Sandy's Good News

Success getting off of Paxil

      Mom had been on antidepressants for 25 years when she decided enough was enough. I was to be honest, afraid for her to quit. I have read so many horrible stories about those who skipped their medication or quit cold turkey, and ended up in suicidal or homicidal hell. But at 86, mom decided she was old enough to make her own decisions, and I have to say, she was stubborn about it.

    First she tried quiting several times without telling me. She would just skip pills, or stop taking them for a while. I would figure it out after a while by the way she was acting. She would get ill: overwhelmed by bronchitis, apathy, and eventually, have suicidal thoughts. And then she would say, "well I did skip my pills, because I just don't want to be taking so many things..." I would have to tell her that you CAN NOT just willy nilly quit. How strange, for a Scientologist daughter to have to lecture her mother on NOT skipping her Paxil. She would come for a visit. I'd have to say, "Mom, did you bring enough Paxil?  Make SURE you have enough in case you stay longer."  I kept warning her of the danger of quiting without doctor supervision. And she would decide to just stick with/put up with the drug. 

    Then one day this past summer, a terrible set of circumstances, oddly, led her to a solution that worked: Mom suffered a terrible fall. She thankfully did not break any bones, but was very shaken up, and in pain for two weeks. She was miserable with that, plus debilitating hot flashes and night sweats. Those started two years ago when her doctor switched her from Prozac to Paxil. With an accute flair up of bronchitis on top of that, she could not bear it. I couldn't bear to see the suffering. I offered some solutions that mom decided to try as she was willing to listen to anything at this point. Here is what worked: 

1) Mom got a prescription for bio-identical female hormones: Progesterone, and Estrogen. She was dancing (literally) a few hours later, and saying loudly; "I feel better!" Her mood changed, and she actually became stably cheerful. She later was able to drop off the Estrogen and now only takes a small dose of Progesterone. I'm convinced that had she been taking this all along, she NEVER would have chosen to get on anti-depressants in the first place. Her hot flashes and night sweats are now gone. Her mood is so much better, and she seems younger. The mood change was pretty much instant, and observable by all. 

2) Mom went to the Pierce Clinic of Chiropractic. She was assessed as having acute damage from the fall but a chronic injury before that. She was not getting enough blood flow to her brain. This is a special chiropractor who ONLY adjusts the very top bone of your spine- the axis. I first showed Mom a video of Montell Williams receiving this treatment, which is painless and effective. Its called Advanced Orthogonal. Mom got ONE adjustment by Doctor Fowler, and instantly felt that her balance was improved and she was more stable on her feet. She has gone back for checks, but in three months, has not needed another treatment. She's held the original adjustment beautifully.

3) Mom was now wanting to quit Paxil. She felt that she was not depressed and did not need that.  She consulted with a doctor who put her on a personal program of weaning off the Paxil by taporing off it little by little. She was told to take vitamin B-12 to help with depression, and a multi vitamin and mineral formula. I was told to keep her with my family for at least a week while she did the first taper from the drug, to ensure her safety, and for successive tapers.

    Was it easy? No. Were there reactions? Yes. But a lot less than I expected. The balancing of the female hormones and nutritional support seemed to get her through the withdrawal without the horrible mood swings that she had while trying to do it on her own. The female hormones in particular. Not sure mom sees it that way, but that is what I observed. 

    Overall, she is doing well. She is now off Paxil completely, and she is really happy about that. She had a lot of determination and Chutzpah. She accomplished her goal. As an aside, she lost the tremor in her right hand. For the first time in several years, she can write a shopping list, and actually be able to read it! 

    ***While reading about the subject of coming off of antidepressants, I came across an excellent website called The Road Back. I recommend it for helping someone to safely come off psychiatropic drugs.

Depression magic bullet

I just happened to check out a discussion about depresssion and Seasonal Blues on a decorating forum that I frequent. All the woman were trying to help the poster who was seriously depressed. Many suggested that she take a "little pill" just like they do. The thought process was the famous one that goes around, with the assumption that depression is a "disease", and comparing it to diabetes, and so....  That leads to a slippery slope. (Read the article I recently posted on how drug companies achieve this thought process with PR companies that "brand" diseases so that you come to your "own" conclusion that you need their drug.

The advise that worked the best on the poster was to engage in conversations with others and get her attention outward. That reminded me of my own story of the "magic bullet depression medicine" : 

One day, after receiving awful news, the kind of "I feel like rolling over and dying" kind of news, I forced myself to get on with it by using a piece of advice my wise friend Drew gave me years before. Its always worked like magic for me. Drew is a long time Scientology counselor and I've done a fair amount of it myself.

Here is what Drew said to me one particularly gloomy day: "Sandy, your job is to give other people "wins'." If you can think with this, you'll see that it can change *everything*, because your attention will automatically go outwards instead of inward. Thats the key. If you get the idea that wherever you go, that every person that you interact with should feel better for having interacted with you, you now have a job, instead of an illness.

