Alchemica
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Posts posted by Alchemica
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I've used a bit of Gotu Kola. I think it's better used as a tonic rather than what I was doing, high acute doses for anxiolysis. Here's a bit on it I did
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I ditched the loop of putting something in to heal and instead embraced self-directed creativity as therapy. I never considered myself creative in any good way
QuoteWe buy, rather than make, most of the things we want and need. We surround ourselves with passive entertainments instead of inventing or discovering our own.Subtly or overtly, we’re constantly sold on the notion that if we want to be happy, we must acquire and ingest more — more things, more information, more experiences, more external approval.But that consumption-centric approach to life tends to harm our well-being. It leaves us vulnerable to runaway cravings, and it restricts our opportunities to express ourselves in more inventive, satisfying ways.There’s an inverse correlation between consumption and creativity...we create very little of what we consume, and we consume vastly more. Research suggests that this unprecedented imbalance is contributing to physical, mental, and emotional dysfunction. [1]What would the world be like if we all spent more of our energy transmuting problems to creative, compassionate solutions? I'd like to hear of anyone who's done similar and what it helped you get through?
For me, I found if you invest the time and energy, even part of it, you spend on ruminating, analysing, judging, blaming, shaming, denying, complaining, consuming, absorbing, hurting, grieving, projecting etc etc into creating, exploring, playing, loving you end up re-friending your Self/Soul and others from a much better place. It lets you embrace positive potentiality even when you're hurting and learn to not project that negativity into other's worlds.
Once you make the choice to direct your energy, actions and time on the planet toward creation, expression, emotion, communication, connection...
Throughout history two conditions have exerted themselves: “awakening,” which reflects our highest truth, beauty, and innocence, and “insanity,” which reflects humanity’s taste for the negative, greed, and the subjugation of one people by another.
QuoteArt is an easy instrument for spiritual awakening. We don’t need to go to extremes of transcendental meditation with fasting and whips.
Art is meditation through objects.
In the Temples of Humankind, everyone may have a go at art, experience the alchemy of it, with improvements within and beyond the self. [1]Like this person, "I pulled out the paints and painted a picture.... I laughed at how bad it was and felt an untainted, simple pleasure. I didn’t feel any pressure to be good, or productive."
“It’s literally externalising an internal experience in a contained form, so then one can reflect on it with a degree of autonomy, that ‘I have control over this experience, to a degree’"
“It doesn’t matter if it’s artistic" “whether the dog looks like a dog, or a camel; the person who drew it knows it’s a dog. The meaning they derive from it — that’s what’s important.”
“It bridges your emotions. It does the talking for you.”
Soon enough I had an "unscrambling the egg" portfolio.
Unfortunately modern, Western culture has largely emphasized the verbal and analytic
Art making was found to assist mental health through enhancing eight different elements of the self [1]:
•Emotional exploration and expression.
•Participation and learning.
•Enhancement of thought processes.
•Movement beyond an illness identity.
•New perspective and awakening.
•Spiritual growth.
•Political voice and social expression.
•Development of interpersonal relationships."We live in a time when our capacity for imagining is being thwarted by things that encourage us to tune out of life and become passive consumers rather than active imaginers. We have become paralyzed by our own busyness. We are lulled into passivity, and our creative capacity is dulled through a constant barrage of media images and frenzied life pace. In a culture that demands we hurry up and do, produce, move faster and higher up the ladder, become breathless, worship speed and efficiency, it can be a real challenge to find space.
Creativity is about honoring another kind of intelligence that originates from within us rather than from outside sources. By giving attention to the process of art-making we may begin to notice stirrings within ourselves – resistance, insight, joy, sadness — all of which are food for self-insight and spiritual growth. By engaging neglected dimensions of ourselves, we begin to bring a holistic approach to our spirituality and reclaim the inner intelligences
What could we discover from the spiritual dimension of our lives if we expanded our access to ways of knowing and used multiple entry points to experience and create meaning?" [2]
Studies have noted significant reduction in negative symptoms as well as an improvement in positive quality of life outcomes, such as a non-destructive way of expressing and communicating problematic feelings and life experiences.
[2] https://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/docs/newsletters/3/Paintner_Jan07.pdf
What is recovery?
To me, the essence of recovery is not about "fixing" or going back. It's about acceptance, progression, change and growth.
It's not a science but an art. Not a one-way process but a dance
It's about taking that lead that weighs you down and transmuting it. Taking lower processes and bringing them to new levels
Revitalising and liberating the stagnant Chi
Dancing your creative potentiality to the holistic heights of Soul
Becoming a wholer, healthier human and letting go of the things that hold you back
In the past, I saw the brain, and life, extremely dualistically. You/me, normal/abnormal etc. The brain and life was a puddle of mechanistic, reducible 'stuff' and life was a science experiment. That's the way we're programmed unfortunately
These days I see that there is also Beautiful Whole Divinity in there too.
You are not your mind or that dualistic thinking but beautiful Whole Divinity no matter how broken you feel. Life is not something to be broken apart but built together
If you let that chaos in your mind unfold, out from it is born the Beautiful Sacredness that is Life
How art has changed me.
How has it changed you and your world?
I was in the darkness. Locked in my own colourless world of thought and pain/pathology. Back turned to love, building walls from letting the light get in, no growth, stagnant decay. Loveless - No will to play with the world around me. In return falling deeper and deeper into isolation from my Self and the world around me. Darker and darker was my world
Then I found I could play with my world not through manipulating it pharmacologically, but through art. I could explore myself away from thought to uncover emotionality, spirituality, deep connection to Self and kindle inner light. Awaken aspects of me that were dead dormant. Learn to love myself, learn to grow through challenges healthily.
The primary thing I've re-embraced through art is that each moment is a moment to create better - be truer to our Divinity
What sort of world are you creating today?
Divinity or Disorder?
Progression or Stagnation?
Love/Acceptance or Fear/Judgement?
Harmony or Hate?
Humanity or Individual Ego?
Past or Presence?
Unity or Disconnection?
Wholeness or Fragmentation?If you're not happy with where you are... re-create.
I was in a spot where I couldn't follow conversations, had no expression, could only read things relying on some cognitive reserve, short hits of analysis and scattered attention, couldn't even watch TV... was going nowhere
It just left me frustrated. I tried cognitive tasks trying to restore some cognition and change thinking with thinking. I was continuously trying to "recover a pathway that was damaged and failing" to no avail.
These have become my mainstay cognitive remediation tasks that I do throughout the day, along with reading and music stimulation. Should get more social stimulation eventually
I've discovered that by using aspects I would normally dismiss I can get back some attention, some goal-oriented direction, better affect and more. The quality of my thinking changed drastically and emotionality is there, along with a more coherent sense of self. There's a meditative aspect and a spiritual one.
Before and after short-term self art-therapy self-concepts - Disorder to Divinity...
In short:
From an ill analytical/rational being of ego infiltrated by unconscious 'not knowing my own Self' and seeing the material for gain, to embrace more.
To see new layers of Self beyond illness - be in touch with my unconscious, my symbolic, my rational/cognitive/analytical, emotional, aesthetic and spiritual aspects with less need to bottom dwell through the material for sort-term 'sustenance'
It allowed me to add the very basics: More structure in the day, something positively creative to do, channeling the energy from destructive to creative, freedom of expression, goal-oriented activity, a connection to the moment, self and other, behavioural activation and regaining a sense of choice and a simple challenge and novelty and fostering a healthy self-concept. For example when I feel totally stuck, I can simply think to myself, "what colour do I want to choose?" "how do I want to do it?". With each choice you make, you regain a sense of agency and freedom from suffering
For me, I'm deliberately using things I'm particularly weak at skills in and steering clear of writing as I feel the ties to language are not always the best for all.
“Art therapy can also provide a nonthreatening way into mental health treatment for other groups often resistant to traditional forms of therapy. Creating art has been proven to increase psychological and emotional resilience and resistance to stress."
"It helps people to free themselves from destructive patterns and to work on satisfying their basic needs as independent and responsibly functioning individuals in a positive connectedness with themselves and their surroundings.The strength of art therapy may be the experiential level and the appeal to the capacity to play, to flexibility, and to be creative. This makes experiences easier to reach, and developing from there into a Healthy Adult mode is possible in a manner that is more felt than thought."
“Arts therapies do not rely on artistic knowledge or ability,” they say. “They work by accessing imagination and creativity, qualities which all human beings possess, in order to generate new models of living and contribute to the development of a more integrated sense of self.”
So far, I've noticed it has:
- served as a way of practicing gratitude and nurturing our positive elements like hope and joy
- catharsis of things holding you back
- opportunity to truly meet ourselves
- opportunity to connect with the moment and flow
- to embrace challenge at your own pace
- freedom and acceptance for our emotions and fully embrace them, likewise for yourself."...your art does not have to look a particular way to be appreciated because that actually supports what we’re trying to accomplish with our inner emotions and conflicts. We remove the “should” from the art and indirectly even ourselves so that we allow a space for ourselves to be fully mindful of everything without discrimination.
There is a beauty in being able to recognize and embrace each emotion without making them either good or bad. When we practice doing this often, we cultivate acceptance, self-compassion, and a chance to restore inner peace."
https://walk-with-blue.com/art-therapy-ideas-meet-your-true-self-through-creative-arts/
"All are connected with a sensibility that art—or, more specifically, creative response — is something we do, in answer to the question “What kind of world do you want to live in?”
...we pull us apart, placing “I” above “we.”
We need to get back to creative response as the antidote to the individualism, consumerism and cynicism that now define our culture.
Creative response can shift how we think, how we see; it leads us to feel something different about our experience and the world. It advances the odd, the idiosyncratic, the impossible; its elusiveness is both anti-ideological and universal as it rallies us around our common humanity. It compels us to take an active participation in the world by challenging the destructive ideologies that corrupt our society. It can generate inventive actions in every area of society
The new, emerging “we” own the future: because our rejection of cynicism and apathy free us from the trap of history’s bad ideologies; because embracing compassion as a cornerstone of democracy allows us to imagine ourselves in the position of another; because transforming the narrow thinking of the past and problems of the present opens up possibilities for the future; and because the moment we see ourselves as citizens of the world, the future is ours."
~ Antonino D'Ambrosio
How it Evolves Consciousness
"Archaic Structure: There is no perspective, no sense of otherness, and the distinction between object and subject does not exist; there is no differentiation between self and nature, or between self and universe. The apprehension of individual self is at this stage dormant, and all that exists is complete unity, “a time of complete non-differentiation of man and universe”
Magical Structure: This structure marks a beginning in the growth of self-consciousness. However, there is still a strong association of self with nature. Identity is in terms of collective, or tribe, and space and time are present in each moment. There is no interior experience, only an outer awareness and man’s consciousness is at once separate and part of his environment. It does not lie within him but is of the world. From this standpoint man assimilates this consciousness as a confrontation, and he learns to be aware of, and a part of the forces of nature. Within this structure man’s desire to have nature, as opposed to being part of it, has germinated, and this need develops man’s conscious will
Mythical Structure: With this structure imagination becomes a distinctive component. Feuerstein (1987) said language became the way to enter into a relationship with reality. He stated it was a way to communicate and construct it, and through language or symbolization of reality, the human being becomes, in a sense, creator of his world
Man’s entrance into the mental structure is characterized by a tremendous leap in consciousness. Gradually the gods become replaced with man’s apprehension of his own thinking. While the mythical structure could be said to be related with speech and storytelling, the mental structure is defined by vision and space. It was not that depth and space did not exist previously, but the birth of perspective brought something new to the human experience. Through the awareness of location in relation to objects a heightened sense of depth and spatiality became a new component of consciousness, and this new capacity allowed the world to be viewed in terms objectivity. The realization of being an internal creature in an external environment finalized the separation from nature, and man’s ability to think in terms of perspective allowed him to rationalize and reason. Unlike the previous structures, this consciousness mutation has a heightened sense of individuality and a capability of directing and discursive thought. However, the ability of man to rationalize has come with the cost of his disregard of, and need to cut apart, the world. Perspective gives dominion over space, but an ever increasing need for dominion has created a separateness of man from the whole.
