Holistic activities to aid learning?

[aokoye]

In the countries where I have lived (belgium and England) the psychiatrist prescribes the meds, not the psychologist, or nurses, or others. Your GP can prescribe after the specialist has decided, and the GP does the things like the blood tests etc.

This isn't strictly the case in the UK. GPs can prescribe a drug that is not classed as a 'hospital drug', i.e. virtually any anti-depressant. Dentists can prescribe anti-depressants that have subsequently been approved for treating pain, e.g. amitriptyline. 'Mood stabilisers', anti-psychotics and lithium are classed as 'hospital drugs' and can only be initially prescribed by a doctor in secondary care, i.e. a hospital or Community Mental Health Team.

For some people, like aokoye wrote, they wouldn't be alive without the meds. Personally, I am fed up that I'm so drugged up (ok I will say this), but at the same time, the meds do some things which make my life possible.

I'm glad they're helping someone here!

So here's the thing. There are drugs that can treat different issues. There are ton of antiepileptics that are also mood stabilizers, bupropion has been successfully used in both depression in smoking cessation, pregabalin is used to treat epilepsy, fibromyalgia, and anxiety, lamotrigine is used for both epilepsy and bipolar (and sometimes depression), and so on. What's important to note is a. that this is not unusual (if anything it's pretty logical in terms of mental health issues and epilepsy) and b. the doses prescribed are often radically different. Is a dentist going to be prescribing amitriptyline for pain or are the going to be doing so for depression? That's what's actually important. I still think it's unwise for GPs to be prescribing psychotropic meds (for mental health issues) as opposed to say, psychiatrists though.

Again, while I'm not someone who has personally gained much from psychotropic drugs I think that maligned them ignores the fact that for some people they literally are a life saving measure. This also isn't a particularly small group of people. I would also say that saying that X drugs are overperscribed is different than saying that X drugs are bad.

[aokoye]

Find the cause of the problem
In my opinion, depression and anxiety are not illnesses: they are either symptoms of a physical problem (hormones, stress, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, thyroid, neurology, auto-immune issues, medication side-effects), or an inner-caveman sign that part of your life is less than great and you should change it. If you can't fix the cause, at least you've identified it and can try to make the rest of your life more positive.

For some of us they are illnesses and that's just fine. It's not shameful to have an illness. It's also interesting because there are plenty of hormone imbalances, autoimmune diseases and neurological issue that are classed as illnesses. Why shouldn't depression and anxiety? Again, what's so bad about being diagnosed with an illness as opposed to being diagnosed something someone calls depression but that that same person doesn't want to call an illness. Unfortunately when I stopped meds my treatment resistant depression didn't actually disappear, my sleep got a bit better but my depression didn't change at all (both my opinion and that of my therapist's). I also can assure you there are people who have depression and anxiety and for whom none of the above (in your quote) are true.

You are how you move
Yes, I've stolen that from Katy Bowman. Exercise and talking therapies are clinically proven to be more effective in treating mild to moderate depression than anti-depressants. Walking is the best exercise you can do, and it's also great for anxiety as it helps out your over-worked adrenal glands. I don't go outside much at the moment because of anxiety, but it seems that how you move during the day may be even more important for our bodies than what we call 'exercise' (I'll refer you back to Katy Bowman for that, as she's the expert biomechanist!). I also do tai chi, which is essentially moving meditation. I find it really relaxing, and it was the first martial art that Bruce Lee learnt, so it has bonus coolness-points. I tried 'traditional' meditation and Mindfulness years ago, but my brain wouldn't switch off. There's also a study showing that Mindfulness can increase the creation of false memories. A long time ago a psychology-student friend did a test on me where your brain creates false memories. It freaked me out a bit, so I personally won't be doing any Mindfulness again. Counselling was less than helpful for me. Cognitive behavioural therapy can be very useful, though. Acupressure can be very calming, and you can do it yourself (I think 'tapping' basically uses acupressure points?).

I'm slightly confused as you would defer to a biomechanist as opposed to a psychologist but walking is "the best exercise" for you perhaps, not necessarily the rest of us. Additionally. You could also consider tai chi mindfulnes though. Yes exercise can help people with mild to moderate depression (there seems to be a lot of peer reviewed data that confirms this) however hearing that over and over again and being someone who a. likes various forms of exercise and b. realizes it does absolutely nothing for their depression gets really really old. Ironically right after I press "submit" I'm going to be on my way to go swimming.

I'm not going to quote the rest of your post but I can assure you people still had mental illnesses (both mild and severe) when there weren't TVs and other screens around. This isn't some new thing. If anything what's new is that we're getting a bit better (if not at the very least more compassionate) at how we treat it.

