Researchers Search for Subgroups Where Antidepressants Are More Effective
The researchers theorized that this increased effectiveness was due not to âantidepressantâ properties, but rather to the drugâs side effects, which include insomnia, drowsiness, and nausea.
Vitamin B6 Effective in Reducing Antipsychotic Induced Akathisia
A recent RCT showed that vitamin B6 is as effective as propranolol for the treatment of akathisia.
Researchers Test Harms and Benefits of Long Term Antipsychotic Use
Researchers from the City College of New York and Columbia University published a study this month testing the hypothesis that people diagnosed with schizophrenia treated long-term with antipsychotic drugs have worse outcomes than patients with no exposure to these drugs. They concluded that there is not a sufficient evidence base for the standard practice of long-term use of antipsychotic medications.
If Not Meds, Then WHAT?
A great deal of the information published on MadInAmerica is devoted to this very important question, so many constructive ideas are often presented. We think that nutrition and diet should always be part of the conversation.
Micronutrients for ADHD Symptoms in Children
Over and over again, we have shown that additional nutrients positively affect behaviour and mental states. This research offers further evidence that children with ADHD, mood dysregulation and symptoms of aggression should be given the opportunity to try micronutrient treatment FIRST.
Catching My Breath After A Panicked Journey
$24,000 later and no one knew what was wrong with me. They sent me home with a bag of pills. After being in the hospital, I developed a fear and mistrust of doctors. My general practitioner suggested antidepressants. More pills. It was all they could recommend. I wouldnât take them. My anxiety worsened. I was obsessed with the idea that if I slept, I would die. So, I stayed awake as much as I could. For an entire year, this was how I lived.
Juliaâs TEDx Talk: Time to Get Serious About Nutrition
Based on any data from any country it is clear that we have a problem. Mental illness is on the rise. Researchers in the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry have documented the benefits of micronutrients to treat mental illness, showing that micronutrients help treat depression, stress, anxiety and autism and ADHD. Not a single study shows that the Western diet is good for our mental health. Many questions remain to be answered, but we can make some recommendations.
Why Scientists Should Reconsider Presenting with TED
How many other scientists like me are going to be flagged, publicly reprimanded by TED, for challenging current ways of thinking? Is it even possible to be innovative and follow conventional thinking at the same time? If there are scientists out there with great new ideas, the TED stage may not be the optimal place to state them.
Functional Medicine: My Path Out of Psychiatry
My blood work indicated a host of issues that had been lurking under the surface of my âpsychiatric diagnosesâ for years. Iâd seen various mental health professionals and none had recommended these types of tests, or stopped to think about any underlying factors, aside from the well-known âserotonin myth.â
More Evidence That Physical Activity Prevents Depression
Higher levels of physical activity serve as a protective factor for the future development of depression.
Are We at a Tipping Point?
Just this week, a report written by a task force advising on new dietary guidelines commissioned by the US departments of Health and Human Service and Agriculture recognized the importance of nutrition in mental health outcomes for the first time. Is the public ready to accept the importance of nutrition for mental health?
Therapy Recommended As First Line Treatment for Depression
Following an extensive systematic review of treatments for major depression, the American College of Physicians (ACP) issued a recommendation to clinicians suggesting cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a first-line treatment for major depressive disorder along with second-generation antidepressants. The results of the review revealed that CBT and antidepressants have similar levels of effectiveness but that antidepressants present serious side-effects and higher relapse rates.
Inner Fire: Healing and Recovery Without Meds
For five years, I and others worked to create a residential healing community in Brookline, Vermont, where people could recover from debilitating and traumatic life experiences, which often lead to addiction and mental health challenges, without the use of psychotropic medications. We welcomed our first six seekers to a yearlong, therapeutic and farm-based, day program last September, and we now can report on what we have learned during this time.
Data Shows That Nutrients Reduce Aggression: Why is Policy Not Changing?
Despite study after study after study showing that there is a simple, cheap solution to reducing aggression in many people, the message hasnât carried through to changing policies or treatment approaches. If a drug were shown to reduce aggression with no side effects, would it be ignored?
D-Cycloserine Supplement Does Not Add Much to Exposure Therapy
A closer look at a new study reporting that the supplement D-cycloserine improved anxiety when used with exposure therapy.
TED Betrays Its Own Brand By Flagging Nutrition Talk
Four years after Rucklidge gave her talk on using micronutrients for psychiatric disorders, why did TED suddenly decide to flag it as falling âoutside TEDxâs curatorial guidelines?â And why did it do so when her talkâa review of published science, by a researcher who has conducted placebo-controlled studies on this topicâobviously met TED guidelines? Our guess is that they caved to outside pressure.
The Genetics of Schizophrenia: A Left Brain Theory about a Right Brain Deficit in...
In recent months, two teams of researchers in the UK and the US published complementary findings about the epigenetic origins of schizophrenia that have scientific communities who indulge in âgenetic conspiracy theoriesâ abuzz. While these results are intriguing, and no doubt involve pathbreaking research methodologies, this line of thought represents a decontextualized understanding both of the symptoms that are typically associated with schizophrenia, and their causes.
Meditation and Exercise Reduce Depression Symptoms 40%
A combination of exercise and meditation done twice a week over two months may reduce depression symptoms by 40 percent, according to a new study published open-access this month in Translational Psychiatry. Following the eight-week intervention, the student participants that had previously been diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) reported significantly less symptoms and ruminative thoughts and students without any such diagnoses also showed remarkable improvements.
Some Herbal Supplements May Contain Dangerous Pharmaceuticals
Between 2007 and 2016, the FDA identified 776 herbal supplements containing active, unapproved pharmaceutical chemicals.
New Evidence for Brain-Gut Link in Depression and Quality of Life
The first ever population-level study of the brain-gut connection in humans finds evidence for a link between gut bacteria and mental health.
Animal Study Supports Influence of Probiotics on Resilience to Stress
Researchers experimenting on mice found that Lactobacillusâthe probiotic commonly found in yogurtâmay help reduce depressive symptoms in reaction to chronic stressors. But human studies have found mixed results.
Study Explores Correlates of Low-Level Physical Activity and Psychosis
A study examines the variables correlated with low levels of physical activity in persons diagnosed with psychosis in low and middle-income countries
New Medications Fail to Show Efficacy for Alzheimerâs Disease
Three phase III clinical trials assessing the efficacy of Lundbeckâs investigational drug idalopirdine for Alzheimerâs disease have failed
Beyond the Medicalization of Insomnia
There is hope that the truth about sleeping pills will become more commonplace. As it does, however, we are faced with an even greater challenge: to move beyond the medicalization of insomnia in order to help people sleep better naturally. The alternative paradigm I suggest is that nutrition is a primary cure for insomnia.
Wholesome Wave
In a recent blog, we talked about the fact that nutrition and poverty are linked, and how poor nutrition is likely a mediator variable in the relationship between poverty and illness. In other words, it is the suboptimal nutrition associated with low income which likely explains much of the vulnerability to mental and physical illness. Today we want to tell you about an amazing American program that is making great strides in addressing this issue.
