The Depression Sessions

[shijing]

Just a note that The Depression Sessions, a series of free online talks that follow the format of The Anxiety Summit, started at the beginning of this week. If you're interested in signing up, you can do so at http://thedepressionsessions.com/

Here's the schedule of talks:

Sunday/Monday, June 14th & 15th

BALANCING BRAIN CHEMISTRY: TARGETED INDIVIDUAL AMINO ACIDS FOR ANXIETY & DEPRESSION (Trudy Scott, CN)
MIND-ALTERING MICROORGANISMS: HOW THE BUGS IN YOUR GUT MAY BE AFFECTING YOUR MOOD (Dr. Jill Carnahan, MD)
CONFESSIONS OF AN EX-PHARMACEUTICAL SALES REP (Gerald Roliz, CNC)

Tuesday/Wednesday, June 16th & 17th

THE TRUTH ABOUT ANTIDEPRESSANTS: HELPING OR HURTING? (Dr. Daniel Kalish, DC)
DEPRESSION: IS IT IN THE GENES? (Dr. Ben Lynch, ND)
MISDIAGNOSED: HOW THYROID PROBLEMS MIMIC THE SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION (Dr. Izabella Wentz, PharmD)

Thursday/Friday, June 18th & 19th

HOW TO REWIRE YOUR BRAIN AND BEAT DEPRESSION WITH NEUROFEEDBACK (Nora Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT)
PMS, PCOS AND POSTPARTUM: A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO DEPRESSION (Alisa Vitti, HHC)
DAMAGE CONTROL FOR ANXIETY AND PANIC ATTACKS (Dr. Corey Schuler, DC)

Saturday/Sunday, June 20th & 21st

REFRAMING DEPRESSION: A FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION APPROACH (Andrea Nakayama, CNE)
THE MICROBIOME-MOOD CONNECTION (Dr. Jillian Teta, ND)
HOW TO BOOST YOUR MOOD WITH FOODS AND FATS (Dr. Ann Childers, MD)
HOW TO LIFT A HEAVY MIND (Matthew Sanders, MS)

Monday/Tuesday, June 22nd & 23rd

NATURAL ANTIDEPRESSANT ALTERNATIVES (Sayer Ji)
DEPRESSION IS NOT A SEROTONIN DEFICIENCY (Dr. Kelly Brogan, MD)
HOW TO SAFELY TRANSITION OFF OF PSYCHIATRIC MEDS (Dr. Hyla Cass, MD)

Wednesday/Thursday, June 24th & 25th

DRUG MUGGERS: HOW COMMON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ROB YOUR BODY OF MOOD-FRIENDLY NUTRIENTS (Suzy Cohen, RPh)
HOW TO FIGURE OUT WHAT’S CAUSING YOUR DEPRESSION: A CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE (Dr. Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MNeuroSc)
TOXINS, FREE RADICALS, AND THE DRASTIC RISE IN DEPRESSION (Tom Malterre, MS, CN)

Friday/Saturday, June 26th & 27th

THE GIFT OF DEPRESSION: A DEEPER PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL VIEW (Marc David, MA)
DEPRESSION'S LESSONS (Duane Law, LAc)
NATURAL TREATMENTS FOR DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND BIPOLAR DISORDER (Dr. Carol Banyas, MD)

Sunday, June 28th - ENCORE DAY

 

[nicklebleu]

Thanks Shijing for posting - sounds very interesting. Some interesting speakers and topics.
Looking forward to watching them.
Maybe we can post short summaries of the content for others who don't have the time to watch.

 

[shijing]

Maybe we can post short summaries of the content for others who don't have the time to watch.

Sounds good, nicklebleu -- it would be great if there were a few people who were interested and able to do this :)

Here's the early bird interview with Datis Kharrazian from last Sunday:

http://<iframe width="560" height="...xc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There's a lot of good info in it, but one of the things I found interesting in the second half was about GABA. One cause of GABA deficiency can be oxygen deficiency, and one reason for this can be a mycoplasma infection:

http://www.emergingworlds.com/mc_article.cfm?link=common_mycoplasms_now_weaponized.html

If you are ill with these diseases, your red blood cells will not be normal doughnut-shaped blood cells capable of being compressed and squeezed through the capillaries, but will swell up like cherry-filled doughnuts which cannot be compressed. The blood cells become enlarged and distended because the only way the mycoplasma can exist is by uptaking pre-formed sterols from the host cell. One of the best sources of pre-formed sterols is cholesterol, and cholesterol is what gives your blood cells flexibility. If the cholesterol is taken out by the mycoplasma, the red blood cell swells up and doesn't go through, and the person begins to feel all the aches and pains and all the damage it causes to the brain, the heart, the stomach, the feet and the whole body because blood and oxygen are cut off.

And that is why people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome have such a terrible time. When the blood is cut off from the brain, punctate lesions appear because those parts of the brain die. The mycoplasma will get into portions of the heart muscle, especially the left ventricle, and those cells will die. Certain people have cells in the lateral ventricles of the brain that have a genetic predisposition to admit the mycoplasma, and this causes the lateral ventricles to deteriorate and die. This leads to multiple sclerosis, which will progress until these people are totally disabled; frequently, they die prematurely. The mycoplasma will get into the lower bowel, parts of which will die, thus causing colitis. All of these diseases are caused by the degenerating properties of the mycoplasma.

