Solitude is healthy
Many people know that socializing is good for the health, and we frantically try to find ways to not feel alone even when we are, such as cruising FaceBook. We feel like failures if we don’t have an active social life. But studies prove that solitude is required for good mental and physical health also. Like most things in life, balance and moderation are required. So find time to have enjoyable alone time unconnected from your phone. Gosh, a rocking hammock under the swaying sycamore trees sounds like a good idea right now!—MR
Technology is impairing our ability to be alone, research shows. Here’s how to reap the benefits of solitude
By Emily Esfahani Smith, Washington Post, July 12, 2017
As our lives become ever more connected, there are so few places we can go to truly be alone anymore.
Murder plain and simple
Pharmaceutical companies that oversell opioid pain killers and docs that prescribe them prolifically should be held criminally accountable. “With approximately 142 Americans dying every day,” the below-mentioned report notes, “America is enduring a death toll equal to September 11th every three weeks.” There are less dangerous options to pain management.—MR
White House opioid commission to Trump: ‘Declare a national emergency’ on drug overdoses
The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis issued a preliminary report on Monday stating that its “first and most urgent recommendation” is for the president to “declare a national emergency under either the Public Health Service Act or the Stafford Act.”
Why they call it “dope”
Smoking cannabis not only causes a loss of motivation to get good grades (or whatever) due to the fact it highjacks the motivation system in the brain, but studies also show that longterm use lowers IQ. Not something I’d choose to do…—MR
These college students lost access to legal pot — and started getting better grades
Washington Post,
The most rigorous study yet of the effects of marijuana legalization has identified a disturbing result: College students with access to recreational cannabis on average earn worse grades and fail classes at a higher rate.
Medicare needs fixing too
Masked marauder
Most folks believe if they feel psychotic, depressed or anxious, it’s a mental health issue, e.g. “I’m afraid to drive on the freeway.” In deed, that may be true. AND it may also be true that the bipolar disorder you are taking meds for may actually be the onset of a serious physical illness. I’ve had patients who were given psycho-pharmaceuticals when their issues were, in fact, undiagnosed multiple sclerosis and scleroderma. Another severely depressed patient was gluten intolerant. My own anxiety and depression turned out to be a horribly imbalanced small intestine that probiotic treatment cured! Keep an open mind and engage a healthcare professional who will consider the range of possibilities before settling on his or her first diagnosis. Now you know why I call my practice “Bodymind.”—MR
When Anxiety or Depression Masks a Medical Problem
It’s perfectly normal for someone to feel anxious or depressed after receiving a diagnosis of a serious illness. But what if the reverse occurs and symptoms of anxiety or depression masquerade as an as-yet undiagnosed physical disorder?
Reasons to live
The keys to a longer happier life may not be what you think.–MR
Prioritizing these three things will improve your life — and maybe even save it
By Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, April 28, 2017
Want to live longer, enjoy life more and actually find that elusive happiness?
Eat your way to happy
The human brain NEEDS clean protein and fat at fairly close intervals to function well daily. Even just one soft boiled egg for breakfast is a good way to start. Protein does not trigger the “eat more now” response like carbs or sugar. Any questions?—MR
6 foods to eat for a mood boost
By Cara Rosenbloom, The Washington Post, April 6, 2017
If you’ve ever found bliss in a bite of chocolate or smiled when someone offered you a french fry, then you know food can make you happy. But while it’s true that your favorite treat may give you a brief emotional lift, sustained mood-boosting brain power can only come from a consistent supply of nutritious foods.
Second opinion
Folks, it’s really hard to diagnose just about any illness, let alone mental illness. Primary care physicians are generally not equipped to do it. Go to a mental health professional for a mental health diagnosis. And go to a non-prescriber like a mental health counselor to find out what your non-pharmaceutical options are before you start swallowing pills. Psychotherapy has been proven scientifically to work just as well as meds in the short term and better in the long term.—MR
20 percent of patients with serious conditions are first misdiagnosed
By Lenny Bernsein, The Washington Post, April 4, 2017
More than 20 percent of patients who sought a second opinion at one of the nation’s premier medical institutions had been misdiagnosed by their primary care providers, according to new research released Tuesday.