We currently exist in the mental structure which is dominated by the paradigm of a separation of consciousness and matter; what is commonly referred to as the Newtonian Cartesian model consciousness. Breaking free of this and into a new dimension of reality requires more than just an expansion of consciousness, or an acceptance of new ideas. ... the expansion of consciousness is still just a quantitative and spatial conception, and an illusion. It is related to the material concept of consciousness, or consciousness as the accumulation of ideas. What is needed is the growth of consciousness, which is an intensification of it.
The role of perspective in the mental structure is contrasted that of the aperspectival in the Integral. This term refers to a transcendence of perspective. In comparison with the chronological orientation of time of the mental structure, this structure is free of temporal and spatial limitations; it is an egoless and a holistic view of reality"
https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/cejournal/vol12/iss12/2/
Recovering the Divine from within the disorder
There is often a strong spiritual component and a search for existential or transcendent meaning
Weaving a disorder into a life-affirming personal mythology is important
- people embrace living in the present, accept life’s challenges with dignity and maturity, and grow
- renewed hope and determination for a brighter future - relationship with the sacredness of life, nature and the universe
- strengthened understanding of themselves and others, their true personality or Self 'emerging from the ruins'
- personal limitations become ground from which spring unique possibilities
- develop a source of hope, inspiration, love, joy, courage, comfort and guiding values or a moral code by which to live a complete and meaningful life
- teaches people not to take their mental health, happiness or life for granted
- begin to foster the characteristics of inner strength, peace, a sense of meaning and purpose, self- reflection and interconnectedness
- a positive outcome from their sufferinghttp://www.psychosocial.com/IJPR_13/Healing_of_the_soul_Gardner.html
One of the core characteristics that makes people vulnerable to issues is a sense of internal emptiness—a pervasive feeling of being hollow, empty, of something missing."Each time we wake up from a modus operandi state of unconscious reflexive autopilot thinking and reacting and become mindfully aware of our internal and external experience, there is an awakening of spirit."
From one example [1]
...it wasn’t that all his thoughts had disappeared, rather, a particular kind of self-referential thinking had cut out what he calls “the blah blah network.” (“default mode network” (DMN), that is, the endlessly ruminative story of me: the obsessive list-maker, the anxious scenario planner, the distracted daydreamer.
I just don’t have this ongoing emotionally-charged, self-referential narrative gobbling up bandwidth.” What disappeared along with the “me” narrative: any sense of being a separate self, and with it, all mental and emotional suffering.
“...the entire world just opened up. I mean it literally opened up. I dropped into this magnificent expansiveness – a vast empty space without any thoughts whatsoever.”
- we see glimpses of the much bigger picture around us and find humility in the moment. We can become aware that humility is not thinking less of oneself, but rather thinking of oneself less, and that we are worthy of self-compassion. Compassion for others means appreciating their pain and experiencing a heart-based response to it. Compassion evokes an interest in offering support, understanding, and kindness to others when they struggle, make mistakes, or fail.
Awakening may occur in situations of stress, depression and loss. For example, a woman described how she was devastated by the end of a seven-year relationship, "facing a suffering that I didn’t imagine could possibly exist.'" However, in the midst of this suffering, she "began to experience a clearness and connection with everything that existed…I was in a state of such pure happiness and acceptance, that I was no longer afraid of anything. Out of that depth arose such a compassion and connection to everything that surrounded me." [2]
One person had a powerful awakening experience while suffering from intense depression during which she "felt the most intense love and peace and knew that all was well."
The world is a much more benign and meaningful place than we normally perceive it to be. And once we have glimpsed this, it becomes a permanent reality to us.
A clear attitude change
Personality change
Improved outlook on life
Increased ability to share and feel emotions
Overall improved well being[1] https://upliftconnect.com/a-scientists-spiritual-awakening/
[2] https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/out-the-darkness/201802/the-after-effects-awakening-
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Who else sprouts/microgreens?
I decided I needed a new healing hobby. Gardening is good but the effort involved when I'm not well and heat in summer is too much. I still appreciate being in close proximity to plant life. You get to watch the seeds spring to life magically and then without mass effort in the garden, get dense nutrition (and phytochemicals).
I took up sprouting/microgreens after having a short trial on broccoli sprout powder and thinking it could be good longer term. They're also good as they are easy behavioural activation when I'm feeling unwell and force me to keep tidy - it's something that embodies care, embraces life, encourages things like growth, self-care and cleanliness, shorter-term and longer-term goals and nurtures your health in return.
Also, after switching to a super planty diet, I noticed lentils etc don't agree with me but lentil sprouts are fine.
In general, germinated seeds, particularly microgreens, have more bioactive compounds than raw seeds [1]
"Seed sprouting is a widely used natural processing method, which not only improves nutritional properties, decreases levels of antinutritional constituents but also enhances concentrations of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity resulting in improved nutraceutical properties of seeds and creates a functional component for healthy food production"
The concentration of proteins, fibre and bioactive compounds as well as bioactivity increased in the sequence: raw seeds-sprouted seeds-microgreens, while the content of total carbohydrates decreased.
"Iron and zinc are still the most widespread deficient micronutrients in global food systems, known as ‘hidden hunger’ and are currently of the greatest concern when considering the nutritional value of vegetarian diets: sprouted seeds and microgreens are a good source of Fe and Zn with possibly increased bioaccessibility."
"Like isoflavone concentrations, the contents of other phenolic compounds and non-phenolic metabolites as triterpene saponins increased in the following order: raw seeds < sprouted seeds < microgreens."
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30602699
Now sprouted pretty much anything I could possibly find to sprout in the house. Soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, broccoli, mustard, radish, red clover, fenugreek etc. The works. Gut's finally coming back to some normality, contrary to simply cooked forms etc. Also set up a microgreens grow room, including wheatgrass.
Sprouts are life potential, ignited. We awaken the nutrition inside the seed...
"You’re growing a garden right in your kitchen, using your own energy to make the magic happen. It’s hyper-local food at its best! No chemicals or pesticides during the growing process, or fossil fuels for transportation. Could sprouts be the perfect food?!
The quality of protein and carbohydrates improves, as the sprouting process begins to break down the complex proteins and starches into amino acids, peptides, and simple carbohydrates needed by the seed to grow. At the same time, anti-nutrients such as phytic acid, protease and amylase inhibitors are neutralized. This makes a sprout very easy to digest with highly absorbable nutrients [not to mention the enhancement of bioactive phytochemicals]
Make sure that your jar or sprouting container is thoroughly clean, that you’re rinsing your sprouts with cool water twice daily, and that your sprouts have plenty of airflow." [1]
I agree - Risks and Benefits
"They are pretty energizing, and I enjoy the taste of them"
"...a good choice for someone with a sensitive gut"
"For people with problems digesting certain foods, sprouted germs might seem better for them, and they are less allergenic to people with sensitivities."
"While sprouted grains and other nutrient-blocking seeds won’t be completely free from all antinutrients after soaking and sprouting, it’s a much better option".
Broccoli:
At least nine clinical studies of neurodevelopmental conditions like autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia are promising. Preliminary evidence that sulforaphane may improve symptoms of autism spectrum disorders with improvement in social interaction, in abnormal behaviour, and verbal communication. It is promising in neurodegenerative conditions in animal models. It is "possible that dietary intake of cruciferous vegetables including glucoraphanin (or sulforaphane) may prevent depression induced by stress and/or inflammation". It has potential to improve cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia [1]Sulforaphane may be a useful intervention for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases because it "corrects underlying aspects of the diseases process, rather than merely alleviating symptoms".
After Nrf2 pathway activation, over two hundred genes are induced and exert detoxification and antioxidant defense.- a naturally occurring Nrf2 activator - potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.
- epigenetically enhances neuronal BDNF expression and its TrkB signaling pathways [2]
- increased blood GSH levels in healthy human subjects following 7 days of daily oral administration [3]
- prevented depression-like phenotype in mice after inflammation, or chronic social defeat stress [4]
- following oral administration, it had an effect on histone deacetylase activity following a single dose in animal models.
- improve glucose tolerance through the up-regulation of insulin signaling [5]
Tip: add some radish/mustard seeds to your sprouting mixture:
"...the addition of radish, rocket and rape sprouts to broccoli sprouts could promote the hydrolysis of the glucoraphanin to sulforaphane to 2.03, 2.32 and 1.95-fold, respectively, compared to single broccoli sprouts while the formation of non-bioactive sulforaphane nitrile in these three groups decreased greatly" [6]
There is evidence in favor of the safety of strategies that target the activation of Nrf2: Serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxine and thyroglobulin were not affected by the treatment, and neither was the thyroid autoimmunity status [7]
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30199394
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27735126
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29888232
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30386243
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30091431
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30263824
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30735751Fenugreek
"Sprouting has shown to improve the nutritional profile of fenugreek seeds and decrease the fiber content such that it gets digested and absorbed in the system more easily. Also, germinated fenugreek seeds have higher antioxidant content and enhanced antidiabetic effect" [review]
Fenugreek is known for its medicinal properties such as hypocholesterolemic, antidiabetic, anticancer and gastroprotective properties but it's healing properties extend beyond that.
Fenugreek fibre in a breakfast meal increased feelings of fullness and reduced hunger, as well as reduced energy intake. It had comparable effects to metformin. When fenugreek was incorporated into food, it reduced the glycemic index (GI) by 21%. 10 g/day significantly decreased fasting blood glucose and HbA1c, serum levels of insulin, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, and total cholesterol and triglycerides, and it increased serum levels of adiponectin in type 2 diabetic patients
Clinically fenugreek seed leads to improvement in insulin sensitivity [1]. An animal study shows significant anti-anxiety effects [2] and it improves learning and memory process and has significant potential as an antiamnesic agent [3]. It has neuroprotective [4] and antidepressant activity in part by modulation of MAO-A/B [5]
It demonstrated significant anabolic and androgenic activity in human studies [6]. Improves sexual function and increases serum testosterone in healthy middle-aged and older men [7] and sexual desire and arousal in women [8]
It contains flavonoids, terpenoids, phenols, proteins/amino acids, saponins, and tannins. Galactomannan from fenugreek seeds is a prebiotic [9]
Fenugreek may help protect against liver changes induced by chronic alcohol consumption.