In early 2000, a gentleman in Sudbury phoned me and told me he had fibromyalgia. He applied for a pension and was turned down because his doctor said it was all in his head and there was no external evidence. I gave him the proper form and a vial, and he sent his blood to Dr Simpson to be tested. He did this with his family doctor's approval, and the results from Dr Simpson showed that only 4% of his red blood cells were functioning normally and carrying the appropriate amount of oxygen to his poor body, whereas 83% were distended, enlarged and hardened, and wouldn't go through the capillaries without an awful lot of pressure and trouble. This is the physical evidence of the damage that is done.

He also mentioned that if you take GABA for depression and it works, that can actually be a bad sign, since GABA molecules are too large to pass through the brain-blood barrier -- if they can get through, it means you have a breach in that barrier. (That doesn't mean you shouldn't take GABA, but it does mean you need to look into why you've got that breach).

 

[nicklebleu]

I'll only be able to watch the series next week - but I'll post summaries as I go along. But it certainly would be good if others are interested to do so too.
I'm especially interested in Nora Gedgaudas lecture on neurofeedback, as I have signed up to do a course in November this year. My main interest is in chronic pain, though.

 

[Turgon]

Thanks for sharing Shijing! I'm going to try and listen to as many of the lectures as possible and hopefully get some summaries posted on here about the main points. I think Sean Croxton is a great host and asks some really good questions, and I'm very interested in learning a bit more about how anti-depressants work, the long-term side-effects, and what the connection is between serotonin, if any.

I'll only be able to watch the series next week - but I'll post summaries as I go along. But it certainly would be good if others are interested to do so too.
I'm especially interested in Nora Gedgaudas lecture on neurofeedback, as I have signed up to do a course in November this year. My main interest is in chronic pain, though.

The Truth About Anti-Depressants with Daniel Kalish is available to watch (along with a few others) so I will check that one out tomorrow and post the summary here afterwards.

 

[Turgon]

Here's the summary from Dr. Kalish' interview

- Neurotransmitters – pre and post synaptic neurons communicate using chemical messengers
- Chemicals within cells release and hit receptor cells when thoughts and feelings occur
- Receptors are important because they fire and send out signal – electrical induction
- Serotonin most popular with current medications – feel good chemical – low S makes you sad, depressed, anxious, etc – improves sleep, sex drive, feeling good
- Dopamine, epinephrine norepiphrime – catocholamines – need balance all 4
- Serotonin constricts blood vessels – inside and outside brain-related
- 95% produced in digestive tract – causes contraction in gut – IBS/Constipation/Diarrhea – Serotonin levels going up and down
- SSRI's job is between cell release and receptor intake – reuptake port/electrochemical vacuum sucks serotonin back into the cell that made it
- Medications block the reuptake so serotonin stays outside the cell where its more biologically active
- Recycling process to original cell is blocked and causes more brain cells to fire
- Problem with too much serotonin hanging out for too long? Yes. Brain pulls serotonin back because it's protected when inside cell
- Broken up when outside by enzymes likes MAO that grabs molecule and destroys it
- Forcing it to stay out of cell – will get degraded and and overall serotonin levels in the body will decrease – every year on an SSRI they will drop
- Have to compensate by taking more SSRI's – increase dosage to compensate
- 1955, 38,000 people diagnosed with depression. 9 million today
- Trend to diagnose it more due to medications but it's worldwide epidemic
- Doesn't buy stress argument
- Increase in toxins and ability of neurotoxins to get into the brain and damage brain cells – diet as well
- Can cause neurotoxin load from generation to generation
- Neurotransmitters can get depleted – multiple reasons – not eating enough protein – bad digestion – emotional stress/emotional problems
- 450,000 veterans have PTSD and traumatic brain injury/head trauma causes same damage as neurotoxins
- After produced in the gut, serotonin goes into platelets
- Platelets responsible for coagulation – holds on to serotonin which is a vasoconstrictor
- Dumped during a cut so wound can heal
- When on Anti-depressants for 3 weeks, 80-90% of all serotonin outside the brain are depleted
- The Re-uptake ports are on platelets and they are stripped as well
- Reason for so many side-effects
- Blood Brain Barrier – Neurochemicals made inside the brain are exclusively for the brain, what's made outside the brain stays outside
- Important for lab testing – urine lab testing doesn't match what's produced in the brain
- Metabolites – serotonin broken down in brain and then released in body
- Serotonin comes out of urine but it's made locally in kidneys, not in brain-related
- Urine tests don't work
- For accurate Brain serotonin levels – have to get cerebral spinal fluid or gain access to brain
- Anti-depressants came from seeing mood change in tuberculosis patients
- Original set of drugs inhibited enzymes that broke down neurochemicals
- Later started using drugs that blocked the re-uptake
- Current research shows SSRI's are effective between 8%-13% of the time
- Supposed to be use for people with major depression – for that small segment of people it may work but SSRI's used for mild cases works in small cases
- 3/4 times higher effect from placebo than the actual medication
- Deep down, it's people healing through the belief (placebo)
- Placebo effect grows over time
- Anti-depressants work with people with major depression – needs to be used with the right people
- How do they work? Four theories
- Theory One - Low in serotonin or dopamine, take monoamise hypothesis – take drugs, improves neurochemical and you get better
- Major disconnect with low serotonin theory – why does it take so long for drug to work – weeks/days/months
- Second theory – problem is high serotonin – receptors see a high level of serotonin getting higher so they (receptors) slow down
- Similar to insulin resistance
- Third theory – High serotonin but down-regulation of auto-receptor is the problem
- Cell creates 100 units of serotonin, auto-receptor see's that and sends signal back to cell to stop making more
- Gauges levels in the environment, sees more serotonin and tells cells to shut down because of it
- Fourth Theory – Thinks it's damage to receptors that are the problem
- Doesn't matter if serotonin is high or low – what matters is condition of post-synaptic neurons
- Trauma/brain damage/inflammation from the gut can cause damage
- Example, you have100 PSN's – 50 are damaged so double the input of the 50 that work to restore normal balance
- You can have normal serotonin levels but damaged post synaptic neurons which can cause problems
- Removing neuro-toxins, detox protocols, flush out toxins, protect brain cells and restore normal neurotransmitter levels with different nutrients can help repair
- Think there are some people low in serotonin – go on paleo diet, get rid of gut bug, go gluten free and there depression is gone – there was a deficiency that's restored
- Believe it's a combination of theory 1, 4 and genetics
- No net increase in serotonin on SSRI's, they are just outside the cell instead of inside
- Because enzymes break neurochemicals down outside cell, every year, the total number of serotonin in the brain drops
- Depressed people on medication and without – who is better in the long run?
- People who take medications for initial depression are at double the risk of having a second episode
- People who are depressed but didn't take medication usually come out after 6-12 months naturally
- Unmedicated people have half the chance of getting depression later on
- Steve Hyman – receptors can change permanently from taking these drugs
- Cocaine, speed, heroine are understood better than prescription medications
- Don't stop taking meds suddenly – need a psychiatrist and alternative medicine to bring the levels back up using supplements and then taper off drugs
- Amino acid therapy, cofactors, b6, calcium, vitamin C, 5HTP, tyrosine, depending on what chemical imbalance is being created from the medications
- Exercise is as effective as anti-depressants for people with mild depression, not major depression
- Does 1-2 hours of meditation everyday
- Not a happy person without it
- When taking away major depressive tendencies, it's normal to go through ups and downs and traumas
- Spiritual disconnection at the core of why people are turning to drugs
- Emotional connection and work, having a community of support makes people resistant to this