The truth is out there
The feds were stupid not to provide quality cannabis for this study so we can prove once and for all that it is dangerous to mental health. My personal study as a mental health counselor has convinced me. If you have PTSD, stay away unless you would like to become more paranoid, reactive and sleepless.—MR
Johns Hopkins was ready to test pot as a treatment for PTSD. Then it quit the study.
By Aaron Gregg, Washington Post, April 2. 2017
Pipe dream
Cannabis triggers an excess of the reward chemical in the brain, an endogenous opioid. So a heroin addict wanting to withdraw is substituting one opioid for another. Instead of withdrawing, they won’t. Plus, since pot triggers the reward chemical for doing a drug, there is no behavioral reward for NOT doing heroin or anything else productive for that matter. I’ve heard some really ignorant ideas in my lifetime, but this takes the cake.—MR
Addiction Specialists Ponder a Potential Aid: Pot
By MATT RICHTEL, New York Times,
LOS ANGELES — Nine days after Nikolas Michaud’s latest heroin relapse, the skinny 27-year-old sat on a roof deck at a new drug rehabilitation clinic here. He picked up a bong, filled it with a pinch of marijuana, lit the leaves and inhaled. All this took place in plain view of the clinic’s director.
Just do it
Yoga is DEFINITELY good for the brain. The reason is simple. Your brain is part of your body. The brain is the hub of the nervous system and the nervous system is everywhere in your body. What’s good for your body is good for the brain. It’s that simple.–MR
Yoga May Be Good for the Brain
By Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times, June 1, 2016
A weekly routine of yoga and meditation may help to stave off aging-related mental decline, according to a study of older adults with memory problems.
Be there
Suicide is a subject that people don’t want to talk about, but it cannot be ignored out of existence. If someone you know gives you even an inkling that she may be thinking about checking out, don’t ignore it. Encourage her to get help. And, if she tried before, there is a good chance she’ll try again. In both cases, be available. Be there for her. Find others to be there for her. The more people who take an interest in someone’s life, the more likely she will try to live another day. The main reason people kill themselves is because they believe no one will care if they do.—MR
After a Suicide Attempt, the Risk of Another Try
My family is no stranger to suicide and suicide attempts and we are not alone. To recount just two instances:
Incapacitated to care
It’s not just heroin, opium, Methodone or Oxycodone that blunt parenting instincts, it’s also cannabis. The reason cannabis is addictive is not that cannabis replaces a chemical in the brain making it “primarily addictive” like the above drugs, but because it triggers an inner (endogenous) opioid at levels that are not normal. It’s “secondarily” addictive. We get addicted to these higher levels of our own “reward chemical” and end up craving this inner opioid. An inner opioid has the same effects as an outer one, one of which is blunting feelings of care and connection. The next time you get high on cannabis, watch as the faces of your world recede in importance. I call it “narcissistic personality disorder” in a bong.—MR
Opioids May Interfere With Parenting Instincts, Study Finds
By DONNA DE LA CRUZ. New York Times,
PESD
You’ve heard of PTSD. This is very much like it, but I’m calling it Post Election Stress Disorder. Women are particularly affected, especially women with PTSD from domestic violence. They feel personally devalued, rejected, unseen, unheard, isolated and unsafe. They have a sense of foreboding and mistrust. They fear losing control over what happens to their bodies. Shock and anger that followed the election gives way, as shock and anger does, to anxiety and depression. Call your therapist. It helps to talk. Particularly to a woman.—MR
He once called it ‘election stress disorder.’ Now the therapist says we’re suffering from this.
By Steven Stosny, The Washington Post, February 6, 2017
As a couples’ therapist specializing in anger and resentment, I was overwhelmed with distress calls during the recent election cycle. The vitriol and pervasive negativity of the campaigns, amplified by 24-hour news and social media, created a level of stress and resentment that intruded into many people’s intimate relationships. I even named it election stress disorder. Yet, as bad as it seemed in those days, there was an end in sight: Nov. 8.
Can’t sleep?
