Depression and Anxiety
(Note: This article is not complete. At times I simply list items that I have not
had time to research and integrate into the article.)
Warning: If you are already on Prozac, or a
similar drug, do NOT just stop taking it.
See the following web site to learn how to get off of Prozac safely!!:
http://members.aol.com/atracyphd/
The book and tapes available
on this web site will teach a person how to very slowly, and safely, get off of
their antidepressant.
Introduction and Overview
Depression and anxiety is a
growing problem in America.
“Depression has become very big. Feelings of "helplessness, loss of hope,
sadness, crying, sleep or appetite disturbances, or difficulty concentrating,
for at least two straight weeks" are sufficient for the very common
diagnosis of "clinical depression."
Over the past half-century, hospitalizations for depression have
increased almost thirty times, from 9.8 per 100,000 in 1943 (in New York, which
had more per capita than any other state) to an estimated 280 per 100,000
(nationally) in 1994.”
Nathaniel S. Lehrman, M.D.
(quoted by Joseph Mercola M.D.)
I will get started
quickly. It is fairly obvious that the
number one cause of depression in America is aspartame, otherwise known as
NutraSweet, Equal, etc. It is extremely
common for a person to drink a lot of diet drinks (e.g. Diet Coke or Diet
Pepsi), or other diet foods, then get depressed, then go to the doctor and get
a prescription for Prozac. This starts a
never-ending cycle of increasing levels of prescription drugs used to treat the
depression as the person continues to consume
aspartame because their doctor never told them what was causing the
depression!!
Ann Blake Tracy, PhD, has
treated hundreds of patients who wanted to get off of Prozac. In her book she stated: "It is rare for me to interview someone who is using
Prozac who is not drinking at least a gallon or generally two to three gallons
per day of diet soda sweetened with NutraSweet!"
Prozac - Panacea or Pandora? by Ann Blake
Tracy, PhD - p 90 (available only online - see link at top of this page)
While aspartame is clearly
the number one cause of depression, there are other causes as well, especially
if they are combined with aspartame.
Aspartame is known as an
"excitotoxin" because it stimulates brain cells far beyond their
normal state. This stimulation can
actually lead to brain cell death.
Another excitotoxin is monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG. Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) frequently
has MSG added to it. These two monsters,
which are also known by many other names, are added to virtually EVERY
junk food on earth, including foods purchased at major restaurants. It may very well be that people
who eat a lot of junk food, especially if they drink aspartame, are at major
risk for depression!!!
Excitotoxins can massively
exaggerate, in a negative way, the normal expectations,
stress, trials and tribulations of everyday life.
See the web page: http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/id77.html
Depression can be caused by
unreasonable expectations, financial concerns, family concerns, and can even be
made worse, or be initiated by, the foods that are partaken. In many cases, it is a combination of several
different issues. This article will
discuss issues separately, knowing that there may in fact be multiple
contributing factors influencing the problem.
Everyone has their “bad
days.” Other people may do things that
are not expected or appreciated, causing a person to be highly
disappointed. Or a person might believe
that another person is “Polly Perfect,” who seemingly has never had a care in
her life, and somehow goes through life without any problems. These, and other emotional issues, can cause
emotional problems.
But there is far more to it
than emotional or psychological issues.
Why is one person depressed by their problems, while another person, who
has even more reasons to be depressed, is not affected by their problems?
In many cases a relatively
normal situation is compounded by foods that are eaten. It is not that foods are bad,
it is the way that foods are processed and it is the things that are added to
the foods that can be bad. A person who
eats whole, raw foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, rarely has
foods contribute to their psychological problems. But even in this case, food allergies may
come into play.
It should be made perfectly
clear that many emotional problems are predominantly caused by diet. It may be a food allergy (e.g. to food dye)
or a substance added to foods (e.g. aspartame or MSG) or the way foods are
processed (e.g. trans-fatty acids), or heavy metals that find their way into
the body (e.g. mercury and aluminum from vaccinations) but foods frequently
play a far more significant part than most people realize.
In many cases an emotional
problem is a combination of both situational events and foods!!! Let me say that again: in
many cases an emotional problem is a combination of both situational events and
foods!!!
Another issue that needs to
be dealt with is whether to seek professional help or to deal with the problem
within the circle of family and friends.
