Jul 12 2012

“Wake Up Doc”: I Think I Will Label Myself Happy Today – Vol. 157, July 14 , 2012

Article written by Donna M. Novi

I had the misfortune of having to go to the emergency room for treatment over the Christmas Holiday.

I had been to my primary care doctor about 2 months prior for another condition and due to the wonderful world of computers the ER doctors were able to look up my records and discover the nature of my visit without even talking to me. Amazing. Hopefully there is no other person with my name.

I had seen my primary care for OCD which is actually believed to be anxiety based.There are other theories that it could have been caused by strep throat when one was a child. No one really knows or understands exactly what causes OCD nor is there any real treatment to cure it. Most diseases of the brain are little understood. Having tried old fashion cognitive therapy, and Prozac in the past I can honestly say that neither worked for me. For the most part those are the two therapies that are used the most with really unsuccessful results.

When I found myself in the ER, I found myself categorized as an anxiety ridden patient.This was not the case, and if someone had talked with me I could have explained, but again, this was not the case. I was offered Ativan after being there only a short time like someone was offered coffee at a social gathering. Actually I wasn’t even offered it, the nurse just came and tried to administer it and thankfully I was with it enough to ask what she was trying to give me so I could have the opportunity to refuse, which I did.  It was the easiest thing to do I suppose. The doctors had not even figured out what was wrong with me yet. After a while it was evident that these doctors had seen on their computer records that I was treated for my OCD by my primary care and it must have been put in as anxiety. This was over several months ago. I am wondering would these doctors have offered me penicillin for the Flu I had last month as well?

It seems that when a person is categorized and labelled with a psychiatric condition that label sticks like glue because it is believed that most if not all psychiatric conditions are incurable. Well the joke is on the doctors and shrinks because not only are they wrong, I am living proof they are wrong.

Having been labeled as a depressed person nearly all of my adult life and placed on countless antidepressants that never really helped-I finally tried a new way of treating myself after a psychiatric nursed tried unsuccessfully to commit me. This I have discussed in previous newsletters, however to sum it up-I found hypnosis after years and years of therapy and pills. What I have learned and discovered with the help of my hypnotist is the fact that depression is just a label. Same as addict, and the same as alcoholic or smoker or anorexic amongst others. If we tell ourselves we are not depressed we can actually become just that. It sounds too easy to be true.

The fact is that there is something to just saying no to drugs, or telling yourself you aren’t depressed. If it is done in the unconscious mind it sticks.  It really changes your thought process and thinking on the conscious level.  It has to be done by a trained hypnotist that understands and knows how to help you access your unconscious mind. I didn’t just go home one day and tell myself I was not depressed. I had worked on the work that needed to be done with my hypnotist, however it was done on a different level.  Overall though, it came down to the fact that my unconscious mind learned that depression was just a name that someone assigned me based on their observation and that stuck with me where ever I went or whatever I tried to do and I was unable to get free from that label, until I found hypnosis and was able to get to the part of my brain that controlled my thinking. And it seemed as if after working with my hypnotist that one day I went home and told myself I wasn’t depressed and I wasn’t. Years and years of talk therapy and pills only re-enforced my depression label. And I was unable to really do the work needed to free myself from the causes that did result in my depression.

I just don’t understand why doctors and psychiatric doctors have the need to keep people stuck as who they were.They go over and over and rehash the same old scenes never really getting rid of the cause.  Only reenforcing  it by talking about it over and over. I guess part of the reason is they don’t know how to work with patients. They really for the most part work on the conscious level and changes are easily made on the unconscious level when one knows how to access it as hypnotists do.

One therapist when I asked her if I would always be depressed for the rest of my life and feel the way I did told me yes, I am predisposed to it, it runs in my genes. Just what I needed to hear, so why am I bothering? What I really feel is these doctors and psychiatric workers want you to remain ill. It sounds terrible, but why would a social worker who I pay to help me not be depressed tell any depressed person there is no hope to not be depressed.   That in itself is depressing. Tell a person long enough and they will believe it as well. My grandmother used to say if you don’t have something nice to say to someone, don’t say it. I really believe she was ahead of her time.  Who we are and what we are changes constantly. Nothing remains the same ever-time moves and we change, even if we don’t think we do. As time changes who we are changes hence the labels we are assigned can also change.

I was 2 years old once and now I am 58. Would those doctors treat me the same when I was 2 as now when I am 58, I would tend to think not. I would hope not. Then why do they treat a person who has been treated for anxiety as a person needing Valium or some other form of tranquillizer all of the time? Or if another person was anorexic and is no longer, why would they not respect that person and believe that they are no longer an eating disorder individual? Or even if a person had asthma suggest that they take an inhaler medication on a daily basis even if they have no symptoms. I had asthma pretty badly for a period and my doctor suggested just that, take the inhaler daily. I declined and eventually my symptoms disappeared and I have not been bothered by my asthma for literally years now.