 

[Gaby]

That is interesting, thank you for the synopsis. I'm not sure, but I think some researchers underestimate the role of the vagus nerve's input to the brain. Some chemicals might not cross the blood brain barrier, but 90% of the vagus fibers are afferent, giving input to the brain from the second brain (the gut). This affects the brain, regardless if some neurotransmitter's reach the brain or not.

My 2 cents!

 

[Turgon]

That is interesting, thank you for the synopsis. I'm not sure, but I think some researchers underestimate the role of the vagus nerve's input to the brain. Some chemicals might not cross the blood brain barrier, but 90% of the vagus fibers are afferent, giving input to the brain from the second brain (the gut). This affects the brain, regardless if some neurotransmitter's reach the brain or not.

My 2 cents!

The importance of EE and meditation. I came across an article talking about metabolic types as well as slow and fast oxidizers and it had this to say about autonomic types that are able to maintain equilibrium even with blood sugar swings through regulation of the nervous system.

_http://www.bloodph.com/articles/krebs-cycle.asp

The Autonomic Types
All humans produce energy through the Krebs cycle, but in the Autonomic Metabolic Types this process is overshadowed by the action of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), in collaboration with the endocrine system. Accordingly, the Autonomic types (Sympathetics and Parasympathetics) are not so dependent on the Krebs cycle as the Oxidative types for their sense of well-being. This accounts for a phenomenon commonly noted by practitioners of Metabolic Typing. Fast Oxidizers process glucose very rapidly. After ingesting the glucose challenge drink during the Metabolic Typing testing protocol, the blood sugar levels of a Fast Oxidizer will rapidly rise, then fall in a sharp curve. As the blood sugar crashes, so too does the individual's sense of energy and well-being. An Autonomic Sympathetic, however, can exhibit a similar or even identical blood sugar curve to the Fast Oxidizer, but the Sympathetic individual is generally unaffected when the blood sugar levels plummet; in fact, in many cases the sense of well-being will even increase. This phenomenon, which is at first quite baffling, is simply explained by the dominance principle. The metabolism of the Sympathetics is primarily driven by the activity of the autonomic nervous system, rather than by the oxidative system, so the dynamic energy of the sympathetic branch of the nervous system carries them through a blood sugar crash that would sink a Fast Oxidizer.

Added: From what I got from the article is that with all the blood sugar swings, it's kind of akin to different I's coming to the surface in response to chemical changes in the body and brain, and that regulating the nervous system and activating the vagus nerve in response to this is like having a more permanent self or I running the horse and carriage when there are bumps in the road.

 

[shijing]

Thanks Turgon for your summary of Dr. Kalish's interview, and anyone else who might be able to do one of these -- it's hard to watch all of them in the allotted timeframe unless you happen to have a lot of free time at your disposal.

I was able to take notes on Ben Lynch's presentation yesterday on MTHFR/other genetic mutations and their relationship to depression:

seekinghealth.org, seekinghealth.com, MTHFR.net

Depression is a symptom that something is wrong – a sign that some kind of neurological dysfunction is going on in your head. Causes of depression: stress (oxidative stress) causes glutathione/antioxidant levels to drop; diet – only protein leads to serotonin deficiency from lack of tryptophan (leafy greens are important); lack of sleep; genetics.

