Mental Health

In cases of mental illness, medication can have its place. If your symptoms are severe, the proper medication can ease your suffering. But what if you find yourself in the dilemma where your doctor has not found an effective medication for you or the side effects outweigh the benefits? Then you might want to explore other avenues. Please do so with caution and under the watchful care of your physician. Please understand that herbs and meds often do not mix. Some natural substances to be avoided by those taking medication can include primrose oil, St. John's Wort, Valerian, kava kava, and gotu kola. Also be aware that just because it is a natural substance doesn't mean that it is safe and not without side effects.Sometimes just changing your lifestyle, by adhering to strict health principles, is enough so that you can cut down on medication and eventually get off of them entirely. This is more often not the case. I have known people who have tried every herb in the book and still could not get true relief. Although other people have reported good results wtih kava kava, valerian and GABA with B-vitamins including inositol helpful in cases of anxiety. This no doubt in part due to the fact that we are all individuals requiring different things at different times, but it can also be due to the lack of quality of the products being used.  Nevertheless more than general health principles and an herb or two is generally required. 

Tracking and eliminating allergens and toxins can be an important part of recovery.There are many ways to detoxify the system. You don't need to purchase expensive items to do so. A master cleanse and a few 7 day rounds of colloidal bentonite and phyllium cleanses a year will do wonders to help clear the body of accumulated waste and will help you lose weight as well. Just make sure you get the approval of your doctor before doing anything.   Probiotics are important as well.  These are all subjects in themselves which should be addressed individually.

Actress Margot Kidder, who played in such films as Black Christmas, The Great Waldo Pepper, The Amityville Horror, and Lois Lane in the 1978 film Superman, suffered from bipolar illness for many years before curing her condition with amino acids such as GABA, L-taurine, tryptophan and other natural substances. If you are afflicted with this condition you might want to explore this option by checking out the following website: http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/aminobipolar.htm

The Natural Medicine Guide to Bipolar Disorder book by Stephanie Marohn describes mental illness as being the result of an imbalance of the body, mind and spirit and discusses alternative treatments involving cranial osteopathy, homeopathy and other methods of treatment.

John Nash, who inspired the movie A Beautiful Mind in which Russell Crowe played the lead, recovered from paranoid schizophrenia without the use of psychotropic drugs. You can catch Nash being interviewed on the following website: http://beyondmeds.com/2011/01/10/johnnashvideo/