharine, processed flour and fried foods are the most acid forming foods available.
This easy to do and safe test clearly shows how the American lifestyle has lead us straight into a national health care crisis.
Here is what today's leading physicians and researchers have to say about pH testing:

Specific foods balance acid, alkaline levels, stemming aging process and illness

Cosmetic Surgery Times; 7/1/2003; Carraway, Jim

According to Dr. Vince Giampapa, in "Quantum Longevity," acid-producing foods block antioxidant enzymes and reduce our ability to digest food into micronutrients. To maintain a good antioxidant balance, patients need a slightly alkaline pH. In general, acid-producing foods are as follows: sugar, flour, commercial cereals, fish, chicken, eggs, meat. Alkaline-producing foods ate fruits, vegetables, legumes, and soy products.

The effectiveness of a dental/dietitian team in the assessment of bulimic dental health.

Journal of the American Dietetic Association; 8/1/1990

; Wampold, Richard L.
This research article reported that bulimic patients were shown to have lower saliva pH. The lower pH found was associated with the lack of nutrients and with a higher incidence of dental erosion and cavities.

Nasal mucociliary clearance and nasal and oral pH in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes.

Ear, Nose and Throat Journal

; 8/1/1999; Kurt, Aynur, et al.
.... we did find that nasal mucociliary clearance and oral pH levels in the diabetic patients were significantly different from those of healthy subjects.

Correlative Urinalysis, Dr. M.T. Morter,

Saliva pH gives an indication of the intracellular environment and is the most accurate indicator of overall health and the condition of the alkaline reserve... Saliva pH should be consistently 6.8 pH or higher.
The following is a list of common foods and how they affect the body's acid / alkaline balance.
Saliva pH readings should never be below 6.1...
While list concerning Alkaline and Acid based foods vary by researcher, but the basics are the same. Acid based foods are high protein foods like meats, fish and chicken. Alkaline foods are whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Like all healthy diets fast foods, fried foods, processed foods, sugar, etc, are all acid forming foods and should be avoided. The list below will help you decide on the foods that are best for you. You do not need to avoid acid foods, but use less of them as compared to the alkaline foods.
Remember, while fruits like lemons and oranges are acidic they are alkaline based and or good for you.
This list was taken from Dr. Mortar's book, Correlative Urinalysis.
ALKILINE FOODS                     ACID ASH FOODS
Raw spinach                                 scallops
Beet greens                                 oysters
Molasses                                     dried lentils
Celery                                          sausage
Dried figs                                    sardines
Carrots                                        oatmeal
Dried beans                                corned beef
Chard leaves                               lobster
Watercress                                 peanuts
Sauerkraut                                  haddock
Lettuce                                       soda crackers
Green lima                                 beans codfish
Dried Lima beans                      pasta
Rhubarb                                      peanut butter
Cabbage                                     chicken
Broccoli                                    pike
Brussels sprouts                       brown rice
Green soy beans                       whole wheat flower
Cucumbers                                white flour
Parsnips                                     salmon
Radishes                                    beef
Rutabagas                                  turkey
Dried peas                                 barley
Additional lists of alkaline and acid based foods can be found on numerous websites.
Along with changing your diet to improve your saliva pH levels nutritional supplements are important. Saliva pH measure is based on the foods you eat and the availabity vitamins and minerals in your system. An acid saliva pH is a good indicator of the need for nutritional supplements. I recommend a multivitamin with minerals, a green product and digestive enzymes for extremely low saliva pH.
If you would like a free test kit to measure your saliva pH please email Dr. Zodkoy @ szo9935741@aol.com

Read Inspirational Quotes to Brighten Your Day

Great inspirational quotes are sure some of the good ways in helping people in motivating them in their professional life, thereby attaining success. There are in fact countless of helpful and motivating inspirational quotes to choose from-ranging from the humorous to the practical. These kinds of inspirational quotes are really useful in our daily lives, may it be in our careers, our personal lives and especially reaching for our goals or even just maintaining a positive outlook in life. Reading some inspirational quotes especially on a regular basis is one way to effectively lead us to a more inspiring and happy life.

And here are some ways on why reading and absorbing inspirational quotes could enhance your life, and be fulfilled in our lives.