This decision can only be made by the family, but the decision is not
always an easy one.
It will help immensely to
know what
causes the problem. And
since the problem may be a food problem, such as a food allergy, too much
aspartame, lack of a critical nutrient, etc. it is critical to understand
everything that might be a cause, especially those things that are beyond
situational events.
The first level is to deal
with the problem using family and friends.
This level should include an analysis of what foods are eaten and may be
contributing to the problem. Many cases
which appear to have nothing to do with food are in fact caused mainly by food
issues.
However, in rare cases where
suicide is a real potential, there may be no choice but to immediately seek
professional help for the short term, and deal with the causes in the long
term.
However, there is a
trade-off in dealing with professional help.
When a person is forcefully put in a mental ward of a hospital there is
a permanent stigma that may cause more long-term harm than by dealing with the
problem within the family. Each case is
different and each case must be dealt with common sense and much contemplation.
All of these things will be
discussed one at a time. Because the
food issues are so important and because they are ignored so often by
professionals I will begin with a discussion of food issues.
Food Issues - The Bad Substances
Aspartame
When scientific tests were
first run on aspartame (which is now known by the brand names: NutraSweet,
Equal, etc.), it caused holes in the brains of rats. It would seem logical that such a substance
would not be something a human should take internally.
However, knowing that
tobacco is legal, it should not be surprising that the profits of large
corporations are far more important to society than the health of individual
human beings. The politics behind the
approval of aspartame is beyond the scope of this article,
suffice it to say that massive corruption in government was needed to get this
poison approved by the FDA.
Virtually everything a
person drinks that is “diet” contains aspartame. Many diet foods also contain aspartame. Things that are “sugar free” may also contain
aspartame.
Even skinny people
frequently take aspartame in order to stay skinny. In fact, it is hard to find a person who does
not routinely take aspartame.
You have probably heard that
there is no scientific evidence that aspartame is bad for you. Let me introduce you to the corruption among
“science.”
Dr. Ralph G. Walton, M.D.,
did a study of 166 published studies on the safety of aspartame. The funding of
these studies were from the following sources:
1) The pharmaceutical
industry funded 74 of the studies
2) The FDA funded 7 studies
3) There were 85 studies
that were not funded by the pharmaceutical industry or the FDA
Which of the three groups of
studies do you think didn't find anything wrong with aspartame?
Of the 74 pharmaceutical
funded studies, not a single one of them
found any health problems caused by aspartame.
However, of the 85 studies that were not funded by the pharmaceutical
industry (i.e. Big Pharma) or the FDA, 84 of the 85
found health problems caused by aspartame. Do you see a pattern here?
Where do you think the 7 FDA
studies landed? 6 of the 7 found no
health problems caused by aspartame.
See:
http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html
This kind of
"science" sounds strangely like what happened with the tobacco
industry. During a 42-year period, an
organization controlled by the tobacco industry funded 1,500 studies. Not a single one of these studies could find
a major health problem caused by tobacco.
It seems that scientists are far more loyal to their funding source than
they are to the truth.
When I tell someone that
aspartame causes brain cancer, birth defects, etc. (actually over 90 different
documented health problems), people just look at me and laugh. They will say
there is "no scientific evidence" that aspartame causes any health
problems. They will say that a person
has to drink 800 Diet Cokes to have any bad effects. Unfortunately, it is all a lie that was
started by well-paid scientists.
Getting back to real
science, aspartame is one of many substances that is
called an “excitotoxin.” Excitotoxins,
when they get into the brain, cause brain cells to get so “excited” that they literally
die or their DNA is damaged. In other
words, every time a person drinks a diet Coke some of their brain cells die.
But for the purposes of this
article, the side-effects of aspartame can also lead to migraine headaches,
depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental problems.
Aspartame’s long-term
effects can be even more significant.
Aspartame is known to cause brain cancer, leading to a rash of brain
cancer among younger and younger people.
It can cause dementia and the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. It can cause the symptoms of Multiple
Sclerosis, and so on and so on.
Someone who is experiencing
depression, anxiety, migraines, bipolar behavior, etc. should first and
foremost get aspartame completely out of their system.
