Antidepressants Blog

What is it?

A feeling of being alone in the world, together with all the negative emotions that accompany this feeling. It is different from solitude which is self-imposed and as a result can have much more serious effects. About one in five of all US households are single occupants (though not all of these will be lonely of course) and many other individuals are lonely even if they are surrounded by people. In this context loneliness could be said to be a combination of an individual’s environment and personal expectations. Young people living at home are often lonely, especially if they have no boyfriend or girlfriend at a time when most of their friends have one. Older people are much better at being alone than are younger ones and it appears that loneliness is something we learn to cope with as we get older.

What causes it?

The most obvious cause of loneliness is literally being alone, but it doesn’t have to be physical-it can be emotional or psychological aloneness. We can all be lonely from time to time, even within a family. Many married couples who appear happy to the outside world live lonely lives side by side under the same roof. Their bodies are physically close to one another but their hearts and minds are miles apart.

There are at least two main types of loneliness. In the first, the individual feels alone and passive, and sleeps, eats and cries most of the time. People suffering from this often see themselves as unlovable and unable to alter their lives. The second category contains the large group of adults who feel lonely for some reason and then read, listen to music, disappear to the greenhouse, study or whatever to fill their lonely hours. This then becomes a vicious circle because those around them imagine they don’t want company, and their feeling of isolation and loneliness increases. Of course, not all pursuits such as these are signs of loneliness-they can be an oasis in a busy life-but if someone spends most of his or her time alone this should alert friends and family that all may not be well.

But it is not just adults who get lonely. Babies and young children are often very lonely-right from the day they are born. Many a baby is left in its cot awake for hours staring at the ceiling, but however many toys there are to play with the average baby craves human company and input. By and large it is probably fair to say that we leave our children too much in our culture, when they really want to be around their parents and particularly their mother when they are very young. I believe that babies should be with their mothers (or whoever is their primary care-giver) most of the time in the first year of life so as to prevent the learning of loneliness. Babies can be carried around in a sling or put in a carrycot in the kitchen or living room so that they can observe family life and be part of it.

Loneliness also paves the way for fear and other negative emotions. A busy mind wards off worries, especially unnecessary ones.

Grieving, for example after the death of a spouse or a parent, often involves a feeling of loneliness among the other emotions-all perfectly normal-and it can take up to two years to fully recover. Similarly, after a divorce many people feel desperately alone, possibly for the first time in their lives. This is especially true of the person who is left without the children (usually the man). This is a time when loneliness can lead to true depression and even to suicide as the world seems hardly worth living in.

The ‘normal’, healthy person can be alone without being lonely and can balance a need for and enjoyment of others with a need for and enjoyment of solitude, if only from time to time. Such people don’t feel the world is a bad place, or inferior or vulnerable, when they are ‘alone’-simply that they can’t and don’t want to be with others all of the time. Many people need to reach their forties or even older before they can claim that they have achieved this delicate balance.

*192/72/5*

Analgesics are drugs which are used to relieve or control pain by interrupting the transmission of the pain message at some point along its pathway.

Analgesics are extremely useful for the relief of short-term pain, such as dysmenorrhoea and ovulation pain but, in general, they should not be used for the control of chronic ongoing pain.

It must be remembered that analgesics only treat the symptoms of endometriosis — they have no effect on the disease itself.

There are several types of analgesics, including simple analgesics, compound analgesics, narcotic analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Simple analgesics

The simple analgesics are aspirin and paracetamol. Both are highly effective in relieving mild to moderate pain. They relieve pain by blocking the production of prostaglandins, which are chemicals produced by the body which cause inflammation and pain.

Aspirin is more effective than paracetamol in reducing inflammation and therefore it may be more suitable for women with dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis. However, some believe that aspirin should not be used for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea as it may promote heavy bleeding.

Aspirin and paracetamol can usually be purchased without a prescription from chemists and supermarkets. Some of the more commonly available brand names of aspirin are Disprin, Aspro Clear, Winsprin and Solprin, while the most common brand names of paracetamol are Panadol, Panamax and Dynamon.

The main side effects of aspirin are irritation and bleeding of the stomach but these can usually be avoided by taking the drug with food or a glass of milk. Paracetamol does not cause irritation or bleeding of the stomach.

Compound analgesics

The compound analgesics are a group of analgesics which usually contain a combination of a mild narcotic such as codeine or dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride and either aspirin or paracetamol.

The milder compound analgesics usually contain a small amount of codeine and either aspirin or paracetamol. They are available without a prescription from chemists and the more common brand names include Codis, Codiphen, Codral, Aspalgin, Veganin, Panadeine, Panamax Co, Dymadon Co, Codalgin and Perpain.

The stronger compound analgesics usually contain a larger amount of codeine or dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride and either aspirin or paracetamol. They are only available on a doctor’s prescription. The more common brand names include Codral Forte, Panadeine Forte, Capadex, Doloxene and Digesic.