1. There is roughly endless cornucopia of inspirational quotes and you're free to choose from them! And in other words, you never run out of them-you are free to choose whichever you like and which ones apply in your current state of mood or your life in general. Plus, they are for free-providing you with the best and the positive insights to guide or enlighten us without even paying for a single cent! Browse the World Wide Web for many motivating quotes and the choices are limitless.

2. These quotes aid in beating the habit of procrastination. It's given that this habit is one of the most difficult issues that most individuals struggle with. Indeed it's tough to overcome it, so you need a heavy dose of inspiring messages to motivate you to do better and stop procrastinating. Especially when you're experiencing some problems or difficulties in your life, being inspired or motivated is the best way to deal with it.

3. They serve as quick motivational starters. Reading these inspirational quotes certainly improves your life even just temporarily. They provide a quick "lift" to lighten your mood and look at the bright side of life and go on working on what's about to be done and must be finished at a certain period. After reading these statements, naturally, it will give you a better sense of direction aimed at your goals and will let you feel that you've got the energy to work on them.

4. Inspiring quotes help you from dealing or coping with extreme sadness or depression. From the name itself, these inspirational quotes are here to inspire, uplift and motivate, to make another person feel good. And don't forget that they're all for free! It's less pricey than having to pay for a shrink or therapist! So the next time you're feeling down and you definitely need a boost, the cheapest way to do it is to read some friendly and helpful messages to perk you up.

And it won't hurt if they are adorned in a light and colorful background for maximum effect. Try reading some on a regular basis and it's even better to say goodbye to daily blues. In general, we all want to have a happy and positive outlook in life. And we can achieve it by being inspired and motivated even just in easy and effortless ways.

The Amazing Uses and Health Benefits of Lithium

Lithium is an element that has various uses and applications. It is used in the glass and ceramic industry, is used with other metals in the making of air crafts, is a very good lubricant, is used in mobile phones, and also has a whole lot of health uses.

In this article, we are going to focus on the health uses of lithium, and its role as an essential trace element and nutritional mineral for the human body.

Medicinal Uses and Health Benefits of Lithium

1. Treating bipolar disease: The most prevalent of uses of lithium by far, is in the treatment of bipolar disease, or as is more popularly referred to - manic depressive disorder.

This disease is characterized by severe mood swings, which leaves the sufferer feeling highly elated at times and then down in the dumps at other times. This cycle of mania and depression is caused due to certain imbalances in a person's brain.

For years now, lithium has been used in treating this disorder as it is very effective in controlling the symptoms of bipolar. Why lithium works in bipolar is not very clear, but it is suspected to control the levels of a brain chemical called serotonin, an imbalance of which causes the disease.

Despite many other drugs being available to treat bipolar disease, lithium remains the preferred choice for treating this disease, not just because it is very effective, but also because it is not a drug at all and does not have irreversible side effects like the other drugs.

2. Lithium for a healthy brain: Because of the high use of lithium in treating bipolar disease, it has become somewhat synonymous with mental diseases, thus being seen as something to stay away from.

People sure don't want to be telling anyone that they are taking lithium, lest they be considered 'mad', which is a shame as lithium is so much more than just a remedy for mental patients.

Lithium is a very essential mineral and can do wonders for your brain. Studies have revealed that lithium is very useful in slowing down the shrinking of your brain cells (which occurs with age) and can actually renew brain cells too.

Thus, by taking lithium, you can keep your brain in top condition.

3. Uses of lithium for Alzheimer's: The negative action of a brain toxin known as glutamate is responsible for the degeneration of brain cells, thus resulting in Alzheimer's.

Many new medicines for Alzheimer's contain ingredients that control the actions of glutamate, thus preventing Alzheimer's and also decelerating the progress of the disease in those who already have it.

Lithium is a mineral which also has the properties of shielding the brain from the harm caused by glutamates. Thus, lithium can be the answer for the prayers of all those people who have someone suffering from Alzheimer's.

The above uses of lithium are not well documented and researched and thus people do not have a good idea about the huge health benefits of lithium. But, if one were to believe the stories of those who do take lithium regularly, all of the above uses of lithium are true.

What Should You Think About When Taking Lithium?