Unfortunately, even if
aspartame is a major part of the problem, stopping the ingestion of aspartame
will not solve the problem immediately.
Aspartame is stored by the body and will continue to cause symptoms long
after the victim quits taking it.
It gets worse. Aspartame and Neotame
can cause brain damage to an unborn
fetus. This brain damage can be manifest
as mental retardation, Cerebral Palsy, autism, ADD, ADHD, brain tumors, and a
myriad of other brain related disorders!
There are other things that
are also excitotoxins that can cause the same mental problems as
aspartame. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is
especially bad if it is taken with aspartame.
Other things include hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) and cysteine,
Step one in isolating why a
person frequently gets depressed or suffers from anxiety is to remove all
artificial sweeteners out of their body, plus MSG, HVP and cysteine.
Food Allergies
Many people suffer mental
illnesses due to food allergies. The
interesting thing about food allergies is that a
person craves the foods they are allergic to!! Let me say that again: a
person craves the foods they are allergic to!!
I spoke to a doctor once who
described a patient who happened to be allergic to bananas. He described that the person was perfectly
normal, with perfectly normal behavior, but when the person was given a banana
he (or she, I don’t remember) immediately went into a psychotic rage.
Most food allergies are not
that dramatic, however. Foods that
people are allergic to include dairy products (e.g. milk and cheese), which are
probably the number one cause, plus wheat, food colorings, food additives, and
just about any other food.
During World War II, the
people of Holland suffered great hardships and extreme mental stress. However, mental illness in Holland decreased
during World War II!! Why? Because the people basically lived on
potatoes and could not get the foods they may have been allergic to.
There are two basic ways a
person can isolate food allergies.
First, go to a medical doctor who specializes
in isolating food allergies.
Another way is to simply
stop taking all foods that a person normally takes, especially the ones they
crave and eat frequently, and instead eat foods they would rarely eat and avoid
the foods that are related to the foods they normally eat!!
This should go on this diet
for at least 3 weeks. If this gives some
relief to the person there is a pretty good chance food allergies are a
contributing factor, if not a major cause.
After three weeks foods can be reintroduced into the diet, one
food per day, to isolate what might be causing the problem.
Many cases of autism, ADHD,
ADD, and many other mental disorders, can also be traced to food allergies,
sometimes called brain allergies. And by
far the number one cause of these types of allergies is dairy products.
My guess is that food
allergies cause an inflammation in the brain that is what actually causes the
problem. Migraines can also be caused by
food allergies.
A worthwhile book to read on
this subject is:
Brain Allergies: The Psychonutrient and Magnetic Connections, by Willam H. Philpott
Heavy Metals (plus
aluminum)
The body is a very
interesting entity. At times it attacks
itself. In an “auto-immune” disease the
body mistakes something for an attacking invader and destroys itself in an
attempt to kill what it mistakes as an invader.
For example, Type I diabetes
is a disease known as an “auto-immune” disease.
The body mistakes something for a foreign invader and destroys the beta
cells in the pancreas. That “something”
may be dairy products, heavy metals (especially mercury from vaccinations) or
other foreign items. (Note: there have
been recent scientific studies - which were
controlled by the pharmaceutical industry - that claim there
is no connection between autism and vaccinations, but these studies are a giant
lie.
There are many other
auto-immune diseases, such as arthritis, MS, and others.
The question is this:
"Can mental illnesses ever be caused by an “auto-immune” reaction?"
Well, let’s be logical. It has been known since World War II that
heavy metals (e.g. the mercury in dental amalgam or the combination of aluminum
pots and fluoride) were the major cause of Alzheimer’s and dementia. In this case, however, it may not be an
auto-immune disease as much as the heavy metals simply blocking the functions
of the brain.
However, heavy metals are
also known to be causes of auto-immune diseases, such as Type I diabetes.
If someone is having mental
problems it may be wise (actually it would be wise for anyone to do this) to
throw away all aluminum cookware.
Aluminum, combined with the fluoride in tap water, creates massive
problems, similar to those caused by "heavy metals," even though
aluminum is technically not a heavy metal.
In some cases it would be
wise to have the dental amalgam removed.
However, prior to having this done the mercury level in the blood should
be checked to see if this might be a problem.
Reduction in the amount of fish that is eaten would also help. If the amalgam is removed, flood you stomach
with chlorella prior to going to the dentist.