Health Benefits of Culinary Herbs and Spices: https://doi.org/10.5740/jaoacint.18-0418
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29518003
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27639708
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29681009
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27893738
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25176235
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30356905
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26791805
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25914334
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29876118
Wheatgrass
Along with chlorophyll, it is a source of a large variety of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids (while being considered gluten free). In the passage from grains to sprouts to wheatgrass, the quantity of flavonoids increases being rich in flavonoids, particularly apigenin.
A source of triterpenoids, anthraquinol, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, sterols, squalene, caryophyllene and amyrins
Clinical studies show benefit as an adjunct to cancer therapy and benefit in rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, hematological diseases, diabetes, obesity, and oxidative stress.
Currently available evidence confirms the safety of wheatgrass and its products [1]
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26156538-
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Thanks for sharing. I'm not sure how a combination of plants simply targeting specific targets, often with multifaceted phytochemicals, that target many different pathways would go? I'd be personally more inclined to look at what is being used in preclinical models, or clinically with success for different conditions. That said, inosine is a potential disease-modifying therapy for MS, Salvia miltiorrhiza has some promise for cerebrovascular and brain conditions eg stroke recovery.
To me, it's a lot of guessing to come up with a formula for neural repair that's going to help people with a diverse range of conditions-
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If anyone is interested, I have quite a bit of ripe fruit if you want to grow it etc. Harvested quite a few plants yesterday
Can throw in a few other seeds: Calendula, Pyrethrum, Feverfew, Chamomile, Romanesco broccoli, have plenty of Milly's morning glory mix tooWhile the fruit can cause GI distress consumed in large quantities, the withanamides, the primary active constituents in W. somnifera fruit extract exhibited neuroprotective effects. They may improve antioxidant status and reduce proinflammatory markers.These compounds may work to prevent Alzheimer's disease at the onset, and it also could prevent its progression [1]. This research was once heralded as a major step forward as there is nothing on the market that slows the progression of Alzheimer's. Can't find anything on how this research has progressed unfortunately. The patent extends to use for mood [2]
[1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150311124643.htm
[2] https://patents.google.com/patent/CA2538905C
Also can help out with leaf for research purposes. While it's less used than the root (and some seem to aim to avoid the withaferin-A), I've found it a nice enough medicinal tea and others use it similarly. The neuroprotective leaf and fruit constituents affect cortical muscarinic acetylcholine (including M1/M2 mAChRs) and neurotrophins, which may partly explain it's cognition-enhancing effect.The leaves possess higher content of active withanolides, Withaferin-A and Withanone, as compared to the roots [1]. Nootropic and CNS therapeutic properties of the leaf have been claimed [2].
Withaferin-A is a potent leptin sensitiser with additional antidiabetic actions and resulted in a 20-25% reduction of body weight in overweight mice [3]. It improves insulin sensitivity [4].
Anti-neuroinflammatory properties have been ascribed to the leaf [5] along with neuroprotective properties [6]
Withaferin-A shows anti-neuroinflammatory [7] anti-Aβ properties [8] and dopamine-restoring [9] properties. Improvement of cognitive dysfunction has been ascribed to Withanone [10] including inhibition of AChE, anti-Aβ, protection against oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory effects.
Many toxicological studies have demonstrated that Ashwagandha, in its reasonable dose, is a non-toxic, safe and edible herb - despite that, there is sometimes movement away from the cytotoxic constituents towards root extracts which may be less effective
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27936030
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26361721
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27479085
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30417321
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27550017
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25789768
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26266054
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30356847
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30544122
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29108796-
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There was an interesting study done on how different people respond to this medicine
In chronic illness, what type of person are you, does it alter how you respond to a herbal medicine?
While results of studies point to the effectiveness of the therapeutic use of Passiflora incarnata for nervous restlessness, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, presurgery anxiety and menopausal symptoms, does it matter how you approach the medicine? There seems to be a fundamental aspect in responders: resetting of priorities in life and the new focus on personal growthDo you have a high degree of interest in personal growth and in overcoming your illness (Type 1), or more resigned to your condition (Type 2/3)? Do you try and maintain performance orientation (Type 2)
"Type 1 patients reported that their chronic illness and its ailments led them to reset their priorities and to make more room for mindfulness and self care in their lives"
Do you reset the priorities in your life (Type 1) or not (Type 2/3)
All groups reported that they were frequently "overwhelmed by their daily life", constantly "chewing over everything" and "finding it difficult to distance themselves from overthinking"
Interestingly, Type 1 have the best responses to a herbal medicine like Passiflora. Type 3 "did not experience something specific that they related to the use of Passiflora incarnata". Type 2 had some level of calmness.
Type 1 patients attained "calmness" while using Passiflora incarnata. Moreover, they reported having a "better foundation" and "being more centered". With Passiflora incarnata,they thought that they were generally better able to "let things go" and felt more "patient" and "calm".
"Passiflora, I feel, is providing me with a better foundation for these changes that have come about or that have started. I feel that I am on different ground here, that my new steps on this different ground are somehow more solid. That is, I am not perpetually racking my brain anymore. Therefore, I am not that unstable any more...in everything. That is what I identify with Passiflora."
I was able "to take a step back and look at things" now
"In the past, I was lived, but now I am living" I suffer "less from anxiety" with Passiflora incarnata. I am surprised that my anxiety "almost does not exist anymore"
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Passiflora incarnata has a really low beta-carboline content and hence the MAOI effect from such, if that's what you're seeking, is likely not relevant at typical doses. There does seem to be a more noted putative GABAergic component through the flavonoids - that's what I'd be more worried about interacting with the alcohol eg. potentiation (possibly also leading to disinhibition and even more drinking). I don't mind it as a mild mental health tool
It's a nice enough plant to use but generally mild for someone used to 'intoxication' and probably with a baseline of some mental distress etc. I used to frequently brew up solid (25g) doses but eventually settled on a blend like lemon balm, chamomile and passionflower as more a subtler calm tea at more typical doses. Some people I know who had more typical brains found it sedating at much lower doses. For me, it was mainly a way of displacing drinking/craving onto something healthier but you can bring an emotional/spiritual level to any tea through a more ceremonial aspect and use it as an exercise in mindfulness.
I looked for emotion-enhancing plants, that's one aspect I also liked to self-medicate. Thing is, the more you seek something external to enhance/modulate emotions, the worse things can get and the longer they'll likely persist. I ended up super, extra dysregulated through seeking 'emotional improvements' through even mild plants too often. The mere act of some novelty and hope can drive quite a potent - and at times healing - placebo response. If the expectation 'taking something' will help improve the emotional world of this person exists, it's quite likely there will be some of that with any option, just the belief can be powerful. It's worth utilising that belief in oneself and the mildest options available to drive a beneficial response IMO.
Lately, I've come to see it's more shifting actions - doing - positively that can drive a better emotional landscape. If you can, get your friend growing some herbal plant allies, relating to them, nurturing them, crafting medicine/cooking with them etc more than taking them. Derive an emotional relationship with the plant more holistically, more so than seeking an emotional outcome of consuming a plantI wouldn't say discount some herbs like Passiflora as options, I would try to limit alcohol with it and start low
Even something like Ashwagandha could be useful. It's one that seems quite promising for such things. Can send some seeds if you get interested.
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I stuck with a very low carb very keto-like diet, it was good for weight loss but I was so anhedonic... I'd dropped 10kg, my pants were falling off and I felt absolutely no sense of personal reward. Just warning you.
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Milly came to visit a few of us...
It was lovely to see some pics of Milly's morning glory flowering for someone else.
Coming up to her Birthday, instead of celebrating it with her I'll offer some of this year's morning glory seeds complimentaryI have some Milly's lucky mix now and there will be more soon - my vines intertwined so it's a mix, surprise yourself with what comes up!
Also a small amount that is Carnevale di Venezia
Also have some Grandpa Ott that I grew separately. A few people can put themselves on the waiting list (just has to fully dry)
Shoot me a message.
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What's the opposite of addiction? Like to hear your views.
Addictions are real shape-shifters. You can easily just shift between substance <-> behavioural etc and stay in loops
To me, the addictive mindset reflects in things like:
Suffering vs Acceptance and Growth
Consumption vs Creativity
Filling voids vs Creating connecting bonds
To me, the most important thing has been trying to re-instate "I'm OK, you're OK".
The feeling you're fundamentally OK and worthy, not wounded and different. That the world out there is OK too. You're OK. That interactions can be enjoyable. A feeling of engaging in a reciprocal interaction through simple love, connection and presence
In that stance, you can engage with the world healthily, not as a wounded person filling voids. You can embrace yourself in your totality as being "you" as a worthwhile person. The world around you as being worth interacting with.
Is it really connection?
Some of my most disheartening experiences have been in trying to connect with humans. You can be surrounded by loving people and be miserable trying to connect with them.
We promote that people need to connect socially to the point some even say "the opposite of addiction is connection". We even often promote people connect with outer God(s) to heal. Through such an attitude, you induce a state where you're easily not within yourself enough... and when you're struggling with wounds within, at the mercy of social connections.
I saw how transient/volatile and impermanent the connections you could seek were. And how there were so many unhealthy things to connect to... and how you could chase more and more connections to fill wounded parts within and how trying to connect from a place of deficiency is really unhealthy. You become heavily dependent on connections.
"Being alone feels like a problem that needs to be solved. And so people try to solve it by connecting. But here, connection is more like a symptom than a cure. It expresses, but it doesn't solve, an underlying problem. But more than a symptom, constant connection is changing the way people think of themselves. It's shaping a new way of being.
You end up isolated if you don't cultivate the capacity for solitude, the ability to be separate, to gather yourself. Solitude is where you find yourself so that you can reach out to other people and form real attachments. When we don't have the capacity for solitude, we turn to other people in order to feel less anxious or in order to feel alive. When this happens, we're not able to appreciate who they are. It's as though we're using them as spare parts to support our fragile sense of self. We slip into thinking that always being connected is going to make us feel less alone. But we're at risk, because actually it's the opposite that's true. If we're not able to be alone, we're going to be more lonely." - Sherry Turkle
"Why the pain?"
What if we really need to take a step back from the outer world and sit with something within, "why the pain"? Be enough through our pain?
You cant go into the suffering with the victim or deficiency mindsets or that will simply consume you with deeper and deeper suffering.
When you feel deficient, you set the stage for a hungry ghost where you fill your inner voids of unhappiness and feelings of unwholeness in a multitude of unhealthy ways. While there's a hole you're filling you'll stay in a loop of more and more.
We're taught we aren't enough, that there's something wrong with us. That's amplified by stigma and social exclusion. The more we believe that, the more it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You shrink further and further and fill that place of 'not being enough' with external things, slide into unhealthier and unhealthier ways
You stay in deficiency states and poor ability to delay rewards or sit with discomfort - you're permanently on the chase for something to fill a feeling of unworth, poor-self esteem, isolation etc. It's common in every aspect of our society from feeling we 'need a partner' to be complete, to deriving our worth by external things, to 'there's something wrong with you' to every aspect of our life. It's something heavily ingrained in our society that keeps us relentless consumers, often of things that aren't healthy for us, or more than we need.
What if you start to think and feel, yeah - I'm hurting and wounded but everything I need to transform that pain is in me. You start to fill the voids from the inside in sustainable and healthy ways? Not saying you don't reach out for help when needed but "you are enough"?