We can be born predisposed to depression. Lynch’s methylation enzyme works at only 30-40% capacity (he’s compound heterozygous). When he was young, he’d carb-load, listen to depressing music, sleep in. Depression was gradual; had a good childhood, but had demanding parents who demanded that he excel, but had anxiety with performance. He became free of depression because he learned how to take care of himself.

Genetic mutations don’t mean that you’re predestined to be depressed. Epigenetics (influenced by diet, environment, etc) are the software that control the genes (MTHFR) which will influence whether you develop depression or not. Looking at family history: schizophrenia, impression, anxiety, etc, can be a good way to figure out if you’re predisposed to depression.

There are five or six steps in getting from raw folate to the final product your body needs, and MTHFR is the last step. The first thing that goes into creating MTHFR is folate (best natural source is leafy greens). Folate is at the top, and it needs to be converted to methylfolate (the most common form of folate in the blood). MTHFR mutations prevent conversion of folate into methylfolate. It’s handed off along with methylcobalamin (the most active form of B12 which tag-teams with methylfolate); those two support the production of SAMe, the primary methyl donor in the body. SAMe is a great antidepressant – it works on making dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and melatonin (these interact with depression, ADHD, insomnia, etc).

In USA, 60% of people have some kind of MTHFR mutation. 1/3 of depression is caused by methylfolate deficiency.

What to do?:

1. Eat leafy greens (preferably organic) – they contain several forms of folate, including methylfolate (no folic acid in greens).

2. Avoid folic acid (often included in enriched foods). Folic acid blocks methylfolate from binding with cell receptors, preventing methylfolate from getting into cells.

3. Supplement with methylfolate – this allows conversion of SAMe and other neurotransmitters.

Physicians should have a baseline genetic panel for all patients. MTHFR doesn’t just affect depression – it also impacts diabetes, cardiovascular health, etc. Antidepressants don’t work very well. 60% of people fail on SSRIs the first time. Doctors can also look at homocysteine levels, folate levels (serum or especially RBC). This will show whether or not methylfolate is getting into cells, and will also show excess levels of folic acid. Also check serum B12, because methylfolate and methylcobalamin work in tandem, and a lot of the population is B12 deficient. You can get all the methylfolate you need, but without methylcobalamin conversion doesn’t work. If B12 is low, supplement with methylcobalamin – also eat red meat.

A doctor will regularly prescribe methylfolate, and for many people depression lifts; other people will become irritated or have seizures and go to ER. RDA of folic acid is 400 mcg, but a doctor might prescribe 7.5-15 mg of methylfolate. Successful outcome most common if mutation is homozygous; also depends on other mutations. Genes for building receptors can be messed up; genes for carrying methylfolate can also be messed up. One reason for complications is that autoimmunity causes folate receptor antibodies. The number one cause for folate receptor antibodies is dairy products -- if people aren’t responsive to methylfolate, they should get off of dairy.

Heterozygous mutation (one copy) – 40% reduced capacity of conversion. Homozygous mutation (two copies, one from each parent) – 70% reduced capacity of conversion. The latter cases are more complicated.

Other Mutations

There are a couple of other important mutations besides MTHFR. MAO-A transforms 5-HTP into serotonin and also effects the conversion of norepinephrine; a MAO-A mutation prevents that. Other enzymes require SAMe to convert serotonin into melatonin, so this also interferes with melatonin production and affects sleep. MAO-A is an X-linked gene, so women can burn through 5-HTP twice as fast as men, and are therefore more susceptible to depression than men because MAO-A clears 5-HTP twice as fast as men. If you’re a woman who already clears 5-HTP quickly, and you have a MAO-A mutation, then you’re very likely to be deficient in 5-HTP and that will lead to depression.

MAO-A controls serotonin – if an SSRI is prescribed, serotonin stays in brain longer; if there’s not enough serotonin in the beginning, there’s nothing to preserve in the first place. 5-HTP, along with B6, is involved in serotonin production. If 5-HTP doesn’t affect you, you’re probably deficient in B6; you need to take both. People with MAO-A mutation might need to take 5-HTP three times a day. However, once you do this, SSRIs can cause serotonin overload in conjunction with 5-HTP with bad side effects. You should get off of SSRIs first (do with doctor) before you start treating with 5-HTP and B6. If you try SSRIs and they don’t help you, you might be low in folate. This is because folate helps with SAMe conversion, which then gets converted to serotonin.

CBS mutations are the number one cause of elevated homocysteine (risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and depression). When CBS is too slow, it blocks neurotransmitter production.

MTHFR and CBS mutations – conversion too slow; MAO-A mutation – conversion too fast.

These can all be tested for with genetic tests. Test for one gene at a time – Quest, LabCorp. Make sure insurance will pay for it. If not, Spectrocell (sp?) Labs, Molecular Testing Labs, 23andme (about $100) or Doctor’s Data (about $350). Testing for one gene at a time is better than getting it all at once from 23andme – it’s better to treat one mutation at a time. If someone has a mutation, they’re susceptible to depression – not guaranteed to be depressed.

seekinghealth.org/depression/ – Ben Lynch will put together a tutorial about depression that goes into more depth.

 

[shijing]

Here are the notes that I took last night for Corey Schuler's interview, Damage Control for Anxiety and Panic Attacks:

metabolictreatmentcenter.com

Trained as a chiropractor. Learned to connect different causes to different symptoms instead of just compartmentalizing.