There is no RDA for the intake of lithium. But according to various studies, a dosage of about 10-20 mg per day is adequate for maintaining your overall health, including that of the brain.

For treating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Bipolar disorder, or other therapeutic uses, lithium should be taken only on the advice of a doctor.

Buying A Lithium Supplement

In order to make sure that you purchase a quality product, you should buy lithium supplements only from pharmaceutical GMP compliant makers. Avoid any lithium product that has harmful fillers such as silica, starch etc.

As minerals work in combination with one another, you should buy a lithium product that has other essential minerals such as copper, zinc, calcium etc too. The best options for this is a natural multivitamin supplement. They are available all over the place today.

Does Friendship Exist?

Friends are people who should always try to help you. But at the same time you should also do the same thing. It is not enough to say that "we are friends." Real friendship is based on good actions. Words are nothing if in difficult times your friends do not support you. Moreover, if they betray you from time to time, as a result, it can lead to depression. Many years ago, one of my friends betrayed me. I could not believe in it because he was my close friend. During several weeks I was in depression because I did not expect that she was possible to do it. It is so awful when you ask somebody do not do or say something but they do not want to hear you.

One of my acquaintances says that she tries not to acquire friends because, from her point of view, friendship does not exist. People are selfish and only think about themselves. Sometimes I think that she is right but it is almost impossible do not have friends because you can lose the life meaning. It is so good when you have people with whom you can share your thoughts and ideas. But I do not like people who flatter and do not want to accept truth. Sometimes it is better to say truth than to lie and say people what they want to hear. Real friends should always to say truth because they care about each other.

If your friends always lie to you, they cannot be considered your friends any more. In conclusion, I can say that friends are also good source of depression. Friends sometimes can betray you in an unexpected moment. Maybe it is good recommendations not to have friends because you never face a betrayal from close friends. Nevertheless, people cannot live without friends.

Psychotic Depression

Depression does not only let you feel sorry for yourself, but also it can make you see, hear things, and think illogically. They are not losing their minds, but rather they are what you call people with psychotic depression. Approximately over 20 % of people who are admitted to the hospital for depression state suffer from what is called psychotic depression. On top of the depressive symptoms of depression, psychotic depression also include some psychosis features such as hallucinations, seeing and hearing things that aren't present or delusions, irrational thoughts and fears, which most patients with mental condition are suffering from.

The difference between psychotic depression and other mental condition, such as schizophrenia, is that although they are experiencing the same symptoms, which are the hallucination and delusion, the ones with psychotic depression usually know that the thoughts they're having aren't exactly real. In other words, they may suffer from these symptoms, but also they are well aware that those are not true. The main reason why this type of depression is difficult to diagnose is because sufferers of this condition maybe ashamed or embarrassed about what they are going through and therefore would choose to hide them instead.

Having a single occurrence of psychotic depression can increase your risk of bipolar depression, recurring episodes of psychotic depression, and worse - suicide. That is why you should be aware of possible symptoms of this type of depression. Here are some of the symptoms of psychotic depression that anyone may experience:

Anxiety

Agitation

Psychosis

Physical immobility

Constipation

Intellectual impairment

Insomnia, and more

Since there are worst scenarios of how things will turn out with psychotic depression, immediate attention and treatment should be given to the patient. The treatment for this type of depression may take a longer stay in the hospital and close follow up by a mental health professional to keep track of the recovery progress. Anti-depressants and anti-psychotic medications have been known to effectively alleviate the symptoms and are still widely used, but natural remedies can also be taken into consideration to help speed up the recovery. The natural remedies I am referring to include proper diet, which requires eating anti-depression food, daily intake of multivitamins and anti-depressant vitamins, such as B vitamins; exercise; avoid foods that can aggravate your condition, like coffee and sweets.

Treatment is very effective for people with psychotic depression condition. Usually within a year, one can recover from this sickness, but needs to continue medical follow-ups. Also, be aware that if symptoms of psychotic depression has been experienced and determined, proper treatment must be established as in other major depressive illnesses; otherwise, risk of suicide is great.

