Monthly Archives: October 2014

Co-Occurring Disorders

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A co-occurring disorder (formerly referred to as dual diagnosis) is when someone has a mental health disorder at the same time as a substance use disorder (e.g. alcoholism, drug addiction).  For instance, a person that abuses alcohol and is also schizophrenic would be said to have a co-occurring disorder.

Mental disorders that can co-occur with substances use disorders include:  major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, eating disorders (although I personally would class those as a substance use disorder), general anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and pathological gambling disorder.

Fifty to 75 percent of people in treatment for a substance use disorder also have a co-occurring mental health disorder.  And 20 to 50 percent of people that are treated for a mental health disorder also have a substance use disorder.  My favorite statistic is that 60 percent of people with three or more disorders (identified by survey) never received any treatment. Although, people with a co-occurring disorder are more likely to seek treatment than people with just one problem.

Coming from an alternative health perspective the idea of diagnosing and labeling people with disease names seems weird to me and somewhat funny.  People do not have diseases, they have a set of problems or issues that are interconnected and need to be considered as a whole.

The big thing in mainstream medicine is how we need to consider all disorders that co-occur when treating a person.  A step in the right direction, but it still seems bizarre to me that anyone would think about reducing a person to specific sets of symptoms so they can label and treat each condition separately. This reductionist approach is supported by the medical practitioners, drug companies and insurance companies that seem to feel it is necessary to have this system in order to communicate with each other.

I also imagine that this reductionist approach may be due to the limitation of humans to handle complexity.  It is simpler to label a disease and match it with a treatment than to understand what is happening with a person and create a unique treatment to address it.  We see this same reductionist approach applied by herbalists as well.  Often times a beginner or Western herbalist will just use a treatment that matches a disease name, unless they have training in a system that uses a constitutional approach (e.g. traditional Chinese medicine, etc.)

REFERENCES
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders. (2013). Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 42 (DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 13-3992). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US).

Infared Heating Pad

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Two months ago I purchased a Therasage Far Infared Heating Pad from Amazon.  Before I started using it my back would go out about once a month and I would be disabled for a few days while it slowly released the tension.  I’ve been to many health care practitioners over the years, but no one could offer a long term solution.  The muscle that would pull is deep in my gluts (butt muscles) but the when it “pulled” the entire lower back and psoas would freeze.

The situation was really frustrating me.  It really limited my ability to work in the garden like I loved.  Squatting to weed was the activity that triggered it most.  In addition, I had started doing Lomi Lomi massage and the stretching involved was leading my lower back and sacrum to feel extremely sore and tight.  However, I knew that there was something under all this physical exercise, since many people exercise without problems and I used to work the same amount without my back freezing up.

I finally realized that the issue was probably related to the chronic tension I hold from trauma experienced as a child. I have done a lot of clearing of my body memories with ThetaHealing, however I have yet to located the memory that keeps my right side under constant tension. The part of my back that tended to go out was deep in the right glut.  This was a missing piece for me.  I knew that my problem would be resolved when I cleared the connected trauma, but I needed something to take care of the problem in the meantime.

I noticed that the tension was relieved by heat, especially the heat from infrared saunas.  I had been using the one at work with some relief.  However, saunas are expensive and not very portable. Being a vagabond I needed a better solution.  Regular heating pads helped, but I was reluctant to use them except in an emergency, since I did not want exposure to extra electomagnetic fields.  I had tried infared heating pads before but no consistently so wasn’t sure if they were helpful.

I make a commitment to spend cash gifts on things that I wouldn’t normally buy for myself.  So, when my birthday money showed up I decided that a infared heating pad was what I wanted.  An Amethyst BioMat was the one I tried before.  However, the price ticket was a little high at about $650.  I searched around and read various reviews.  I like the idea of amethyst crystals, but opted for a Therasage mat that was a third of the price and made with Jade.  I was really just looking for EMF shielded heat.  The healing properties of jade, the negative ion therapy, and even the infared heat were all just bonuses.

Of course, the infared heat is considered the most important aspect to the people selling the mats and to most buyers.  Why far infared heat?  Infared heat penetrates deeper into the body than regular heat.  This means that that deep muscle in my glut has a better chance of being relaxed and warmed by the heating pad.

Why negative ion therapy?  To quote WebMD:

Negative ions are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that we inhale in abundance in certain environments. Think mountains, waterfalls, and beaches. Once they reach our bloodstream, negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy…

In fact, Columbia University studies of people with winter and chronic depression show that negative ion generators relieve depression as much as antidepressants.

