Ten Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy

1. Put people before things: spend more time with friends and family. Nurture your relationships.
2. Be authentic: focus on activities you really believe in, whether it's a hobby, a project at work or a cause.
3. Don't measure success in how much you earn or what possessions you own.
4. Set yourself challenging but achievable goals, both short term and long-term.
5. When you achieve a goal, celebrate it.
6. Learn something new. (Get some ideas what you could learn online.)
7. Volunteer - or just do something simple to help someone. Studies show clear links between volunteering and psychological well being. But don't be a martyr: choose something you really enjoy.
8. Exercise outside every day.
9. Don't beat yourself up when things do not go as planned. Treat yourself with the same compassion you'd treat a loved one. Accept that everyone makes a mistake.
10. At the end of every day make a list of three things you feel grateful for, or things that went well that day.

Is Alzheimer’s a nutrition problem?

For years, no one could readily explain Alzheimer’s disease. It didn’t seem to bear a link to other problems. There was no relationship to location or environment. Certain families might suffer from increased prevalence—but there was little rhyme or reason to who, or when, it struck. In 2005 a study out of Brown Medical School was published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that found Alzheimer’s was linked to problems with insulin signaling.- in short : Alzheimer’s is another form of diabetes. In fact, the medical world has started calling it type III diabetes. So—what exactly is type III diabetes?

Insulin Resistance

Everyone has heard of type I diabetes. That’s when the body’s immune system attacks the pancreas, interfering with the production and release of insulin. Type II diabetes is also well-known. It’s a result of genetics, poor nutrition, and exercise. Basically, our bloodstream gets flooded by too much glucose. Each time we release glucose into our blood—by eating sugars, or carbohydrates, which are quickly broken down into sugar—we also release insulin into blood. That insulin tells our cells to grab glucose and convert it to energy.

But our cells eventually fill up. At that point, we build up glycogen reserves—it works like a fast-acting energy pill, ready to be tapped whenever we need it. But we can only store so much glucose as glycogen. After we’ve filled up that silo, excess glucose is turned into dangerous triglycerides. Yet, in type II diabetes, as we keep consuming carbohydrates and sugars anyway, the fats build up, it takes more and more insulin to convert sugar to energy, and eventually your cells ignore insulin altogether. In full-blown type II diabetes, it’s very difficult to deliver energy to cells, because they no longer listen to the signal of insulin. This is called insulin resistance. Starting with the 2005 study I mentioned earlier, and in many others since, we’ve seen that the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients are, themselves, insulin-resistant.

That’s why some now call Alzheimer’s disease type III diabetes. It’s the same exact problem as type II—only in our brains, instead of the rest of the body. Our brains stop taking in enough glucose, and without that energy, they stop functioning properly.
This explains all the symptoms of Alzheimer’s—from memory loss, to the protein tangles that strangle our synapses, to mental confusion. It also appears to play a major role in most—if not all—other forms of dementia. Simply put, in great quantities, sugar and carbohydrates are poisons. And, over time, that poison spreads to our brains.

Save Your Brain

One thing you must do—if you haven’t already—is get tested to see if you’re at risk of becoming diabetic or pre-diabetic. Ask your doctor to test your blood sugar and insulin levels. That’s often a precursor to type III diabetes and dementia. Remember—it doesn’t matter what you look like. Skinny people can eat too much sugar and become diabetic. Those with big bones can eat perfectly and get a clean bill of health, despite carrying some extra weight. This isn’t about how much fat you carry. Fat may be an indicator of diet—but it can mislead as well. The important thing is your blood glucose and insulin levels. And you’ll only find that out through blood tests which should be part of any health screening.

If your tests show that you’re at risk, you need to watch how much sugar and carbohydrates you eat. One possible solution is to try a low-carbohydrates (or ketogenic). Because cutting back on carbohydrates and sugar not only helps reverse your pre-diabetes and diabetes risk, it leads to clearer thinking, as your brain cells make more efficient use of glucose paving the way for greater health in the future—including lower incidence of cancer and dementia.

REFERENCES

New York Times, “Is Alzheimer’s type 3 Diabetes?”, Mark Bittman, Sept. 25, 2012 http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/bittman-is-alzheimers-type-3-diabetes/?_r=0

National Review of Medicine, “Is Alzheimer’s really just type III diabetes?”, Owen Dyer, Volume 2 No. 21 http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2005/12_15/2_advances_medicine01_21.html

When to worry about worrying?

 

There is no shortage of things to worry about — from personal concerns about job security or health, to fears related to larger issues such as political conflicts or natural disasters. Anxiety can be a healthy response to uncertainty and danger, but constant worry and nervousness may be a sign of generalized anxiety disorder.

Do I have generalized anxiety disorder?

You'll need your doctor's help to know for sure, but while other types of anxiety disorders arise from particular situations, generalized anxiety disorder is characterized by debilitating worry and agitation about nothing in particular, or anything at all.

People with generalized anxiety disorder tend to worry about everyday matters. They can't shake the feeling that something bad will happen and they will not be prepared. They may worry to excess about missing an appointment, losing a job, or having an accident. Some people even worry about worrying too much.