The Adrenal Glands and Your Mental Health

Hormones are major links in the mind body connection. They are chemical the chemical messengers that can turn on and off a variety of genes in every cell in your body-including your brain! All known hormonal imbalances may manifest as psychiatric disorders, such as depression, mania, anxiety, ADD, memory disturbances, dementia and even psychosis. On the other hand, bearing the burden of any of these disorders, over time, will affect your hormonal function as well. Hormonal imbalances also mimic the side effects of anti-depressants by causing weight gain, brain fog, sexual problems, and depleted energy levels. It is clear then, that hormonal problems go hand-in-hand with depression, and sorting out "hormone triggered" depression from clinical depression is not always easy. Most patients have a mixture of the two. For this reason, in the practice of Whole Psychiatry, a detailed assessment of the hormonal systems should be a routine part of every psychiatric evaluation.

A hormone called cortisol (made by your adrenal gland) is part of the body's shock absorber system. We all drive down the road of life. and we hit real or imagined pot holes. If our shock absorbers are functioning well, its like we are driving a Cadillac. We feel the pothole, but only briefly and then we make a quick recovery. If we have poor shock absorbers, we feel like we are driving an old pick-up truck over a dirt road. We hit a pot hole, are stunned by it, and may even veer off the road.

What determines how our shock absorbers work? Some of it is genetic, and some of it is set by the time we are 11 or 12 weeks of age! In addition, chronic stress, nutritional and chemical factors, social environments, attitudes, perceived sense of control, spiritual orientation, and interpretation of the meaning of events play an important role.

Your body's glands take their cues from your brain. When an event is perceived, a meaning is assigned to the event, and a hormonal response appropriate to the assigned meaning occurs. Thus your brain determines the exact timing and amount of cortisol that is released into your blood stream: too much cortisol at night, and you can't fall sleep, too little cortisol in the morning, and you can barely peel yourself out of bed!

By the same token, your brain then gets a message from your adrenal glands via the cortisol in your blood stream, which provides a status update on hormone production and release. The constant relay of information between your brain and your adrenal glands keeps your brain, immune system and stress response functioning normally.

But this system's equilibrium can be upset when you take a blow from, say, depression, manic depression, anxiety, chronic stress (such as a divorce or chronic illness), chronic pain, or recurrent bouts of low blood sugar. In fact any of a number of hormonal imbalances (e.g., adrenal, thyroid, reproductive hormones) are one of the major reasons that many anti-depressant treatments don't work, or why patients with bipolar disorder are not stabilized.

In summary, if you have a mood disorder, check into your hormonal status, looking at adrenal function, thyroid function (check a TSH, free T3, free T4, reverse T3, body temperature), blood sugar regulation, reproductive hormones, and melatonin.

Give the wide variety and effect of pesticides and hormone interrupters in our world, I strongly advocate for organically grown foods. Aside from the superior nutritional content, and health benefits seen in experimental animals, there is growing concern that the chemicals we accept in our environment cause significant hormonal problems in the population at large, by mimicking or blocking the functions of our own hormonal systems.

Don't Let Your Gout Cause Depression

Openly talking to your doctor about medication and other facts of gout, will help you avoid letting your gout cause other issues in addition to the painful attacks you're already experiencing. The reason why it is important to be able to freely talk about your gout condition is because gout can cause depression.

Feeling depressed or down is a normal part of life and is experienced by most people from time to time. Everyone goes through bouts of apathy, despair, and exhaustion, a case of the blues that takes hold and doesn't let go. Depression can occur for many reasons, and poor health is one of the major causes. Therefore, if you're not careful, you can let your gout get you down.

How can gout cause depression?

- Painful attacks

- Not being able to use the affected joint during an attack

- Not being able to enjoy certain activities

- Avoiding foods you love eating because they can cause gout

- Knowing a gout attack can recur

How will you know if you are depressed? Signs and symptoms of depression include:

- Feeling helpless and/or hopeless - feeling that a situation with never become better or change

- Loss of interest in everyday activities - no longer participating in hobbies and activities once enjoyed

- Significant weight loss or weight gain (a 5% increase or decrease in body weight in one month)

- Insomnia or hypersomnia (oversleeping)

- Feeling restless or sluggish

- Feeling exhausted and physically drained, even when doing simple tasks

- Self-loathing

- Difficulty concentrating

- Irritable - easily frustrated, annoyed or angered

- Feeling aches and pains - having headaches and gastrointestinal complaints (I.E. constipation, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc.)

