Tag Archives: Depression

Current News

Black mind health matters

Secrets & plain English answers to Black mental health concerns

Book cover People of the Lie: The Hope For Healing Human Evil (Simon & Schuster, 1983) ISBN 978-0-684-84859-4

People of the Lie – A book whose time has come

In a time like this, one thinks about the books, written long ago, that seemto have foretold this moment M ...
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Finding your voice in the Age of the Big Lie

At the root of almost all conflict - whether between internationalgovernments or between intimate partners - is a LieSaid by ...
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What determines sanity

At the core of anyone's sanity is the issue of knowing and recognizing the truth. Our recent political "situation" afforded ...
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Taking psychiatric meds? How to protect yourself from side effects.

Along with frequently described mood  or antidepressant medications, what else can a person do to protect themselves from accumulating brain ...
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Nutrition author Tracye McQuirter

How to feed your brain to make it last

Let's face it.....every time you feed your body, you feed your brain. A well-fed brain can think clearly, make great ...
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Coconut oil for alcoholism

A former alcoholic who researched a solution to the unbearable cravings for alcohol that ruined his personal life, Dr. Robert ...
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Psychosis – Is Early Childhood Bullying a Cause?

Children who are bullied or who are bullies themselves may be at greater risk of becoming psychotic as adults. Psychosis ...
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Kids Are Being Prescribed Antidepressants and ADHD Meds at Increasingly High Rates

In the report, Children's Health Spending: 2009 - 2012, issued by the Health Care Cost Institute, an increase in prescription ...
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Fight dementia & Alzheimer’s: Dump the bread

Renowned neurologist, David Perlmutter, says that it's neither consistent with reality nor current science to deny the negative effects of ...
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No Amount of Alcohol is Safe

The 2014 World Cancer Report from the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concludes that no ...
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Just Get Over It! And Other Insensitive Things That People Say……..

How many times have you heard someone shriek, mutter, moan, yell, spit, murmur or plead, "Just get over it!", usually ...
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Crucial Factors in Mother Driving her Children into the Ocean

What would make a young mother want to kill her children? That was the big question when this near tragic ...
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Kids

When should you take your kid to therapy?

Most kids get into therapy because the school recommends it, but if you see signs that your
child is struggling, why wait?

Parenting is tough! You feel so responsible! And for situations over
which you have little real direct control. (Notice I said “direct”).
What do you do when your child is treated unfairly and feels
picked on? What if the parent-teacher conference starts feeling
painful to you? You don’t want to feel that the teacher is trying to
imply that you’re not doing your job, but you do. How in the world
can you get your child to do an hour of homework when you’re
exhausted yourself? You’re still having nightmares from when
you were struggling with it yourself.

Routinely, parents seek out therapy in these instances:

  • When your child is being bullied
  • When your child has or is being teased about gender identity issues
  • When your child won’t or can’t do their schoolwork
  • When your child is fighting and/or verbally aggressive at school
  • When your child is obviously sad, is anxious or avoids other kids
  • When your child refuses to attend school or is chronically late
  • If school staff worry about abuse or neglect
  • If your child has witnessed a traumatic event
  • When there is a family change from divorce or death or
    injustice
  • When your child exhibits strange and/or self-destructive
    behaviors
  • When you want to learn the best ways to strengthen or
    protect your child
  • When you want to break a cycle of behavior that you
    experienced in your family of origin
  • When your child’s drawings or statements imply that
    they want to hurt themselves or don’t want to live
Starting your child in therapy may require either
courage or desperation

You might be feeling a swirl of emotions when you realize
that you need to get your child into therapy. Like fear – what will
a therapist ask you? What will he or she ask your child?
Anger? Why are you put in this situation when you already
have so much on your plate? Being overwhelmed – How
will you find the time and will this cost money that you
don’t have? Don’t worry. While you will have to be persistent
to find a therapist, check out our pages on how to get
started. You’ll be on your way to finding someone who
will be pleased to take some of those burdens off your
shoulders.

Many of us became therapists as a result of our own experiences
growing up. We understand these situations. We also know and
have great faith in the possibilities of change. Sometimes it’s just
a simple or surprising change that can make all the difference
in the world. The need to ask for help doesn’t mean that you’re
going to just another person to be shown something that you feel
you should have seen. Therapists are trained to use a process
that allows them to share a number of methods that they
have learned and practiced. These methods are the result
of years of research and observations that we wish some-
one might have shared with our parents.

So, go ahead. Find out more so you can get started to make
you and your child’s life easier.

Mind Health

Taking psychiatric meds? How to protect yourself from side effects.

Along with frequently described mood  or antidepressant medications, what else can a person do to protect themselves from accumulating brain tissue loss and losing brain function?

For the folks suffering from disabling episodes of psychosis, mania and depression, the right psychiatric  medications are a godsend. There are many people who attribute their ability to continue working and leading a normal life to their  medications along with therapy. It is thought that for some people, these brain illnesses are associated with degeneration of brain cells. While every case may be different, often dysfunction in the brain occurs along with  dysfunction in the body. After all, every part of our body is connected.

We are seeing increases in autoimmune disorders, food allergies, gut problems, arthritis, asthma, skin disorders, depression and sleep disorders. For some people, some of these problems may be due to the same culprit. There is much discussion now about the role of diet and gut dysfunction in the emergence of mood disorders.