If you rely on external things filling those voids, you neglect the impermanence of life. Social settings change, things that provide hope/meaning/purpose can become easily unstable, you're totally on a collision course with going backwards if anything even slightly changes. You live in dependency of being filled from the outside through connections to tackle a fundamental state of inner deficiency
What happens when you stop that chase for connections with the outer and instead connect with the wounded parts that feel like they're not enough? You can convince yourself your caring for yourself and you're in self-love but you really need extreme self-compassion. The pain/trauma, shame, the isolation, the anger etc? When we sit with them and transform our inner relationship with them until they're no longer voids of suffering, rather places we feel whole again?
That takes acceptance, going into pain and allowing things to transform...
I'm not saying you as a stand-alone unit are the complete perfect existence and you don't need to go beyond yourself but "you are enough". "You are enough does not mean that you are a final product, complete and finished, all done growing and changing and learning things" You can get off the constant striving and be OK. You can sit with wholeness of self-care, self-kindness, self-compassion, self-acceptance and self-transformation, self-love etc as a unit of wholeness within yourself. As you take on those traits for yourself, you gain the ability to radiate the same to others.
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Thanks for sharing @thegreenriviera
One thing about diet changes is you can see how things affect you.
Going very minimalistic with food made me see how simple/easily neglected things were driving mood states.
One interesting thing is that through a relatively short period of depriving yourself a bit of food, I got a clean slate, not perma-impulsive hunger, to work with. You start to respect how things that you normally dismiss as driving mood changes do play a big role. It's like a nice reset and chance to see how the basics are driving symptoms. I've escaped carbohydrate cravings by eliminating them for awhile and interestingly they haven't returned to crippling levels.
A few interesting things I noted:
1. How much those fluctuations in blood sugar do destabilise your mood, change your cognition and how cutting out/reducing/playing with low GI carbs is quite useful just to see how it impacts you
2. Potentially how much changes in electrolytes drive mood changes. I've always supplemented things like calcium/magnesium but overlooked sodium and potassium as driving mood states.
3. How nice a quality planty diet can be for sustained clean sustenance
4. How different fat sources feel and likewise proteins
5. What it's like to experience different states of ketosisDietary electrolytes are related to mood
At the moment, I'm quite interested in what simple electrolytes do for mood and symptoms.
For both males and females it is recommended to keep sodium intake below 2,000 mg.
Potassium recommendation for males and females are 4,700 mg per day.
Magnesium intake for males should be between 330-350 mg per day, and females should intake about 255-265 mg per day.
Calcium suggested intake is 800 mg per day for both males and females.
Other factors:
Dietary patterns seem important in severe mental illness [1] and have in some populations been associated with things like depression, stress and social support satisfaction [2].
Four-Week Supplementation in healthy individuals with a multi-vitamin/mineral preparation treatment was "associated with significantly improved mood, as measured by reduced scores on the "depression-dejection" subscale of the Profile of Mood States" [3]
Individual vitamins:
Vitamin A: There is a longstanding notion that vitamin A plays a role in psychiatric illness likely based on the profound effects of retinoids on brain development and processes such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and mood regulation. Proposed to be a player and therapeutic in ASD: "supplementation is a reasonable therapy at least for a subset of children with autism" [4].
Vitamin B-group:
Thiamine (B1): Exerts antidepressant/anti-stress effects in animal models [5] and improved standard treatment in patients with depression [6] In a small study, thiamine supplementation significantly improved anxiety scores, general well-being and reduced fatigue in patients with Generalised Anxiety Disorder [7] "An improvement in thiamine status was associated with reports of being more clearheaded, composed and energetic. These influences took place in subjects whose thiamine status, according to the traditional criterion, was adequate." [8]
Not much has been done on B2 and B3 in psychiatry but they are proposed to play a role. A recent animal study suggests that B2 or B6 vitamins restored the levels of DA and reduced oxidative stress in brain [9]
B6: Inadequate amounts of vitamins B6 is linked with a higher incidence of depression and impaired neurotransmitter synthesis. It is proposed to be an effective therapeutic for some women (along with combinations) [10]. Improved attentional performance in males was significantly correlated with increased levels of vitamin B6
B12: Insufficient vitamin B12 status has been linked to poor neurodevelopment and cognitive decline. A significant improvement in depressive symptoms was observed after SSRI and vitamin B12 therapy in one study [11]
Folate: see https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/integrative-mental-health-care/201709/folate-depression-schizophrenia-and-dementia
Vitamin C: adding vitamin C alone to citalopram did not increase the efficacy of citalopram in MDD patients [12]. That said, in animal models it exerts antidepressant effects dependent on the activation of the opioid system, especially µ-opioid receptors, which might be an indirect consequence of NMDA receptor inhibition elicited by ascorbic acid administration. It may involve an activation of GABAA receptors and a possible inhibition of GABAB receptors, similarly to ketamine. It might be dependent on the activation of PI3K and mTOR, inhibition of GSK-3ß as well as induction of HO-1. These are important mood targets.
Vitamin D supplementation, thought to modulate many areas of mental health, is associated with lower depressive and anxiety symptoms in psychotic illness [13] and addition of vitamin D to conventional antidepressive agents can improve antidepressive effect [14]. The core symptoms of ASD fluctuated in severity with changes in serum vitamin D levels in children: high-dose vitamin D3 regimens may ameliorate the core symptoms [15, 16]
Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) has been linked to a decrease in the frequency of depressive symptoms. α-tocopherol is a lipid modulator of the cannabinoid system [17] Vitamin E has pain-relieving, antioxidant, antidepressant [18] and anxiolytic-like activities [19]. A low dietary intake of vitamin E is related to altered mood and depression, depression is accompanied by significantly lower serum vitamin E concentrations, vitamin E intake being directly related to the depression score [20].The cognition promoting effects of omega 3 PUFAs may be dietary vitamin E status related [21] and recently, omega-3 and vitamin E co-supplementation was effective in improving parameters of mental health in some individuals with conditions of inflammatory basis [22].
Minerals:
Calcium: Ca and Mg may be involved in depression; however there are few data on these mineral nutritional statuses concerning depression and data from human-studies are limited. It thought that Ca intake is related to depression and mental disorders
Chromium: Seems to have important effects on insulin signalling and mood. Preclinical and clinical studies reported its potential antidepressant properties [23]. Chromium has shown the most promise for treating subtypes of depression that affect carbohydrate cravings and appetite regulation [24] In some women it "reduced mood symptoms and improved overall health satisfaction" [25]
Iodine: Deficiency causes brain structural alterations likely to affect cognition. Low iodine-rich food intake was associated with increased brain volume shrinkage [26]
Iron: Human studies link anxiety-driven behaviour and mood changes to poor iron status but excess iron in the brain is detrimental. It is proposed imbalanced iron metabolism plays a role in modulating anxiety and emotional behaviours [27]
Magnesium: Magnesium is effective for mild-to-moderate depression in adults. It works quickly and is well tolerated [28] Magnesium influences the neurotransmission involved in emotional processes, such as the serotonergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic systems.
Potassium: may be useful in the treatment of mood disturbances - low potassium levels may be linked to symptoms of depression.
Selenium: "Intake was associated with a general elevation of mood and in particular, a decrease in anxiety." [29] When taking the selenium the subjects reported a substantial improvement in mood at 100 mcg [30] Persons with low selenium status might experience relatively depressed moods [31] That said, another study found "no evidence that selenium supplementation benefited mood or quality of life in these elderly volunteers" [32]. It is suggested to play an important role in psychological functioning [33].
Zinc: Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that zinc possesses antidepressant properties and that it may augment monoamine-based antidepressants [34] Meta-analyses support zinc for depression [35] It is proposed to cause general improvement in neuronal plasticity as well as reduction of neuronal atrophy and neuronal cell loss, modulation of the serotonergic system including postsynaptic 5-HT1ARs with a possible involvement of dopaminergic neurotransmission [36]. Peripheral Zn concentration may play a role in the physiopathology of some domains of cognitive function, "there was a significant positive correlation between plasma Zn levels and the concentration subcategory" [37]
Less/other mentioned:
Boron: Boron supplementation altered EEG such that there was a shift toward less activity in the low frequencies and more activity in the high, dominant frequencies of the EEG leading to improved psychomotor skill, and cognitive processes of attention and short term memory [38].
Choline sources: "The extent to which higher intakes of choline have the potential to enhance or influence cognition during childhood, adulthood, and/or age-related cognitive decline needs further investigation" [39].
Carotenoids significantly corresponded to global cognitive abilities including verbal learning, verbal fluency, memory recall, processing speed, and perceptual speed. Serum lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-carotene concentrations were most consistently related to better cognition. Serum zeaxanthin had significant relationships with most measures of cognitive function, with higher concentrations being significantly related to global cognitive performance,and better concept formation/abstraction. Serum concentrations of β-carotene were also significantly correlated to most measures of cognitive function. Serum lutein concentrations were significantly related to measures of global cognition, lower dementia severity, and executive function. Carotenoid levels have also been shown to protect cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Supplements have shown strong cognitive enhancement benefits over longer term studies
Review on omega-3: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27472373/
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30359969
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29113038
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/26529011/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29122693
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27825907
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26984349
[7] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/…/53c8c4dbfdccf441a16bcc14…
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9122365
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30413185
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28178022
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856388/
[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/25873303/
[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30245372
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29460820
[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29629638
[16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27868194
[17] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21843633
[18] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20144659
[19] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30251258
[20] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28531460
[21] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29656360
[22] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29306057
[23] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24101396
[24] https://www.verywellmind.com/chromium-for-depression-1066922
[25] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24237190
[26] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29083437
[27] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253901/
[28] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28654669
[29] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1873372
[30] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2096413
[31] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8717610
[32] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16181615
[33] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12509066
[34] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28299207
[35] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28988944
[36] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28319749
[37] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556518300639
[38] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25063690
[39] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29451849-
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Update on this, be careful with these "trendy" things. I got to quite a deep state of ketosis on this, went from nutritional ketosis to starting to get extremely depriving of food and it started to get to the same level of kind extreme territory I had as a teenager.
What are my experiences lately? You can take your consciousness (and suffering) to quite profound, sometimes uplifting and at times very scary places (ie for me going extremely catatonic and in a bad mindset) through these diets that people are broadly normalising and promoting.Yes, you can tap into some spiritual/altered states, maybe lose some weight but also very easily push it to the extreme of depriving yourself to really unhealthy limits, really quickly. It can easily become an eating disorder rather than a health thing, these diets and it's a gradual slide. So while mild nutritional ketosis seems interesting and kind of low GI stuff seems reasonable enough but yeah it easily swings into something less so, particularly for those of us who have struggled with such before...
I still feel the most healthy thing to do is change your relationship to food in a healthy way. Get some greater impulse control gradually, cut out unhealthy things and if you want, try something mild like intermittent fasting if depriving yourself takes your fancy.
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Ketosis as therapy
Heard of a few people doing this, feel free to share your experience
We're often centric on putting something in to remedy disease. Taking things out is often less favoured and easy. The nice thing about a diet change is you regain choice of, and gain discipline of what you put into your body and hopefully a health outcome out of it. The second is you can often address the issues of poor health Finding a diet and lifestyle that delivers improvements puts a feeling of health back in your conscious control.