Eight-five percent of Americans are not getting enough sleep for good health. The Center for Disease Control has deemed it an epidemic. The problem is people are looking at the screens of electronic devices too close to going to sleep tricking the brain into thinking the sun has not gone down. Stupid brain. The smart thing to do is turn off your device at least an hour before lights out and read a book. Not having enough sleep lowers productivity and can cause depression and anxiety.—MR
Sleepless in America: How Digital Devices Keep Us Up All Night
NBC.com by HALLIE JACKSON
Danny Fulton gets into bed every night at 10 p.m., plenty of time for a solid eight hours of rest before his alarm goes off in the morning. But the 31-year-old —who’s struggled to sleep all his life — almost never falls asleep before 3 a.m. Instead, he watches television, plays on his tablet, or checks his phone for work emails.
Just say “no”
One of the biggest problems with using cannabis is the fact that science doesn’t know if it’s helpful or hurtful because sufficient longterm studies have not been allowed. Science does know it lowers IQ with longterm use and causes cancer at greater rates than cigarettes if smoked. In my personal study over fifty years, I have witnessed and personally experienced its serious harmful effects on the body, mind and relationships many dozens of times. Harm that many do not realize are from cannabis. I fully admit ONCE I saw one of its of its helpful effects. Yay! But in my world, the detriments so far outweigh the benefits, I just say “no.”—MR
Scientists to Government: Make It Easier to Study Marijuana
Even as more and more states allow their residents to use marijuana, the federal government is continuing to obstruct scientists from studying whether the drug is good or bad for people’s health.
Successful suicide
It’s just plain easier to succeed at killing yourself with a gun. If you or someone you know is having a bad day, a bad month or a bad year, lock up your guns. Or better yet, get rid of them.—MR
By their own hand with a gun, 58 people will die today
BY STEVEN PETROW, News & Observer, OCTOBER 1, 2016
A year later, I remain haunted by the death of a friend, 39 when he shot himself, because I’m pretty sure his life could have been saved. Local police called his death a “suicide by gunshot.” More than 20,000 people a year in fact take their own lives with a firearm. Yes, it’s true: More people use guns to kill themselves than to kill others, according to 2012 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicides may be the great untold story in the gun debate.
Get help
Weight loss surgery can be a very good thing for a person’s self esteem and physical health, but it’s a very big deal. It’s a huge adjustment that requires mental health counseling for best results. I’ve had the honor of working with a person who underwent gastric bypass surgery losing 225 pounds so far. This individual has come for counseling every week for over a year to work on the psycho-emotional issues that contributed to the obesity in the first place and the issues that are created by the surgery itself such as the emotional roller coaster created by a cascade of post-surgery hormones. The patient is doing wonderfully and will continue counseling as skin removal surgery is performed. The patient’s advice? Don’t walk this rocky path with just family and friends. They are not trained professionals and can unintentionally do more harm than good.—MR
Weight loss surgery: not everyone lives happily ever after
The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery state that the number of weight loss surgeries in the US increased from 13,000 in 1998 to over 200,000 in 2008. Reasons for undergoing weight loss surgery can range from health needs to the desire for a confidence boost. But new research suggests that although the surgery may make people happy in some ways, it can also cause problems.
Drinking on antidepressants
Drinking on antidepressants? In a word: DON’T! Not only can taking an antidepressant like Wellbutrin with alcohol cause seizures, but drinking a depressant (alcohol) with an antidepressant zeros out its effects. In fact, if you stop drinking alcohol you most likely will not need an antidepressant at all.—MR
Drinking on Antidepressants
“So why did you stop drinking?” my friend Brad asked recently when we were out for dinner. “You never seemed to have a drinking problem.”
DIY
If you wish to lose weight, improve your mental health, or become healthier in anyway, the most effective recommendation is DIY, i.e. “do it yourself.” When we turn our weight loss over to a supplement or a gimmick, our mental health to an antidepressant or anxiolytic, or any aspect of our physical, mental or spiritual wellbeing to an outside force promising to be a “silver bullet,” we abdicate our personal responsibility and lessen the healthy learning and growth we would achieve in a progressive, sustainable, natural way. We risk addiction and learn helplessness. I’m not saying don’t listen to your doctor, priest or counselor, but the key word here is “listen.” You, not someone or something else, are the monitor and arbiter of your health and the captain of your soul.—MR
Activity Trackers May Undermine Weight Loss Efforts
Wearable activity monitors can count your steps and track your movements, but they don’t, apparently, help you lose weight. In fact, you might lose more weight without them.
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