[Carmody]

Wow, I certainly appreciate everyone being so open and forthcoming as to their own problems and answers. Thank you.

I am 75 years old and have had depression all my life. I had to drop out of university for a semester due to its paralyzing impact=a nervous breakdown. It is also genetic or a family trait that means others in the family have to deal with it, even if they never admit to it.

The psychiatrist I went to during my breakdown during university days suggested physical exercise along with the therapy. Both helped greatly but were not the complete cures. My life journey has consisted of periods of Zen meditation under masters for 2-3 yrs. that sent me into even greater depression. Meditation alone can not solve mental problems and can exacerbate them as well.

For the past 5 years I have done a mix of Taichi 30 mins./day (under a teacher) plus 2-3 hrs daily language study(this past year), plus work out at the gym for 3 days a week. Having a set schedule everyday is very conducive to my good mental health.

Also I find it very useful to put on a spreadsheet each day how much time I spend studying whatever particular aspect of my language learning. Such as reading, listening, etc. At the end of the day I have something I can really be proud of. If I study 15 mins. doing one thing or 30 mins. doing another; it all gets logged on.

Social interaction with others in person is good if you can do it, of course.

Constant watching of the news is definitely not a good thing.

On the other hand, I find that if I am not actually learning my language of choice then I am studying how to learn a language from what people post on this Forum.

So, I have no magic bullets or panaceas and I certainly can't say what is good for you. Only you can determine that.

If any small part of this is any help to you, you will have made my day.

Good luck.

[Jar-Ptitsa]

4) your freind was diagnosed with schizophrenia, not with the Ritalin side effect's psychosis or other types of psychosis eg drug-induced, bipolar, thyroid, depression, after your baby, dementia etc. In my expereince the doctors differentiate.

Some doctors do, some don't. In my (similar) experience they haven't, so I'm stuck with a misdiagnosis. I suspect it differs between both doctors and countries.

I don't knwo what to say, sorry. I hope you will get better help.

In the countries where I have lived (belgium and England) the psychiatrist prescribes the meds, not the psychologist, or nurses, or others. Your GP can prescribe after the specialist has decided, and the GP does the things like the blood tests etc.

This isn't strictly the case in the UK. GPs can prescribe a drug that is not classed as a 'hospital drug', i.e. virtually any anti-depressant. Dentists can prescribe anti-depressants that have subsequently been approved for treating pain, e.g. amitriptyline. 'Mood stabilisers', anti-psychotics and lithium are classed as 'hospital drugs' and can only be initially prescribed by a doctor in secondary care, i.e. a hospital or Community Mental Health Team.

Sorry. I think that I was talking about a different thing.

I've never had depression or taken anti-depressants. I'm not autistic or asperger and I've never taken Ritalin. sorry for the mistake if I made a mistake.

For some people, like aokoye wrote, they wouldn't be alive without the meds. Personally, I am fed up that I'm so drugged up (ok I will say this), but at the same time, the meds do some things which make my life possible.

I'm glad they're helping someone here!

Thanks. I don't like them and they are dangerous, but they improve some things which helps.

I wish all the people good luck.

[Ingaræð]

4) your freind was diagnosed with schizophrenia, not with the Ritalin side effect's psychosis or other types of psychosis eg drug-induced, bipolar, thyroid, depression, after your baby, dementia etc. In my expereince the doctors differentiate.

Some doctors do, some don't. In my (similar) experience they haven't, so I'm stuck with a misdiagnosis. I suspect it differs between both doctors and countries.

I don't knwo what to say, sorry. I hope you will get better help.

Don't worry, at least I know it's a misdiagnosis! At this point it's just a pain in the neck that 'officially' I have a particular disorder, but in reality I don't.

In the countries where I have lived (belgium and England) the psychiatrist prescribes the meds, not the psychologist, or nurses, or others. Your GP can prescribe after the specialist has decided, and the GP does the things like the blood tests etc.

This isn't strictly the case in the UK. GPs can prescribe a drug that is not classed as a 'hospital drug', i.e. virtually any anti-depressant. Dentists can prescribe anti-depressants that have subsequently been approved for treating pain, e.g. amitriptyline. 'Mood stabilisers', anti-psychotics and lithium are classed as 'hospital drugs' and can only be initially prescribed by a doctor in secondary care, i.e. a hospital or Community Mental Health Team.

Sorry. I think that I was talking about a different thing.

I've never had depression or taken anti-depressants. I'm not autistic or asperger and I've never taken Ritalin. sorry for the mistake if I made a mistake.

Please don't apologise! What you said is absolutely correct for some medication. As we're all speaking about different healthcare systems, I just wanted to clarify that this is not the protocol for all psychiatric medication in the UK.

