Discovering An Herbal Legend

There is an herbal legend that supposed to work on the human brain. It’s the herbal medicine St. John's wort. It is documented to have been in use for centuries as folk and herbal remedies.

Today in the western world, it is a super star herb. In Europe, it is widely used to treat mild-to-moderate depression. In the United States, it is one of the top-selling botanical products.

The National Institutes of Health jumped in to conduct a clinical trial. The goal is to determine the effectiveness of treating adults who have major depression with St. Johns wort. They push the line a little here. Major depression is not mild-to-moderate depression, it is clinical grade, that means severe.

The study included 340 people diagnosed with major depression.

1.    One-third of the people took the herbal medicine,

2.    One-third took an SSRI, and

3.    One-third took a placebo, or "sugar pill."

The people who took the sugar pill did not know what they were taking. They might be led to think that they were taking the real herb. The study found that St. John's wort was no more effective than the placebo in treating major depression. 

The question remains: Is St. John's wort effective in treating mild or minor depression? A study is currently put in progress to look into this.

TO BE CONTINUED....

One Way to Deal with Depression?

If you are contemplating about recovering from Depression without drugs, here are the tips I have gathered for you.

If you are getting used to the bad news of, then come the debates on antidepressants to keep you busy. Even the drugs that got researched, approved and dispensed at the pharmacies are usually inconclusive when it comes to evaluating real life efficacy. They work for some but not for others. That’s fact.

With that said, humans are individuals. Drugs work different on some people than on other people. Don't let mass debates decide your fate.

If you still want to recover from mental traumas without drugs, by all means, try. There is nothing wrong with trying out other remedies before you go with daily medication. But one thing I must say is that when symptoms are severe, nothing can reverse them better or faster than western medicine. I mean, the solid concentrated chemical extract you refer to as a pill, can chill.

Oppositions against antidepressants continue despite new regulations from the FDA since 1998.

(1) Drug labeling to help prevent serious adverse effects.

(2) When a drug product has serious risk(s) (relative to benefits) that patients should be made aware of.

(3) Ensure patient’s adherence to directions for use of a drug.

Somehow, all these fall through the crack. Americans are so used to the idea of division of labor. Psychiatrist leave all drug education and disclosure to pharmacists, and these pharmacists then rely on fiduciary instructions between psychiatrists and patients to do this job, end of the story.

Among peers, it is commonly reported how therapists and traditional health care providers consistently use demeaning language that humiliate, embarrass and intimidate people with mental health diagnosis. These treatments keep people from voicing their questions.

This is by far the No.1 reason why psychiatric care effort via the medical model never works and never will. While this may change over time, millions of people who suffer from depression cannot wait. Depression harms people's health, lower their quality of life and can ruin their future.

Many people have turned to natural remedies and alternative medicines for help. Ancient treatment methods such as acupuncture and meditation are now very popular and endorsed by many people who find them very effective.

If you haven't tried one of the following natural remedies, trying it out isn’t a bad idea.

    Sunbathing is a form of natural Light Therapy; it gives you a dose of light exposure, eases muscle pain and improves focus.

    Reduce tension headache/migraine through resting in dark, quiet room, bathe in cool water, use aromas, stretching or yoga, drink lots of water and eat easy digesting food such as soup or nutritious drinks.

    Combat negative self-talk by refocus your thoughts to listening to music, dancing, chatting online or on the phone, watch a movie, shower, walk and interact with others.

Depends on your health condition, alternative medicine may work. Try and let me know! Whether you identify with the chaos warriors who got banished to muddy known as Earth like Oderus Urungus or you are a Godly earthling, know that you are POWERFUL. You can do it.


This blogpost does not provide information about diagnosing mental disorders. Choosing the right medication, medication dose, and treatment plan should be based on a person's individual needs and medical situation, and under a doctor's care.

Used to Sleep Like the Pigs

It is an insult for researchers to make a direct comparison between humans and the pigs in sleep study. But do you know that you need as much sleep as these obese creatures? You may be.

It is an embarrassing fact, but it is presented in real time statistics. Human adults need about 8 hours of sleep and the pigs need 7.8 hours.

Sleep is a very complex bodily function.  We can try to alter our biological clock; it can only change by a small margin, 1 to 2 hours at best.

Many organ systems are linked to the sleep cycle. Thus for most of us, sleep patterns are pretty much all set.