So, would it make sense to identify and eliminate the culprit(s) and replace lost or missing nutrients that are known to be essential for brain health? How about looking at non-prescription supplements and foods that help the brain? In the December, 2016 issue of Current Psychiatry, Dr. Henry A. Nasrallah, writes about supplements that can help protect the brains of folks who are experiencing brain problems which show up as mood or cognitive disorders.

Some antidepressants, mood stabilizers and atypical antipsychotics may not only decrease troubling symptoms but may also have a protective effect on the brain.

There is an additional step that your doctor can take to help you protect your brain from the “destructive processes that accompany acute episodes of psychosis, mania and depression”.

Some of the supplements mentioned are:

Omega-3 fatty acids – Found in fish oil supplements have been shown in research studies to help reduce the effects of mood disorders and psychosis when used in addition to medications as well as a general supplement to protect brain health. Check out http://www.VitalChoice.org

Caffeine –  Thought to be neuroprotective and to aid in preventing mood and memory dysfunction. Not necessarily good for anxious clients but helpful for those with psychosis or mood disorders.

Vitamin D3 –  A deficiency of this essential vitamin (the status of most people living north of North Carolina and especially of people experiencing psychotic and mood disorders)  has been associated with depression, Alzheimer’s, autism and schizophrenia.  Supplementation with natural vitamin D (inexpensive over the counter) is said to protect the brain and the body against basic illnesses.

Nicotine (in the form of nicotine gum or nicotine patches) can help with cognitive processing (thinking), stress and cell health.

Melatonin – is an antioxidant, supportive to the immune system which reduces brain inflammation.  Especially for diabetics or those with metabolic syndrome, melatonin is felt to be protective of brain tissue.  Melatonin is considered an over the counter supplement that is helpful for sleep problems.  For those taking Synthroid or the generic form, levothyroxine,  melatonin use needs to be discussed with your pharmacist or physician.

N-acetylcysteine – is a powerful antioxidant for the brain, especially during a psychotic episode

Minocycline – An antibiotic that has been shown in studies to have protective effects on the brain as an additional treatment in schizophrenia

Lithium – usually used to treat mania in dosages of 900 to 1500 mg/d has been found to prevent progression of “amnestic mild cognitive impairment” to full dementia when taken in doses as low as 1 mg/d.

Erythropoietin (limited use due to some black-box warnings)

Cox-2 inhibitors: anti-inflammatory drug helpful in acute psychosis usually associated with neuro-inflammation.

Talk to your provider about adding these supplements to your psychiatric medication

Source: Current Psychiatry,  Are you neuroprotecting your patients? 10 Adjunctive therapies, Henry A Nasrallah, MD, Vol. 15, No.12, December 2016

Books We're Reading, Racism/Diversity

We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang

Gallery

 

Picador
Picador

“Race makes itself known in crisis, in the singular event that captures a larger pattern of abuse and pain,” writes author Jeff Chang (Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Who We Be)  in the introduction to a series of essays on the significance of ongoing police shootings, social inequities, housing discrimination and campus diversity.

As an historian, Chang helps us focus on the broader picture (and effects) of the long-term system of racism and how it has played out and continues to develop in our country.  Chang touches on Trump’s speech in Mesa, Arizona (December, 2015),  demonstrations in Ferguson, MO (where he was arrested for participating) on the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death,  and the effects of gentrification to produce a powerful punch through the veil of denial that shrouds and nurtures systemic racism.

Lifestyle, Racism/Diversity

Police violence – Every 10 days an unarmed black person is killed

police-car

A mental health threat for our people
Police killed 346 black people in 2015, making fear of our “protectors” a rational, reasonable fear.  Now, for sure, there are many honest, caring cops out there. You hope that they are the ones who stop you for a broken tail light. The statistics on police killings portray practices that often result in death for black individuals stopped for nonviolent issues. This presents a HUGE source of trauma affecting the mental health of our people. Emotional trauma affects physical health as well.

NY_Time_photo_MappingPoliceViolence_web_link
Police violence directly affects the mental health of black people.

See how widespread the problem is
The resource website, http://www.mappingpoliceviolence.org   allows you to learn the stories of each of the individuals that were killed. Many of them are shocking, such as the Chicago landlord who opened her front door to greet police officers who had been called by her upstairs tenant. She opened the door, they shot her dead. Or the 17 year old brother, whose mother and sister had called the police when he experienced a psychotic episode. He ran into the bathroom, police shot him 17 times as his family begged them to stop.

The story of Kenneth Chamberlain

One of the saddest is the story of Kenneth Chamberlain of White Plains, NY.  Mr. Chamberlain, a retired Marine and long-time corrections officer, was killed by police after accidentally triggering his 1st Alert alarm.  He wore it because of a heart condition.  Police in riot gear stormed his apartment  (to be sure he was safe), and in a few seconds, tasered him twice, shot him at close range with four bean bag rounds, finally shooting him in the chest and killing him.

Picture of Kenneth Chamberlain as a young marine.

The entire episode was taped by the 1st Alert operator and yet the officers were never charged.  The conflicting testimonies of the officers supported a cover-up. The civil suit was lost because the nearly all white jury could not believe that the 69 year old retiree was not still standing when he was finally shot.  Watch the film and see what you think. His story also inspired a musical tribute to him and six other victims of police violence by Joel Thompson at the University of Michigan. These are not uncommon stories and they boggle the minds of mental health professionals right along with all other folks.