Codeine can cause constipation even at relatively small doses so it should be used with care or avoided if you have bowel symptoms which are exacerbated by constipation. Codeine is also addictive, especially if taken in large amounts or for prolonged periods. The stronger compound analgesics containing codeine should only be used for several days at a time.

*61/41/5*

Exotic Fried Wild Rice

1 small onion

1/2 carrot

1/2 lemon (squeeze out juice)

1 stick celery

1/2 green capsicum

75 ml vegetable stock

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon tamari or shoyu

150 grams wild rice

Sea salt to taste

1 spring onion, chopped

2 eggs

Finely dice the onion, carrot, celery and capsicum. In a wok or frying pan, add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable stock and heat through until the stock boils (alternatively olive oil can be used). Add the garlic and onion and stir fry. Add the other vegetables progressively, adding a little tamari and lemon juice when necessary. Add the cooked wild rice and mix well. While in the wok, push the rice mix towards the edge of the wok and make a small circle in the centre. Break open the two eggs into this space, let this cook. When cooked, dice with a spatula. Blend in with the rice mix. Season to taste with sea salt. Fold the spring onion through the mixture and serve.

Ginger Snapper Fillets

25 grams asparagus

1 carrot

1/2 teaspoon ginger root, finely grated

1/2 teaspoon sherry

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon corn flour

150 grams snapper fillets

50 grams mushrooms

1 teaspoon parsley

Trim the asparagus and cut the carrot into strips. Combine ginger with sherry, soy sauce and corn flour. Set aside. Place fish in a baking dish with the mushrooms and steam or bake in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until done. Meanwhile, steam the prepared vegetables. Drain the juices from the cooked fish and add to the ginger mixture. Bring to the boil (add a little vegetable stock or water if too thick) and spoon a little over the fish – this keeps the heat in the fish when you serve. Arrange the steamed vegetables on the plate with the fish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the fish and serve.

*233/34/5*

• Butterfly.

Sit up with your knees bent and the soles of your feet together, holding the feet in place with your hands. Pull your knees up towards each other slowly. Once you have pulled your knees up as far as possible, begin to let them slowly fall back towards the floor.

• Leg extensions

Sit on the floor with one leg extended in front of you while the other leg is bent with the big toe pointing towards the opposite leg. With both arms together, reach towards the extended leg. Reach just until you feel a comfortable stretch. Reverse legs and repeat. Do this ten times on each side.

Remaining on the floor, spread both of your legs out in front of you. With both hands together, reach for your right foot, then in front of you, then to the left foot. Repeat this ten times.

• Toe touches

Sitting on the floor with both legs together and extended out in front of you, bend from the hips, trying to keep your back straight and your head up. Try not to bend your lower back. Reach for the lower part of your legs. Hold for a count of five and return to your starting position. Repeat ten times.

• Arm swings

Stand up with your arms extended out from your shoulders. In an even motion, swing your arms from side to side, twisting at the waist. Try to remain relaxed as you do this to get a smooth even motion.

• Arm circles

Standing, with your arms extended out from your shoulders, begin to move your arms in a circular motion. Do this ten times and then move them the other direction.

• Windmills

Standing straight with your arms extended out to your sides, bend down to touch your opposite hand and toe. Come back up and reverse your hand and toe. Do this for a count of ten.

• Standing side bends

Stand straight with your arms extended out to your sides. Bend towards your right side letting your right arm go down your side and touching your right leg around the knee or as far as you can go. Do this just until you begin to feel the stretch in your left side. Reverse and do to the other side.

*178\37\8*

Dr Beata Jencks, in her book ‘Biofeedback: Your Body at its Best’, described an approach originally intended for use with children. But the technique called the ‘Autogenic Rag Doll’ which emphasised imagery, has been successfully used to help many adults with stress and pain.

Again, these exercises should be done in a quiet place and at a comfortable temperature. The exercises can be split up at first with individual exercises being practised for a few days each. Since the exercise is usually practised with the eyes closed, a deep state of relaxation may be achieved. Thus, a good ‘waking up’ is needed from the state of relaxation. The simplest way is just to stretch your arms and legs, or to yawn and breathe in deeply, and to open the eyes, feeling refreshed and full of vigour.

‘Make yourself comfortable and allow your eyes to close. Then lift one arm a little, and just let it drop. Let it drop heavily, as if it were the arm of a Raggedy Ann doll, one of those floppy dolls or animals.

Choose one in your imagination. Choose a doll, an old loved soft teddy bear, a velveteen rabbit, a bean bag toy -or even a favourite pillow or blanket. Choose anything soft that you like. Lift your arm again a little and drop it, and let it rest there for a moment. Now think of your arm again. But don’t lift it in reality, just in your imagination. Lift it in your imagination and think that you are dropping it again. Do this while you breathe out. Go ahead. Let your arm go limp like a rag while you breathe out.

