Dr Neil Beck's Blog

What is Bipolar Disorder? Know About The "Big 7" Commonest Nervous Disorder - 4. Bipolar "Manic Depressive" Disorder

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:35:00 GMT

What is Bipolar Disorder? Bipolar Disorder causes a person to function as if their brain has a 3 speed gear box. They have periods when they are Normal , periods when they are Depressed, and other periods when they are Manic or “Hyper” or “Hypo”. They have unbalanced and unstable production and flows of the chemicals and electricity in their brain that determine their moods, energy levels, emotional intensity and the pace or speed of their thoughts (racing thoughts when high), activities or actions.

This disorder is basically an inherited disorder which runs in families, but its severity is influenced by lifestyle (diet, exercise, stress, drugs, etc) and by life traumas. Undiagnosed, untreated Bipolar (Mood Swings) Disorder is one of the commonest causes of a troubled life and when all else fails chronically troubled people should be given a mood stabilizer for a week’s trial during an overactive, irritable, anxious period and they will very quickly know if they have Bipolar Disorder.Chronic Anxiety that doesn’t respond well to tranquilizers often responds to anticonvulsant mood stabilizers and turns out to be Hypomania, not Anxiety or Hypomania and Anxiety.

In the Manic “Hyper” Periods you are racy, fast, go go, emotionally very intense, with non stop loud talking, over optimism or euphoria, “racing thoughts” that fly through your mind, and far too much energy. You can’t or don’t sleep much, may be irritable and may spend your money thoughtlessly and recklessly. Serious Manic Periods can get you into financial difficulties or even send you bankrupt if you over-commit yourself because of hypomanic recklessness and over-optimism. Manic Periods stress and damage your relationships and can lead to losing your job, serious family difficulties, or divorce. A few people become sexually driven and uninhibited when manic. People with Bipolar Disorder usually prefer being Hypo to being Depressed but being Hypo is usually more dangerous than being Depressed. Some Bipolar people are mostly Depressed and seldom “Hypo”, some are mostly “Hypo” and rarely Depressed and some are mostly normal and only infrequently Depressed or Hypo.

Bipolar Disorder doesn’t usually develop fully till the teens or twenties. It is sometimes present but difficult to be sure of in childhood. In a few cases it doesn’t show up till the thirties or later. Bipolar Disorder is frequently misdiagnosed as Anxiety and/or Major Depression. It is often not diagnosed when it develops in a person who already has ADD – it is just thought that their ADD has got worse and isn’t responding to treatment. The average person with Bipolar Disorder takes 10 years to get it correctly diagnosed. Some people have it for 40 or 50 years before it is correctly diagnosed. No doubt some people suffer with it all their adult life and die with it without ever being diagnosed or treated properly. They are just thought to be difficult or eccentric. Some Bipolar People resort to self-medication with large amounts of Alcohol, Benzodiazepines, Marijuana or even Heroin, when they are Manic, to try to calm themselves, or to be able to sleep, or to block out all the troubles they get into when they are Hypo. Neither Alcohol, nor Benzodiazepines nor Marijuana are strong enough to control Hypomania but if they don’t receive Mood Stabilizers or Major Tranquilizers these people may take such large amounts of Alcohol, Benzos and/or Marijuana that they become heavily addicted to them.

Most of our Bipolar patients do very well because we correctly diagnose them early by getting every patient to do our comprehensive Beck Mini DISCOMFORTS/DYSFUNCTIONS Checklist. That way nothing gets missed. We then teach Bipolar (Mood Swing) patients to quickly recognize when their brain changes gears from Normal to Depressed or to Manic and how to adjust their medicines according to whichever gear their brain is in. We put them on an Anticonvulsant/Mood Stabilizer and/or a Major Tranquilizer as well as an SNRI antidepressant, usually Escitalopram is the best. They take small to medium doses of these medications permanently and increase the Mood Stabilizers when manic and increase the Antidepressants when depressed. We teach them how to prevent, minimize and manage the Low and the High Periods. It has been found that Bipolar patients do better if they eat at regular times, sleep at regular times and minimize alcohol consumption.

Tricyclic antidepressants sometimes stimulate Bipolar patients to become Hypomanic and should be given with caution. This problem is much less common with SNRI antidepressants, but should still be watched for and Escitalopram seems least likely to do this. Many Adult ADD patients also have Bipolar Disorder and Bipolar Disorder should always be looked for in people with ADD. If it is present Dexamphetamine should only be given with care, to avoid causing Hypomania. I usually prefer stimulant SNRI’s to Dexamphetamine in these cases. If a Bipolar patient is changing rapidly from hypomania to depression to hypomania (called Rapid Cycling) the antidepressant could be causing this and may need to be reduced, changed or stopped.