Another thing is to avoid
vaccinations, except for life-threatening situations. Flu shots should be avoided unless the
person's life would be jeopardized by catching the flu.
The way to get rid of heavy
metals is with "chelation." There are two kinds of chelation:
"EDTA chelation," which is an I.V. that
must be administered by a medical doctor, and "oral chelation,"
which is a combination of nutrients.
There are numerous nutrients that will "chelate"
heavy metals. A discussion of these is
beyond the scope of this article.
However, I will say that chlorella may be the best chelating food.
Trans-Fatty Acids
Trans-fatty acids are a
little more complicated. Trans-fatty
acids are rigid molecules that attach to cell walls, in place of the pliable
cholesterol. If enough trans-fatty acids
attach to a cell wall, significant damage can be done because large molecules,
such as the insulin molecule and oxygen clusters, cannot get into the cell. If enough cells become like this the person
will likely develop Type II diabetes. It
is highly likely that trans-fatty acids, found in margarine, fried foods,
peanut butter, etc. are the leading cause of Type II diabetes.
So what does this have to do
with depression? Trans-fatty acids
interfere with the absorption by the body of EFAs. As will be seen below, omega-3 EFAs are a major help to those with depression or
anxiety. In other words, the effect of
trans-fatty acids on depression or anxiety is an indirect effect that blocks
one of the necessary nutrients needed for good mental health.
Other causes that need to be researched (some have
been discussed above):
Sugar (including a
sensitivity to sweets, breads, pasta or alcohol) - feel good in short run, feel
bad in long run, also fogs brain. Dr.
Tracy considers sugar to be in the same league with aspartame as a major cause
of depression!!
Acid / Alkaline balance
(related to fungus / yeast because fungus and yeast thrive in an acidic
environment)
Fungus / Yeast / Mould
(microbes) - there are SEVERAL BOOKS on these things, especially yeast. However, fungus and yeast are essentially the
same thing (I won't go into why)
Acne Medication (see:
http://www.jamesonchiro.com/Jan23news.html
( search: depression )
Read:
http://www.motherearthworks.com/articles/Conditions/deperss.htm
LOW cholesterol (sic) see:
http://pub205.ezboard.com/fholistichealthcommunityfrm24.showMessage?topicID=48.topic
Multiple
Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
Birth Control Pills: "As
a part of the research body of the Family Planning Association in London in the
1960s, Grant was at the forefront of research into the pill's side effects. She
has since written many papers about the pill, as well as a book called The Bitter Pill, and founded an
organization called Doctors Against Abuse From Sex
Hormones. Asked if the pharmaceutical
companies have tried to discredit her studies, Grant says, "Nobody has
ever attacked what I've said, they've just ignored it." Grant says the pill depletes the body's zinc
levels, B vitamins and essential fatty acids, while causing copper levels to go
up. "It causes a whole shambles
throughout the body," Grant says. "All of the body's natural pathways
get blocked and unnatural." This
interferes with the brain's ability to metabolize serotonin,
the brain chemical required for happiness."
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_02.14.02/news/pill.html
Food Issues - The Good Substances
The following GOOD supplement/foods need to be
researched: (some are mentioned below)
Note:
Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, PhD believes [based on the research of Dr. Felix Sulman] that the problem with depression is NOT that there
is a LACK of serotonin, but rather there is an inability of the body to metabolize serotonin. She believes the inability to metabolize
serotonin creates an EXCESS of serotonin in
the body. Prozac, and
other SSRI drugs, further suppress the metabolism of serotonin, thus cause even
higher levels of serotonin in the body.
This additional excess creates an even higher level of serotonin
toxicity. Thus,
she does not agree that natural substances that INCREASE the level of serotonin
(e.g. 5-HTP) are healthy for a depressed person!!
