Author Archive for

Psychiatry & Psychology | By July 14, 2006 | By Elise Stobbe | 2 Comments

Integrative Psychiatry: Mental Symptoms and Nutrients

One of the benefits of visiting a psychiatrist who also specializes in holistic, complementary or alternative medicine is that he or she can determine whether or not a nutritional deficiency is the cause of some mental symptoms. Nutrients play a critical role in mental health. They are the building blocks of the nervous system. In fact, the brain has first call on the available supply of nutrients. Therefore, the first effects of nutritional deficiencies are often mental symptoms. Deficiencies in almost any of the vitamins and minerals can show up first as emotional or mental symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, or impaired memory and concentration. For example, folate deficiency is a common occurrence in psychiatric disorders, whether organic or functional, particularly in depressive illness. Read more →

The Future of Psychiatry with Alternative Treatments | July 04, 2006 | 6 Comments

Mainstream psychiatry is becoming more biology-based in practice and today uses medication as a major form of treatment. The problem with this, say some, is that psychiatric medication is dangerous or over-prescribed. Alternative medicine offers other therapeutic choices for people who are against... Read more →

Psychiatry Discriminates Against People with Borderline Personality Disorder | June 20, 2006 | 3 Comments

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by a pattern of unstable relationships, a self-image that is always changing, and poor impulse control. The person suffering from BPD fears abandonment and will go to any lengths to prevent this, including threats of suicide. Self-harm is a characteristic. There... Read more →

Family Doctor or Psychiatrist? | June 15, 2006 | 1 Comment

Who wants to admit that they need to see a psychiatrist? There is often an inner sense of shame and disgrace when people seek psychiatric consultation, yet the pain of mental illness compels many people to seek help from family doctors or psychiatrists. Most people who suspect mental illness initially... Read more →

Stigmatization: Myths and Minds | June 06, 2006 | 0 Comments

It has only been within the past decade or two that we have begun to better understand the biochemical causes of mental illness. Although there is still much to be discovered, it is now known that mental illnesses are similar to physical illnesses, since they often have biochemical causes and medical... Read more →

Mental Health Spending - A Low Priority for Government | May 31, 2006 | 6 Comments

The power of stigmatization of the mentally ill is so strong that it keeps mental health low on the list of public priorities for spending. One of the barriers to treatment for the mentally ill is the inability to pay for it, and another is how to access it. Policy-making and funding decisions for mental... Read more →

Resistance to Seeking Treatment for Mental Illness - How Others Can Help | May 27, 2006 | 5 Comments

There is a time when a mentally ill person may realize that they need help. Symptoms worry them or others enough that they consider getting treatment. But the White House Conference on Mental Health identified stigma as the most important barrier to treatment for the mentally ill. (1) More than any other... Read more →

Impaired Awareness of Mental Illness | May 22, 2006 | 7 Comments

There are about six million severely mentally ill people in the United States. About half of these severely mentally ill do not know they are ill. (1) (Severe mental illness includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and a few other diagnoses). There is a medical term for this condition: anosognosia, an... Read more →