Joined: 25 May 2005 Posts: 2 Location: New Zealand
Hi, & Can You Help? Posted: 05-25-05 23:25pm
Hi everyone, my name is michael hawkey. I
am a master of arts student in
anthropology at massey university in new
zealand.
As part of my thesis year I would like to
look at internet groups for depression
among males. Essentially i’m interested
in learning about why people use the
forums and what you get out of them.
My research will be conducted entirely
on-line and all names- both real and
usernames kept anonymous.
I’m mainly looking for any male
participants who could spare some time
every now and then with generally email
based interviews and discussions. I hope
that the results that I get from all of
you will be of use and interest in areas
of treatment of depressed peoples like
us.
I’d also like to take this opportunity
to introduce myself, academics aside.
About two years ago I was diagnosed with
depression and anxiety from my doctor.
I’m not really sure how long I have
suffered from the two, but the more I
think about it the longer it seems. For
as long as I can remember I have always
had very down periods when nothing feels
good and I only feel ‘blackness’.
Just prior to going to my doctor I had
reached an all time low which resulted in
frequent breakdowns of emotion, very
negative thoughts, extended time in alone
not wanting to see anyone or anything and
periods of either over eating or not
eating at all.
So, upon going to my doctor I was
prescribed with aropax, and suggested to
go to psychotherapy.
I ended up going to therapy and being
bumped up to the maximum dosage of
aropax.
Slowly the psychotherapy eased both the
depression and anxiety, and the medication
helped the anxiety a lot, although I could
always feel it somewhere inside still.
After about a year I finished therapy, as
we seem to have discussed everything of
use. I also dropped my medication- in
hope it was no longer needed.
Since then I have gone through bouts of
on/off depression, regularly getting quite
low, but not as bad as before. I’m
lucky to have a few friends whom I can
talk with and who understand. I have been
browsing the forum for a while, out of
personal interest, but kept in the
shadows, so to speak.
I am hoping that my proposed research will
both help me with my university research
and on a personal level- I chose it
because I have personal interests &
ties with suffering depression.
I would be most grateful if anyone,
particularly males, but at the same time
anyone would be willing to help me in my
study.
If you can spare some time, please do pm/
email me (hawkeyx@hotmail.Com )
i will then send you a more in-depth
information sheet and talk further.
Many thanks
michael.
|
jurplesman
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 139 Location: Sydney Australia
Posted: 05-26-05 23:47pm
Hi michael,
i just want to respond to your own history
of depression and your experience with
drug therapy and psychotherapy.
Conventional treatment of depression is
restricted to either drug therapy and/or
psychotherapy, both of which I consider to
be palliative treatments. They treat
symptoms but not the underlying causes of
depression. Therefore mainstream medicine
and psychology often fail to treat the
condition. This is one of the main reason
why people visit discussion boards on
depression looking for answers.
Depression is in fact a nutritional
disorder, because most people with
depression have been found to be
hypoglycemic. This means that the person
suffers from insulin resistance, that
prevents the proper assimilation and
metabolism of the sugars we eat. Sugars
in food are the universal source of
biological energy. That energy is
required by the brain to synthesize the
feel-good neurotransmitters such as
serotonin. Thus without adequate supplies
of biological energy the brain cannot
produce serotonin and other beneficial
neuro chemicals. The non-drug treatment
of this disorder is nutritional therapy by
going on a hypoglycemic diet (similar to
the diabetic diet).
The condition can be medically tested by a
special glucose tolerance test for
hypoglycemia and described as:
“testing for hypoglycemia and how your
doctor can help” at our web site.
When the brain senses energy starvation it
will trigger the release of stress hormone
- such as adrenaline. This hormone
functions to raise blood sugar levels, but
is also responsible for the myriad of
symptoms of “mental” illness, such as
anxiety attacks, insomnia, drug addiction,
alcoholism, various compulsive behaviours,
self-cutting and so on and on.
Psychologists often confuse these symptoms
with causes of ‘mental’ illness, and
believe that you can “talk” a patient
out of his ‘irrationalities’ by such
techniques as rcbt, or
‘psychoanalysis”.
Psychotherapy can only be useful when you
have treated the underlying biochemical
abnormality first.
Jurriaan plesman, ba(psych), post grad.
Dip. Clin. Nutr.
For more articles see free web site at
http://www.Hypoglycemia.Asn.Au
|
MeMichael
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 May 2005 Posts: 2 Location: New Zealand
Posted: 05-27-05 03:33am
Hi jurriaan,
thanks for the reply. I have just started
reading an article about what you explain
above.
I do have a depressed friend who was
tested for hypoglycemia some time ago
however who's results were negative.
Im not sure if you were suggesting all
depression is a nutritional disorder or
just that there is a large amount that may
be the result of it?
Surely other factors also cause
depression.
In my own case, I have never been tested
for hypoglycemia, so thanks for discussing
it- its a step I should consider taking.
Thanks
michael
|
jurplesman
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 139 Location: Sydney Australia
Posted: 05-27-05 21:40pm
Hi michael
i have heard this before. Most doctors
do not know how to test for hypoglycemia,
and they confuse this with a test for
diabetes., hypoglycemia is not diabetes
(it is the opposite), but is rather the
forerunner of it.
The test is described at our web site at:
articles ---> "testing for
hypoglycemia...."
in my long career as a psychotherapist I
have found that most depressed people have
hypoglycemia, which can be tested
medically. We also have the nbi (search
web site).
Of course there are 'psychological'
issues, and things can be complex indeed,
but the 'psychonutritional approach' is
much simpler and more effective than what
conventional treatment has to offer.
The so called complexity of depression is
relative of what you understand depression
to be. To a non-technician repairing a
computer can be very complex, but not to a
technician.
If you understand the biochemistry of
depression it become far less complex.
I have explained the biochemistry of most
mental illnesses at our web site.
Jurriaan plesman, ba(psych), post grad.
Dip. Clin. Nutr.
For more articles see free web site at
http://www.Hypoglycemia.Asn.Au