We teach our Bipolar patients to take full advantage of their artistic and musical gifts, originality, inventiveness, lateral thinking, literary and problem solving gifts, above average intelligence and sporting gifts that so often go with Bipolar Disorder. Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II, suffered from Bipolar Disorder, was a failure at school and left school at the age of 12. Some people consider he was the greatest Englishman who ever lived, and that without his wartime efforts we would have been ruled by the Nazi’s. Bipolar Disorder definitely has positives and people who have this Disorder should be helped to look for and take advantage of these Positives. A very significant proportion of high achievers have Bipolar Disorder but they may crash and burn from going over the top into Mania, or from drug use if their Disorder is not diagnosed and treated. It is probable that that was Heath Ledger’s problem. Many gifted performers and high flying business people who crash have Bipolar (Mood Swing) Disorder.

* Please feel free to copy, reprint or forward from this blog, provided that any quotes are not taken out of context and accurately retain their original meaning, appropriate links are made and the following copyright notice is attached in full: "Copyright 2010, www.ADDSelfHelp.com"

Coming Up:

"What is ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)? Know About The Big 7 Commonest Nervous Disorders -

5. ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)"

is coming soon!

Stay Tuned!

The "Big 7" Commonest Nervous Disorders - 3. Major (Unipolar) Depression

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:33:00 GMT

Major Depression is a horrible feeling with a sense of hopelessness and “no light at the end of the tunnel”, with self doubt and loss of self confidence and self-esteem. There is low motivation, low energy and loss of the ability to get things done. Often there is poor sleep, disturbed appetite and weight loss or gain, loss of enjoyment and pleasure, and sometimes there is reckless risk taking or self harm. Severely depressed people may self-medicate with alcohol, benzodiazepines or cannabis in large amounts. These chemicals usually make the depression worse. Tolerance to these chemicals quickly develops and greater and greater amounts, giving more and more toxic effects, and sometimes malnutrition, are needed to produce the desired intoxication.

Major Depression is due to reduced production by the brain of the chemicals Serotonin, Noradrenalin and Dopamine, to excessive production by the brain of slow Electrical Brain Waves, and to nasty memories and negative thinking habits.

These causes of Major Depression are partly inherited, are partly due to traumatic experiences and circumstances, and are partly due to negative thinking habits and pessimism learned from pessimistic negative people.

Fortunately every few years new and better antidepressant medications become available and antidepressants become more and more widely accepted. Also we have recently discovered that many people with depression who didn’t get better on one single antidepressant, even in high doses, will get better when they are given smaller doses of one antidepressant in the morning and of a different antidepressant in the evening.

Unfortunately sometimes the people who most need antidepressants refuse to take them. This is often because they think antidepressants are addictive in the way that benzodiazepines are addictive, or because they don’t realise that SNRI “antidepressants” are not the same as Benzodiazepines. In over 40 years I have only seen 3 or 4 people addicted to antidepressants, which really are very very different to Benzos and much much safer. Paroxetine is the only antidepressant I have seen people addicted to and even that is rare, but I never prescribe paroxetine for that reason. Even with paroxetine addiction it is not very difficult to overcome the problem – I simply put the patient on low doses of 2 other SNRI Booster antidepressants, one in the morning and the other in the evening, watch out for Serotonin Syndrome, which is rare, and then the patient can easily wean off the paroxetine.

SNRI and Tricyclic Antidepressants are only “addictive” in the sense that breakfast is “addictive” for most people. Every morning when most people get up they want and need breakfast, but they are not really addicted to breakfast – they don’t have to have bigger and bigger breakfasts as the weeks go by! Some people need antidepressants and their depression comes back again if the antidepressants are stopped. That means they need antidepressants like they need breakfast but does not mean that antidepressants are addictive. They can easily stop their antidepressants at any time but will go back to how they would have been without antidepressants.

Some people only develop depression once in their life time and only need to take antidepressants for 6 to 18 months till that depressive episode passes. They have no difficulty stopping those antidepressants when the depressive period has passed and then never need antidepressants again. Some other people have 2 or 3 periods of depression in their lifetime and need to take antidepressants for 1 or 2 years each time but still have no difficulty weaning off the antidepressants once the depressive episode has passed.

Some people have inherited depression strongly through their genes, or have suffered multiple severe Shocks that have done long term damage to their brain’s capacity to produce normal flows of electricity and sufficient Serotonin, Noradrenalin and Dopamine. These people may have frequent bouts and/or very long periods of depression. They usually need long term antidepressants to boost and maintain their Serotonin, Noradrenalin and Dopamine levels. Their depression is relieved by antidepressants but is not cured and comes back if they stop these medications. But they are not addicted to antidepressants any more than they are addicted to breakfast – they just need long term daily doses of antidepressant if they don’t want to be chronically miserable, to perform poorly, to spoil their relationships and to be in danger of substance abuse or self harm. It is particularly important that in addition to antidepressants these people have CBT (Special Counselling or Therapy) to train them to think positively, and have EEG Biofeedback to permanently improve their brain electricity flows. They are most likely to get better and stay better if they have Medications and Counselling and EEG Biofeedback.

