THE SELF-MANAGEMENT OF ANXIETY: THE IDEA OF REGRESSION

April 29, 2009

Over the ages the mind of man has evolved from relative simplicity to greater and greater complexity. In a similar way the mind of the infant and child works in a much simpler fashion than that of the mature adult. But we, mature adults of the twentieth century, do not keep our minds constantly working at the full capacity of their state of development.

We often let our minds slip back, as it were, and let them work at a simpler stage of developement—at a more primitive level. This is regression. It happens quite normally in our moments of reverie and when we are in the transition between wakefulness and sleep. It also occurs as a result of fatigue or mental illness or drugs or even alcohol. Essential features of regression are that we are less alert and that the critical faculties of our mind are less active. Regression to this kind of more primitive functioning of the mind is an important part of our relaxing mental exercises.

Let us for a moment consider anxiety from the evolutionary point of view. We have already learned enough about it to realize that it is a very complex state. Fear, on the other hand, is a much simpler emotion. We can see animals expressing fear, but it is hard to imagine that animals experience anxiety as we know it. The emotion with its attendant apprehension is too complex for their state of development. In other words, anxiety is a relatively recently acquired function of the mind—something that our prehuman primitive ancestors did not experience. In regression the mind goes back to a simple, primitive way of functioning in which there is an absence of anxiety. This is seen in our everyday experience. In moments of reverie and complete mental relaxation our mind fills with calm, and there is an absence of any feeling of anxiety.

We have discussed the way in which we learn various patterns of response during our life. Now, if we want to learn a new and better response to a certain situation, it is necessary that we first unlearn the old pattern of response. We cannot simply add some new response to the old pattern, or we should develop some quite incongruous reaction. We cannot learn a new habit without first dropping the old one. In other words, before learning a new pattern of response we must first regress, and go back in our mind to the state before the development of the bad pattern of response. In our relaxing mental exercises we do this. We regress to a state of mind free from anxiety, and we are then free to learn the new pattern of calm and ease of mind.

This is the basic reason why explanation and persuasion are generally quite ineffective in helping those with tension. These are logical measures and work at an intellectual level; and they do not allow for the regression which is so necessary. As a result the patient can see the logic of what is explained to him, and he would like to do what we try to persuade him; but he cannot. He just remains as tense and anxious as ever because the all-important regression has been omitted.

In other relaxing techniques which are successful and in which the idea of regression is not actually mentioned, we can safely assume that regression occurs spontaneously without the patient’s knowledge.

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SYMPTOMS OF ARTHRITIS

The most common symptom of arthritis is that the joints at first become painful. The pain can have many degrees of intensity and it can come and go. Sometimes it disappears for months, even years, then it returns again. At first the pain could be a feeling of numbness and stiffness. Sometimes a creaking and cracking of the joints is felt. Often the joints become swollen and inflamed. Pain can be dull but also very severe, occurring mostly at night and in the morning.

It is important to understand that these symptoms, although they may seem to be the very first signals of approaching arthritis, are not at all the first symptoms of the onset of the disease. Arthritis is not a local disease of a particular joint but a systemic disorder, a disease which affects the whole body. It could have taken years and years of abuse to bring about the systemic disturbance in bodily functions which eventually leads to a breakdown of the health and the functions of the joints.

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THE FACTS-THE FIRST SEIZURE AND THE DIAGNOSIS OF EPILEPSY: OTHER CAUSES OF IMPAIRED OXYGEN SUPPLY TO THE BRAIN-VERTIGO

April 28, 2009

Doctors are careful to distinguish true vertigo—a perception of dysequilibrium of the body in its relation to space—from non-specific feelings in the head such as ‘dizziness, or ‘muzziness’ which are so often associated with anxiety and depression. True vertigo is rarely a symptom of a partial seizure in a temporal lobe. Far more common is vertigo due to a disorder of the balancing organ—the labyrinth—lying within the inner ear. The labyrinth may malfunction in an episodic way in both children and adults. In young children the distinction between paroxysmal vertigo and partial seizures may not be easy, as in both the child is frightened, and may either hold on to his mother or fall. The distinction rests on the absence of amnesia or confusion after the attack of benign paroxysmal vertigo, and the presence of abnormal tests of labyrinthine function.