How can you treat depression related to gout? If you are feeling depressed, the following are a few self-help tips to aid you in eliminating the blues gout cause. Just remember that in order to successfully self-treat depression you need to want to recover from your condition and give it everything you've got. Therefore, you need to be practical, open-minded, and above all, be yourself!

Talk to someone supportive - Talk to a good friend, or talk to your doctor about any concerns or questions you may have about your condition.

Research gout - Find out how you can treat and prevent gout attacks so you don't let gout cause symptoms that are painful or depressing.

Enjoy the food you eat - Just because you have to avoid certain foods rich in purines, doesn't mean that you can't enjoy eating anymore. Find out what foods are low in purines and are considered gout-friendly. Some examples include, chocolate, carbonated beverages, eggs, sugar, milk products, bread, grains cereals, rice, pasta, cheese, milk products, tomatoes, fruit, and some green vegetables. Use these foods to create healthy new recipes.

Exercise - Exercise helps blood flow thorough your body and improves circulation. Exercise also releases endorphins which make you feel better, improves your sense of well-being, and can help you avoid the negative feelings gout cause.

Take time to relax and avoid stress - You may be overworking yourself and your body. Tell yourself you deserve a break and take the time to do something you enjoy and focus on clearing your mind. For instance:

- Take a hot bath

- Listen to music

- Get a massage

- Spend time with a pet

- Read a book

- Write in a journal

- Take a walk and enjoy nature

- What a comedic movie or T.V. show

Finally, always remember that if you are suffering from prolonged depression (depression that lasts for months) due to a gout cause, or another issue, you should seek immediate medical attention before your depression moves beyond your control. Major depression is a mental illness that needs to be taken serious and treated. Therefore, you may be required to take medication such as antidepressants to help you overcome depression so you can move on with your life.

Anxiety and Depression

Anxiety and depression are emotional disorders. Persons affected by anxiety and depression show some specific symptoms. Victims of anxiety and depression often show suicidal tendencies. These disorders can even lead to a separation of the patient from his self.

Anxiety and depression disorders can be diagnosed by expert consultation; doctors rely on clinical tests for accurate diagnosis. Increased levels of homocysteine, and lowered levels of serum magnesium, zinc, potassium, essential vitamins such as folate, as well as over release of cortisol, imbalance of cofactors and unbalanced re-absorption of neurotransmitters are all indicative of the disease. Anxiety and depression can be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, genetic factors, psychological disposition, or physical factors and environmental factors. The brain biochemistry of the person is a major cause for the occurrence of the disease. The ratio of incidence of the disease in men and women are equal. However, anxiety and depression are more explicitly manifested in woman.

There are six types of anxieties, and they are further subdivided into twelve depending on the severity of symptoms. Depression also has many variations such as dysthymia, manic depression, and cyclothymia. Some seasonal affective disorders include premenstrual depression and postpartum depression, mood disorders due to medical conditions, medication-induced depression, and substance-induced mood disorder. Temporary depressions can be relieved through certain autosuggestion techniques. Proper diagnosis and treatment are required for anxiety and depression caused by physiological disorders since they can lead to many serious and degenerative diseases.

Medication is the common remedy resorted to by physicians. Medicines help reduce physical symptoms of the disease. Anti-anxiety medications, anti-depressants, and mood stabilizers are the commonly prescribed medicines. Psychotherapy is also found effective in many patients. In many cases, both therapy and medication are recommended. Behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy help calm the mind and reset the patient's thinking pattern.

Depression Suicide - Treat Depression Early

Depression suicide is very common, and thousands of people commit suicide each year. Unfortunately among teens this happens to be the 3rd top cause of death, and it ranks 2nd among those who are college age. The statistics are astounding, and it is extremely sad that so many people lose their lives when there are excellent treatments available for depression today. The key is to catch and treat depression early.

If you are going through depression and you are feeling suicidal and thinking about death a lot, it is important that you seek help. While you need treatment for the depression, you may also need immediate help from someone who specializes in suicide prevention. Don't keep these thoughts to yourself, but find someone you can talk to and get help. It's important that you get the help that you need to avoid depression suicide.