So this one day, years after that advice, after the new "bomb" that hit my life, I dragged myself out to the grocery, and just started looking around while shopping. I started to observe the other shoppers and look for the good in each person. Pretty soon I was able to ease my attention off my crushing news, a tiny bit at a time. I observed a mother and a daughter, a man pushing a cart. They all have their own story, and I imagined what that might be. I decided each person had some goodness and found something I could like about them. I got a few smiles.

Before I knew it, I found myself in the baking section where something happened to me that has never ever happened before. A lady there was holding a gourmet foodie mag and looking at the spices. She showed me the recipe she was looking at and started to talk about cracked pepper, and asked me for an opinion about which pepper to use. Well, we ended up next talking about baking, and I asked her for advise on a desert I was making for my mom's birthday. One thing led to another, and we ended up in a 10 minute conversation with the woman pouring out her story to me (I didn't ask for it I was just being a good listener). (Truthfully, I was intently listening to her and "being interested" so that I could keep my mind from wondering to my awful problem).

 She told me how she is a dermatologist, but is really a foodie and how she would much prefer to be involved in food which is her passion. And part way through the conversation, she reached for my hand and gave me the warmest heartfelt handshake you would ever get from a friend, no less a stranger, looked intently in my eye, and said "Hi, I'm Nancy."

I walked out of that grocery completely uplifted, and that was the beginning of the resolution of the problem/news that I had earlier gotten. I could get outside myself enough to make correct decisions and respond to others involved without wrong emotions or making anyone wrong. My very awful problem/ news began its tricky resolution at that point with that magic bullet advise. And each time I found myself introverted on the awful news, again, I found someone to be interested in and did my "job": giving other people wins. Try it. Its the best "pill" in the world. Good luck. And here is my version of Nancy's desert idea. It came out uglier than Nancy would have made it but the love is what counted.

 

How do you know if you have "Social Anxiety Disorder"

I know that at times I can be shy.  But wait a minute! Social Anxiety Disorder? Shyness is a disease? Here is an article by Dr. Carl Elliott, M.D.,  that might shed light on this topic. " How to brand a disease--and sell a cure.  The author explains how by creating a brand (disease), consumers can be naturally led to think that taking a drug is necessary and that the idea was theirs in the first place. 

From the article:

    "If you want to understand the way prescription drugs are marketed today, have a look at the 1928 book, "Propaganda," by Edward Bernays, the father of public relations in America.

For Bernays, the public relations business was less about selling things than about creating the conditions for things to sell themselves. When Bernays was working as a salesman for Mozart pianos, for example, he did not simply place advertisements for pianos in newspapers. That would have been too obvious.

Instead, Bernays persuaded reporters to write about a new trend: Sophisticated people were putting aside a special room in the home for playing music. Once a person had a music room, Bernays believed, he would naturally think of buying a piano. As Bernays wrote, "It will come to him as his own idea."

Just as Bernays sold pianos by selling the music room, pharmaceutical marketers now sell drugs by selling the diseases that they treat. The buzzword is "disease branding." read more...

 

 

 

 

 

Can depression be caused by nutritional deficiencies?

 

My neighbor Steve and I are nutrition buffs. He more so than I. He's a doctor and has studied the subject for about thirty years. One day while we were enjoying our grass fed burgers at one of our back yard barbecues, he let me in on some shocking nutritional data. 

You might be aware of newer studies that have shown that depression can be caused by an incorrect ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fats in our diets. You may be aware that grass fed beef has a better balance towards Omega 3's than commercial beef (you want more Omega 3 than Omega 6 in your diet for a good balance). And you may know that processed foods are loaded with Omega 6's and mess with your ratios. However, this next bit was a surprise to me. Studies have shown that the ratios of*"skitzophrenics"  are wildly askew. A normal ratio would be something like 1:1 or 1: 4, but the average "skitzophrenic" has a ratio more like 1:71. I don't know about you, but I'm going to be watching my Omega balance from now on! I'm not going to get mine tested. I'm just going to try and stay on the right path. 

Where do you get the good stuff and where are you getting the bad stuff? Crunchy food (all those good tasting chips and crackers) and commercially grown meats are high in Omega 6. Fish oil is high in Omega 3. I figure that in helping those who are depressed, its going to be difficult for most people to lay off the chips, particularly my chip loving older relatives.  But Steve tells me that supplementation with a good fish oil has helped many elderly patients feel less inflammation, and to feel less depressed. 

*Steve and I are Scientologists, and as such, we don't really use the term "skitzophrenia", as that is a psychiatric diagnosis that could misdefine the problem or leave out vital data to help the severely mentally distressed. There is an abundance of information on the nature of what psychiatrists call "skitzoprenia" in the book Dianetics the Modern Science of Mental Health, by L. Ron Hubbard. There is a facinating section of the book in which Mr. Hubbard defines the problem more broadly, and by doing so, leads the way for effective mental techniques to help in its resolution.