Because just as depression and addiction are incurable, eating disorders evidently are as well in the medical community. Wake up doctors, nurses and psych workers-these once thought incurable illnesses can be dealt with and eliminated with hypnosis. Depression, addiction, eating disorders, anxiety, OCD and even asthma amongst others are afflictions that are not able to be diagnosed with blood tests or any other diagnostic tool. It is one man or woman’s opinion based on man’s criteria that one is suffering from these illnesses. And just as easy as they can diagnose a person with such, that person can overcome such an illness, should they choose to because it is for the most part in the mind.

Why is it that cancer patients only go into remission? Why is it that a person can not be rid of the disease if they show no symptoms or no indication that they still  have the disease by blood or other tests that first confirmed the illness in the first place? Yet, the flu that I had several months ago that I treated with antibiotics is now gone for good?

Whatever we tell ourselves we will believe and whatever others tell us we tend to believe as well to a certain degree. We rely on doctors to treat us and they should be 100% unbiased each visit meaning that they should see us as a person free from any label we may have had previously. If they don’t they may be doing us a great disservice and actually keeping us ill with diseases we may no longer even have!

Why would I want to take a drug for anxiety if I am no longer anxious, or for depression if I am no longer depressed or for asthma if I no longer have any symptoms?  Why would I want to support the pharmaceutical companies by taking these drugs I no longer or perhaps never needed in the first place just because someone told me I was what they thought I was and I believed it because I trust my doctors? There is not to say that at times people do need medication, but one needs to evaluate whether they are really being helped and if there is a chance of getting rid of their symptoms for good instead of just managing their symptoms with medications and drugs thereby supporting their labels.  All I want to be is who I want to be, free from any labels or diseases or afflictions. It is possible no matter what anyone may tell you. You can be free of any label or affliction you may have if you so desire with the right help.

Jun 29 2012

Sexual Addiction: Is it Getting You Down?

Vol. 40, July 2006

Recently I had a gentleman call asking if I help people with obsessive compulsive behaviors. I asked him to explain what he was talking about so I could get a better idea of what was going on here. He explained that he was very upset with his behavior which followed his never ending thoughts of needing sexual stimulation. It started around ten years ago when his wife started drinking heavily on the weekends. Continue reading

Jun 22 2012

Let’s Stop Labeling People

Vol. 74, March 2009- Let’s Stop Labeling People

There is this idea in the medical world that patients need to be labeled in order to be helped. What happens when a person is given a label? Generally speaking that person learns to believe that they have whatever that disorder or disease is labeled which in turn gives them a very good reason to not have to be responsible for them selves. They are the victim. You see, they are ill and that means that they can’t help doing or thinking the things they do. It is just the way it is. This is especially true for individuals who are given a mental health diagnosis or two or three or more. Continue reading

Jun 22 2012

Facts About Smoking: What Happens When You Quit Smoking using Nicotine Replacement – Vol.154, June 22, 2012

Stop for no smoking terror

Stop for no smoking terror (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are 40 million adult smokers in the United State with 70% of them wanting to quit. Sadly only 5% of those who quit remain smoke – free after 12 months according to the CDC.
Nicotine replacement therapies were designed to replace harmful forms of nicotine ingested through smoking yet are only “mildly effective” according to the marketing data put out by NicVAX®. According to the research that I have done these replacement therapies are between 3 and13% effective or less meaning that there is between a 97 to 87% failure rate.
NicVAX® is going to be sold to aid in smoking cessation as well as to prevent relapse in a treated smoker. However the vaccine itself isn’t enough to do the job. Maybe they learned from the other nicotine replacement therapies that chemical treatment is not enough to do the job alone. For this reason their own marketing materials say one needs to use the vaccination in concert with behavioral modification counseling as stated in the paragraph below:
“(a) Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) represent a first generation approach to assisting smokers to quit by substituting a less harmful form of nicotine than inhalation by smoking. NRTs are mildly effective and support smoking cessation in combination with behavioral modification counseling. NRTs come in gums, patches, lozenges and inhalers. Many forms of NRTs are currently available over the counter.”

If you are thinking of using this or any other form of chemical therapy to stop smoking it would be wise to think about the whole solution before going forward with any of it.

In one session you can stop your smoking cessation habit without the chemical reactions causing all the negative side effects one can encounter using the medical solution. I can tell you that if you are willing to invest the relatively small sum of money to stop your smoking habit with the use of hypnosis especially if done in an individualized session with a practitioner who is well versed in this specialization, your success rate will go up to anywhere between 63% and 95%. This would be a much better way to go using the power of your own mind instead of relying on some chemical that may have worse side effects than the even the smoking can have on you.