Lighting has a major role in this. A strong relationship exists between light and the biological clock (circadian rhythms). Not only scientists are now certain about this relationship, they are creating new light therapies to alleviate sleep issues. They can even restore normal circadian rhythms in the blind. 

If light therapy alone does not work for you, taking melatonin supplements may help, never know. Must try to find out. Melatonin is a hormonal chemical that induces sleep. With good melatonin levels, you can easily become drowsy and fall sleep when you need to.

Also, these therapies may have effect on mood. Those who are depressed may also experience a condition call narcolepsy, excessive and overwhelming daytime sleepiness (even after adequate nighttime sleep). A person with narcolepsy is likely to become drowsy or to fall asleep at any time of day. They often have fragmented sleeping pattern at night. Narcolepsy is a now a well defined medical condition. It needs to be treated.

Over all, sleep is a genetic factor. But behavior change couples with other therapies may help influence your sleep pattern. I guess, everything can be learned, including sleeping habit.

How is the music video? At the least, I think it is very relaxing even if you're just listening wide awake. I'll post more articles relate to these common health issues in the next posts. Be sure to bookmark so you can easily find my page again. 

If you'd be kind, google +++ my post, and share.

What Happen When You Take the Wrong Antidepressant?

People talk a lot about taking the wrong antidepressants. Or they talk about not being able to find the right one. But nobody is telling what exactly happen when the wrong drug is prescribed to them. And then there are an infinite number of complaints about side effects out there. 

Why? Because, when you are taking the wrong antidepressant, the only thing you get is, the side effect. But often, you will get a number of side effects, some can be serious and life threatening.

What side effects most antidepressants have?

Some people have side effects when they start taking these medications. Most side effects go away after a few days and often can be managed successfully. People who are taking antipsychotics should not drive until they adjust to their new medication. 

Side effects of many antipsychotics include:

• Drowsiness
• Dizziness when changing positions
• Blurred vision
• Rapid heartbeat
• Sensitivity to the sun
• Skin rashes
• Menstrual problems for women.

Atypical antipsychotic medications can cause major weight gain and changes in a person's metabolism. This may increase a person's risk of getting diabetes and high cholesterol. A person's weight, glucose levels, and lipid levels should be monitored regularly by a doctor while taking an atypical antipsychotic medication.

Typical antipsychotic medications can cause side effects related to physical movement, such as:

• Rigidity
• Persistent muscle spasms
• Tremors
• Restlessness.

Long-term use of typical antipsychotic medications may lead to a condition called tardive dyskinesia (TD). TD causes muscle movements a person can't control. The movements commonly happen around the mouth. TD can range from mild to severe, and in some people the problem cannot be cured.

Sometimes people with TD recover partially or fully after they stop taking the medication. But they are advised to check with their doctor first.

Depression Podcast
Every year, an estimated 5 percent of people taking typical antipsychotics get TD.  How do you deal with this? Please share you thoughts in the comments area below.
 
Appreciated.

How do You Keep Your Memory?

Sometimes, search our mind for memory is a road map to loss synapse. It's the nature of memory loss.

Memory loss can be caused by aging, disease, brain injury, or just from everyday stress. Sometimes, memory loss is temporary cause by lack of sleep. 

Some medical treatments are also known to cause temporary memory loss and disturbances. But do remember that substance abuse also causes memory problems. Think about the amount of alcohol you consume last.

We all agin. Memory just wears off over all that time. Time is harsh. Nerve cells decrease in function and some die out. These are natural causeing to aging that we wouldn't want to admit. The only difference is how fast an individual ages. That translates to how long one can remain good brain function and memory. We want to slow down that process.

How? One way is, big secret, is to stay healthy. For disease of the brain that cause memory loss, that can be varied, but depression and other mental illness are known to cause memory loss.

Memory loss due to injury to the brain is also very well known.  It can be very selective because it depends on what part of the brain got injured. Memory is formed by a process called plasticity in nerve cells. Therefore, when a specific part of the brain is damaged, memory stored in that part to be omitted. That makes you special right? If you'd like to think so. 

Simple Ways to Improve Memory

There is something note by neurologists as "non use" dementia.  Learn new things, solve new problems and stay active.

Many people report that "brain exercise" does help maintain good brain function and memory retention.  An elder friend of mine at Toastmasters International said that she is sworn by its effectiveness. She plays memory-aid video games religiously every day. And she is hopeful and finds it very enjoying.