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SEVERE TO CRIPPLING OSTEOARTHRITIS

In Group #4, fourteen subjects presenting with severe to crippling osteoarthritis were supplied with 50 capsules to be taken in two series, two capsules each morning and evening for seven days, with a seven day interval before repeating the same dosage for 5 1/2 2 more days. Three of these subjects were unable to walk and were accustomed to being transported by wheelchairs. The other eleven could move about with crutches, walkers, or canes. All presented with pain, inflammation, and marked deformation of nearly all interphalangeal and large joints. Four presented with limited lumbar flexion and pain in the vertebral column. Ten had difficulty grasping and manipulating common objects.

After four days of treatment ten in this group reported 30% to 50% improvement in articulation and inflammation and about 40% to 60% relief of arthritic pain. In these ten subjects improvement continued rapidly over the next three days, reaching 80% to 100% by the end of seven days. One reported no perceptible change.

On the fourteenth day, at the end of the one week interval without treatment, nine subjects reported continuing minor improvement, four reported maintaining their improved status, and one continued to show no improvement. Treatment was resumed on the fifteenth day for 5 1/2 more days.

By the end of the treatment period eleven subjects reported 80% to 100% relief of pain with a return of 80% to 100% mobility. Two subjects reported 70% to 80% return of articular mobility with a 70% to 90% reduction of arthritic pain. The one non-responsive subject proved to have previous liver damage as a result of sports-related steroid abuse. Further studies are necessary to determine the role of liver function in this protocol.

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CHILDREN’S MENINGITIS: PRECAUTIONS AND TREATMENT

Precautions

• The unnecessary use of antibiotics for an upper respiratory tract infection may mask the onset of meningitis.

• A child who is suffering from exhaustion or extreme weakness, and who has fever and a stiff neck is in danger and should be taken to a medical facility immediately.

Medical treatment

Your doctor will take the child’s complete medical history and perform a thorough examination. The doctor will then order a spinal tap. Spinal fluid will be examined for cells, bacteria, and abnormal chemical components. This is the only way to differentiate between meningitis and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which is also a life-threatening disease. The doctor will also require cultures of the spinal fluid, blood, and nose and throat mucus. Immediately following the spinal tap and cultures your doctor will administer intravenous fluids and antibiotics. If the infecting organism is unknown, the doctor may put the child on two antibiotics at the same time. If the meningitis turns out to be caused by a virus, no antibiotics will be used, since viruses do not respond to antibiotics.

If your child has been in contact with a person with meningococcal or Haemophilus influenzae meningitis, your doctor may choose to administer penicillin, sulphonamide, or rifampin by mouth prevent your child from developing meningitis.

Vaccines against meningococci, pneumococci, and Haemophilius influenzae are available, but they are still in the experimental stage and not currently recommended for general use.

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KEEP YOUR HOMOCYSTEINE LOW

April 23, 2009

Vitamins B6, Â12 and B9 (also called folic acid) are important to keep your blood homocysteine levels low. Elevated homocysteine levels are a major risk factor for heart disease because homocysteine has an abrasive effect on the inner lining of our arteries, initiating inflammation and atherosclerosis. It also makes the formation of blood clots more likely. Folic acid, vitamin Â12 and B6 all work together to keep homocysteine levels low by helping to convert homocysteine into the amino acid methionine.

Good sources of folic acid include oranges, avocados, spinach, asparagus and any green leafy vegetable. Vitamin B6 is found in high concentrations in bananas, salmon, chicken, potatoes and hazelnuts. Good sources of vitamin Â12 are salmon, mussels, crab, beef, chicken and eggs. Betaine is another nutrient found in eggs which is needed to keep homocysteine low.

If you have diagnosed elevated homocysteine levels in your blood, then as well as eating these foods and drinking raw vegetable juices, you will need to take a supplement of these vitamins. An ideal daily dose of each would be 1 000 mcg folic acid, 50mg vitamin B6 and 400mcg vitamin B12.

Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University in the US claim I that diets low in foods containing folate and carotenoids may be a “major contributing factor” to the high rate of heart disease in men and women in Central and Eastern Europe, compared with Western Europe, the US and Asian countries. The researchers found substantially higher death rates

10 heart saving tips you must follow from cardiac disease among men and women, especially men between the ages of 30 and 50 years in Estonia, Hungary, Russia and Lithuania, which correlated with low intakes of folate and carotenoids in their diet. Carotenoids include beta carotene, lycopene, lutein and related compounds found mainly in brightly coloured vegetables.

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NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS FOR FERTILITY: ZINC

Zinc is the most widely studied nutrient in terms of fertility for both men and women. It is an essential component of genetic material, and a zinc deficiency can cause chromosome changes in either the man or the woman, leading to reduced fertility and an increased risk of miscarriages.

Zinc is necessary for the body to attract and hold the reproductive hormones, oestrogen and progesterone.

Zinc also plays a vital role in cell division so it is especially important that adequate levels are available at the time of conception. When couples go for IVF treatment, and the egg has been fertilised, the doctors have to wait until it divides sufficiently before it is put back in the woman. If the cell division is inadequate then that fertilised egg will not be used. This same cell division takes place during natural conception and it also requires good levels of zinc. If levels are not optimum, then it not only makes it difficult to conceive but there are also risks of having a baby with low birth weight, malformations or poor development of the brain and nervous system.

Zinc deficiency can block the absorption of folic acid so having a deficiency of one nutrient can lead to deficiencies in other nutrients. This is why getting a good intake of a number of nutrients is so important.

Zinc is also vital for your partner because it is crucial for the proper development of sperm. We know this because when young animals are fed a zinc-deficient diet they can produce abnormal sperm. For example, 60 day-old mice were found to be sterile after only three weeks of being fed a zinc-deficient diet.

Studies carried out in the 1980s showed that zinc deficiency in men causes a temporary but reversible reduction in sperm count and a reduced testosterone level. And this reduction in testosterone level has since been confirmed by other studies.

Giving zinc to men with low testosterone levels raises the hormone to a more normal level and increases the sperm count. In one study some men had an increase of 150 per cent in their sperm count, and in nine cases out of 22 their partners conceived while they were taking the zinc.

Simply comparing men with low sperm counts to men with normal sperm counts has shown that serum (blood) zinc levels and seminal zinc levels are significantly lower in infertile men.

With each ejaculation, men lose up to 9 per cent of their daily zinc intake. So it is crucial that your partner keeps up a good daily intake of zinc.

Clearly, zinc should be taken as a supplement if there is any problem with sperm count or quality. You and your partner should also include sources of zinc, such as oats, rye, whole-wheat, almonds, pumpkin seeds and peas, in your diet.

Symptoms of zinc deficiency include:

• white spots on nails

• low sperm count

• poor sense of taste

• poor sense of smell

You should take 30mg zinc a day.

Your partner should take 30mg zinc a day.

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SELF-HELP PREVENTION: HEAT RASH (PRICKLY HEAT) AND HEATSTROKE

Heat rash (prickly heat)

It is an itching skin condition caused by heavy sweating (usually in hot climates). Little red pimples occur in sweaty areas.

What causes it?

Inflammation of the sweat ducts.

Prevention

• In hot and sweaty climates reduce your physical activity and hence the amount you sweat.

• Don’t drink hot drinks.

• Wear as few clothes as possible, preferably made of light, natural fibres.

• Shower in tepid water and use no soap. Dry carefully and use a dusting powder.

• Soothe the bad areas with calamine lotion.

Heatstroke

Heat stroke is a condition in which the body is unable to lose heat, for example in extremely hot climates in which the air is hotter than the body so that the body does not lose heat into the air. It can also occur in very humid conditions in which the body is unable to sweat and so lose heat. The skin is hot, dry and red, and the sufferer has a rapid pulse and a high temperature and may also vomit and be irritable. If severe, it can lead to a coma.

What causes it?

An inability of the body to cool off by normal heat loss or via sweating (which also reduces body temperature).

Prevention

•     Avoid extremely hot situations.

•     Drink ice-cold liquids to lower the body temperature.