Anxiety can just be inner tension, a brooding sensation – not obvious on the outside. Can express itself as making poor eating choices or binging. Everyone should have anxiety sometimes – it becomes a problem when it interferes with your life. Panic attacks mean it’s gotten really bad, but there’s not a strict definition of them. Remember that anxiety won’t kill you, and you will get through it.

Initial effects of anxiety: physiology gone awry, like any major imbalance (inflammation, dehydration, blood sugar dysregulation) – these can also exacerbate anxiety. We all have a set-point – it’s probably genetic, and has to do with how fast you turn over acetylcholine. Burning it out contributes to a higher set-point. Acetylcholine works on muscle contraction; muscle droop is a sign of deficiency, so is Parkinson’s.

Study in the ‘80s – researchers thought hypoglycemia caused anxiety. They injected subjects with insulin, but it didn’t necessarily cause anxiety. If someone is not predisposed, other issues won’t tip them over. Anxiety events are actually 8 or 12 hours long. It’s good to have tools set up, although not everyone needs to do all of them: hydrate, add micronutrients (i.e. Himalayan salt – mix in water or use in bath), magnesium (i.e. magnesium glycinate – choose the kind of magnesium based on symptoms).

Exercise is the first thing recommended – high-intensity interval training is best, but can also do cardio and low-impact long-term exercise. People with musculoskeletal problems shouldn’t jog/run. Breathing exercises are great for some people, but sometimes people need to be coached. Need to exhale long and slowly, like breathing through a long tube. If you can breathe out for 15 seconds, it’s a long exhale, but don’t want to do that for too long. Diaphragmatic breathing is good. Don’t want to develop respiratory alkalosis, so it’s important to breathe in enough too.

Two recommendations he hates to give but that people sometimes need to do:

1. Food restrictions (i.e. eggs, gluten)
2. Cut out coffee

Caffeine metabolizes into paraxanthine and theobromine. Decaf coffee has to go through several processes that are kind of disgusting – it shouldn’t even exist on the planet. Caffeine may not be the problem with anxiety – it could be acids, not sure yet. If coffee doesn’t keep you awake at night, or if it makes you super-wired in the morning, both situations mean coffee isn’t being metabolized properly – indicates a liver problem. Coffee needs to be weaned off of slowly – start by diluting more and more over time. Dandelion tea is a good replacement.

Anxiety is both psychiatric and metabolic. We don’t completely understand the physiology of it. There are some people who are fine physically, but still experiencing anxiety. One patient is recovering from several disorders including migraines, but one of the last things to go is the anxiety. 2/3 of people with eating disorders have anxiety, and it can precede the eating disorder.

Supplements for blood sugar:

1. berberine (500 mg 3x day) – fasting insulin goes down, waist circumference goes down, etc.
2. chromium: mixed studies, but probably need to go fairly high (1200 mcg per day).
3. ALA is another good one for people with diabetes – can go high – start dosing at 600 mg, and can go as high as 1800 mg without much of a problem.

Inflammation: curcumin is the best.

Timing and food preparation is individualized. High-fat/ketogenic breakfast is good; Mediterranean diet for lunch to get antioxidants; fiber-rich foods for dinner. Fat goes down throughout day, fiber goes up, and protein stays constant – insulin improves with this plan. High-fat breakfast can be bacon/eggs. Vegans can make a shake with MCT and olive oil. Chocolate mixed with olive oil creates a ‘deli’ flavor.

Hemoglobin (A1C) is used to measure diabetic blood sugar in the progress of disease. Uses rolling average over 3-4 months. Used recently to diagnose type 2 diabetes – score of over 6.5 is a problem.

Sensory overload: Pre-Pulse Inhibition (sensory gating) – our filter that allows us to make sense of sensory data. A place like Las Vegas has everything set perfectly to overwhelm the system. People with PTSD and schizophrenics both have PPI issues; also people with ADHD. Recent trial on L-theanine – 200-400 mg is good to bring up PPI. Sometimes external stimulants can be removed, or at least controlled.

Constipation – people with anxiety often have it, but reason is not known. It may be a triage (prioritization) effect – magnesium is a good start to help. Do 50-75% of what it takes to reach tolerance. Glutamine makes constipation worse, but it’s helpful for people with diarrhea or those who bounce back and forth between the two. You can get dependent on stimulant herbs for regulating bowel movement – magnesium is better, especially with vitamin C and making sure you drink enough water. You should be urinating every 2-3 hours – light yellow stream is best.

Gut flora/microbiome issues can contribute to anxiety. Anxiety precedes changes to the microbiome -- it’s like a nuclear bomb to the microbiome. Replacement is needed – anything from probiotics to fecal transplants, depending on how bad the damage is.

Food sensitivity testing: doesn’t recommend IgG anymore. Cyrex labs is ahead of the game, but there are still false negatives and positives. Elimination diets are the best.

Recommends GABA – pharma GABA is supposed to cross the blood-brain barrier better. GABA molecules are big, and success with GABA can indicate a leaky blood-brain barrier. Doesn’t rely a lot on amino acids -- there’s a lot of micro-managing with amino acids. Prefers essential oils -- lavender oil works really well for generalized anxiety disorder – one or two softgels a day (80-160 mg).