Bouncing back from heavy stress can help you avoid repetitive memory problems. And so is lack of sleep. So, at the least, keep stress low and sleep well. The incentive for feeling joyous all day and sleeping well through the night is bounty.

Several ingredients in most daily multi-vitamins do help with memory. Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 did help me regain sanity at a time when constant memory problems really became bothersome. They helped almost immediately.

I always believe in a good diet. Now as memory problem becomes a matter of concern, I am forever more believe in good nutrition and daily nourishment. I see the harm of chronic starvation from an imbalance diet. I am not obedient to a good diet. 

Do you think that relaxation techniques and meditation would help? Please leave me some thoughts belove. And Share. Thanks.

The Benefits of Delay Reaction

I've heard people advise about giving stress stimuli a small waiting period before reacting to them. But new science says that this is a kind of cognitive reappraisal.  It is a big part of resilience. 

It helps one to engage in reinterpreting the meaning of negative stimuli. Putting things into perspective, they say. It results in reduction in emotional responses. Less magnitude of stress response, less cellular damage we do unto ourselves.

Resilient individuals might be better at reappraisal or might use reappraisal more frequently.  You can get better at it every time. Neuro-biological mechanisms that underlie some of these processes include memory suppression, memory consolidation and cognitive control of emotion.

As far as MENTAL ILLNESS, new types of molecules are now found to have close relations to the regulation of mental concentration. This may bring forward better treatments for mental and movement disorders, including schizophrenia, epilepsy and myotonic dystrophy. Am I being too technical? I hope not. How do I explain a cow without stating that it is a cow? Huh. That's the way it is.

There are now already improvements on treatment post-traumatic stress disorder. Adolescent depression and schizophrenia are now more thoroughly understood.


We know that stress does a lot of harms to our body and its many complex systems. It is now observed that prolonged stress actually makes one vulnerable to serious illness and infertility. Stress affects your health, your future and the future generation.

So, next time you feel the need to react with a storm of stress, PRESS PAUSE and buy some time to relax.

Isn't it true that most things that happen around us are rarely urgent or even important?

Not All Brain Cells Have Equal Functionality

As far as proteins removal goes, some brain cells process proteins several times faster than other brain cells can. 

Proteostasis is a process in which cells break up and get rid of defective proteins. It can be thought of as a recycling process in human cells.

A study focus on Huntington's Disease show that striatal neurons, brain cells that regulate movement, have a slower proteostasis process than other neurons. And slower proteostasis means malfunction proteins are left to remain in these brain cells longer, cause more damage and lead to more cell deaths.

New observations bring scientists to a better understanding why certain nerve cells die in Huntington’s, a genetic brain disorder that leads to uncontrolled movements and death.

The speed at which damaged proteins are cleared from neurons may affect cell survival and may explain why some cells are targeted for death in neurodegenerative disorders.

It helps solve one of the mysteries surrounding neurodegenerative diseases. It is especially puzzling because the protein thought to be responsible for cell death is found throughout the brain in many of these diseases, yet only certain brain areas or cell types are affected.

In Huntington’s disease and many other neurodegenerative disorders, proteins that are misfolded (abnormal shapes), accumulate inside and around neurons and are thought to damage and kill nearby brain cells.

Normally, cells can clear them away before they do any damage. Effective proteostasis control protein levels and quality. Our brains have powerful coping mechanisms to deal with disease-causing proteins. It shows in the fact that some of these diseases don’t show symptoms until the fourth or fifth decade of life, even when the gene has been present since birth, suggests that those mechanisms diminish as we age.

The mutant version of huntingtin repeat an abnormal number of times to cause it to misfold, delay proteostasis, and eventually lead to neuron death and the symptoms of the disease.

The researchers found that the amount of time the mutant protein remained in the cell predicted neuronal survival. To test this idea that improving proteostasis in Huntington’s brains may improve neuronal survival, the researchers activated Nrf2, a protein known to regulate protein processing. When Nrf2 was turned on, the mean lifetime of huntingtin was shortened, and the neuron lived longer.

“Nrf2 seems like a potentially exciting therapeutic target. It is profoundly neuroprotective in our Huntington’s model and it accelerates the clearance of mutant huntingtin,” said Dr. Steven Finkbeiner, senior author of the paper, a research project partially funded by the National Institute of Health.