I thought, what am I like with very low carbs? I tried exogenous ketones, looking for a fix. What happens with using willpower for better health?
I'm still using thiamine but now as a B150 complex and keeping balance in micronutrients including trace elements... my macronutrient profile was not delivering - I was perma-hungry on my relatively planty but carb-loaded diet... keeping up exercise and gardening but so up and down and moody, push through it I tried.... Why not change diet a bit/have another crack at nutritional ketosis? It's "trendy" but also interesting on paper.
Mice on higher glycaemic food showed more autistic behaviors, such as reduced social interactions and activities that seemed to serve no purpose, according to the study, while the low glycaemic mice saw their behaviours improve
"Dietary lifestyle changes can have a positive impact throughout the lifespan and appear to not only reduce the risk of acquiring cognitive impairments, but can also attenuate existing impairments: a recent study showed that a 4-week low-saturated fat/low-glycaemic index (GI) diet resulted in improved memory performance and insulin metabolism in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment
In a healthy young student population those with better glucose regulation perform better on tests of memory, vigilance, planning and dichotic listening compared with those with poorer glucose regulation.
A higher-glycemic load diet was associated with higher depression symptoms, total mood disturbance, and fatigue compared to a low-glycemic load diet especially in overweight/obese, but also otherwise healthy, adults" [ref]
In ASD, all subjects on the KD had increased BHB, only 50% of subjects demonstrated significant improvements in some studies, some being super-responders with dramatic improvements in social affect. There have been improvement in case studies in hyperactivity, attention span, abnormal reactions to visual and auditory stimuli, usage of objects, adaptability to changes, communication skills, fear, anxiety, and emotional reactions
In more serious mental illness, evidence against the role of calorie restriction the mechanism of action of improvement in models, it seems to be more related to ketone bodies
I got into meal skipping first. Then low GI, then super carb reduction, then ketotarian. Eventually I was in measurable ketosis, over 1.5mmol/L.
Even just getting to breakfast skipping was hard enough without mood going way too low and symptoms initially.
Ketosis, it's nice for some conditions on paper but what's it like in reality? "...many people with certain mental disorders find it especially difficult to maintain thanks to the very symptoms they’re looking to manage". "...amid the excitement about the ketogenic diet, I think it’s important to point out its drawbacks as a psychiatric tool."
I agree, if you're looking to use a more extreme diet for mental health "wait until your brain is relatively stable before any kind of diet change". I tried getting into ketosis with extreme distress as a baseline once, even helping it along with BHB and I don't recommend it. It didn't work and made things worse.
"...after two days of eating fewer than 30 grams of carbs, it hit — a period of low energy and weakness
I woke up achy and sluggish, confused and depressed. I was simply too tired to be nervous about anything. But my depression had deepened, sending me into a dull blue fog. Then ten days, each of them torturous."
1. Caloric restriction increases longevity, memory, quality of life and reduces risk factors for neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases"We suggest that switching between time periods of negative energy balance (short fasts and/or exercise) and positive energy balance (eating and resting) can optimize general health and brain health
The increase in autism tracks remarkably closely with the increase in childhood overweight or obesity during the same time period (data from autismspeaks.org and the US Centers for Disease Control), suggesting a causal link between lack of metabolic switching and autistic behaviours, potentially through BDNF expression and excessive mTOR pathway activation" [1]
"...metabolic programs relying on efficient fatty acid and ketone body oxidation are most of the time shut off in the modern lifestyle and have to be reintegrated in order to overcome the obesity epidemic – widely known as the breeding ground for most of the Western diseases"
The modern lifestyle promotes continuous fueling of adipocytes - most authorities in the Western world recommend at least 50% of the daily caloric intake as carbohydrates but we're losing metabolic flexibility. We have an environment of energy abundance, prolonged psychosocial stress and physical inactivity.
It is suggested that "...that the strong increase of diseases related to metabolic abnormalities is largely based on a deficit in metabolic flexibility induced by things like psycho-emotional stress, high meal frequency, physical inactivity etc"
It's suggested we need to get used to "periodic fasting or calorie restriction, occasional meal skipping, ketogenic diets and of course exercise. Intermittent fasting and longer-term caloric as well as carbohydrate restriction are parts of our genetic heritage" [ref]
There is abnormal hedonic behaviour displayed by diets with high-glycemic carbohydrates - today modern humans are surrounded by a plethora of rewarding stimuli in a nearby environment and through food, we are blunted to the point of reaching reward hyposensitivity
What happens with strict carbohydrate restriction to induce adaptation to ketosis?
- Improved memory function with a medium effect size in individuals with impairment in response to a relatively brief period of carbohydrate restriction designed to reduce insulin levels and induce ketone metabolism. Improved memory performance, potentially by regulating hippocampal function
- Upregulation of GABAergic tone, regulation of glutamatergic transmission (changes the ratio of GABA:glutamate in favor of GABA), dopaminergic and serotonergic modulation along with changes in kynurenine metabolism. Enhanced the availability of brain tryptophan and serotonin, later releases of endogenous endorphins
- greater satiety and reduced overall consumption - improved central insulin sensitivity
- enhanced cerebral blood flow and blood–brain barrier function
- reduced mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) expression, similar to the effects of the antidepressant ketamine
- dramatic up‐regulation in neuronal autophagy (sometimes referred to as cellular cleansing)
- may moderate the pathogenic relationship between stress reactivity and brain in limbic and prefrontal regions
- β-hydroxybutyrate increases the frequency of gamma oscillations and has a protective role in executive function in serious mental illness
- anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory action
- increases the activity of a family of transcriptional repressors known as sirtuins and broad epigenetic regulatory activities at physiological concentrations, these may alter seeking behaviour, preventing excessive ethanol intake and relapse and facilitate extinction. Enhance GABAergic and glutamatergic plasticities in DA neurons and normalise hyposensitivity to GABA.
- activated brain PPARα: through this is likely to regulate expression of many genes encoding enzymes of amino acid/neurotransmitter metabolism and stimulation of PPARα improves cognitive function (reducing cognitive inflexibility, perseveration etc) in models of impaired cognitive function
The beneficial effects of caloric restriction may require only a short‐term reduction in caloric intake
Some of the things that temporarily flared up were transient worsening of AVHs and not enough energy to want to bother trying to socialise. I was temporarily in quite a negative mindset and not interested in much of anything.
Now there are a few elements:
1. Stability of mind, quite a notable difference in consciousness and anxiolysis. A calm, centred softness. Consciousness is becoming clear and slowly expansive again. Still struggling with my memory, eg ingraining things but we'll see how that goes. Normally I struggle with extreme perservation, feel "locked in" to loops, like I'm not in control, "driven" and akathisic. There feels like a liberating sense of me driving choice again. Even social interaction was a relatively normal experience without aberrant emotionality and odd stress responses
2. Lack of hunger and better sleep
3. Clean energy as needed and less inner mind chatter. Normally I feel heavy in body, mind and spirit but today I felt like having an unco grove to music to unwind a bit, just to loosen up a bit
4. A spiritual element. Feeling generally satisfied as I am with a clear horizon. Normally I'm on the chase for something... and then another thing.
While I'm trying to put minimal kJ in, it's interesting being in a state where you're burning and using fats, either what you put in, or your own, for energy. Instead of spiking blood glucose, you can get a feel for different fats and their uses.MCTs are nice for a quick boost and adapting to ketosis [1] and the initial stage but soon enough, you want to be running on healthier fats.
That said, MCTs are the 'crack of fats' increasing BHB in a linear, dose-dependent manner and increasing total brain energy metabolism by increasing ketone supply [2], having positive effects on verbal memory and processing speed in patients with impairments [3] and exerting anxiolytic and social effects [4]. Coconut oil may improve brain health by directly activating ketogenesis in astrocytes [5] and has beneficial effects on neuron survival [6]
If you want an interesting combo, try a carnitine source with your longer chain fats. Long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) require L-carnitine as a transporter into the mitochondrial matrix, while the MCTs do not. While most patients do not require carnitine supplementation [7], Carnitine helps shuttle fatty acids across cell membranes to be oxidized by mitochondria, covering an important role in lipid metabolism, acting as an obligatory cofactor for β-oxidation of fatty acids by facilitating the transport of long-chain fatty acids across the mitochondrial membrane as acylcarnitine esters.
Oleic acid sources do seem to curb hunger nicely. There is reduced food intake in an oleate-specific manner [8].There is a hypoglycemic effect of oleic acid and the probable dependence of glutathione [9]
Watch out for saturated fats: these increase brain inflammation and activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
Dietary lecithin may increase the efficacy of omega-3 supplementation when their intake is combined
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29951312
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29914035
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30367958
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29908242
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27430387
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28126466
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11879348
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27654062
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28214972-
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Please keep it to legal things to do with isopropyl
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I still have moments I tune into these things, lately endogenously
I found myself spontaneously creating a chakra Full Moon Mandala
Did some reading, surely I'm not the only one who does these things?
"The season of Spring presents a time for us to align with our inner truth, the seeds inside of us waiting to blossom with the droplets of rain and sun. One of my most loved rituals is the practice of creating an Earth Mandala, a Healing Circle, a Flower of Life, a cosmic diagram connecting us to the Universal oneness. It is an offering of prayer and love to Mother Earth and the Spirit of the land where you live.
This ritual was inspired by the sacred Andean Despacho ceremony of the Inka tradition. Since ancestral times, people of the Andes have used this ceremony to connect themselves with the harmony of nature and to live in Ayni, in reciprocity and right relationship. To practice Anyi is to acknowledge the interconnection between human beings and the natural world that sustains us. In Peru, a Despacho ceremony is performed by the Q’ero shaman to honor Pachamama, Mother Earth or the Apus, the Mountain Spirits. Using various natural elements as offerings to represent the stars, rivers, clouds… the shaman creates a three dimensional Mandala composition as a symbolic act of respect for all of life."
https://puakaihealing.com/earth-mandala/I've been experiencing a strong connection to the natural world lately, plants, birds etc.
"When a feather arrives for you, Spirit is reminding you of your spiritual origins and deep connection to your home beyond earthly realms."
"Feathers come to us as gifts. They come from the sky, from the sea, from trees and deep grasses, even appearing within enclosed spaces never inhabited by winged creatures. They come to us unexpectedly, but not without purpose. Their messages may be startling, soothing or sudden, but they are always an opportunity for seeing – for finding answers to questions we may not even have known we were asking.
What, then, is a feather? It is a part of a bird’s body, and it is a part of us. It exists for itself, to serve its primary purpose in the cosmos, and it exists in alliance with every other aspect of the cosmos. Just as we bring life-inspiring messages for others while simply fulfilling our own lives, so do feathers bring their messages to us. They remind us that we walk in a world overflowing with meaning."
https://www.shamanicquest.co.uk/blog/2017/05/15/Shamanic-Practice-And-Feathers.aspx
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I too like to see birds symbolically and as spiritual messengers. I've also been feeling attunement to all animals/insects on a deeper level. I feel it's more a personal relationship that you find in their presence than any general one but just observing the bird can form some relevant "lesson" or insight.
For example, some have taught me that I need to be more friendly with their general friendly nature.
