Is It Possible to Recover From Chronic Mental Illness? The title of this blog, Recovering from Mental Illness, argues that, yes, it is possible to recover from mental illness. But recovering from a mental illness is different from, say, recovering from a physical injury. I broke my ankle two years ago and spent time on crutches and in physiotherapy. The recovery period was slow, six months passed before I could walk with both feet, but my ankle slowly healed. It became well and functioned as it once had. I could rely on it to take me through the day. I could go running again. Recovering from mental illness is not the same. Recovering from narcissistic abuse is tough and people have to do with without validation of their feelings. Find out how to recover from narcissistic abuse. About a year ago, I reached out to a real estate broker to help me find an apartment rental in NYC. As we were walking down Lexington Avenue in Gramercy, the. Facts about water retention and how to get rid of it. Water weight, causes, symptoms, tablets, swollen legs, ankles, stomach, premenstrual water retention. I've gotten a lot of requests to write this post. Matt Stone's e-book, Diet Recovery really helped me, and I wanted to share my experience with you all. The process probably does not require physiotherapy and Tylenol as the drug of choice. The road to recovery from mental illness is much longer, not usually smooth, and perhaps hot to the touch. Metaphors aside: it isn’t easy. Recovering From Chronic Mental Illness Differs From Recovering From a Physical Injury. A physical injury might tie you to bed for weeks or months, maybe you have to get surgery, or perhaps the injury will recur down the road. The Paleo Diet Defined is my concise definition of the core paleo diet and the many variations of it. Life Expectancy in the Paleolithic by Ron. B12 is produced by gut bacteria, and also by bacteria which coats the sinuses and throat. A vegan diet is not deficient in B12, the healthy gut biota of plant based. Malnutrition has devastating psychological as well as physical effects. Learning about the impact of starvation on the mind may help parents understand why. Richard followed a strict diet developed by a professor at Newcastle University whose studies suggested diabetes could be reversed in under eight weeks. You may have to tell your supervisor that you need a few weeks off as a result, but can usually provide a date in which you will be back at work. Functioning as you were before the injury. The cast you wear tells the world that you are injured. Colleagues tell you to get well soon. And, with any luck, you do. If you are diagnosed with a mental illness, the road to recovery is probably not as easy. It’s easy to accept that you have physically injured yourself. It’s depressing, sure, but acceptance of physical injury comes much easier. When coming to terms with the idea that you will have a mental illness for the rest of your life and will need to take medication and change your lifestyle, acceptance of the illness is anything but easy. It is probably the hardest thing you will come to terms with. What Does Recovering from Chronic Mental Illness Mean? Recovering from a mental illness is different than recovering from physical injuries. First, it is an invisible disease. It’s not easy to explain to people that you are sick if you do not look sick; even though you are in pain and working to be free of it. Sometimes, you lose people who had previously been a vital part of your life. Surely, the best people will hang on for the ride. The definition of recovery, the very roots of the word, mean to be healed or to be cured. People are not cured of mental illness but we do heal, and we do recover. It’s important to understand what the word recovered means when tied to mental illness. Recovering is the process you take to find wellness and stability. It is the months, the years, you work to find the right medication and balance in your life. Recovering is hard work. It is the hardest thing I have ever done and something I work to maintain on a daily basis. Unlike a self- limiting physical injury, recovery is defined on a consistent basis. It is the medication you take when you should, the appointments with doctors or therapists, and the support network you nurture. Achieving a State of Recovery From Mental Illness. Recovering is exhausting, but achieving a state of hard- earned wellness is liberating. Mental illness is a chronic disease, and so the word recovered implies remission. An abating or elimination of symptoms for a duration of time. It’s important to plan for relapse but equally important to plan to for success. Having a mental illness is not a life sentence. If the glass is is half full, and let’s believe that it is, we might think of it as an opportunity to grow and to become stronger than we were. To live in the present moment and move on from the past: to work to recover and rejoice once we have. Treating Menstrual Pain With Diet. Almost half of menstruating women experience painful, crampy periods, also known as dysmenorrhea. Linda French from Michigan State University College of Medicine, “despite the substantial effect on quality of life and general well- being, few women seek treatment, thinking it won’t help.” Treatments are available, though–modern medicine to the rescue! There are surgical options such as neuroablation, where surgeons go in and attempt to cut or destroy the nerves leading to the uterus, or doctors can just take out the uterus completely. There are of course a bunch of hormones in pills and shots that can suppress the menstrual cycle as well. Since the pain is caused by inflammation, anti- inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen are the most commonly used, achieving symptomatic pain relief in about two thirds of women. While effective, women using them need to be aware of the significant risk as they may cause adverse side effects. Though there are a bunch of non- drug, non- surgical treatments like acupuncture, “the evidence for the effectiveness of these treatments is generally weak.”One of the latest advances in treatment involves the use of a single high dose of vitamin D. In a randomized, double- blind, placebo- controlled study the placebo did nothing–in fact, most women got worse. But the women who got the vitamin D all felt better. For more on vitamin D, see my series justifying my vitamin D recommendations, starting with Vitamin D Recommendations Changedand ending with Resolving the Vitamin D- Bate. But wait a second. If it’s pain caused by inflammation, how about putting women on an anti- inflammatory diet? A study outlined in my video, Dietary Treatment for Painful Menstrual Periods, placed 3. They experienced significant reductions in menstrual pain duration from four days down to three days and a significant reduction in pain intensity. Women also experienced improvement of PMS symptoms such as bloating. This was a crossover study, so after two months eating vegan, the women were supposed to go back to their regular diets to see if the pain would return. But the women felt so much better that when the researchers asked them to go back to their regular diet to test before and after, several women refused, even though they were required to by the study. Doctors too often patronizingly think that patients simply won’t adhere to therapeutic diets, but when the women were surveyed, they reported having fewer cramps and were losing weight. They also reported increased energy, better digestion, and better sleep. This showed that we don’t have to be in some Ornish or Esselstyn study facing certain death after a heart attack to stick to a plant- based diet. It’s well accepted that even when testing more benign conditions. Ornish and Esselstyn, see, for example, my video Our Number One Killer Can Be Stopped or my blog post Heart Disease: There Is A Cure). I’ve touched on this body of work briefly in Plant- Based Diets for Breast Pain. Plants that may be especially helpful include flax seeds (Flax Seeds for Breast Pain) and the spice saffron (Saffron for the Treatment of PMS and Wake Up and Smell the Saffron).- Michael Greger, M. D. PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here and watch my full 2. Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death, More than an Apple a Day, From Table to Able, and Food as Medicine. Image credit: sportpictures / Flickr.
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November 2017
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