 

[truth seeker]

PMS, PCOS AND POSTPARTUM: A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO DEPRESSION (Alisa Vitti, HHC)

She begins the talk with "hormonal inflection cycles" (puberty, perimenopause, post menopause, etc). The idea is basically that women have different times in their lives where there are fluctuations in the hormone patterns during the lifespan. These are time when women may be emotionally vulnerable (anxiety, etc).

Although there are different diagnosis given, Vitti thinks the underlying causes are essentially the same. These would include elevated levels of estrogen which causes a disruption in the hormonal cascade that interrupts the cycle, micronutrient deficiencies in the diet that affect the brain, elevated levels of homocystine, which all together may make someone susceptible to depression.

She discusses how excess estrogen causes inflammation and how the microbiome contains certain bacteria which manufactures enzymes that in addition to breaking down other substances also breaks down estrogen. If the diet doesn't support the good gut flora balance, then inflammation occurs. The resulting inflammation then prevents the gut from absorbing nutrients and suppresses the production of mood stabilizing neurotransmitters.

Hormone levels don't act in isolation. Estrogen and progesterone levels are closely bonded. In the cases of PCOS, fibroids and endometriosis, etc, the levels of estrogen are much greater and the gap between the two result in mood destabilization.

Within a 30 day period, the brain chemistry of a woman is shifting by 25% throughout the month. She also attributes postpartum depression to the dropoff off hormone levels as well as possible lack of sleep and depletion of nutrients from diet.

Some hormonal shifts predisposing women to depression:

Puberty which is roughly a 10 year process (as is menopause)
PCOS
PMS
Fibroids
Endometriosis
Menopause


The 2 “magic bullet” supplements for maximizing your mood.

Magnesium (glycinate form is more bioavailable and less of a laxative effect)
Folic acid (methylated form helps with mthfr mutation)

The big problem with birth control.

Birth control suppresses the body's natural hormone production which affects mood.

Vitti also touches upon the emotional causes of depression and suggests that people investigate what underlying issues there may be. In other words, what might someone be suppressing or not acknowledging in their lives that are at the root of their depression. How can we better engage with life?

Personal note: I'm not so sure if she was on point with some of her paleo dietary suggestions (like sunflower seeds) but perhaps some of the information she gave about hormones will be helpful to some.

 

[Shared Joy]

Information about the Nora Gedgaudas interview
NEUROFEEDBACK – REWIRE YOUR BRAIN. NUTRION. KETO-DIET

She had a long years of depression during her teens, was on antidepressants for 1 year.
History of autoimmune diseases running in her family, also bad nutritional habits.

Depression is considered a psychological disease - of course it helps reintegrate issues and to learn about yourself, but it doesn't tell you much about the physiological effects.
Depression moods are cumulative, so once getting in , you have higher probability to fall deeper on a downway spiral. Learned helplessness follows.
Depression is not a state of idle hanging around, but iota's truly a period of constant efforting: you are stuck , you get exhausted trying to make things work, but your attempts tend to be inefficient. So, why bother?

About neurofeedback
The brain is an electrical device which perceives the electrical depolarization of cells. These charge changes could be observed and changed by an act of informed will
So EEG c could be a good training tool for timing of the mechanism and to see what the brain is doing, how the neural network got disregulated. Brain can get the right info, so it can fix the problem.
It is considered, that during depression, the left prefrontal cortex isn’t active enough
Therefore the right prefrontal cortex is overactive, thus the patient is going also through an anxiety crisis simultaneously.

During depression, the brain fires up and can't calm down.
Inflammation also leads to everarousal.
Lack of minerals, electrolytes, dehydration, high blood sugars also exacerbate the problem.
She said that she experienced relief of this tension after the second NFB session, though she continued for another 40 sessions, to get the situation stabilized. It's hard to convince the brain that is not in mortal danger, as much of the processes go on in the subconscious.
You can't separate the bioelectricity and the biochemistry of brain, as they are interrelated.
NFB gives the brain the right info to regulate itself. Therefore the patient should observe himself after the session for changes. One should keep refining the results until the cumulative beneficial effect manifests and is consolidated.
Brain training is the switch which could get you out of the depression/anxiety cycle.

Diet is equally importants!
It is imperative that the healthcare personnel should have done their work properly, as textbook approaches doesn't really help.
Blood sugar disregulation has profound effect on both mood and immune system, because of the inflammation process it generates in the body. In response, the body produces interferon which has a dampening effect on the production of cortisone and neurotransmitters.
Therefore more of the same happens:
- Low immunity,
- High cytokines
- Bacterial, parasitic infections
- Food sensitivities,
The sum of which is that one becomes More vulnerable: what is important is to trace what was the disregulation and the cause of it, not just interfere randomly.

The importance of environmental issues:
- heavy metals, molds, fungi,chemicals in the household.
- The importance of gut bacteria, gut heath, disbiosys, SIBO, etc
- Brain and gut rise from the same tissue during embryonic development and are linked via the vagus nerve, therefore the big picture should always be considered.

It is important to address functional anemia first. Then:
- Metabolism should be analyses (triglycerides, cholesterol, etc)
- The microbiome of the large and small intestines – gas, bloating after meals could indicate SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth)
- Before removing amalgams, check whether the blood-brain barrier is healthy, othervise the mercury could affect the brain!
Keto diet
Fat should be the primal source of energy
Rely on non inflammatory foods such as: Omega 3 (Krill oil)
Turmeric is the best antiinflamatory which can even cross the blood-brain barrier)
5HTP for mood disorders, also production of gastric acid
Always take vitamins in combination, like
- B complex
- When taking Selenium methionine with vitamine E, add some vitamine K as it doesn't work alone.
- She also emphasize the role of Sulphur (garlic, Onion)
Testing is also important to know exactly what is happening, to get a clear picture about what should be done, and place yourself under the guidance of a trainend personnel.

