Posts Tagged ‘Conditions’

An Integrative Approach To Mental Health Conditions

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

By Madison Vatse

Today, mental health conditions are commonly diagnosed. Depression is widespread, and commonly treated with antidepressants. Attention Deficit Disorder is very commonly diagnosed, with stimulants prescribed quite often. Bipolar Disorder is becoming a common mental health diagnosis with medications prescribed frequently.

I have been a Board Certified practicing Psychiatrist for the past twenty years. My current observations are based on years of experience from talking to people diagnosed with these conditions.

I remember many years ago wondering why I was being asked to prescribe medication to children eating fast food and lots of sweets. How was I to tell if these children really had ADD, or were their systems “stressed” from lack of nutrients?

I also wondered about the role of our sedentary lifestyle in the increasing numbers of people diagnosed with mental health conditions. Chlldren seem to watch hours of TV and spend even more time in front of computers and video games. Yet, when we take them from this environment to a mainstream classroom we consider them distractible. But their brains have been programmed to absorb stimuli from TV and computers since they were very young. So are they really distractible, or have their learning circuits not yet been wired to learn traditionally?

And as for adults with sedentary lifestyles, it seems to reason that depression or mood disorder is a consequence.

Of course, many people with healthy lifestyles still suffer from depression, ADD and the like. But are we adequately evaluating the role of lifestyle when we make our diagnosis and prescribe medication?

Talking to literally hundreds of familes is a very humbling process. The more you get to know people the less you really understand. As a clinician, my dilemma was always, does this child or adult need medication? And have all other variables contributing to distractibility or other mental health issue been addressed first?

Another area that is not typically evaluated in a routine doctor’s visit is that of exposure to environmental toxins. As a conventional practitioner, I used to believe only small numbers of people were particularly sensitive to the environment.

Pollution is everywhere. How can we think that pollution will not affect our health and well-being, physical or mental?

We usually think of pollution as coming from fumes in the air from cars or factories. It’s true, but pollution is far more widespead than that. The plastic liners that we use to feed our infants formula contain toxins. The carpets our babies are crawling on are full of toxins.

How can we think that consistent exposure to toxins, even microtoxins, and lack of nutrition will not have an effect on our children’s physical and emotional states? And how about ours?

Last year, several colleagues and I published a study on the effects of nutritional supplements in children with Bipolar Disorder. Out of 15 children, 14 demonstrated considerable improvements with addition of high quality nutritional supplements. All the children were prescribed psychotropic medication. After 6 months of nutritional supplements, their side effect scores dropped from 45.9 to 3.6!

Clearly more scientific research is needed in these areas. But if you are on psychotropic medication, or have a child on psychotropic medication, it would seem prudent to do everything possible to minimize stress in your bodies. That includes eating as healthy as possible. Healthy cells make for healthy bodies.

It also means vigilance around the issue of environmental toxins. In reality, we are all exposed to toxins, more than ever before. Also, cleansing the body with fresh water and quality supplements becomes essential for health maintenance.

A proactive approach to one’s mental health will go along way toward restoration of balance and stability of the mind and of the emotions.

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Mental Health Conditions Affect All Ages

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Mental health conditions are common in all nations of the world. According to the National Institute for Mental Health, about 26 percent of Americans aged over 18 years are diagnosed with a mental disorder every year. This equates to almost 60 million people. The NIMH has also found that about 6 percent of those, have been diagnosed with a serious mental condition, many of which may suffer from two or more mental conditions. Mental illness, has been found to be a major cause of disability amongst people, aged between 15 and 44 years in the US and Canada.

Of course, mental conditions are not confined to the adult person, as people of all ages and genders can be affected by the disorder. Many children and adolescents are diagnosed with mental health problems, and special care is needed to treat them adequately. Mental conditions that affect children are varied and may be of a temporary nature, however, specialized treatment should be sought to help reduce the chances of the disorder becoming long term. NIMH reports indicate that about 5 percent of children in North America suffer from bouts of depression. This figure increases to around 8 percent for the number of teenagers who are suffering from anxiety and depression.

Many teenagers are also affected by eating disorders, which can aggravate bouts of depression and lead to other problems such as, phobia, inhibition and learning difficulties. Teenage girls who may be suffering from anxiety or depression are susceptible to anorexia nervosa, a very serious eating disorder, which can lead to grave health concerns, even death. Mental conditions, such as these, need to be treated by mental health care professionals who can help young people to adjust to the circumstances that have brought about their disorders.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a most severe mental health condition that is more likely to affect young boys. Sufferers of ADHD need specialized professional care as well as added personal attention from their parents. A child suffering from ADHD will display little regard for authority and will engage in a range of continuous physical activities much to the detriment of his fellow students, teachers and parents. Treatment, provided by a mental health care professional, for this type of disorder, may include some form of medication.

Early diagnosis of mental health problems, is essential for the successful treatment of the conditions, and the prevention of long term effects that may result in a lasting disability.

For further information, visit: http://la-healthhunter.com/mental