Chantex for example is being prescribed for smoking cessation to those who have been diagnosed with depression. There is a huge problem here because even the marketers of Chantix® have a black label on the box saying that one can have “…suicidal thoughts or actions while taking Chantix®.” They go on to explain that these side effects can occur upon taking the Chantex ® or several weeks after beginning. One can also develop anxiety, anger, panic, aggression, mania, etc.

My question to those of you who are wanting to stop smoking is simply this: Why would you want to pay this price to have your body and mind tampered with in such a manner when it is totally unnecessary? Why don’t you just allow a hypnotist to put you into a very nice and relaxed state for an hour or two leaving with the problem handled without all the side-effects to contend with?

If you chose to use the chemical methods, you can already understand that some form of behavioral modification is recommended to be able to fully stop your habit. If this is the way you wish to go, using a hypnotist for a session or two is going to be much more cost effective in getting the job done.

 

Jun 15 2012

A better way to treat anxiety disorders in children

Vol. 60, January 2008

According to a study conducted by the New York state mental health officials by Peter Jensen, Director of the Center for Children’s Mental Health at Columbia University there has been an increase in 1990 from 50,000 children aged 6 to 18 years  taking antipsychotic medication children to 532,000 nationwide in 2000. This is excluding stimulants for ADD and antidepressants, the most commonly used psychiatric drugs. Continue reading

May 25 2012

Moral of Amy Winehouse’s Fight With Manic Depression & Addiction – VOL. 111, June 28, 2011

English: Amy Winehouse at the Eurockéennes of 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is a rather sad day when a 27 year old talent such as Amy Winehouse is reported dead in her home. Reportedly she stated that she was diagnosed as a manic depressive, reported in the AP on July 23, 2011. She was unwilling to receive treatment for her illness, instead seemingly relying on smoking cocaine and drinking alcohol to handle her mood swings. This is the story for some 85% of manic depressives according to Kay Redfield Jamison, PH.D. author of many books on mood disorders including her own autobiography “Unquiet Mind” relating her own battle with manic depression decades ago. One thing that needs to be understood about both mental illness and addictions is that no one can be helped who doesn’t want the help. Given that mood disorders run in my own family I know first hand how this works. I myself sought treatment when my life was out of control and was filled with thoughts of suicidal ideation back in December of 1989. There was never a thought of following through on doing myself in, however, the idea of being free of all the darkness that was hanging over seemed a better place to be. I was one of the lucky ones, willing, wanting and able to get free of this illness, without ever deciding to enter the world of drugs as a method to handle my own mood swings. Luckily for me the thought just never occurred to me. With all the millions of dollars earned, showing up drunk to concerts, married and divorced from another addict who was in court as she for slugging people when fame brought on fans wanting to be closer than desired, and paparazzi looking for photos, it is apparent the excess brought on more troubles than it alleviated. Winehouse had stated that she never wanted the fame thinking of herself simply as a musician. Winehouse reportedly stated that she was fighting eating disorders as well, not an uncommon thing for the eating disordered to have issues of drug addiction. This happens more than many would care to know. When one thinks about it both illnesses are really a matter of obsessive thoughts leading to a compulsive behavior, unable to stop. In my practice about 50% of my eating disordered clients have had substance abuse issues as well. How sad that Winehouse’s parents reportedly knew that her life was to be over in the “not too distant future”, her father having already written his daughter’s eulogy before she even died. This was not a great surprise when one understands her complicating respiratory health issues. She was fighting early stage emphysema according to her father, Mitch Winehouse reporting that her lungs were operating at 70% capacity with an irregular heartbeat due to chain smoking and the smoking of crack cocaine. Without stopping her smoking of crack cocaine and cigarettes her doctors had told her that she would have to wear an oxygen mask and would most certainly die. So there is a very good reason for an autopsy to be done here because there are a myriad of possible causes to this talented yet, ill woman’s death. One thing is for sure though. If she had been willing to get treatment for the underlying issue here, that of her manic depression, Amy Winehouse may still be around today singing at her concerts and enthusing her fans with the great talent that was her. If you are having any of these issues, it is best to get them under control before your life is taken. Hypnosis can help to bring these behaviors under control. Just make sure that your practitioner has experience dealing with them because, as we found in Ms. Winehouse’s case, these are very serious conditions to be sure.