Clearwater Academy Knights take state championship!

I promised a post with more tips on lifting depression. A break from that to announce: Saturday night, The Clearwater Academy Knights were the undefeated winners of the Florida Christian Association of Private and Parochial Schools (FCAPPS) state championship!  The purpose of the league is "to use football as a means to glorify God", and to give coaches a chance to use football to teach leadership, sportsmanship, and mutual respect for one another. That purpose is alive and succeeding!

Thank you Chuck Howard, the commissioner and man behind the whole activity. You've created lessons and experiences that our boys and families will remember for a life time. 

 

Moments after the victory- jubilation!!
  

A celebration is not complete without fake champagne flying EVERYWHERE!

Some simple tips to lift depression

    Depression. Who hasn't suffered from it from time to time? Is it a disease? Is it genetic? Is it a disability? Is it a mental illness? Is it contagious? The T.V. commercials that shout out at me when I'm in the kitchen getting my snack warn me that its a sophisticated ailment only to be understood by chemists and doctors, and only to be resolved with heavy duty drugs: Paxil, Prozac, Cymbalta, etc. What if the answer is something not found in any pill, but found within yourself? 

      In the next few posts, I'm going to write about depression from a different point of view: I'm not a psychiatrist, not a doctor, nor am I a PHD. I'm just a Scientologist, a successful mom, wife, daughter, and counselor. I have used these techniques on myself and hundreds of others for the last thirty six years with excellent results. You can try them too. But beware: some of them may seem so simple that they could not possibly work. The simple ones can be the most powerful. So if you have a vested interest in staying depressed, watch out! 

    There are many, many solutions to this complex problem, but for today, I'm going to advise you to read the following from L. Ron Hubbard. Be open minded. Write down 5 ways that you can put this into use today on yourself or others. Try it! 

THE JOY OF CREATING

orce yourself to smile and you’ll soon stop frowning.

Force yourself to laugh and you’ll soon find 
something to laugh about.

Wax enthusiastic and you’ll very soon feel so.

A being causes his own feelings.

The greatest joy there is in life is creating.

Splurge on it!

    

    

What are Scientologists really like? 50 new videos released.

Have you ever wondered what Scientologists are really like?  The Church of ScientologyYouTube Channel has just released 50 new "Meet a Scientologist" videos. Hear straight from the source how using Scientology has impacted the lives and careers of every day and not such every day people: actors, a construction worker,  a dancer, a woman's basketball coach, artists, a horseback rider, moms, a dentist, a race car driver, law student, hair dressers, etc. Click here to see them.

Scientology increases reaction time and intelligence, says winning quarterback

Jesse Chinchar, #18, captain of the Clearwater Knights 6 Man Tackle team, is not the biggest dog in town, but clearly one with an abundance of "fight". Standing 5 foot 8 in his junior year of high school, he managed to lead his team to victory in 10 out of 12 games played, and had a whole lot of fun in the processs. For several weeks running, he was listed as the number one top scoring high school quarterback in the NATION, on the popular web site, Max Preps. 

Jesse says that Scientology and L.Ron Hubbard technology have given him an "unfair" advantage in life. When he was 13, he had an opportunity to take some basic Scientology courses that are designed to increase one's perceptions in present time. He says that the exercises he completed on his course have resulted in increased reaction time and ability to make decisions on a dime. Fast thinking and intelligence, he feels are key to being a successful quarterback. He can see the whole field at once: the guy who is trying to tackle him, the next guy after that, the receivers, the guys who are about to tackle them, and the guys that are coming in after that. All in a flash. Pressure is his friend. When he's being rushed at, he says, he has all the time in the world. 

"Its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog..." 

- Archie Griffin

My thyroid cure- part 2

A few months ago, I wrote about my thyroid cure (well, not a complete cure, but vastly better). My doctor and I keep a close watch on my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, which was completely out of range a year and a half ago. I test it two to three times a year. 

I'm happy to say, that my last test was even better than the previous one. Its now in what the lab considers a normal range. I know that their "normal" really isn't the optimum range, and that I need to get it even lower, however, this was another big improvement. I am really impressed with the body's ability to heal with the correct medical treatment and Scientology auditing (therapy). In my case, the medical treatment was a homeopathic treatment. 

I'm not suggesting to anyone with this ailment to drop their medical treatment or quit taking their hormones. For me personally, homeopathy worked. 

What are Scientologists really like?

If you want to know what Scientologists are really like, no better way than to meet lots of Scientologists. Scientologist blogger, Grahame, has created a "Scientology Blogoshere" blog...a collection of Scientology blogs from around the world. Visit it here.