Although I consider correct antidepressant medications are essential to begin with in moderate to severe depression, reading good books on positive thinking, and learning to think positively with or without the help of a trained Counsellor, Psychologist or Therapist are essential for the long term cure of depression. I believe that learning to be positive is the most important thing in life.

EEG Biofeedback is now giving very good results with depression, especially if done in conjunction with printed Information Handouts on Depression, as well as Counselling and Medications. When possible our treatment of moderate to severely depressed patients is now always Quadruple Therapy – Information Sheets and Reading good books, Counselling, Medicines and EEG Biofeedback. This gives early rapid relief and very good long term results.

Any other Nervous Disorders present also need to be diagnosed and successfully treated to successfully treat Major Depression e. g. Adult ADD is a very depressing problem to live with and it is hard to recover from Depression if your ADD is undiagnosed and untreated, which is so often the case. That is why doing the comprehensive Beck Mini DISCOMFORTS/DYSFUNCTIONS Checklist athttp://www.drbeckschecklists.com/ is so important. It tells you what allof your Nervous Disorders are, if there are any, it only takes 20 to 25 minutes to do, and then all of your problems can be fixed. As you fix each problem all of your other problems improve. If any problems remain undetected or untreated they tend to make everything else worse. You continue to suffer from Discomforts and Dysfunctions that spoil your life until everything is discovered and everything is fixed.

Coming Up:

"The Big 7 Commonest Nervous Disorders -

4. Bipolar (Manic Depressive) Disorder"

is coming soon!

Stay Tuned!

The "Big 7" Commonest Nervous Disorders - 2. The Anxiety Disorders

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:29:00 GMT

The Anxiety Disorders include General Anxiety or Worry or Stress, Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder, Anxiety in Social Situations (Social Phobia), fear of going to places where it might be more difficult to cope with Panic Attacks (Agoraphobia), other Phobias and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Approximately half of the Anxiety I see is due to the shock and/or stress of nasty frightening experiences and/or situations, and about half isinherited from one or both parents. Often it is a bit of both. Sometimes stimulant drugs aggravate Anxiety, e.g. caffeine or amphetamines.

Severe forms of Anxiety Disorder are very common Underlying Causes of Substance Abuse, especially of Cannabis, Alcohol and Benzodiazepine Abuse, but also sometimes of Opiate Abuse in severe cases.

We now have much safer and better medications than Benzodiazepines for people with moderate to severe forms of Anxiety. These medications include

(a) SNRI Boosters (Serotonin/Noradrenalin/Dopamine Boosters, usually called “anti-depressants” but which are also helpful for Anxiety, Sleep, Low Self-Confidence, Low Self-Esteem and ADD and which therefore should not simply be called “antidepressants”)

(b) Some Mood Stabilisers (eg. Lamotrigine, Carbamazepine, Sodium Valproate).

(c) Major Tranquilizers (sometimes also called Antipsychotics) which are very valuable in treating other Disorders as well as Psychosis, especially because the brain doesn’t develop a Tolerance to them so they are not addictive like Alcohol, Benzos and Cannabis are.

Benzodiazepines are similar in addictiveness to alcohol for most people with moderate to severe Anxiety Disorders. Benzos are not strong enough to control moderate to severe Anxiety e.g. severe General Anxiety, worry or stress, Panic Attacks, Social Phobia, Agoraphobia or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). People who have moderate to severe Anxiety Disorders, if put on Benzos, take larger and larger doses in an unsuccessful attempt to get them to work, and often get hooked on these drugs. In many of the cases of moderate to severe Anxiety I see there is already a serious dependence on Benzodiazepines, which is even more difficult to treat than the Anxiety for which the Benzodiazepines were taken in the first place.

This is a major problem in treating Moderate to Severe Anxiety Disorders for which stronger but non-addictive medications should be used right from the beginning. Unfortunately the Major Tranquilizers are very expensive but they still should be used much more often than they are, because benzodiazepines are often inadequate and addictive. Some people won’t take Major Tranquilizers such as Seroquel, Zyprexa or Solian because they don’t “like” them in the way they “like” Benzos, or because they think they are “Psych” Drugs, only given to Schizophrenic and Manic patients. However Major Tranquilizers are much safer than Benzos, but are very expensive, which is why the Australian Government only subsidises them for Schizophrenia and Bipolar I Disorder.