[Xenops]

A couple of different people mentioned going gluten-free and changing your diet. I attempted going gluten-free just to maintain my weight, and I noticed that my brain fog went away. Suddenly I had a lot more energy. I've been gluten-free for over three years, and am only momentarily tempted for pizza and sourdough bread. I also watch what I eat in other regards. I'm mostly on a paleo diet, ketogenic to be specific, and I notice that my energy and focus levels are best when I eat no sugar, few carbs and a lot of vegetables. I follow this philosophy a lot http://maximizedliving.com/. I also take vitamin D and I want to try magnesium-threonate (http://products.mercola.com/magnesium-supplement/

[jsega]

I have a feeling you also might be overthinking this or constructing situations that likely wouldn't happen. HIPAA is a huge deal in the US and from my expierence privacy is taken more seriously among mental health care providers than it is among other health care providers. Do you think that people are going to somehow automatically find out that you have XYZ if you're diagnosed with it? I can assure you that won't happen unless you disclose to them.

I really don't want to get into this too much, mostly because I agree with most everything you said in general, but I'm not overthinking it. There are applications for certain licenses, jobs, etc. where you have to disclose very personal information (especially when working for government), and HIPAA is kind of a false sense of security these days (fairly recently in my state, millions of us had our information stolen by hackers and we were given some crap identity theft protection service for a couple years as a gesture from the insurance companies). I'm not really against seeking therapy privately as much as I am disclosing too much with a doctor (not because of the doctor but the system).

Even something as simple as a license to carry. As it stands it's obviously not a problem (unless you've actually been deemed unfit by a court), so that isn't what I'm saying. But there are those in politics (especially in my state) that are actively pushing to lump everyone together who may be described as having a mental disorder or illness and limit them or prevent them altogether from owning a firearm. So the idea that this could happen is a real thing.

[jsega]

A couple of different people mentioned going gluten-free and changing your diet. I attempted going gluten-free just to maintain my weight, and I noticed that my brain fog went away. Suddenly I had a lot more energy. I've been gluten-free for over three years, and am only momentarily tempted for pizza and sourdough bread. I also watch what I eat in other regards. I'm mostly on a paleo diet, ketogenic to be specific, and I notice that my energy and focus levels are best when I eat no sugar, few carbs and a lot of vegetables. I follow this philosophy a lot http://maximizedliving.com/. I also take vitamin D and I want to try magnesium-threonate (http://products.mercola.com/magnesium-supplement/

I definitely give anyone who sticks to some of these diets, gluten-free for example, a lot of credit. I really should go gluten-free, eat less dairy, etc. Right now it just seems like it would take more self-discipline than I can muster. I do the minority of cooking and most of the time there are already meals available, so it's just so easy to eat what's already available and spend time doing other things (like getting back to studying).

I suppose it's really about changing my current mindset. If changing my diet can make my study time more efficient than I'm not actually losing any time

[jsega]

.....
If any small part of this is any help to you, you will have made my day.

Good luck.

It's definitely helpful. More physical activity seems appropriate as others have suggested. And to paraphrase, learning to pat my own back

[aokoye]

I have a feeling you also might be overthinking this or constructing situations that likely wouldn't happen. HIPAA is a huge deal in the US and from my expierence privacy is taken more seriously among mental health care providers than it is among other health care providers. Do you think that people are going to somehow automatically find out that you have XYZ if you're diagnosed with it? I can assure you that won't happen unless you disclose to them.

I really don't want to get into this too much, mostly because I agree with most everything you said in general, but I'm not overthinking it. There are applications for certain licenses, jobs, etc. where you have to disclose very personal information (especially when working for government), and HIPAA is kind of a false sense of security these days (fairly recently in my state, millions of us had our information stolen by hackers and we were given some crap identity theft protection service for a couple years as a gesture from the insurance companies). I'm not really against seeking therapy privately as much as I am disclosing too much with a doctor (not because of the doctor but the system).

Even something as simple as a license to carry. As it stands it's obviously not a problem (unless you've actually been deemed unfit by a court), so that isn't what I'm saying. But there are those in politics (especially in my state) that are actively pushing to lump everyone together who may be described as having a mental disorder or illness and limit them or prevent them altogether from owning a firearm. So the idea that this could happen is a real thing.

I understand what you're saying I think we're probably coming at it from two different sides though. I also agree with much of what you're saying. Ultimately it's obviously up to you as to what you do. I still think you're underestimating how big a deal privacy is in relation to mental health but again I'm coming at it from a place of having seen a lot of therapists and being friends with multiple people who work in mental health care.

Ultimately it's your decision though. Good luck and I'm sorry I took part in some impressive derailment of this thread.