Others reaching for higher transcendence of self through their flight
A more detatched view on the earthly pleasures and greater spirit etc
There's plenty on spiritual views on the net but see what inner work it brings to your awareness?
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This one - the dragonfly - came to me in a time where I was embracing change - new place, new attitudes, new behaviour, new light
"...change what needs to be changed, survive, become better, and flourish!"
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Well said @Inyan Coming from only ever being interested in plants for medicinal aspects, to then finding the enjoyment of creating that nourishing connection to food, I always dismissed anything else as aesthetic gardening and pointless. Not saying food/medicine isn't important, I'm just surprised to find how the act of relationship with something that won't deliver a therapeutic brew or even food really breaks the addictive consumption mindset - something I was always struggling with
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You can eat the kale, do the meditations, sip on the plant medicine but how healing is that really?
I got disenchanted with 'plant medicine' as it was often turning into a bunch of band-aid experiences and pits of continuous self-medication. I saw lots of people embarking on the same loop, it seemed to be a pathway of less healing than expected. Anyone else found that?
I think we've often lost some aspect of simply nurturing something that doesn't give back to us with food or medicine etc. A deeper connection to the Web of Life.
I started growing some non-medicinals, things that weren't providing me with anything, and noticed something...
From the butterfly attracting Milkweed to Milly's forget-me-nots to Acacias I'd never had any interest in...
In the past, a plant's worth was dictated to me by what it could do for food or medicine, a very ego-centric view on the plant. There was nothing spiritual or worthwhile about a plant being simply a living entity, the essence of respect was often not there/not as deep - what did it do for us other than provide a bit of oxygen?!? It's "just a plant"... I was centred around always taking something from a plant, be it food, medicine, boosts in self etc.
If we treat humans in such a way, constantly dictating their worth by what they can do "for me/us" and with limited respect for their unique worthwhile existence, that's a very unhealthy view that's all too prevalent in society - I believe our human relationships are often mirrored in the way we treat the Earth. If we flip that "for me/us" around into what we can do "for them" without expectation of something in return, that's the start of some healing. In that flip, you also seemingly make room for healthy natural reciprocity
Today I see the worth of a plant beyond that narrow view. I'm starting to nurture something that I don't expect anything in return from. The essence of each plant has it's own gift, beyond a phytopharmacological or nutritional cocktail, and deserves respect - a more eco-centric and spirited view
Looking forward to Trees for Life
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Keep us in the loop on any improvements or anything you note @Xperiment. I doubt you got up to as much thiamine depleting shenanigans as I did but if you did, be liberal with doses...
Longer term, I've noted it's not the panacea for me - don't expect it to be - if I get stressed I get symptom flares but they actually resolve over a bit of time whereas before nothing would shift a continuous spiral down.-
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This continues to deliver day by day. So much so I think the quest for some stability might be over
I find the effects are very dose dependent in line with the dose-response noted above - using 500mg+ (I haven't noted side effects up to 1.5g) and keeping those levels elevated throughout the day has given me some good stability, I might be able to reduce doses soon.
Why did my brain feel daily like it was being eaten alive, was pure negative affect constantly over-riding my emotional world, was I in pure dysphoria with constant fluctuations in mental state and deteriorating cognition? This seems to be the closest I've found to a solution and an affordable one at that
The encouraging thing is that on returning to what was my first point of call but really upping the thiamine dose with just healthy dietary diversity and maintenance, it feels like there's nothing too much needing continuous time investment in attempting 'fixing' which has been a super challenging loop for me to break free from when minute to minute your mental state, memory and cognition is doing weird things. Hopeful I can maintain that. I'm currently having manageable stable-ish days without extreme and constant mood, emotional and other weird neuropsychiatric stuff happening. That said, it's been a long time of symptoms so there's likely been damaging effects from that. I'm not saying it's at all perfect but it's workable and stable 'good enough'. I can actually do some things I want to do for a few hours, particularly manage some family time, without it being absolute torture for my fluctuating brain state. Get on with living life.-
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Well modulating 5-HT did something helpful, temporarily...
In a moment of impulsivity went back to what was my first point of call after abstinence. Cheap old thiamine, was my body really getting enough or could that help explain the scary deteriorating struggle town I was in each day?
Not going to neglect the other vitamins see table in this article The B vitamins: nomenclature, dietary sources, coenzyme forms (roles), symptoms of deficiency, and risk factors (over and above low consumption).Of all the evidence based things I've tried to stay on top of, thiamine was one major legitimate concern. Thought I was including enough to try and cover that concern... but I upped the thiamine quite a bit.... and felt slightly better. A few days, even better. These days of supplements being so dodgy in quality, I'll only use simple cheap pharmaceutical grade thiamine I trust from the chemist not some novel derivative.
B1 Thiamine - brain deficiency particularly seen in alcohol abuse, obesity
Mild deficiency: irritability, emotional disturbances, confusion, disturbed sleep, memory loss
Deficiency: Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (neurodegeneration, within the medial thalamus and cerebellum). Ataxia, abnormal motor function and eye movement, amnesia, apathy, confabulation
- Thiamine deficient rats developed learning and memory deficits as well as aggressive behaviour " [it] may have considerable potential for use in the control of aggression " [ref]
- There was significant cognitive deteriorations in the psychoneurotic scales in thiamine deprived participants .
- There was significant association between improved thiamine status and enhanced performance across a range of cognitive-function test [ref]
Thought I was on enough but if you start getting weird neurological symptoms and cognitive decline, it seems to be a really good thing to knock out as a potential causative factor ASAP rather than fluffing around, particularly if you've been on anything thiamine depleting. Not just take a bit but saturate your system with it for awhile...
Particularly when if you're getting changes in mental state and cognitive deterioration - disoriented, inattentive, agitated etcAny thiamine experts?
How much thiamine is actually needed for abstinence recovery? How long do you need to maintain high-dose supplementation for? I used 100mg/day for a bit then I was using about 50mg/day. Maybe that simply wasn't enough
Alterations of serotonergic parameters have been demonstrated in experimental thiamine deficiency.
"...data suggest that 5-HT neurons, although structurally intact, are functionally affected early during the progression of thiamine deficiency. These alterations, which are likely a part of adaptive neuronal change consequent to thiamine dysfunction, may be important in the physiological manifestations and the learning deficits commonly encountered in experimental thiamine deficiency. "
Stuck with it a few days, got out in the garden more. Feel just clearheaded, been more able to persist with goal-directed tasks, not irritable. Calm and collected in the most grounded way I've felt for awhile. Stability of mood. I've actually slept in past my usual 3.30am wake up time, too.
With 50mg in healthy subjects: An improvement in thiamine status was associated with reports of being more clearheaded, composed and energetic. These influences took place in subjects whose thiamine status, according to the traditional criterion, was adequate.
Once again, this seems to have antidepressant augmenting effects in human studies [1]. In a small study, thiamine supplementation significantly improved anxiety scores, general well-being and reduced fatigue in patients with Generalised Anxiety Disorder. "Interestingly these patients were able to discontinue taking anxiolytic and β-blocker medications." [2]. It has also been found thiamine supplementation shows a beneficial clinical effect on children with autism [3].
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26984349
[2] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/7c1b/53c8c4dbfdccf441a16bcc1464b2b26c9c55.pdf
[3] http://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20130102.11.pdf
"Thiamine is being used to improve brain function and it is also shown to help treat neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons"It's established "thiamine supplemented abstinent rats made a faster recovery of hepatic and neuronal damage than in the abstinence group. Changes in neurotransmitter levels in brain were also reversed by thiamine supplementation. DNA damage was decreased and DNA content increased in thiamine supplemented group compared to abstinence group showing a faster regeneration" [1]
It is claimed Steve Jobs took massive doses of thiamine when he was experimenting with other stuff and said both were about equally effective as idea stimulators, but B1 did not have the psychoactive effect.
Thiamine compounds may act by boosting anti-oxidant cellular defenses and prevent stress-induced inhibition of hippocampal neurogenesis [2] Thiamine has antidepressant/anti-stress effects that are associated with reduced GSK-3β expression and conditioning of adverse memories [3]
High doses have some utility in dementia potentially due to a cholinomimetic effect of thiamine in the central nervous system [4] Thiamine is required to synthesise acetylcholine (ACh). Thiamine is involved in the presynaptic release of ACh; thiamine binds to nicotinic receptors and exhibits anticholinesterase activity
The treatment with thiamine led to a significant improvement of Parkinson's symptoms. Experimental findings showed an increased dopamine release in rat striatum after the intrastriatal thiamine administration and "high doses of thiamine, could lead to an increase of synthesis and release of the endogenous dopamine, to an increase of activity of the thiamine-dependent enzymes" [5]
A thiamine derivative promotes voluntary activity through dopaminergic activation [6] The same derivative has been found to make mice engage in more passive cuddling-type behaviours. Likewise acute sulbutiamine induced a modulatory effect on glutamatergic and dopaminergic cortical transmissions in the rat brain
It has anticonvulsant effects [7]
One report of a healthy subject taking mega-doses:
"I have been using megadoses of Thiamine (Vit. B1) on and off for over a year and am greatly impressed. I always take a 250 mg or 300 mg B1 pill with a Vitamin B Complex (100 mgs/mcgs of the various B Vitamins) usually twice per day (once with breakfast and once with lunch).
Good things about Thiamine megadoses:
- Greatly improves my attention to detail on reading tasks. Without it I often struggle reading through pubmed articles for example, with it I read every single word quickly and understand what the article is about without giving up (I often 'give up' without this given that I have inattentive type ADD).
- Greatly improves ability to do 'boring' mundane tasks. For example, when doing boring checking tasts at work, this helps me rip through them better than anything else. Also lets me rip through chores easily.
- Improves my motivation. It allows me to follow a more disciplined lifestyle (eating healthier, sticking to routines, doing boring chores without too much hassle, etc.)
- Gives me more mental energy and I feel more awake generally in the daytime." [8]
[1] https://www.ijpp.com/IJPP archives/2013_57_4_Oct - Dec/406-417.pdf
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28506637
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27825907
[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8251051
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4828997/
[6] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28462-2
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28766407
[8] https://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/65238-megadosing-thiamine-for-motivation-and-sexual-arousal/I've learned with a potential deficiency ie thiamine, don't skimp on doses of the safe ones. Doses of high magnitude for longer periods are required to replenish many B vitamin levels and correct enzymatic activity, particularly with those who have restriction in their ability to absorb them. There is a linear dose response following single oral doses of thiamine in terms of whole blood and plasma levels up to the maximum administered dose of 1500 mg (corresponding to more than 1000 times the RDA). Higher doses have also been used such as 3g. It's seemingly better to get those levels up.