Physical symptoms are common too, and can include a racing heart, dry mouth, upset stomach, muscle tension, sweating, trembling, and irritability. These bodily expressions of anxiety can have a negative effect on physical health. For example, people with generalized anxiety disorder are at greater risk for heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Taming anxiety

If you have generalized anxiety disorder, therapy — particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — can help. CBT helps people recognize when they are misinterpreting events, exaggerating difficulties, or making unnecessarily pessimistic assumptions, and offers new ways to respond to anxiety-provoking situations.

For some individuals, medications can be an important part of treatment. Commonly prescribed drugs include antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (like Prozac or Zoloft), or dual serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (like Effexor or Cymbalta). These drugs take longer to work than the traditional anti-anxiety drugs, but also may provide greater symptom relief over time.

Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder

1. Persistent, excessive worry about several different things for at least six months

2. Fatigue, difficulty sleeping, or restlessness

3. Trouble concentrating

4. Irritability

5. Muscle tension

6. Feeling tense or "on edge"

Only your doctor can determine whether you meet the criteria for generalized anxiety disorder. If you think you might have this condition, don't hesitate to talk to your primary care doctor. There are many different treatments that can ease the very real discomfort of this condition.

PBS NEWSHOUR

The American TV news programme PBS News Hour have featured our Pakistan programme emphasizing the right to treatment and importance of livelihoods. The segment also features interview clips with Chris Underhill and Dr Saadia Quraishy, Chair of BasicNeeds Pakistan. View it from here;

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/curse-god-stigma-mental-illness-pakistan/

ATTACKS HAVE LEFT KENYA IN A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

Sometimes statistics to do with health issues can easily overwhelm us. All chronic diseases seem to be on the increase, demanding urgent intervention. Talk of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and not to mention HIV-Aids; we are almost becoming immune to the statistics. However, it is critical to note that amongst all these statistics, there is a health challenge which is not only neglected, but also surrounded with a lot of myths – mental illness.

With environmental and psychological stresses in our nation today raging from bloody terror attacks, strained relationships, unemployment, economic hardships and lack of community support systems, mental illnesses are on increase. Currently, one out four people attending a primary health facility suffers from mental illness. The symptoms may not be interpreted as mental health. Like the young school-going girl who is withdrawn, her concentration level is low and her school grades have dropped rapidly. She becomes weak, fatigued and complaining of constant headaches and pain all over her body. But on diagnosis the doctors find nothing wrong. Frustrated, her parents take her back home and she is labelled a weakling, lazy and a poor student! Or this young man who was social, leading the youth church and the ‘darling’ of his family and community but all of a sudden has become quite a bully, aggressive and violent and the neighbours are suspecting that he has started taking drugs.Clearly, there is high level of ignorance and misconception about mental illnesses at the national, community and family level. A mentally ill person is thought to be that “mad” person out in the streets possibly half-naked, collecting papers, talking to themselves and who needs to be avoided lest s/he becomes violent.But many people are suffering quietly from anxiety attacks and depression and if no intervention comes their way, the situation will get out of hand.

A special report released in May last year showed that 12 million Kenyans suffered silently from mental illnesses and vast majority of those sick were unaware of their condition hence did not seek treatment.

Quoting Dr Catherine Mutisya, the deputy superintendent at Mathari National Hospital, it was reported that unlike in the past where doctors attended to between 40 and 50 patients a day in the psychiatric outpatient unit, as of April 2014, they were dealing with double that number. The report showed that the youth were worst hit and more of them were visiting the hospital with various mental challenges. For example, the number of youth aged between 18 and 24 who visited the Youth Centre at Kenyatta National Hospital’s department of mental health, as of last year, stood at 3,000 from 2,500 recorded in the previous years. It is worth noting that many such cases go unreported because of the stigma, lack of knowledge and misconception surrounding mental illnesses. Nevertheless, suicide among the youth has risen sharply, not only in Kenya but globally. In Kenya, It is estimated seven per cent of young males and ten per cent of young females have reported attempted suicide.

 The recent Garissa University terror attack left the youth, those directly affected and indirectly affected, traumatised. It is no wonder one more student died and others were injured at the University of Nairobi’s Kikuyu campus when a stampede occurred following blasts occasioned by a faulty underground electrical cable, which was judged as a terror attack. Ultimately, psychological trauma may lead to poor academic performance, increased health budget and as other physical and mental illnesses set in, low productivity, strained relationships, alcoholism, drug addiction and poor economic growth at the national level. The psychological trauma experienced in Kenya the last couple of years, going back to the 2007-2008 ethnic clashes, and the recent terror attacks, has increased the already aggravated mental health challenge in the country. 

But what is of critical concern is the shortage of mental health professionals in Kenya. We have about 100 trained psychiatrists, about 427 psychiatric nurses in the civil service and few qualified clinical and counselling psychologists. In addition, lack of a mental health policy in Kenya coupled with an outdated mental health act leaves Kenyans to the mercy of fate. With realisation that 10 to 15 per cent of Kenya’s population suffers from depression, anxiety and somatisation (a condition where an individual with depression develops physical illnesses), it is of paramount importance to strengthen formal and informal community structures and approaches and equip them to respond and intervene in the mental well ness of their members. For instance, think about the Garissa University parents, relatives and students who are still grieving and asking hard questions while images of their massacred children and colleagues flash in their minds.Should they be silenced and forgotten as Kenya moves to the next political agenda?

Article courtesy of Julia Kagunda who is a counseling psychologist and communication specialist involved in community-based psychosocial support with additional input from BasicNeeds UK in Kenya