Many people who deal with depression suicide feelings feel alone, unhappy, and very isolated. Often they feel that they only way out of all the pain they are dealing with is to die. They main reason that they try suicide is to stop all the emotional pain that they are going through. In many cases those feeling suicidal are not capable of realizing that suicide will not improve their life in any way.

In most cases there are warning signs that occurred before depression suicide attempts. This is why it is so important that depression is caught early and treated. This way suicide can be avoided in many cases. For those who see people who show some of these warning signs, seek help for those you love and make sure they are treated for the problems that they are having.

Depression is the top risk factor for suicide. This is why depression suicide is so common today. Simply treating depression early can help to prevent this from occurring. If you or someone you know is depressed, realize how important it is to get treatment early on. There are a variety of treatments out there that can be used to treat depression.

One option to treat depression is prescription medications. The problem is that they have been used for years, and often they cause side effects and may not cure the problem with depression. Another option to consider instead of drugs is an all natural treatment. It is less likely to cause side effects and offers a way to permanently get rid of depression in your life. Before you end up contemplating depression suicide, make sure you get the depression treatment that you want.

Mental Illness - A Mother's Worst Nightmare

We hear much about bipolar disorder in the news these days. It is just one mental disease among many, but it seems the time we hear most about it is when some terrible crime has taken place. I know there are millions of families broken apart by mental illness. When one member of the family is ill, it has a profound effect on the rest of the family. In other words, mental illness is a family disease. (Most of these brain disorders have been around for a long time, but now they have new names. For example, Bipolar Disorder used to be called "Manic Depression".)

When I was growing up, my best friend's mother was mentally ill. She did very strange things before she was committed to a mental institution. For example, she would stay up all night washing the walls, ceilings, floors, dishes and clothes in pure bleach. (I learned never to drink out of any of those glasses!) My friend and her siblings all suffered, but learned to think of it as normal.

Now, many years later, my friend accepts many things as normal that I never would, like having her grown children and their children living with her. My friend is in her sixties, and still, she is playing "Mommy", just as she did in her family of origin where she was the oldest. Her mother was diagnosed as manic-depressive, along with a myriad of other mental problems. Obviously, she also had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Such is usually the case with the mentally ill. They rarely have one problem, but several. Anxiety, OCD, suicidal tendencies, and many other disorders usually accompany bipolar disorder.

I have other friends (and a couple of relatives) who also deal with bi-polar disorder in their grown children. It has torn these families apart, or at least altered what used to be normal. Daughters and sons swing from quiet, sometimes loving people into bizarre vitriol and hatred against their parents, threatening to hurt or kill them, and all without any warning. Or they go to a dark bedroom for days on end, too debilitated by hopelessness to even eat. To say it makes life tense for these families would be an understatement! One relative just breaks my heart every time we talk. She has talked to numerous "experts", but still can make no sense of her daughter's unpredictable vitriol. What makes it so hard for her is that this daughter is extremely intelligent, talented, and extraordinarily beautiful (she is a model). This is often the case with the bipolar.

As we study history, we find out many of the most talented musicians, poets, writers, and artists were either bipolar or schizophrenic. They fluctuated from angry, suicidal depression to the polar opposite of feeling omnipotent. It was usually during the manic state that creativity flowed, either constructively or destructively. Often drug abuse caused their conditions to worsen. And many of them self-injured and/or committed suicide.

Remember Vincent van Gogh (the artist) and the infamous ear-cutting episode? He put the lobe of his left ear into an envelope and gave to a brothel wench named Rachel with these words: "Guard this object carefully." After he tried to drink a quart of turpentine in his studio, he was sent to the asylum at Saint-Remy on May 7, 1889. The doctors began to treat him with hydrotherapy for acute mania and epilepsy. A precise diagnosis of Van Gogh's illness is still unavailable, despite hundreds of conjectures. But mental illness was prevalent in his family.

Herschel Walker won a Heisman Trophy for the University of Georgia in 1982. He was third on ESPN's list of the greatest college football players ever, unveiled this year. But according to ESPN and the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Herschel Walker will reveal that he has multiple personality disorder in a book scheduled for an August release by Simon & Schuster. It is called "Breaking Free" and will cover Walker's life with the disorder.

