(Natural News) If you suffer from anxiety or develop occasional panic attacks marked by bouts of hyperventilation, you could merely be experiencing the side effects of an underlying nutrient deficiency that is easily correctable. This definitely appears to have been the case with 21 people who participated in a recent study based out of Japan, which identified a lack of both vitamin B6 and iron among participants who experienced panic or hyperventilation attacks.
Some doctors balk at the idea of trying to change a patient’s personality, but a new study suggests that they’re doing it already
Programs for mentally ill U.S. teens and adults achieve positive outcomes in behavioral and emotional health, skills, employment and education, officials say.
Bad habits like skimping on sleep, drinking too much, or nursing grudges can undermine our mental health, whether that means a brief episode of the blues or full-blown depression and anxiety.
(via my-lupus-state-of-mind)
i’ve put together a resources page to refer to if you’re sad/stressed and need some help.
if anyone has anything to add to the list, please let me know - i’m glad to credit you.
(Source: sad-alien)
hey tumblings -
I’m sorry I haven’t been posting much…it’s been a weird semester and I am finally feeling semi-normal again. I often forget that while my physical fibro/mold allergy/endo/PCOS body might be feeling alright, that doesn’t necessarily mean the same for my mental health. three new prescriptions, a great psychiatrist, new OB-GYN doc, and a solid stream of ginger peach tea later and I am feeling like words and movements and human connection are possible again.
these things are always, always, always a process.
stay warm & happy new year!
-sarah
"And that is one of the most freeing things in life, realizing that hypercritical people, at their core, are really just afraid. And that we can stop trying to please them. It’s like being let out of prison."
—
Paul Gilmartin, The Mental Illness Happy Hour Podcast, Episode 94
I replayed this quote three times when I heard it, just to let it sink in. In the migraine/chronic pain community, we talk a lot about stigma. It’s one of the worst parts of being a “spoonie,” in my opinion. I heard this on one of my favorite podcasts (free on iTunes!!), and I never thought about that particular viewpoint before.
People who are so judgmental of chronic and pain issues are just scared that someday it might affect them or their loved ones. That maybe someday they’ll be in our shoes. I honestly never thought about it like that, but it’s given me a new perspective on how I might view critical people going into the new year.
What do you think? Are hypercritical people afraid? Are there other explanations?
(via thatmword)
(via goldenrodrunning)
More and more women are exiting the home to work and are feeling the impact of trying to handle family and outside job responsibilities. The result of juggling home life with work life seems to be feelings of unhappiness and depression, as levels of depression in women have reportedly skyrocketed over the last few decades.
At one time, women were considered the happier gender, but not so much anymore. The happiness level of women has dropped drastically since they began to enter the workforce in droves. Research indicates that the number of incidents of depression has doubled since the 1970’s and steadily increased until 1990.
discussions, disclosure, & daring to live differently.
november…you know what that means? talking to people. I’m a staunch introvert, so the beginnings of school years and major holidays with family are a lot of social effort for me. add chronic illnesses (physical health issues and mental illnesses) and I’ve got a nonlinear lifestyle going on here.
and although I struggle with my “different” way of life from time to time, overall I am confident that this is what I need to be doing to keep myself healthy and happy…I live at home with my parents at age 20, commute to college, take limited classes (9 credits this semester), spend my weekends quietly with netflix, tea and my sister, and spend most of my free time going from doctor/appointment to doctor/appointment.
yesterday when I visited my childhood friend’s house and her mother asked me about school, I nodded and smiled and said my classes were going well (I mean, the classes are fine, it’s me that’s gone batshit).
but when she said, “so you’re on track-…a junior like [Friend]”
I was totally caught off guard. “Yeah, yeah, I’m a junior…”
I lied because anything less than in that moment would have been judged, seen as inferior, behind, other. And sometimes we just can’t receive that sort of feedback.
meanwhile, back at home with my own visiting extended family, I was similarly interrogated about classes,
“Yes, yes, I love dance therapy, and poetry, yes, I write and read poems, and my internship class is really informative, yes, I’ll have a site placement next semester”
“That’s all?” they inquire. “Well, that’s not too hard!”, they add to my not convincing face.