May 18 2012

Distracted Driving: Beyond Texting and Driving – Vol. 149, May 18, 2012

Distracted driving

 

Donna M. Novi

My Godchild Zach, who just turned 17 got his drivers license recently and I cringe every time I think of him driving. He is a very responsible young person and a total athlete, jock as they say. I know because I asked and he told me he would never drink or do any drugs to begin with, much less drive after doing so. I had to ask. I believe him, he has given me no reason not to.
Neurological researchers around the country, spearheaded by Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health, have in recent years found that the brain is not fully developed until after age 18. The brain system that regulates logic and reasoning develops before the area that regulates impulse and emotions, the researchers say.
So even though I feel Zach is an extremely responsible young adult, more than most adults I know, I still cringe at the thought of my loved one on the road.
Another concern to me is that most people, from the young to the old have lost all respect for one another especially on the road. They certainly forget the rules of the road while driving it. They pass in the right lane, travel in the left lanes on highways. Speed limits are out the window for many. And especially in Massachusetts, there is no such thing as merging, yielding lacking any basic driver courtesy.
We could blame it all on the young people, since I am in that age where I am considered an experienced driver now, far past 18 years of age. However, I see everyone from the young to the old demonstrating total disregard for the rules of the road, demonstrating a total disregard for human life.
With all the sleeping pills out there and the world’s seemingly hectic life style, it is scary to think that people actually get behind the wheel the morning after. Because in fact that is truly what it is-the “morning after” you have ingested a mind altering drug.
The half-life of Ambien is about 2 hours. Most drugs are cleared from the body within 5 or 6 half-lives. Therefore, if one took the Ambien on Friday night, it should be out of his system within 10 to 12 hours, before the next afternoon. This is only an estimate.  Each individual person will metabolize drugs differently depending on things such as weight, liver function, kidney function, and other factors.

I don’t know many individuals these days that get 10-12 hours of sleep, especially on a weekend. Antihistamines are another problem as many people take them, and then drive thinking nothing of it.
Half-life of some common ingredients in Antihistamines:

  • 

Acrivastine – 1.5 to 3.5 hours.
  • Brompheniramine – 2.5 hours.
  • Cetirizine – Mean elimination half-life is 7.9 hours
  • Chlorpheniramine –  21 to 27 hours.
  • Diphenhydramine – 1 to 4 hours.
  • Loratadine –  3 to 20 hours (mean, 8.4 hours)
  • Triprolidine – 3 to 3.3 hours.
  • Sympathomimetic amines:
  • Phenylephrine –  2.1 to 3.4 hours.
  • Pseudoephedrine – 4.5 to 8 hours.

Half life is defined as the time it takes for HALF of the chemical to clear your body. So if you multiply the half life by 5 or 6 all of the drug should be cleared from your body. Understand that some of these drugs take over 20 hours to totally clear one’s body. Yet we don’t think twice about getting behind the wheel.
Even though it feels like one is fine to drive, some people who are clearly intoxicated feel as if they too can drive safely, as you are trying desperately to wrestle the keys away from that person. We have to understand that sometimes our brains just don’t react the normally on some medications given their influence on our nervous systems including our lack reflexes. With this being the case more care needs to be given to what we are doing before we get in our vehicles to drive.
Perhaps “they” just don’t realize the potential they have when “they” get behind a wheel to harm or even kill. I put “they” in quotes meaning of course not me. Now I understand how easy it is to think that if I were to be excluded in this situation I would be saying that I am super human, which I am not. I too am sad to report am guilty of tailgating too close to the car in front of me, talking on the cell phone while driving and other infractions that could contribute to or cause a fatality.
There is just way too much stimulation in vehicles today. Even TV’s, although in the back seat, one can still hear the Celtic’s play offs or the evening news if the kids are watching it. A huge distraction to any fan of theirs.

The GPS is a great device, however can be a distraction as well just as the chap stick that you drop and try to pick up while you continue to drive, keeping your eyes on the road at all times of course.

It was a great idea to put the radio controls on the steering wheels. I know this for sure as I was rear ended once while sitting at a red light. The young man having looked down to change the station did not look up in time. At least I was in my car, and not crossing the street.
Every time we get in the car, we have the potential to kill or be killed. Pretty scary stuff. Whether intentional or not, the potential is there.

Every time we pick up a gun the potential is there if it is loaded to kill, just like every time we get behind the wheel of a car-if it is “loaded” with gas, we have the potential to kill.

It doesn’t even have to be road rage, it can be simple as missing that exit daydreaming and then trying to compensate for time by speeding up.

I saw a cartoon in the paper today, a guy driving a car and the caption read “Let me call you back.  I’m trying to eat, shave and reprogram my GPS.”

Are we really all that busy? Is it really a cartoon or is it reality?

If you are finding yourself feeling overwhelmed or lacking in sleep a good hypnotist can help you to get to the cause of the issue and relieve you of the need to take medications for these symptoms if all physiological causes have been ruled out by a competent doctor.

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