Saturday, April 26, 2008

brain

Mental Health- Depression, Anxiety, Attention, Worry, Temper.. Notes taken from Change your Brain, Change your Life by Daniel G. Amen M.D. Serotonin and dopamine are counterparts. Over focus vs. under focus, over motivation vs. undermotivation can have similar symptoms but need different treatments. Limbic System- Depression & Love. Basal Ganglia- Anxiety & Fear. Prefrontal Cortex- Attention & Compulsion. Cingulate System- Obsessive Worry. Temporal Lobe- Temper & Memory
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Depression- Limbic System- Love & Depression (relationships & thoughts) Brain Function- emotional tone, filters, tags events, stores, motivation, appetite, sleep cycles, bonding, scent, libido. Disorders- moody, irritable, depression, negative thoughts, perception, emotions, less motivation, appetite, sleep, libido, social isolation. Checklist- sad, moody, negative, low energy, irritable,disinterest in people or sex, feeling hopeless, helpless, powerless, bored, guilt, suicidal, crying, sleep, appetite changes, low self-esteem, sensitive to scent, forgetful, poor concentration. Master Skills- Nutrition- Exercise- Meds. Prescription 1- kill ANTS (auto negative thoughts)realize thoughts are realnotice how thoughts affect bodythink of bad thoughts as pollutionunderstand auto-thoughts not always truetalk back to antsexterminate ants, always & never thinking, focus on negative, fortune telling, mind reading, thinking with feelings, guilt beating, labeling, personalizing, blaming. Prescription 2- feed aunteater- empower, train yourself to notice ants, write them down, identify species, talk back- rewrite. Prescription 3- surround self with the right people/non-toxic. Prescription 4- protect children with limbic bonding (20 min a day, special times, acknowledge good behavior, more listening than talking) Prescription 5- build people skills, Take responsibilitydon't take relationships for grantedprotect relationshipsassume the bestkeep relationships freshnotice the goodcommunicate clearlymaintain protect trustdeal with issues. Prescription 6- physical contact, give & receive- babies die without petting. Prescription 7- scent. Relaxing aphrodisiacs for men- Cinnamon, breadwomen- cucumbers, good & plenty licoricerest- lavender, chamomile. Prescription 8- memories. Prescription 9- consider limbic meds. Prescription 10- physical exercise. endorphinsblood flowenergymetabolismsleep cycletryptophan- serotonin. Prescription 11- nutrition. deep limbic needs balanced fat, carb, proteingood fatsomega 3protein- fish, cheese, beans, nutslow serotonin- worry, sleep, moody, rigid, irritable (limbic & cingulate),complex carb snacks, exercise, 5 htp- typtophan- milk, meat, eggs low dopamine, norepinephrine- lethargy, low focus, negativity, mental fuzzinessprotein snacks, avoid simple carbs, tyrosine amino acid- energy, focus, impulsivity, phenylalanine- mood, irritable
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Anxiety- Basal Ganglia- Fear & Anxiety, Functions- movement, fine motor, suppresses behavior, sets bodies idle speed, anxiety, motivation, pleasure, ecstasy, Problems- anxiety, nervousness, panic attacks, predict worst, conflict avoidance, tourettes, muscle tension, soreness, tremors, fine motor prob, headaches, low/ excessive motivation, Check list- nervous, anxious, panic attacks, tension, headaches, soreness, hand tremor, rapid heart rate, feel smothered, dizzy, faint, nausea, predict worst, fear of dying or doing something crazy, fear of judgment, criticism, avoid public, conflict avoidance, persistent phobias, low motivation, excessive motivation, tics, poor hand writing, startles, freeze, excessive worry what people think, shy, timid, low threshold of embarrassment. Master fear 1. kill fortune telling ants. write down eventwrite down auto thoughtslabel, identify thoughttalk back- re write- do not accept every thought that comes into your mind. basal ganglia anxiety often inaccurate. basal cool down by predicting the best. 2. guided imagery. 3. diaphramic breathing- breath with belly not chest, slow, deep & hold.. Slowly exhale through the lips with a 'p' sound to the count of 8. Slow inhale to the count of 8, hold to 8, puh exhale to 8. Three deep cleaning breaths whenever you think about it will release your tight muscles and calm you. 4. meditation/ self hypnosis. 5. 18/40/60 rule- teens worry what people think. at 40 you don't give a darn. at 60 you realize nobody's been thinking about you at all. 6. learn conflict skills 8. meds- benzodiazepines- BuSpar, EMSAM patch, Klonopin, Paxil, B-12 patch, long term treatment. Not addictive. calm aggression. Valium, xanax, ativan, serax, tranxene. Pros- work quickly, few side effects, effective. Cons- addictive. antidepressants- tofranil & nardil (mao inhibitor) for both limbic & basal ganglia problems. Nerve stabilizing- focal- lithium, tegretol, depakote. Anti-psychotic- reisperdal, mellaril, haldol. Nutrition- balanced fat, protein, carb. low motivation- high protein, low carb. Hypoglycemia & caffeine makes anxiety worse. Basal ganglia more likely to become alcoholic. Booz are anti-inhibitor but a depressant. avoid cycle. Herbs- kava, valerian, B6 2-400 mg, B complex, essential oils lavender * chamomile. Not parfume.