Ok, this is just a short summary, hope it's understandable, and will be of help to someone.
Joy

 

[Turgon]

Here's Matt Sanders talk: How to Lift a Heavy Mind

Sean Croxton's therapist. Has mainly been working with men, centering around depression and addiction – the heavier lifting. How men experience life, how they struggle and how to move ourselves into better relationships and ways of living.

We've all been sad, downhearted and heavy in the mind – loss, grief, etc, that feel traumatic. But what is the difference between daily life struggles/the human condition as opposed to this emotional flu that permeates and doesn't let us go. This is the difference between sadness that comes and goes and a negativity that sticks in our brain.

It's tough to know the exact numbers, but roughly 10% of the population suffer from depression in the US, and about 120-150 million people worldwide. The percentage in the US may be higher in lower income neighbourhood's where additional stressors exist. 1/3 of all people who are depressed don't even have access to help, so doing something about will either be home remedy's or denial about it. Half of people who do have access to mental health help don't seek aid.

Women are more likely to seek help because men try to knock it down and hide it underneath addiction, bad relationships, poor choices in the context of family like having affairs. All kinds of things to push back this notion that things are bad inside. What we are really dealing with, is how to identify what's going on inside of us and how to make our way out of that.

Two of the 3 P's of depression is persistence and pervasive – it goes on for weeks and months without changing. It permeates the person's entire life – an underlying deep negativity running through everything. Men especially, try to submerge that negative feeling and push a costume or armor up to try and engage people, even though it is a tremendous effort. Once they are in a situation where the people are gone and they can relax, they collapse and don't want to see anyone.

Normal human connection, and all that we do in order to stay connected, feel love and have that presence and feel alive, is gone. It hurts to be around people, to be asked questions – everything is prickly. It feels like they can see it, so you push down fear, shame and the exposure of being weak. It's a rough go for people who are trying to hide their depression and unable to talk about it. The last P is powerful. It takes control and your grit away from you, so you feel cowardly in many ways.

Men usually will sabotage themselves with outbursts and it's usually things like ended relationships or work issues that will push them to seek help. When people look at you it's like they don't know you anymore. You don't feel yourself and they can see it.

It's hard to understand where depression comes from. Ancestrally, we overestimate danger. Generally, if you have 8 negative events, you're in crisis. And it generally takes 8 positive events to counteract the feeling in the brain of just one of those negative events. We had to overestimate danger during ancient times. It kept you alive if you heard a rustling in the woods and it turned out to be a lion. That's why people who are deeply negative have trouble shifting that. Some people can easily shake things off, others don't. Genetic predispositions and environment can have an impact on this.

The best we can hope for is to be one of those people that can shake things off. If you are too positive it can be inauthentic and one has to wonder if they are presenting what they are really feeling, although there are generally optimistic people.

Negative incidences occur and we weight and put meaning them in daily life. Becomes a problem when depressed because will take things personally because you will store this as evidence that the world is out to get you. The person becomes paralyzed from this emotional fatigue and wants to close the shades and stay in bed. However, light releases serotonin in the brain, due to slight dilation of the pupils.

If someone has extreme depression, flipping the switch is a long process and requires pushing into behaviours you don't want to do. One step at a time. Things are already painful so take slow steps. The person that sleeps and stays under the covers is seeking comfort to the point of debilitation. Try and get up earlier and do things that require a bit of a struggle, i.e. Cold showers. A walk in Nature helps. Anything that creates an emotional epiphany or novelty in the brain.

You want to tap into at least some of the pleasure centers in the brain through SSRI's (for extreme cases) to tap into and turn on that light – akin to a foothold into that next level so they can go for walks, see their friends, and make the changes in your life.

Sean was on Paxxel for a year and they helped him to get out of depression and start participating more in life. This was before he discovered Amino Acid Therapy. He worked a lot on negative self-talk and dissecting it, realizing not all of it was necessarily true. Question the dialogue and what it's telling you day-to-day. This is why it's important not to isolate yourself because if you run the tape over and over in your head, you need someone else' help be a positive mirror for you or present a different reality.

Belief systems are easy to come by because they are foisted on us, and they aren't always true. Mostly they aren't. Given to us as children and we are stuck with them. They can chip away at identity and esteem. By getting down in the muck and discussing the distortions with a neutral party, someone you trust, is important.

Do's and Dont's

Since depression involves intense fatigue, getting proper sleep is important. Also, performing small rituals in the morning that involves self-care, like shaving, taking a shower, doing some stretching. Also, doing something new and different mid-day such as taking a walk with a friend, trying new food, anything to stimulate a novel response. Get lot's of vitamin D and sun exposure, and don't do anything past 10pm. It's normal for some people to have a late night and recover from it easily, but not if you suffer from depression. Recommends some chamomile tea with honey to help induce REM sleep, which is where cell repair occurs. Not just emotional but also physical.