St. John's Wort
SAMe
5-HTP
L-Tryptophan (amino acid)
available ONLY at:
http://www.beautynhealth.com/tryptophan/index.htm
Organic Germanium
Vitamin B12 ( SUPERB !!! )
For those who are sugar
sensitive, see the book: Potatoes Not Prozac, by Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD
DHA see:
http://www.energywave.com/what_ails_you/brain_functioning/omega%20oils%20and%20the%20brain.htm
Exercise
GHB
Kava Kava
(may create some health risks)
Good article: http://www.pjstory.com/Depression.htm
Vitamin C and niacin
Noni Juice
Rosemary (herb)
sunlight
certain B vitamins
chlorella (see the book: Chlorella: The Key to
Health, Vitality and Longevity, by Mark Drucker,
M.D. [Note: chlorella is high in Vitamin B12, which is known to be a major
treatment of depression.]
Omega-3
Essential Fatty Acids
See:
http://www.fi.edu/brain/fats.htm )
This
quote explains why omega-3 EFAs are so important to
the brain:
"The brain is remarkably fatty: In fact, this
organ is 60% fat and needs omega-3s to function properly. Now researchers have
discovered a link between mood disorders and the presence of low concentrations
of omega-3 fatty acids in the body.
Apparently, omega-3s help regulate mental health
problems because they enhance the ability of brain-cell receptors to comprehend
mood-related signals from other neurons in the brain. In other words, the
omega-3s are believed to help keep the brain's entire traffic pattern of
thoughts, reactions, and reflexes running smoothly and efficiently."
http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,992,00.html
Omega-3
can best be obtained through flaxseed oil, fish oil or walnuts. However, there are many other foods that
contain omega-3 is less dense quantities.
Perhaps the single best source of omega-3 is spirulina. It also contains GLA (omega-6).
If
the person taking omega-3 is concerned about any type of cancer, they should
also take cottage cheese, yogurt or skim milk with their omega-3 source. This is the only time I know of where a dairy
product is actually useful in the body.
Vitamin
B3, Niacin
Vitamin
B6, Pyridoxine
Vitamin
B9, Folic Acid
Vitamin
B12, Cobalamin
Three
B vitamins are clearly as important as omega-3 in supporting brain functions:
"Vitamin B12 deficiency can result in
depression. B12 deficiency occurs much more frequently in the elderly. A Norwegian mental hospital measured the B12
level of every patient over 30 years old who was admitted during a one-year
period. The results showed that the percentage of mental patients with below
normal vitamin B12 levels was 30 times higher than in the normal
population in that area.
According to doctors from the Department of
Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, depressive symptoms are the most common neuropsychiatric signs of folic acid deficiency. In one study, patients with major depression
with low folic acid levels were treated with methylfolate
(15 mg/day) or a placebo. At both three and six months, patients showed
substantial improvements in depression scores compared to the placebo controls.
Overall, folic acid supplementation significantly enhanced recovery from
psychiatric illness."
http://www.pjstory.com/Depression.htm
In
addition:
"Vitamin B6 is required for the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin. Vitamin B6 deficiency may result
in symptoms of anxiety and depression, due to decreased serotonin
production. Numerous drugs can deplete
vitamin B6, which can often lead to depression."
http://www.pjstory.com/Depression.htm
Niacin
helps blood flow and circulation and thus will enhance the effectiveness of the
other B vitamins.
When
buying a "B-Complex" vitamin carefully check for the quality of where
the vitamins come from and the dosages of the vitamins, especially Vitamin B12,
which is the most difficult to obtain.
Usually, however, a vitamin B12 supplement should be ADDED to a
B-complex supplement.
L-Tryptophan
(an amino acid) and 5-HTP
"L-tryptophan and
5-HTP are closely related. 5-HTP is synthesized from L-tryptophan
in the body. L-tryptophan was sold as a food
supplement during the late 1980s to induce sleep "naturally," because
this amino acid produces serotonin in the brain, similar to the calming role of
milk as a sleep inducer. 5-HTP also has been offered as an aid for insomnia,
depression, obesity, and for children with attention deficit disorder."
http://consumerlawpage.com/article/tryptophan.shtml
The
story about the FDA and L-Tryptophan is yet another tale of massive government
corruption and the desire of government to satisfy the demands of their masters
in the pharmaceutical industry.
By
the way, if you have a problem with my cynical comments about the FDA, read my
article at:
http://www.cancertutor.com/Other/NoCancer.html
Big
Pharma (the pharmaceutical industry) was getting ready to release Prozac, a
highly profitable prescription drugs. Whereas
L-Tryptophan actually created serotonin in the body, Prozac, and many drugs
that have come out since then, fool the body into thinking it had more
serotonin that it actually had.