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Focus- Prefrontal Cortex- inattention & impulsivity. Function- attention span, perseverance, judgment, impulse control, organization, self-monitoring, supervision, problem solving, critical thinking, forward thinking, learning from experience, ability, to feel & express emotions, interaction with limbic system, empathy. Problems- short attention span, distractibility, lack perseverance, impulse control problems, hyperactivity, chronic lateness, poor time management, disorganization, procrastination, unavailability of emotions, misperceptions, poor judgment, trouble learning from experience, short term memory problems, social and test anxiety. Checklist- careless mistakes, inattention in homework, chores, paperwork..trouble listening, poor follow-through, finish, poor organization of time or space, distractibility, poor planning skills, lack of clear goals or forward thinking, difficulty expressing feelings or empathy, excessive daydreaming, boredom, apathy, low motivation, lethargy, feeling spacey of foggy, restless, trouble sitting still, conflict seeking, talk to much or too little, blurting answers before question completed, rude, difficulty awaiting turn, interruption or intrusion on others, impulsivity, do or say without thinking, repeat mistakes. Becoming Focused 1. develop & maintain clear focus- relationships, work, money, self 2. focus on likes vs. dislikes. 3. have meaning, purpose, stimulation, excitement in your life. 4. get organized, get help, delegate. 5. brain-wave biofeedback training. 7. audiovisual stimulation.8. don't be anothers stimulant. 9. consider meds for ADD 10. nutrition- high protein, low carb, less fat to stabilize blood sugar. 11. mozart for focus
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Worry- Cingulate- Obsessive compulsive (ocd) Function- shift attention, flexibility, adaptability, see options, go with flow, cooperate. Problems- worry, hold hurts from past, stuck on thoughts (obsessions), stuck on behaviors (compulsions), oppositional behavior, argumentative, uncooperative, say no auto, addictive behavior, chronic pain, cognitive inflexibility, OCD, eating disorders, road rage. Check list- worry, upset when not your way or out of place, oppositional, argumentative, repetitive negative thoughts, compulsive behavior, intense dislike of change, hold grudges, trouble shifting attention, difficult to see options, opinionated, not listen, stuck, say no without thinking, predict negative outcomes. Getting unstuck 1. distract self when stuck. 2. think before answer 3.write out options & solutions 4. seek council. 5. serenity prayer. 6. time out. 7. make paradox requests. 8. learn how to deal with oppositional children. 9. consider cingulate mediation- prozac, zoloft, paxil, anafranil, effexor, rmeron, serzone, desyrel, luvox to relax & calm overfocus and worry, relief of human emotional pain & suffering. St. Johnswart 300 mg 3X/day. 10. nutritional- high carb, tryptophan- turkey, chicken, salmon, beef, peanut butter, eggs, green peas, potatoes, milk. High protein can make cingulate prob worse.11. Exercise- increase tryptophan, calms, increased flexibility
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Temper- Temporal Lobe- Memory & Temper. Function- Dominant side (left) language, memory, visual, auditory learning, words, emotional stability. NonDominant side (right)- facial expression, vocal intonation, rhythm, music, visual learning. Problems- (left) aggression, dark or violent thoughts, sensitivity to slights, mild paranoia, words, auditory, reading difficulties, emotional instability- (right) - difficulty recognizing facial expression, decoding vocal intonation, social skill struggles- (both) memory, amnesia, headaches, anxiety, fear, delusion, deja vu, confusion,fanatical,excessive writing, seizures- physiological vs psychiatric? Checklist- short fuse, periods of extreme irritability, rage, sensitive to comments, explosive, confusion, panic, fear, visual or auditory changes, seeing shadows or muffled sounds, deja vu, mild paranoia, headaches, abdominal pain, head injury, family history of violence or explosiveness, dark thoughts, suicidal, homicidal, forgetfulness, memory problems, reading comprehensive problems, fanaticism. Enhancing experience- 1. create library of wonderful experiences 2. sing 3. hum 4. classical music 5. play instrument 6. dance 7. meds- antisiezure- depakote, neurontin, lamictal, tegretol 8. sleep enough 9. no caffeine, nicotine. 10. nutrition- avoid suger- not obsessive- high protein- is obsessive- equal carb/protein11. eeg biofeedback

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