And guess what? Negative ions are destroyed by air conditioners!  Maybe this is another solution to my Phoenix, Arizona Seasonal Affect Disorder.

My results with the Therasage Heating Pad?  Well, it changed my life.  I can garden, dig, massage and my back won’t go out.  I’ve tested it.  I’ve overdone it.  I’ve even felt that little muscle that seemed to be the keystone of my back go out and the rest of my back just stayed fluid.  Indeed, I just came in from swinging the pick on a 100 foot trench I am digging.  No problem.

I use the pad everyday.  In the morning I use it for 20 to 60 minutes while I am meditating. In the evening, especially after work I like to get another 10 to 20 minutes.  I started with a medium size pad and after a month I bought a body sized pad as well.  The medium lists for $250, but you can get it cheaper on Amazon (See links below.  If you use the links to buy it will help support TESLI)  The body size lists for $595, buy I picked up an Amazon open box for $150 less.  That is a good way to get a deal.  When you go to order, check for an open box option.

I also like the pad better than the more expensive one I tried.  It is lighter, more flexible and you can actually see and touch the jade stones.  Thumbs up on the Therasage!  The product is well made and you can set a timer to have it stay on for up to 90 minutes and you can also adjust the heat from barely warm to smoking hot.  It is comfortable.  You could sleep on it…

Is it good for other things besides back pain?  Yes!  It is good for any condition that would be benefited by heat and negative ion therapy. Here is a possible list.  You can also read reviews on Amazon to see how well this is working for people.

  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Back pain
  • Bursitis
  • Cancer (immune system stimulation)
  • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Circulation problems
  • Constipation
  • Contractures
  • Crohn’s Disease
  • Detoxification
  • Dupuytren’s Contracture
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Golfer’s Elbow
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Hip pain
  • Hypertension
  • Immune system stimulation
  • Inflammation
  • Lactic acid build-up
  • Lyme Disease
  • Menstrual cramps
  • Multiple Schlerosis
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Plantar Fasciitis
  • Repetitive Strain Injury
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Rotator Cuff Tendonitis
  • Sciatica
  • Shoulder problems
  • Sinus problems
  • Spastic bowel
  • Sprains and Strains
  • Tendonitis
  • Tennis Elbow
  • Tension / Stress
  • TMJ

 

 

Denial

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Denial means the act of declaring something is not true.  A simple enough word, but the way people use the word has become somewhat of a pet peeve for me.  I find that people use it in a derogatory way when they are judging another person’s actions and/or their stage of change level.  As commonly used, if I say you are in denial, what I am really saying is that I have the only truth.  And, perhaps, I know your truth better than you.

I’m not sure where our use of the word got off track.  It feels quite neutral to say that someone denies something, e.g. for many years I denied that eating saturated fats and eggs caused heart disease.  However, to say one is “in denial” feels charged, e.g. I was in denial that eating saturated fats and eggs caused heart disease.  “Being in denial”, inherently means I’m wrong, when it should just mean I don’t agree with something.

Consider the saturated fats and eggs example.  For many years, the mainstream thought that these items needed to be avoided for a healthy heart.  I denied this reality and, despite heart disease running in my family, continued to have the best cardiovascular system in my family.  Now, the mainstream has come around to my way of thinking.  Would I say they were in denial all those years?  Doesn’t that seem like a silly use of the term?  Perhaps they would have disagreed (denied) that my way is healthy, but it would seem strange to say they were in denial.

The “authorities” had taken all the available information and come to a different conclusion than me.  Then the mainstream had followed their advice. (I started to say they followed it “mindlessly” but realized that would be adding a judgement. Let’s just say they followed it without examining it further.)   In some traditions (Buddhism), this would not be called denial, but ignorance.  “Everybody” in my saturated fat example was simply ignorant of the truth.

The word ignorant rubs me wrong as well.  Inherent in the way it is commonly used, it suggests a mental deficiency, instead of just a simple and temporary not knowing. I prefer the term awareness.

Sometimes one is not aware that something is really a problem because no time has been taken to examine the situation objectively. This is the case when people accept things at face value, or accept information from people that they trust without examining it personally.

Other times people may be aware they are having a problem, but they ignore it because they cannot imagine an alternative or they think this is just how it is.  This is the case of the alcoholic/drug user that is surrounded by others that are drinking, using, getting DUIs and calling in sick to work due to hangovers.  It just doesn’t seem like a problem because it is normal.  I wouldn’t call that person in denial, they are just not aware of the alternative and/or aren’t looking for an alternative because they are already “normal”.

I think Socrates may sum it up best…

The unexamined life is not worth living.

-Socrates