Mentally ill people operate at different levels of functionality. Some, high functioning, still live seemingly normal lives, at least in public. This is most likely when they are consistent with medications; however, not wanting to lose the "highs", many bipolars either refuse, or quit taking the meds that would balance their moods. Other mentally ill people must be confined to institutions.

I once watched a person with bipolar disorder declare, arms outstretched, "God is standing before you today!" It takes a terrible toll on families, especially mothers, because it is the mother who is usually most affected by her baby's behavior.

There are those who believe all brain disorders are nothing more than demon possession. These same people think epilepsy is also demon possession. They based their opinion on Matthew 17:14-16, 18

14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." ( a: Literally moonstruck) 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

I do hope reading about brain disorders will give you a different perspective on what seems to be a fearful or confusing subject. While parents must protect themselves, they must still exhibit love while trying to maintain equilibrium. Often, the mentally ill child will not accept the love; however, it is imperative that parents do not take this personally. Studying the subject of whatever disorder your child has will enable you to understand more and pray with understanding.

I have a friend, Charlene Collins, who is a retired nurse. She also has a mentally ill grown daughter, and she has written much about it. She has given me permission to refer to some of her articles in these pages. So if you are being affected by OCD, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Dissociative Disorder, Epilepsy, or any other mental disease in your family, read on.

People who have mental illnesses are not crazy . They have a brain disorder. People with mental disorders don't just have one thing wrong with them; they have

What is Dissociative Identity Disorder? The illness is what is commonly called "multiple personality disorder" (MPD). This is a psychological disorder characterized by having one or more alter personalities...

The Suicidal Mind [As a child, my own mother couldn't study in school because she never knew if her mother had succeeded at suicide that day.]

If you have an overwhelming drive to wash your hands, or to wipe off surfaces after someone touches them, spend several minutes adjusting a picture on the wall, or continually fixing the fringe of a throw rug, chances are you have a condition known as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

Understanding People Who Self-Injure

(Thank you, Charlene.)

2008 April Lorier

Don't Let Fear Steal Your Dream

Don't let fear rob you from the opportunity of success. If you are like most people, you have a goal or a dream that is meaningful and that you want to achieve. That goal may be related to personal growth issues such as weight loss, gaining self-esteem, finding inner peace, increasing your energy levels, or overcoming depression. Or, your goal may include going back to school, entering a new career, or bringing your creative talents into a greater public light. Having a goal is the easy part. Moving through your own inner obstacles and fears can literally stop you in your tracks.

If you have tried to reach your goal and stopped because you encountered fear, don't give up. That is the nature of goals. They take you into new territory and bring you face-to-face with your own personal fears. The issue is not about moving forward once fear is no longer present, the issue is how will you act when you encounter your fear? Will you allow fear to stand in your way? Will you run the other way? Or will you say hello to your fear and move forward despite its presence?

I once read, "The purpose of life is not to get rid of the butterflies in your stomach, but to make them fly in formation." While fear can be a part of any journey, there are many ways to overcome fear! The five steps below are intended to offer a few powerful new strategies as you continue to bring your own goals to life.

1. Understand that fear is just an emotion.

Fear is a powerful emotion. However, just like happiness or sadness, it is only an emotion and not something outside of you. The trick is to face your fear, keep breathing, and keep its energy moving rather than getting consumed in its sticky tentacles. Moving beyond fear requires courage and a decision to feel what you feel, fully and completely. This involves a decision to breathe, be with your body, and gain insight into what is really going on for you. No matter how scary it seems, decide to sit with your emotion of fear. Avoiding it doesn't make it go away. Looking the other way doesn't make it disappear. Ignoring it does not make it any less painful. Breathe. Facing your fear can help you understand what you are afraid of, and then take the necessary steps to gain new tools and strategies to move forward on your dream once again.

2. Change your attitude about failure.

Long ago, a quote arrived in my email that read, "You try things, some work, some don't, and you do more of what works." These simple words suggest that the formula for success is that if you want to grow and succeed, you also have to be willing to fail. Sure, no one actually wants to experience failure. However, if you want to succeed at something new, you will most likely experience setbacks, stumbling blocks, and failures along the way. To be successful, you need to design an alternative paradigm for failure. In other words, redefine failure in a manner allowing yourself to see failure as "information." Failure is really just feedback telling you to evaluate your experience, utilize the information gained to adjust your plan, and then try a new approach. When an occasional failure is experienced -- get up, dust yourself off, access the new information, revise your course, and begin again.