L-Tryptophan,
an essential amino acid the body cannot make by itself, is totally harmless and
has never hurt anyone who has taken it.
However, a drug company, Showa Denko K.K., in Japan, manufactured a
contaminated batch of L-Tryptophan that led to a small number of deaths and
injuries.
Normally,
when a very safe product has a contaminated batch, the FDA simply fines the
company making the batch, cleans things up, and soon everything is back to
normal.
But
that is not the way the FDA deals with natural nutrients, especially when they
compete with profitable products of Big Pharma.
The FDA made all distribution of L-Tryptophan illegal! What is interesting is that the FDA action
against L-Tryptophan and the FDA action approving Prozac occurred within 4 days of each other. Was
this a coincidence? Not unless you get
all of your news from soap operas.
I
won't go into the politics any more, but the FDA relaxed their policy towards
L-Tryptophan in February 2001. However,
their restrictions on manufacturing this product are so severe there is only
one company I know of that makes it. It
can be purchased at:
http://www.beautynhealth.com/tryptophan/index.htm
Because
of the limited availability of L-Tryptophan the alternative health field has
taken up with 5-HTP, SAMe and St. John's wort, to
name but three. I suspect that L-Tryptophan
is the best of them all, if you can get it.
St.
John's wort
St.
John's wort is an herb that has been around for
centuries for medicinal purposes, including the treatment of depression.
"The positive research on the use of St. John’s
wort extracts for depression continues on. A new
meta-analysis has looked at 27 trials (2291 patients) using various St. John’s wort (SJW) preparations. As has been determined before, SJW
extracts are significantly better than placebo and equally effective as other
(bi and tricyclic) antidepressant products. Reported
side effects with SJW were 26.3%, while standard antidepressants were 44.7% in
these trials."
http://www.drhoffman.com/Downloads/Stdv3-2FattyAcids.pdf
(Requires Adobe Acrobat)
One
of the active ingredients in St. John's wort is Hypericum.
Pregnant and nursing women are not advised to take
St. John's wort at the current time.
SAMe
SAMe
(S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine) is not only an effective antidepressant,
it is available just about everywhere.
"A 2002 Italian study found SAMe
to be as effective as imipramine, one of the original
triclycic antidepressants. The researchers also found that SAMe subjects reported fewer side-effects than subjects who
took imipramine.
This research and earlier studies are summarized in these MEDLINE
abstracts. While superior this
particular study did not compare SAMe to placebo,
previous studies have found it to be superior to placebo."
http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/depression/a/SAMe.htm
Some of the Emotional
Causes of Depression
The Actions of Others
We live in an imperfect
world. It is not always a fun place to
be. People who
seem to be perfect on the outside, sometimes turn out to be imperfect on the
inside. In fact some people are
seriously “hurt” by the actions of others.
These actions may have been
intentionally designed to damage the feelings of another person or they may
have been totally innocent and either led to unintended hurt feelings or the
“guilty” person may not have even known the feelings of anther were hurt.
If it is actions of others
that have caused deep emotional scars, it is necessary to first determine
whether the actions or words of others were designed to do damage or had other
intentions in mind. This is not because
this determination is important, but it is important to help avoid unnecessary
mental pain.
Everyone has said things
that unintentionally hurt others. It is
part of life on earth. One person may
say something that means something specific to the person who said it, and what was said may even have been intended to
complement or make another person feel good about themselves. On the other hand, the “victim” may interpret
the statement in a totally different light.
We have all been the unintended “bad guy” and we have all been the
innocent victim.
Other things that can happen
unintentionally is a person may say something before
thinking about the possible damage done by the statement. They may try to “take it back,” but by then
it may be too late – the damage is done.
Then there is the rare case
where a person really does intend to hurt the feelings of others. Few people intentionally seek to hurt the
feelings of others, but it does happen.
These people are, by definition, immature.
It is important, from mental
standpoint, to not harbor grudges and ill feelings towards another person, even
when their actions were inexcusable.
Even people who are not religious have come to this conclusion.
In fact many cases of
depression are caused DIRECTLY by the person's inability to "forgive"
another person who has harmed them or a close relative or friend. Let it go.
