Are we born crazy?
The three functional psychoses are mood disorders, delusional disorders, and schizophrenia.
Depending on the level of functional behavior, people with these disorders are able to contribute to society, sometimes in a greater capacity when the rest of society treats them with the respect they do deserve.
And they deserve a lot, especially given the prejudice given a good psychotic.
For not all psychoses have a violent etiology (host of "symptoms" and behavior related to the psychosis).
Indeed, not all psychoses are bad, or disabling.
I suffer from borderline personality disorder, which is related to delayed development of the brain.
Under the age of one, I suffered anoxia for a brief period of time, so there is post-natal brain damage.
As well, I have had about 6 head trauma before I was 13.
So I have probably suffered post-concussive trauma and the etiology which arose consists of rebelliousness, insomnia, rages, and risky behavior.
One example of risky behavior: obsession about holding my breath until I passed out.
As a child, I remember learning to masturbate by age 6.
I remember several incidents when my mother used to punish me, but forgive her for it because my misbehaviour was real and did occur.
So naturally when I entered adulthood, the insomnia led to marked changes caused by neurological damage suffered as a child.
In adulthood, the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder was made circa 1990.
At first, my doctor decided to leave it untreated out of respect for my decision to muse non-pharmacological methods of controlling it using alternative health.
15 years later, I've "awakened" to discover that I am missing out on a family and a career due to borderline personality disorder.
Hence the delayed development issue.
As for schizophrenia, I know that that term describes etiology arising from a real chemical imbalance in the brain.
It has been controlled best by orthomolecular medicine, but seroquel is being used more and more to control schizophrenics.
For seroquel causes health problems in the doses needed to control violent forms of psychoses, and is an expensive sleeping aid in lower doses.
However, a combination of essential fatty acids and herbal anti-depressants are an alternative to the pharmacological medication.
EFAs help to stabilize mood, and take up to 3 weeks to work. I've experienced overnight relief, which lead to the healthy, happy mental state I now sustain.
Herbs such as valerian helps with sleep; St Johns wort helps with the depression; and gingko helps my brain get oxygenated.
As for kava, I'd recommend it as an alternative to recreational drinking. YMMV
IMHO we are all naturally crazy. Anyone can suffer a functional psychoses. Indeed, I would consider alcoholism as a functional psychoses with subclinical etiology.
So the ignorant can perpetuate their ignorance.
Madness is inherent to post-modern society in the 21st Century.
For the most sane of us all are on medication, be it pharmaceuticals or herbal supplements (health foods, herbs, vitamins and minerals).
Anybody would be crazy to subsist on only the average Canadian diet, since it has been implicated in the etiology of a host of functional psychoses due to subclinical malnutrition.
A host of homeless people may find relief in optimal nutrition, but won't find it at the meal lineup to the soup kitchens.
In today's society, the harmless psychotics are being manufactured and controlled by the neurotics in power.
It's time to realize this, and to get off Big Pharma's drive to cash in on the host of broken lives ruined by crappy food pushed by the food industry.
Indeed, health food is more nutritious and better for us than cheap food.
Sanity is found by supporting your local organic grocer.
Originally posted: March 3, 2005 at 2:45 PM
Edited and redacted: October 6, 2010 at 5:32 PM
Edited: November 24, 2012 at 1:48 PM
4 comments:
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The above site confirms the challenges I have with communication through speech.
"Language and communication problems are common disabilities in TBI patients. Some may experience aphasia, defined as difficulty with understanding and producing spoken and written language; others may have difficulty with the more subtle aspects of communication, such as body language and emotional, non-verbal signals.
In non-fluent aphasia, also called Broca's aphasia or motor aphasia, TBI patients often have trouble recalling words and speaking in complete sentences. They may speak in broken phrases and pause frequently. Most patients are aware of these deficits and may become extremely frustrated. Patients with fluent aphasia, also called Wernicke's aphasia or sensory aphasia, display little meaning in their speech, even though they speak in complete sentences and use correct grammar. Instead, they speak in flowing gibberish, drawing out their sentences with non-essential and invented words. Many patients with fluent aphasia are unaware that they make little sense and become angry with others for not understanding them. Patients with global aphasia have extensive damage to the portions of the brain responsible for language and often suffer severe communication disabilities.
TBI patients may have problems with spoken language if the part of the brain that controls speech muscles is damaged. In this disorder, called dysarthria, the patient can think of the appropriate language, but cannot easily speak the words because they are unable to use the muscles needed to form the words and produce the sounds. Speech is often slow, slurred, and garbled. Some may have problems with intonation or inflection, called prosodic dysfunction. An important aspect of speech, inflection conveys emotional meaning and is necessary for certain aspects of language, such as irony.
These language deficits can lead to miscommunication, confusion, and frustration for the patient as well as those interacting with him or her."
It also confirms the challenges I have with association of borderline personality disorder with tramuatic brain injury
"Most TBI patients have emotional or behavioral problems that fit under the broad category of psychiatric health. Family members of TBI patients often find that personality changes and behavioral problems are the most difficult disabilities to handle. Psychiatric problems that may surface include depression, apathy, anxiety, irritability, anger, paranoia, confusion, frustration, agitation, insomnia or other sleep problems, and mood swings. Problem behaviors may include aggression and violence, impulsivity, disinhibition, acting out, noncompliance, social inappropriateness, emotional outbursts, childish behavior, impaired self-control, impaired selfawareness, inability to take responsibility or accept criticism, egocentrism, inappropriate sexual activity, and alcohol or drug abuse/addiction. Some patients' personality problems may be so severe that they are diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, a psychiatric condition characterized by many of the problems mentioned above. Sometimes TBI patients suffer from developmental stagnation, meaning that they fail to mature emotionally, socially, or psychologically after the trauma. This is a serious problem for children and young adults who suffer from a TBI. Attitudes and behaviors that are appropriate for a child or teenager become inappropriate in adulthood. Many TBI patients who show psychiatric or behavioral problems can be helped with medication and psychotherapy."
What I have found, though, is that my challenges with communication happen under conditions of stress.
One symptom of stress is the inability to focus or concentrate on a simple task.
However, I know it isn't the people around me that is the challenge. It's the ability to maintain focus.
Concentration and focus come through practice.
"Anxiety symptoms might be self-managed either using an ‘unofficial SSRI’ (selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor) such as the antihistamines diphenhydramine or chlorpheniramine; or with St John’s Wort/ hypericum."
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