Don't isolate yourself. Find someone who you are comfortable with, maybe a person who has gone through depression as well that may understand. Or even just being around people for a short period of time so you start to feel something. Don't insulate yourself by diving into much alcohol and numbing yourself. Avoid the ups and downs. If you're drinking on top of taking SSRI's or while depressed, you will be a mess.

Don't perseverate or ruminate excessively. Need someone to challenge your back and forth mental pacing, running the same track over and over again. The same belief system that's not working for you.

Dealing with Relationship Endings

Love hits us in a pleasurable place – captures opiates in the brain. Serotonin is the needs (food, shelter), dopamine are wants – thinks that we are interested in, and love has it all – it's the big hammer in the brain that hits all those marks. When love goes it leaves a mark on the heart – grief, loss, questioning who we are. Testosterone also drops due to uncertainty, as well as the role of archetypes – hero, coward – recommends getting testosterone checked out. Women tend to, see, feel and talk about a breakup much sooner than men.

Courtship is easy and fun, it's the relationship that is hard. There is bonding and attachment that occurs through the conflict. If you are trying to understand someone you are trying to share a reality with that other person. When they look at you and are disappointed or judge, that's when you can see your own attachment issues. You may feel resentment towards them and want to judge them back – harsh conflict as opposed to saying “Hey, I get you're disappointed. I'm going to do what I can to work on without disappearing in me. I do want to make you happy.” This is a different way of handling it, and that kind of vulnerability leads to arousal and connection.

Tries to diffuse the drama from it so there is more intimate contact. Letting the other person know you're hurt but that you don't want the argument to be more important than the relationship requires setting aside the ego. Relationships aren't about rescuing the damsel or slaying dragons – they are about sharing a reality with another person.

Had Sean read a book called He. It's a hero's journey. Life shapes us along the way – we have deep losses and can lose ourselves along the way. Talks about the archetypes that we encounter and how we are searching for that 'right' person to mirror us.

Action Steps

I'd try to get into the mind of that person. As they are lying down underneath the covers, give them a small step to take.

What one thing can I do or say to myself that would make me feel purposeful?
What one thing can I do tomorrow to make me feel connected to life?
Who do I care about in life?
Who cares about me?

An inner dialogue so you can begin to search for a foothold.

The outer things to do, I'm absolutely going to get up at this time tomorrow, no matter how painful it is. I'm going to take a cool shower to alert my body that I've been in a fog, and I'm going to wake up. Put other rungs out there. Who you want to see, what you want to do, to reconnect with what's purposeful in life, because the depressed person has lost contact with that.

Talks a bit about his website _www.mattsandersconsult.com and his philosophy on attempting to take clients from past history and trauma to setting goals and aims. Needs to visit their for a short time but not revisit, adding canals to old wounds.

 

[truth seeker]

BONUS Session: Depression and The Menstrual Cycle (Nicole Jardim)

Young girls are feeling more depression than their adult counterparts due to the impact of social media, media in general, etc. They have unique hormonal challenges like psychological stress which can disrupt the menstrual cycle as well as influence earlier development.

Earlier development can affect the girls in terms of body shame due to not being adequately prepared for puberty at a younger age. The onus is on parents to school the child in terms of body literacy.

Girls have a tendency to internalize stress as opposed to boys who externalize it.

Birth control pills can result in a deficit in hormonal production resulting in depression as well of physical symptoms. IUD's birth, control shots can also affect mood.

Thyroid hormones act throughout the body influencing metabolism, growth in the the body, body temperature, etc. During infancy and childhood adequate thyroid hormone is crucial for brain development. Brain cells have more t3 receptors than any other other tissue. This means that proper uptake of thyroid hormone is essential for the brain cells to work properly.

Thyroid dysfunction is associated with a range of thyroid abnormalities including irregular period, amenorrhea (no period), or heavy periods.

The thyroid is connected to the menstrual cycle and ultimately moods. One is through pregnenalone (the mother hormone). It's the precursor to progesterone, estrogen, etc. Pregnenalone produces progesterone. Progesterone, in turn, is needed to make the thyroid run properly. So it's like a cycle/loop. If progesterone is low, hormone imbalances can occur which affect the thyroid and can result in PCOS, PMS, infertility, abnormal bleeding, etc.

So if thyroid function is being suppressed by the birth control pill, high cortisone due to stress, not enough nutrients or the right ones to support thyroid function, then there's low thyroid function and low sex hormone production which puts us at risk for mental and emotional disorders.

Jardim suggests having a full thyroid panel as opposed to a tsh. The markers for a full thyroid panel include:

tsh, free t3, free t4, reverse t3, and tpo which is thyroid peroxidase. Tsh only addresses the communication between the brain and the thyroid. It doesn't tell you what the thyroid is doing when it "talks" to the brain. It doesn't convey how much of what hormone the thyroid is producing. So the tsh isn't comprehensive enough.

With t3 ans t4, you want them to be in the upper half of the ranges you get from a doctor. Tsh should be in the lower range.

One of the first things women can do is look at their blood sugar levels. Is it chronically unstable? Is that caused by diet or stress? Hormone levels are dependent upon insulin levels. Methylated B vitamins are helpful as well. Managing stress is also important.

Post menopausal women experiencing symptoms may be helped by b and d vitamins.

Excess estrogen feeds fibroids and endometriosis so staying away from synthetic estrogens is important.

 

[bianca etezete]

thank you very much for posting this. I read about it some time ago but it slipped my mind... I kinda missed some things I would have been interested in - but there is so much still to come! Again: thank you!