*151\37\8*

Effectiveness of hypnosis on pain

The placebo is a time honoured way of presenting to a patient by a doctor of a sugar pill or coloured water said to have potent properties to heal or to relieve pain. It works because the brain produces natural pain-killers, the endorphins and enkephalins simply because the patient believes the treatment is going to be effective.

The effectiveness of the placebo in hypnosis in pain relief has been studied in low and highly hypnotisable subjects. In low hyp-notisable subjects, there is no difference in the effectiveness of hypnotism and a placebo, such as simply asking subjects to close their eyes and not react to given suggestions.

But in highly hypnotisable subjects, hypnotism is more effective than a placebo in pain relief — the placebo occasionally produces negative results.

The difference between hypnotism and a placebo is that hypnotism primarily acts as an analgesic and only secondarily as a sedative. There is no link between hypnotisability and the response to the placebo overall. Even unhypnotised subjects can respond to suggestions of relaxation. These can be of benefit in anxiety reduction, as in dental procedures where hypnotic ‘depth’ is not necessary as usually little pain relief is needed to help.

There is as yet no real evidence of a relationship between hypnosis and the endorphins. One study by Goldstein and Hilgard (1975) showed that hypnotic analgesia was not reversed by Naloxone, a drug which reverses the pain-killing effects of morphine in a dose which is effective in reducing the placebo response. So far, the study of internal systems for pain reduction and that of the natural morphine-like substances is still in its infancy.

*126\37\8*

Although a fair amount of research is under way, we are still uncertain how intravenous procaine actually blocks pain. It does not work as an anaesthetic agent blocking all the nerves carrying pain because the patient has full awareness of sensation after the injection.

Procaine is thought to block the higher centres and pathways carrying pain. Effectiveness varies from one person to another.

It is important to stress that, unlike many narcotics and other medicines used in pain control, procaine does not seem to block the body’s own pain-fighting mechanism as stimulated by acupuncture, TENS, lasers, and so on.

This is important because it does not exclude the use of IV procaine with electrical and other stimulation allowing methods of pain treatment to continue hand in hand.

*101\37\8*

Excessive tiredness, that is not relieved by rest, is usually a sign of some mental disorder, such as depression. It can also be caused by many infectious diseases, by anaemia, or by an underactive thyroid gland. Sometimes fatigue persists following a viral infection, and this is now known as post-viral syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Fatigue is very often reported as a symptom of food intolerance, especially in connection with migraine and irritable bowel syndrome. Early-morning tiredness is the most frequent problem. Looking back over case-histories, it seems that fatigue may be an early warning sign as food intolerance develops. How food might produce fatigue is not known, but exorphins may play a part, or it may be a side-effect of some generalized immune reaction, as is suspected in post-viral syndrome.

No-one should embark on an elimination diet without first consulting their doctor, but this point should be emphasized for anyone with severe fatigue.

There can be several other causes for this problem, and some of these are serious diseases.

*173\180\8*

By helping those around us to see and appreciate the beautiful things in life, to achieve happiness, we are administering to them the best biological medicine possible. Showing them the meaning of life and the opportunities to do good to their fellow human being will bring joy and happiness into their life.

If you know a diabetic patient, you can be of great service if you teach him to enjoy the good and beautiful things in life. Point out the beauty of the spring buds and blossoms; encourage him to rejoice in the golden splendour of the ripe wheat fields of the summer, to take pleasure in the autumnal symphony of colours and to admire the ornate beauty of wintry ice and snow crystals. To experience this happiness will touch his heart, improve his breathing and instil him with a vitality that will carry him through the woods and over the hills with opened eyes and a thankful heart. The pancreas will begin to function better; the secretion of digestive enzymes and consequently the digestion, will improve. A lower intake of food will be of advantage to him in his condition, since better digestion means better utilisation of the food eaten. The inner secretions will be stimulated, the islets of Langerhans will increase their production of insulin and the sugar in the blood will be oxidised. Aided by physical measures such as hot abdominal packs and good natural wholefoods, especially by plenty of raw vegetables in the diet, all eaten slowly and well insalivated, his health will visibly improve. If joy and happiness are added to the diet, before long he may be fortunate enough to have regained his health.

*1249/28/1*

In the not too distant past, the Swiss were generally trained to keep their land clean and tidy. They were brought up with this attitude from earliest childhood at home, and when they started school, strict order and tidiness continued to be taught; in fact, teachers took great care that on outings and excursions the children never left litter lying around.

However, this order was soon disrupted when other habits and influences found their way in. I remember a beautiful wooded area in the Rhine valley, a delightful place where one could always relax. But one day, I found that the scene had changed and the picturesque landscape was littered with paper and wastes. Many a person resented this untidiness, but during the following year their anger could turn to gladness because a litter bin was installed — a quiet hint to put the rubbish where it belonged. This preventative education allayed our fears for the future and impressed upon observers that the Swiss were not inclined to let the beauties of nature be spoiled by thoughtless people who threw their rubbish just anywhere.

*1180/28/1*