"Epidemiological evidence suggests that the benefits of B vitamins extend well beyond the accepted biochemical cut-offs for deficiency or marginal deficiency"
Other B deficiencies from [ref]:
B2 Riboflavin
Fatigue, personality change, brain dysfunction
B3 Niacin - Particularly seen in alcohol abuse
Depression, anxiety, progressing to vertigo, memory loss, paranoia, psychotic symptoms, aggression (Pellagrous insanity)
B5 Pantothenic acid
Encephalopathy, behaviour change, demyelination
B6 Vitamin B6 (referring to: pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, pyridoxine) Particularly seen in Alcohol abuse, age-related malabsorption, contraceptive medicationsIrritability, impaired alertness, depression, cognitive decline, dementia, autonomic dysfunction, convulsions
B7 Biotin - particularly seen in Type II diabetes, poor gluco-regulation
Depression, lethargy, hallucinations, seizures
B9 Folic acid/folate - particularly seen in Common genetic polymorphisms (inc. MTHFR C667T) Low Riboflavin and B12
B12 Vitamin B12 - particularly seen in age-related malabsorption, vegetarians, vegans, genetic polymorphisms
Both cause affective disorders, behaviour changes, psychosis, cognitive impairment/decline, dementia (inc Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia)Observational and controlled trial research being focused disproportionately on just three of the vitamins—folate and vitamins B6 and B12. "Unfortunately, there is a general dearth of controlled trial research into the effects of the remaining B vitamins on brain function"
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Switching this around, how do we use the social to modulate monoamines? Is 5-HT something that is successfully modulated by the social? That's the other thing that causes a drastic reduction in symptoms for me - nourishing social interaction. The serotonergic system itself is highly responsive to social influences and social isolation has been shown to affect endogenous 5-HT release and 5-HT turnover and leads to a reduction in the excitability of DRN 5-HT neurons.
Sure, initially the elevated serotonergic states where nice but eventually things seem to return to a homeostasis, likely as seen in clinical studies with Trp augmentation "During the first week of treatment, there was a significantly greater decrease in depression scores. No significant differences were noted at later time points." and if you're adding additional Trp, are you potentially providing extra fuel for an activated kynurenine pathway?
Upping the monoamines helped but... I mean really, is fancy supplementation really alleviating issues at the source and improving life, or just a band-aid for real problems, like persistent social isolation? Part of me says, fix the aberrant underlying deficits and you'll start having better social approach and try more socialising whereas in reality, each "band-aid" is directing life force away from actively tackling the root causes. The bidirectional effects of the social on the biological could be more effective and stable than trying to up monoamines with anything. I've tried that approach before, a few times, but it's worth a retry. Riding through the nastiness of 'augmentation cost cutting', feeling quite extra crap, and more attempted action even though I feel crap. Often the only way that works...
I'm at the point Trp isn't doing much more, other than inducing side-effects and becoming very blunting. More so than just switching favour between hedonic short-term rewards in favour of longer-term ones, actually feeling extremely anhedonic. It switched the impulsivity down, tackled negative emotional dysregulation well, for a bit. PRN stuff it feels.
Do social factors induce cascading serotonergic abnormalities? It seems very difficult to climb back to any level of health if you condition social defeat and isolation. We too easily isolate and subordinate people with lower mental health, as they do to themselves, how much does that cascade into crippling mental illness? How much of a role does the serotonergic system play in that?
Serotonin is probably most central in its relation to social status functioning [1] Changes in serotonergic function seems to directly affect perceived social status.
"Social subordination leaves one fidgety, easily perturbed, and their behaviour seems to be largely controlled by external stimuli rather than being self-directed. [they are] prone to impulsive behavior including impulsive aggression."
5-HT appears
- important in developing nourishing social contacts
- contributes to the appraisal of the social emotional cues
- increases the perception/interpretation of social stimuli
- It stimulates pro-social behaviour, which leads to high levels of cooperation and improved perception of social cuesIn a simplistic framework:
"Serotonin levels are not innate and inflexible. They are themselves the product of social status. The higher your self-esteem and social rank relative to those around you, the higher your serotonin level is. Experiments with monkeys reveals that it is the social behavior that comes first. Serotonin is richly present in dominant monkeys and much more dilute in the brains of subordinates. Cause or effect? Almost everybody assumed that the chemical was at least partly the cause: it just stands to reason that the dominant behavior results from the chemical, not vice versa. It turns out to be the reverse: serotonin levels respond to the monkey’s perception of its own position in the hierarchy, not vice versa."
“Contrary to what most people think, high rank means lower aggressiveness, even in vervet monkeys. The high-ranking individuals are not especially large, fierce or violent. They are good at things like reconciliation and recruiting allies. They are notable for their calm demeanor. There is little doubt that the monkeys mood is set by its high serotonin levels. If you artificially reverse the pecking order so the monkey is now a subordinate, not only does its serotonin drop, but its behavior changes, too. Moreover, much the same seems to happen in human beings." - Genome
The activity of 5-HT neurons is highly vulnerable to stress.
Stress → social withdrawal/low mood → social isolation and continuous social subordination. Each of those declines is another hit to the functionality of the serotonergic system. It forms a negatively re-enforcing cascade.
[1] https://www.ulm.edu/~palmer/TheBiochemistryofStatusandtheFunctionofMoodStates.htm
"Serotonin dysregulation found in depression and other psychiatric disorders may go hand-in-hand with deficits in initiating social interaction, impaired learning from social interaction experience and making adverse decisions in social situations."
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Thanks @tarenna and @LikeAshesWeFade for the kind words
Still going with the Trp. Finding it really quite useful. It's not so much a mood boost as what I needModulating 5-HT more given me a view on 5-HT beyond it being a way of increasing personal "happiness". I'm not more "happy" - it's deeper than that. It's also deeper than 5-HT making octopi cuddly with empathogens, too.
I like the model where "Serotonin influences social behaviour by shifting social preferences in the positive direction, enhancing the value people place on others’ outcomes." Trp augmentation may "influence the way they feel and think about themselves in a social context" and "serotonin function is related to positive social preferences, that is, the positive valuation of others’ outcomes"
Serotonin's effects appear to depend on the social context: "serotonin amplifies neural representations of positive social preferences, whereas serotonin depletion shifts neural value computations toward selfish or even negative social preferences"
"Serotonin is concentrated in discrete brain regions known to regulate social cognition and decision-making that have been collectively called “the social brain”. Depleting serotonin in normal individuals shifts their behaviour toward lack of impulse control and short-term gratification at the expense of long-term benefits. Enhancing brain levels of serotonin causes people to become more averse to harming others"
Depleting brain serotonin levels in normal individuals results in a shift away from cooperative behavior in favor of short-term gain and results in antisocial behaviour, increased uncontrolled aggressive behavior, feelings of anger, quarrelsome behavior, and self-injury
Low functioning "compromises the decision-making process by altering the ability to distinguish the magnitude of differences between immediate versus long-term rewards" and increases the tendency to choose the less probable outcome
Low Trp manipulations result in the use of more self-references, more negative words, and fewer positive words
Reduced serotonin function indeed impairs ones empathic abilities.
Serotonin is important for promoting behavioural suppression or withdrawal in the face of aversive predictions
Serotonin modulates human concerns for harm and fairness
Serotonergic activities might strongly influence the sharing effect of emotions.
It plays important roles in the regulation of individual behaviours that organize social group dynamics.
Read How serotonin shapes moral judgment and behavior
Vitamin D and 5-HT
I'm a month into the L-methylfolate with the later added amino acids. It's reduced some symptoms quite nicely but it's pricey when I have house expenses. Trp will definitely remain as a useful amino acid for me but I'm keen for more affordable monoamine modulating vitamin options - maybe massive doses of L-methylfolate aren't needed and I can just use a mg/day or something.I also note how much the sun does for me... when I get out there properly"Vitamin D acts not only to induce serotonin synthesis, but also functions at an indirect, molecular-genomic stage to mimic SSRIs and MAO inhibitors" [1]"Fine-tuning serotonin concentrations in the synaptic cleft, vitamin D may be able to steer neurological control of such processes as social behaviour and depression."It is "hypothesized that an association between vitamin D insufficiency and low central serotonin concentrations represents a common denominator in a myriad of neuropsychiatric disorders."How does this apply to health?The core symptoms of ASD fluctuated in severity with changes in serum vitamin D levels in children: high-dose vitamin D3 regimens may ameliorate the core symptoms [2, 3]"...core symptoms of ASD were remarkably improved during the vitamin D3 supplementation period when serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)]D levels reached over 40.0 ng/mL. However, symptoms reappeared after the supplementation was stopped, when serum 25(OH)D levels fell below 30.0 ng/mL but were again improved with re-administration of vitamin D3 after the interruption, when serum 25(OH)D levels exceeded 40.0 ng/mL."Vitamin D supplementation is associated with lower depressive and anxiety symptoms in psychotic illness [4] and addition of vitamin D to conventional antidepressive agents can improve antidepressive effect [5]I was always on the lower end dose when supplementing. A daily vitamin D intake of 1000–4000 IU (25–100 micrograms) should be enough to ensure optimal blood levels for most people [6] Anyone attest to benefits dosing higher?
Shining some light on the dynamics of the spiritual journey of recovery
in Creativity, Spirituality & Philosophy
Posted · Edited by Alchemica
Art served as catalysing a spiritual wake up for me.
One thing that surprises me is how mental health professionals seem to have little awareness of the dynamics of the spiritual life. "According to various surveys, 51 % of therapists have an anti-religious, anti-spirituality bias".
"...few have any depth acquaintance with the spiritual life, simply because this was not an aspect of their training. Most, if not all of their education and training has been in the behavioral and social sciences, which, as indicated above, can have an anti-religion, anti-spirituality bias. Thus, while not outright hostile, they may be uninformed. A remaining minority of therapists may have ventured beyond the above biases and misinformation, to acquaint themselves with the world of the spirit. However, this may be limited to attending a seminar, or meditation classes, Yoga classes etc"
In mental health, spirituality has been shown to be a significant and independent predictor of recovery and/or improvement in indices of treatment outcome. Religious/spiritual well-being might be considered an important resource to explore, in particular for affective disorder patients [1]
What's often involved [2]?
-the early stages of spiritual life describes the pleasant experiences—peace, tranquility, etc. They are not unlike the "falling-in-love" experiences
Embracing a thinking type with a feeling function that had been so repressed and unacknowledged can burst out and overwhelm, one becomes a casualty of a life devoid of spiritual fulfillment.
-difficult, taxing experience of wrestling with our character defects, sins and faults. The temptation here is to equate this experience with clinical depression. Probably what is happening in this stage is a complete reorganization of the psyche. It is essential that we trust the process - this equates with "Faith" as Faith equals Trust. We learn that grace is active in our souls, regardless our of awareness. With determination and faith, the purgative process comes to an end
- illumination usually comes upon us gradually. We experience less anger and anxiety. Good behaviour comes more naturally.
- The final stage is the experience of ongoing closeness in relationship
In serious mental illness, negative symptom scores were inversely correlated with spiritual/religious well-being scores, and that general psychopathology symptom scores were inversely correlated with existential well-being scores [3]
People often undergo intense spiritual awakenings that facilitate abstinence, too. Self-reports of spiritual awakening predicted improved drinking outcomes in one study [4] and recovery was often heavily reliant on spirituality and in one study spirituality was an important predictor of reductions in drug use while in treatment and at the follow-up interview, whereas religiosity was not [5]. Increases in day-to-day experiences of spirituality and sense of purpose/meaning in life were associated with absence of heavy drinking [6]
- Spirituality was described as hope
- When our God-image is contaminated and toxic, our spiritual growth is hindered.