NB This is not a treatment. No one with this condition should be cooled quickly.

•     When in hot climates wear thin, natural-fibre clothes and keep out of the direct sun.

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WEIGHT LOSS: STRUCTURE OF THERAPY GROUPS

How many patients should there be in a therapy group? Between four and eight patients seems ideal-small enough so each can relate to the others, large enough to bring together people with a range of experiences. Many groups are made up entirely of women because there are relatively few males with eating disorders.

Most outpatient groups meet once a week, with sessions lasting from one and a quarter to two hours. Some shorter-term programs meet twice a week. Meeting more frequently provides additional support to very symptomatic patients.

Inpatient groups are more varied. I have found it helpful to combine daily group psychotherapy with other groups, such as psychodrama, art, movement, nutrition, relaxation, women’s issues, and body image groups.

Outpatient groups can meet for a limited number of weeks or they may be open-ended. Short-term groups are generally more structured. They may have a preset agenda with different specific topics each week. In addition, members continue to monitor their symptomatic behavior and work to change it.

Group leaders should make sure all members know when and where meetings will be and how to get there. An eating-disordered patient has enough trouble dealing with her insecurities. She doesn’t need to wander the halls of some huge building, anxious and alone, looking for the meeting room. Lack of clear instructions can cause a patient to quit the group before she has even started.

Groups are usually more effective if they are made up of patients with similar problems. Like oil and water, bulimics in the same group may not easily mix. An anorexic may feel “bullied” by a bulimic, while the bulimic may feel frustrated that the anorexic won’t open up and share what’s going on inside. Higher-weight patients may feel angry or envious in the presence of emaciated ones.

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STIMULATE YOUR DETERMINATION: NEVER TOO OLD TO LOSE

Connie Bissonnette had all but given up on slimming down. At age 50 and 172 pounds, the full-time university instructor from Stillwater, Minnesota, believed that weight gain was a normal part of the aging process.

Lucky for her, her son Jeff knew better. And as a result of his persistence, Connie is 41 pounds thinner.

In 1992, Jeff was a student at the University of Wisconsin, majoring in human performance. When he came home for Christmas break that year, he had a mission: to persuade his mom to start exercising. “I was his first project,” Connie jokes.

She responded with her usual litany of excuses—she didn’t have time, she didn’t have the energy, her knees bothered her. But Jeff persisted. “He said, ‘Just give me 10 minutes, three times a week,’” Connie recalls. “He devised a workout that I could do at home, with what I had on hand. I started out by sitting in a chair and doing leg lifts. Then I added other exercises, like doing pushups against the wall.”

Despite her initial protests, Connie found herself enjoying her workout. Within a few months, she noticed that her knees felt better. So she asked Jeff to add some more exercises to her routine. Her 10-minute exercise sessions stretched to as long as 30 minutes.Plus, she started walking for 30 minutes, 2 or 3 days a week. One year later, she was 20 pounds lighter.

But Jeff wasn’t done. His next challenge was to transform his mother’s longtime meat-and-potatoes diet. Again, he advised Connie to start small. She substituted jam for butter on her morning toast, fresh fruit for her snack time potato chips and candy bars. Eventually, she traded frying for baking as her cooking method of choice.

It took some time, but all those little changes added up. Four years after she began exercising, Connie had lost a total of 41 pounds. Now, at age 58, she has maintained her weight at about 131 pounds since 1996.

Connie was so grateful to her son for helping her slim down that she decided to return the favor. In May 1997, she became a certified personal trainer. Now, she works in her son’s gym. “It’s great to be able to encourage the clients I train by telling them about my own weight-loss experience,” she reports. “I don’t let anyone say, ‘I can’t.’”

WINNING ACTION

Stop believing the myth of middle-age spread. Yes, most of us do gain weight as the birthdays roll by. But this accumulation of extra pounds isn’t written in our genes, our hormones, or the laws of nature. We gain weight, quite simply, because we become less active. According to William Evans, Ph.D., director of the Noll Physiological Research Center at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, about 80 percent of overweight is caused by a sedentary lifestyle. So keep moving, no matter what your age. You’ll look slimmer and you’ll feel younger.

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