I shrug or mumble or if I have the energy come up with something quippy, when really all I want to do is shout “fuck off!” because each and every day is uphill both ways. I’ve had to drop courses and pass in things late and miss class, but I don’t want to tell you that, that’s my fucking business. I have the right to not walk around like an open emotional snowball mess of a shitstorm.
no one has the right to judge your lifestyle or your being. and it’s fucking tough when we’ve got an extra bag totting along with us, filled with reasons and different paths backwards and forwards and side to side, around again, and sometimes we try to share our world, our existence, to show that the fact that I’m 20 and struggling with school each and everyday is acceptable, that it’s okay for me to work one day a week cuz that’s all I can do, and yes, I’m still single, no I’m not happy about it but people tend to shy away from those of us considered “high maintenence” and yes, dance therapy is REAL, no I don’t just lay on the floor, it takes theory and artistry and love to heal others and yourself through dance and movement so why are you looking at me as though this is no real career path? why do you see me and those of us who work one on one with other humans, healing, like a massage therapist or physical therapist or gym teacher or midwife or yoga instructor or art teacher, why do you see us as less than you? and no, I still cannot eat corn or corn products or chocolate or soy so can we please just let it go? can my personal life and wellbeing not be the centerpiece of our conversation?
please? please? otherwise I cannot make it through another family get together, because I refuse to be cross-examined and condemned by you.
I will choose what and when and how to share pieces of my life, my day to day living, and your judgement will not come anywhere near me, cuz I’ve come too far to deal with this crap.
I don’t mean the body acceptance part; I’ve got that part down. I am on my side when it comes to my body. I love my body, and I stick up for it.
But my brain is a different story. I am a person with depression. And anxiety. And a sometimes really amazing amount of just stress, seemingly out of proportion to my situation. I blame this stuff on my brain. There’s something wrong with my wiring, I tell myself. Something in there is off-balance, out of whack, broken.
I think of my brain and myself as broken.
I got denied disability again. The reasons being that I apparently haven’t tried hard enough to get treatment. Despite the fact I have no income or insurance and 90% the reason why I’m seeking disability is so that I can get health care.
Monday I go in to see a psychiatrist and I’m seeing a…
Ugh, I’m so sorry.
This seems to be a theme this week - My withdrawal from a course at school was rejected, due to the last date of withdrawal being september 31st. does no one understand what mental health crisis means? Depression makes no exceptions for bureaucratic bullshit, morons. Neither do chronic illnesses such as fibromyalgia, IBS, endo or PCOS. Chances are if I was capable of noting academic policies, I’d be able to participate in school. There’s a reason I am with the Disability Accommodations office. I already feel like a failure on my own, I don’t need an official F stamped on my transcript to remind me of my struggles. Thanks.
-N-Acetylcysteine_Structural_Formulae.png)
…for PCOS…
PCOS is a common condition that affects up to 10% of all women of reproductive age. It is characterized by enlargement of the ovaries, irregular menstrual cycle, failure to ovulate, obesity, high levels of insulin in the blood and insulin resistance, excessive hair growth (due to increased testosterone), and infertility. More than 50% of all women with PCOS have high insulin levels, which may be a risk factor for diabetes, high blood pressure, blood clots, and heart disease.
There is no cure for PCOS, but doctors often recommend birth control pills, which help decrease the levels of testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, thereby reducing hair growth and shrinking the cysts in the ovaries. However, birth control pills have not been shown to improve insulin resistance. N-acetyl cysteine may be useful in picking up where birth control pills leave off, by increasing insulin sensitivity. While it is possible that birth control pills and NAC could work in conjunction with one another, the interaction between the two treatments is unknown.
…and depressive symptoms of bipolar!
Treatment-resistant subthreshold depression is a major problem in bipolar disorder. Both depression and bipolar disorder are complicated by glutathione depletion. We hypothesized that treatment with N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a safe, orally bioavailable precursor of glutathione, may improve the depressive component of bipolar disorder.