Say to yourself: "God will be the
judge." Then let it go.
It is a difficult thing to
do, but it is absolutely necessary!!
Failed Expectations
We all, by nature, want to
feel important. It is doubtful that
anyone has gone through life without the desire to be appreciated and feel the
respect of others. That is not what is
different between us.
What is different is our
reaction to “failure,” as we suppose.
Some people take unexpected results right in stride and barely even
notice what has happened.
But others, for whatever
reason, have a very different reaction.
They become depressed as if they were a “failure” in life. Why people care so much about others think
about them is a mystery to me, but some people are so concerned about what
other people think about them that they become depressed when they do not meet
their expectations.
Our attitude should be one
of: "I will do my best to be accepted by others, but if they do not accept
me, I will be fine."
Polly Perfect
There is the hypothetical
and mystical human being called “Polly Perfect.” She has never existed, but somehow people
insist on comparing themselves to "her." Her house is perfect – there is not a piece
of dust in her house. She easily masters
all of her community assignments. She
takes care of her husband with the greatest of ease. Her kids are little angels. She is a pillar in her community. She never has any stress. She never has any problems. And she is
pure fiction.
Sometime we want to be like
Polly Perfect. It won’t happen. It can’t happen.
But what is bad is that when
some people fail to live up to the mirage, they become depressed and stressed.
Parents
Children frequently are the
ones that get depressed or stressed out.
Sorry, but parents, sometimes, are a big cause of their problems.
Children may not have a good
comprehension of what "priorities" are, but they have an innate
ability to feel what their parents priorities are.
Every child on earth has a
perfect understanding of their parents priorities,
even if they don't understand the terminology.
It is build in to being a child.
First, let’s talk about
punishing children. Some parents punish
their children far too much. Let me
repeat that: far too much.
One thing that really
irritates me is parents who have the attitude: “if I said something it must be
fulfilled.” God can say that, but not
parents. Parents make mistakes about their
punishments and should be willing to back-off of their stupid statements.
Perhaps the book: Jay’s Journal, sets the story
right. The book is about a boy who
commits suicide. The book is really
nothing but his journal, thus the book’s title (Jay is not his real name, of
course).
Jay was mentally messed up,
mostly by his friends, but as you read his journal you see a clear
pattern. His father had no clue what to
do with him other than to “ground” him (i.e. send him to his room for long
periods of time). Much of Jay’s journal
was written while he was grounded. It
almost seems (as Jay describes it) like the only interaction between Jay and
his father was when his father grounded him.
What was his father
doing? It obviously wasn't spending
quality time with his son.
A family should be designed
to provide strong mental support for children growing up. That is one of its main purposes. This strong mental support must be done by
interaction between parents and children as friends, with love, not by a tirade
of one punishment after another.
I remember standing around
at an amusement park in St. Louis. One
man, who had his wife and very small child, barked command after command to his
wife and child. It was clear he was more
interested in making it clear “who was in charge,” than in fostering a loving
family.
It is doing things with your
children, that they like to do,
that gives them a clear picture that they are loved.
One thing
that needs to be emphasized. A child can see through hypocrisy and guile
as easily as they can see through a window.
The true values of parents cannot be hidden from children.
Stress
If we were to list all of
the things that needed to be done over the next 48 hours, everyone in America
would have stress. We live in a world
where things go wrong far faster than they go right. Things tend to disarray, not order (this was
one of Newton’s laws).
If we work outside the home,
we have stress caused by our job. But
even if we work inside the home we have stress.
If we have children, we are stressed by the children. If we have community responsibilities, we are
stressed by them. And so on. The list of things each of us has to do is
far too long.
So what can we do?
There are two things we must
do. First, tell our spouse and hope he
or she understands and is willing to help.
Second, cut back on the things that are not necessary for our family.
We cannot cut back on our
family responsibilities, but perhaps we can cut back on many of the unnecessary
things we do.
But we also must mentally
rest each day. Just sit back and listen
to good music when a few moments can be cut out of the day.
We may want to cut back on
our community responsibilities.
Each case is different, but
we must first acknowledge and openly attempt to reduce the stress in our lives.
Psychologists and
Psychiatrists
I mention psychologists and
psychiatrists last for good reason. They
should be the last resort, unless suicide or other serious problems are
imminent.