3. Believe in your ability to succeed.

Your ability to achieve a goal is dependent on many factors, but none of them is more important than simply believing you can! Norman Vincent Peale stated, "People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success." Your potential to achieve what you want is virtually unlimited. What often propels you forward or holds you back is whether you nurture the belief that you can't or whether you nurture the belief that you can.

4. Decide you don't have to do anything.

Here is an experiment. For the next 48 hours, eliminate the words "I have to" from your vocabulary and substitute the words "I choose to." Instead of saying, "I have to move forward on my goal" say, "I choose to take this specific action step today." Or, you could just as effectively say, "I choose not to take any action step today." Either choice allows you to understand that you are the person in control of your choices. You set the priorities. You are responsible. You have control. Feel how empowering this simple change of words can be.

5. Ask yourself empowering questions.

Certain types of questions can lead you to gain new insights and new motivation. Ask yourself the following questions, allow yourself to answer them from your heart, and see where your truths take you:

• Are your dreams really important enough to change your lifestyle?


• Do you want to be responsible for your own life decisions?


• Do you have the courage to go after what you want with tenacity and see it through to the end?


• Can you accept that fear is part of the journey and move forward anyway?


• Can you recognize that fear is only your leader if you allow it to be?

Being able to overcome your fears so you can bring into reality the life of your dreams is one of the best experiences in the world! Take control of your life by practicing these five simple steps and learn how to tame your fear and create a happier, more successful life.

Is There Help for People With Clinical Depression?

Clinical depression can affect people of all ages, genders, cultures and ethnicities. In the United States alone, some 17 million people suffer from the condition, making it a fairly common disease. Though prevalent, clinical depression is often unrecognized and misunderstood, and as a result, untreated.

A major cause of misunderstanding is the notion that this is a normal, passing condition. People say that it is normal for someone who experienced a tragic loss, such as the death of a loved one, to be sad and depressed. This may be so, but if the sadness and depression continues for a long time, without lessening in intensity, and continuously making it impossible for the person to live a normal life, then this is no longer normal or healthy. This condition is called clinical depression. It is a serious medical illness that needs to be professionally treated. It is not a condition that can just be willed away by the person, or that will go away on its own with the passing of time.

The good news is, there is treatment for this condition. It is possible to break away from the sadness, hopelessness, helplessness and apathy to life, which demonstrate a depressive condition. The usual route is through professional treatment, but there are also self-care activities that the person can do to cope with his depression.

Medical treatment is often the first step, because the depressed person usually does not have enough interest, desire, energy or resources to get well on his own. He may know what to do, but he lacks the will or desire to carry those things out. Also, when a person starts to entertain thoughts of suicide, medical treatment becomes a must. He should not be left on his own, as such is clearly unsafe.

Treatment typically involves a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Psychotherapy aims to help the person cope with things present in his daily life that may trigger depression or contribute to it, while medication eliminates or reduces the symptoms of depression. These symptoms include feeling sad all the time, having trouble sleeping, disturbed eating patterns, fatigue, and loss of interest in daily activities.

The usual drugs given to treat depression are antidepressants. There are various kinds of antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which appear to be the safest and have the fewest side effects. Other types are tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Each person has a unique set of biochemical characteristics, and depending on this, the doctor will determine which type of antidepressants will be most effective for him.

There are also different types of counseling and psychotherapy that the physician may employ, again considering the unique characteristics of the person to be treated. They include interpersonal therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and psychodynamic therapy.
When the traditional methods combining medication and therapy fail to achieve the desired results, more aggressive treatment options may be used, such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). There are many treatment options, and there is at least one that will successfully treat a clinically depressed person.

On his own, ideally while the treatment is ongoing, the person can do the following self-care activities to help manage his condition:

• Eat a healthy, balanced diet.

• Exercise regularly.

• Get adequate sleep.

• Develop time- and stress-management skills.

• Learn to acknowledge feelings rather than suppress them.

• Have a support system consisting of family and friends.

There is clearly help for people with clinical depression. The condition can, and should, be treated so that one can start to live normally and happily again.