- Spirituality was credited with helping improve participants’ state of mind by giving strength and peace
- It’s that relationship that you establish where you get honest with yourself, it’s all with yourself
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22797574
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24449135
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15870619
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24335767
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2693037/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17286347
The Hells of Illness
To me, the Hells of Illness are places we often foolishly stay in through dis-empowerment, extremely contracted states of consciousness
They are places of feelings of unworthiness of love, literally souls in exile.
They are attachment to lower-states of Pride, Anger, Desire, Fear, Grief, Apathy, Guilt and Shame where domination by force is stronger than the power of Love. It is our job to work through those lower emotions and transcend that, otherwise people become demanding, blaming, antagonistic, disappointing, frightened, hopeless and miserable and cycle through hurting themselves and others. It's a loop of downward spirals of discontent, disconnection and devolution
In stepping into our loving power and working through to transcend those lower emotions and embracing our Divine selves we reach a tipping point towards expansion, we gain acceptance, courage, trust, optimism, forgiveness, understanding, reverence, serenity and bliss
Darkness of the Soul
"...a growing number of scientific studies indicate individuals contending with depression and other potentially serious mental health conditions may struggle with their faith in ways that lead to adverse outcomes"
If we approached suicidality with 'What is it in you that needs to die?' we could embrace transformation. We don't have that wisdom in our culture, we just go up to the person and say, 'Please don't die, please don't harm yourself, it's a really good world out there, there's lots to live for, there are people who love you, there are all these social services,' and of course that has no effect.
People with negative religious/spiritual coping scores showed more protracted and severe symptomatology in depression. Unstable spiritual needs in people and lack of stable positive interests are prone to negative behaviours and spiritual struggle was a salient indicator of depressive symptom severity in both mood-disordered and psychotic patients. Spirituality promotes a healthy lifestyle, social connectedness, attachment security with God or a Higher Power, identity formation, as well as healthy brain development among high-risk groups and sense of interconnectedness, the experience of love, and altruistic engagement.
People often struggle with perceived sense of loss or desecration of other beliefs, relationships, and/or practices that patients imbue with transcendent or penultimate value. For instance there could be unmet vocational goals or difficulty negotiating interpersonal realms
Spiritual well-being plays a role in mental health through in part mediating the association of attachment and psychological distress. Spirituality, as marked by the meaning of self, inner independence, and transcendence, is distinct from mood. It cooperates, together with the affective states, to determine quality of life. Spiritual therapy can be used as an effective intervention to improve spiritual well-being, self-esteem and self-efficacy. It is seen as a pathway to positive self-concept/body image through gratitude and reduced self-objectification
Struggles
Review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30772739
Greater severity of spiritual struggles was generally associated with worse depression symptomatology and less positive mental health and issues with ultimate meaning emerged as a salient indicator of mental health status at the two assessments as well as longitudinal changes in both depression symptomatology and positive mental health.
Struggles with ultimate meaning may present similarly to depressed mood and anhedonia. Feelings of worthlessness or excessive/inappropriate guilt may add to the picture. Spiritual struggles also influence dimensions of emotional suffering.
Spiritual interventions (e.g.,meditation/prayer, affirm divine worth or encourage acceptance of divine love) alongside psychological and biological approaches can help. Self-compassion predicted depressive improvement and bolstering this reduced mind-wandering [1].
We can shift to a place where health is transformed from a state that requires the absence of disease to a state where the central theme is the fullness of life. Health becomes not a static state of being, but a dynamic quality of living where body, mind, and spirit are fully employed to make the most of each day [2]
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30906796
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30462340
Love
Love and spirituality are inseparable - when spirituality grows, so does the capability for love.
"...When you won’t love, or won’t let it out, it emerges anyway in the form of self-destruction. The alternative to self-love, in other words, is self-destruction. Because you won’t take the risk of loving yourself properly, you will be compelled instead to destroy yourself.
The essential point is to consider love as a spectrum... you have to take it and let it grow where you find it."
And noticed the whole organism - physical, psychological, and spiritual - is an erogenous zone. We learn the flow of love should not be channeled exclusively towards the physical but used for growth and healing
https://progessnotperfection.blogspot.com/2009/08/spectrum-of-love-by-alan-watts.html
The Power of Spirit
Living an entirely rational existence seeks its opposite in intoxicants and other forms of escape, which lead to depression and self harm. Part of the intellect has to give over to the life of faith, and if it doesn't the ego will remain in a state of neurosis or mental illness. It has to actually give over to the force that is greater than itself
"The purely material approach to mental illness, while often having some impact of course and the medication often has wonderful effects, but it rarely gets to the root cause of the problem. And so that's why I think it's now time for the modern approach to mental illness to revisit the ancient models which included the spirit and the soul."
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/spiritofthings/spiritual-sickness/
Awakening
https://www.spiritualawakeningprocess.com/2013/12/the-embracing-your-light-phase.html
"...some of us, we hit this point where we say, "Enough is enough!" We're tired of fighting ourselves. We tired of trying to re-create the old life which feels like stacking marbles in a corner. It all keeps falling apart. We're tired of being tired and doing things that don't help us. We've had it with the remaining unconscious ego that has been clinging on like concrete pants that threaten to drown us in the ocean of consciousness. This is actually a sacred turning point."
At the start, it tends to be about facing the darkness while still clinging to old unconscious ego habits. The shadow and dispelling the darkness phase is an over-arching phase. Later on, people can make a choice to truly stand in their light because they no longer have any attachment or investment in the old unhealthy ways of living that caused so much suffering.
Initially, a lot of people are terrible at interpreting how they feel. They've spent so much time ignoring and avoiding their feelings, sensations, and other information that they don't know what is what. That's another reason a spiritual awakening can overwhelm people. They feel lost in all this "new" information that they can't immediately understand.
Awakening is the start to understanding oneself and finding freedom from the suffering. That freedom is the ability to be with whatever experiences or feelings may come.
In the Embracing the Light Phase:
The person steps into their love and light in a significant way
The individual lets go more and accepts themselves more deeply as they are.
The individual stays more focused on faith and trust.
There is better integration because of a whole being level of acceptance.
There's a deeper forgetting of issues. In this sense, we no longer understand why we should be afraid of something. The mindset that believed in the fear, anger, etc. is annihilated and we see through our own insanity.
Finding Hope and Faith
"Love overcomes separation and creates participation...there is also no true help which does not spring from love and create love”
Spirituality offers a vast domain of potential connection. This connection is fitting insofar as spirituality is the antithesis of egocentrism and self-absorption
"Whatever else it may be, spirit is social. It represents our sense of participation and membership in a humanity and a world much larger than our individual selves”
It is impossible to conceive hope without faith. “Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned” and “the centered movement of the whole personality toward something of ultimate meaning and significance” as well as “passionate concern...a matter of infinite passion”
Faith, hope, and love are impossible without active participation. Such a relation of reaching out and taking in exemplifies secure attachment as well as the caregiving context in which attachment security develops, and this embracing attachment sustains hope.
We risk overlooking what might be more problematic for some people: the existential-spiritual impact of illness, which includes cynicism, bitterness, and alienation as well as loss of faith and hope
People can experience profoundly insecure attachment. This plight leaves the person feeling psychologically alone in unbearable emotional states and can be associated with alienation, despair, and hopelessness—at worst, suicidal states.
The instillation of hope requires restoration of security in attachment relationships, which serves not only to ameliorate distress but also to restore the self-worth and self-confidence essential for exploration and growth.
Spiritual thinking—with or without God—might foster a sense of being at home in the universe, and I use “home” deliberately for its attachment connotations. Patients with psychosis showed a high prevalence of insecure avoidant attachment. Spiritual entities functioned like attachment figures in two thirds of cases [1]
The person plays and explores confidently as long as the attachment figure is accessible. Thus security optimally balances relatedness and autonomy
This sense of being at home and connected is the antithesis of the most profound sense of hopelessness seen in severe mental illness; that is, feeling disconnected, alone, and alienated in emotional pain
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24354604
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26446496
A heart for compassion
"When individuals are in a state of increased awareness, they are conscious of their thoughts and emotions and move from the reactive mind to the responsive mind. They are able to perceive experiences with more clarity than when their thoughts are clouded by conditioning and/or intolerance. Awareness frees individuals to experience people and circumstances as they are without judgment or the confines of preconceived ideas,
The inherent paradox of tolerance is distinctively different from stress in that tolerance involves acceptance. It is an acceptance of people and an acceptance of what “is” in the present moment. Acceptance quiets the tension of the inherent paradox.
Spiritual awareness may lead to lower psychosocial stress (belief or thought that demands and expectations being placed on one exceed their ability to cope, decreased neurohormonal activation, low allostatic load (the level of wear and tear on the body that accumulates as an individual is exposed to repeated or chronic stress), and better health outcomes. The process is mediated by decreased intolerance and increased compassion.
The goal is to extend the periods of time during which we are in a state of increased awareness, recognizing our connectedness with ourselves and others, collectively present in space and time. Individual and collective awareness fosters tolerance through the mechanism of compassion."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6210378/
The message
Our generation suffers the disease of distorted perception of self and lack of regard for others. Egocentric thinking is elevated among millennials. Greater exposure to materialistic culture also seems to exacerbate individual feelings of deprivation. People often use negative coping to meet the developmental need to fit in, while drowning out a pervasive sense of not being ‘good enough’ People "reach a point of spiritual emptiness and corresponding sense of low self-worth that can be addressed by strategies that reframe one's life (and its stresses) to make it more meaningful while also improving one's self identity" [1].
"Spiritual experience, in shifting the motivational structures of the self to sincere other-regard, may activate this complex caregiving circuitry. When this occurs, spiritual awakening aligns with character development by substituting humility for self-aggrandizement, connectedness for isolation, generosity/helping for taking, and a spiritual sense of purpose for a lack of meaning. Spiritual experiences also provide a lens for reinterpreting what might otherwise be debilitating negative experiences from the past in ways that enhance a sense of well-being"
"If spiritual experiences, and especially the experience of divine love, move the motivational structure from Buber's classic “I-It” to “I-Thou” (the genuine discovery of the other as a center of value equal to or greater than one's own), then perhaps the benefits of service to others will be greater because of the purity of motive that such experiences foster".
"Spirituality has been found to shield against risky behavior and emotional problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Studies have also demonstrated that spirituality is significantly associated with indicators of subjective well-being – higher levels of positive emotions and more life satisfaction
There is also mounting evidence that spirituality contributes to prosociality – more compassionate feelings and behaviors toward needy others, higher levels of civic engagement, and heightened peer likeability, which, in turn, facilitate social adjustment and functioning. Some studies also point to spirituality as a source of optimism for good outcomes and of unwillingness to fall into despair during difficult times. Although optimism is considered a personality trait that is relatively stable over time, there is empirical evidence that optimism is reinforced by spiritual experiences . Mofidi et al. noted that the relationship between spirituality and optimism is often bidirectional in that spirituality may promote optimism and optimism may support spirituality.
Spirituality can add more passion and meaning to people’s intrapersonal and intellectual aspirations; it can moderate how people interact with others; it can redefine the goals people pursue; and it can help people in reappraising life events and transcending hardships and difficulties" [2]
Spiritual experiences like divine love may inspire and deepen motivation to serve others.
Engagement in spiritual activity may benefit cognitive function [3]
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4964962/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30873082
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24088403