To simplify things, I will
refer to “psychiatrists” as those who generally use prescription drugs to treat
their patients and “psychologists” as those who predominantly use counseling as
their treatment. I will talk about them
separately.
Perhaps I can best describe
psychiatrists by a personal experience I had with several of them.
My wife and I have seven
children, two of which are boy-girl twins.
Our twins had a very good girl friend who came
from a very dysfunctional home.
The husband was dominant and
was a total jerk. Aside from numerous
kinds of abuse, he favored his son, who could do no harm in his eyes. His son was just as bad as his father, if not
worse. The mother was a wimp who stayed
out of the way for the most part. In
short, this young teenage girl was on her own inside of a totally dysfunction
home.
It almost goes without
saying that she attempted suicide on several occasions. It is impossible for me to adequately paint
in words what this girl went through. In
addition to all of this, she had no one to turn to but her friends, who bless
their hearts, tried to give her good advice, but unintentionally gave her very
bad advice.
I became involved after one
of her attempts at suicide. My twins
tried to solve her problems by themselves, without seeking the counsel of any
sane adults. They meant well, but the
girl overdosed on pills.
Fortunately, the girl's
mother figured out what had happened and the girl was sent to a hospital (as I
remember) and then to a mental institution (this was not her first appearance
at a mental institution).
This is where things got very
interesting. Before going on, ask
yourself who should have been in the mental institution, the abusive father and
son, or the girl? Was she a victim or
was she the problem? Should a mental
institution be filled with abusive people or with their victims?
Answer these questions
before reading on.
Basically, I saw this girl
in two different mental institutions, and in both cases her treatment was the
same. Step 1,
give her large doses of powerful mind-altering drugs until she no longer could
think straight. Step 2,
observe her until she had forgotten the intensity of what had happened. Step 3, send her
back to the same abusive home!!
Does this make sense to you?
Well, it made sense to the
psychiatrists who did this time after time.
In fact, many of the people in mental institutions are people who have
been abused by parents, relatives, or the psychiatry industry.
See the web site: http://www.stephensstory.org/
I must admit that some
social workers tried to get the court to allow a sane relative of the girl to
have custody of the girl, but it never worked.
The cycle continued until she was of age and could move out of the house
legally.
But above an
beyond all of these things, it must be understood that medical doctors know
absolutely nothing about nutrition and generally have zero interest in finding
a cause for the problem, especially if food issues are involved. They make their money by prescription drugs.
Psychologists, by my
definition, do not use prescription drugs to treat their patients, but rather
they use therapy to treat their patients.
They try to isolate what is the cause of their patient’s emotional
problems and then try to talk them through a solution.
Psychologists, in general,
probably do a better job than psychiatrists.
In any case, both professions should be a families
last resort.
First, check for food
problems (e.g. aspartame, dairy products, food allergies, etc.). Second, check to see if your family has the
proper relationship between the parents and children. Only in extreme situations should these two
steps not be done first.
Social Workers
You cannot make an
appointment with a social worker. You
get involved with them when it is far too late.
Trying to categorize social workers is like trying to categorize the
math skills of people. It is impossible
to generalize.
A good social worker, and
there are many good social workers, unlike the psychiatrist, try to get a
person (usually a child) out of a bad situation and put them in a good
situation.
In both phases, many
mistakes are made, but in many cases, the results are in the best interests of
the victim.
Sometimes social workers go
beyond the realm of common sense and take children out of situations that are
not nearly as bad as the social worker thinks.
That can be just as bad as leaving them there.
On the other hand, social
workers cause far more problems by putting these children in homes that are
just as bad, or worse, than the homes they took them from. Social workers have a good reputation for
taking children out of bad homes, but they have a bad reputation for picking
good homes to put the children into.
Foster homes range from the
magnificent to homes far worse than the ones the children were taken from. Abuse of by far the most
prevalent problem caused by putting foster children into bad homes.
In short, most social
workers mean well, and many have a good record of identifying bad homes and
taking kids out of those homes. But
social workers are definitely not perfect at identifying good homes to put
children into.
Other websites of Interest
http://www.pjstory.com/Depression.htm
http://www.wnho.net/viva_new_mexico.htm