In recent years I have found that combining a small amount of a Benzodiazepine, an SNRI and a Major Tranquilizer, all in 1 capsule, and simultaneously providing a printed Information Handout explaining Anxiety Disorders, their causes and how to treat them, gives very good results, even in severe cases. The addition of Counselling and EEG Biofeedback gives even better results. I often find that people who are being unsuccessfully treated for Anxiety and Depression have been misdiagnosed and really have Bipolar Disorder. Their so called Anxiety is really Hypomania and they respond very well to Sodium Valproate, Carbamazepine or Lamotrigine.

*Please feel free to copy, reprint or forward from this blog, provided that any quotes are not taken out of context and accurately retain their original meaning, appropriate links are made and the following copyright notice is attached in full: "Copyright 2010, www.ADDSelfHelp.com"

Coming Up:

"The Big 7 Commonest Nervous Disorders -

3. Major (Unipolar) Depression"

is coming soon!

Stay Tuned!

The "Big 7" Commonest Nervous Disorders - 1. The Sleep Disorders

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:30:00 GMT

The Sleep Disorders include the Inability to Go to Sleep, Frequent Waking during the Night, and/or Waking Much Too Early in The Morning. In more extreme cases you may lie awake night after night getting only a few hours sleep each week, resulting in feeling exhausted, desperate to sleep, and suffering from abnormal day time sleepiness.

Alcohol, Benzodiazepines and Marijuana are often used to self-medicate by people with Sleep Disorders, but brain tolerance for all 3 of these chemicals develops quite quickly so that greater and greater amounts are needed to get a sedative effect. Eventually only extreme amounts may be sufficient to produce sleep in people with severe insomnia. Extreme amounts of alcohol are often not affordable, disrupt nutrition and are toxic to the gut, liver, brain, nerves, heart, pancreas and testicles. Large amounts of diazepam, oxazepam, nitrazepam and other Benzos can cause depression, poor memory, confusion and some people commit crimes and do other dangerous things under the influence of Benzos, without knowing what they are doing. Marijuana is expensive, bad for your memory and mental sharpness, damaging for your lungs and can slowly turn you into a zombie.

More careful, more accurate analysis of Sleep problems and their causes, and using combinations of medications (e.g. a Benzodiazepine + an SNRI sedating antidepressant, or a Tricyclic antidepressant ± a Major Tranquilizer ± a Mood Stabilizer) are now giving much better results for people with severe sleep problems. These medicines may be prescribed separately and Doxepin + Temazepam, or Mirtazepine + Oxazepam, are very good for moderately severe cases. However for the really severe cases putting Mirtazepine + Oxazepam + Quetiapine + Sodium Valproate all together in 1 capsule gives the best result. Getting exercise during the day, avoiding sedatives during the day, and enjoying quietness and rest before going to bed also help as does avoiding stimulants such as caffeine.

These medication combinations also greatly reduce the problem of addictions to Alcohol, Benzodiazepines and/or Marijuana, which are very common among people with severe insomnia. For more detail go towww.BeatingBenzodiazepines.com or go towww.BeatingAlcohol.com.

Sleep Disorders occasionally occur in isolation but are much more often the result of Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, ADD or Social Shock Disorders. It is a mistake to just try to put yourself to sleep with sedative chemicals without also discovering and treating any other Nervous Disorders you may have that could be causing the Sleep Disorder. Find out if you have any other Nervous Disorders by doing The Beck Mini Discomforts/Dysfunctions Checklist at www.DrBecksChecklist.comnow!

Coming Up:

"The Big 7 Commonest Nervous Disorder -

The Anxiety Disorders"

is coming up!

Stay Tuned!

Why Use The Internet With Discomforts/Dysfunctions Checklist Assessments?

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:48:00 GMT

Combining Internet with Mental Health Checklist Assessments is a necessary and vital step towards better mental health and wellbeing globally.

Because with the Internet you can do your Checklist Assessments anywhere (go to www.DrBecksChecklists.com); at home, at work, at school, at your parents’ or a friends’ house, at the local library, at an internet café, on an iPhone or most other smart phones, or anywhere in the world where there is an internet terminal (if possible you need to remember your password and using your email address as your password may be best). The internet makes your Checklist Assessments more of a Self Help, Real World Activity and Self Help is often your best help.

Because with the Internet you can do your Checklist Assessments anytime, day or night, 365 days of the year, without delay, whenever you have a problem or feel the need for any reason and have 20 or 30 minutes available. You will tend to do your assessments when you are more focussed on your Mental Health and are more motivated and can then really make progress.

Because the Internet makes this Checklist Assessment System especially useful after normal office hours when Doctors and Psychologists are usually not available. Also if you are too busy to attend a Doctor or Psychologist for consultations during normal hours or if Health Carers have long waiting lists. You can still do your Checklist Assessments, find out what your most significant problems are, then look for information about the causes and treatments for your problems on our websites, via the useful links we provide, or any other sources you can think of.

The Internet is a great help if you live in a Rural or a Remote area, or can’t leave your home for any reason. You can do your Mental Health Checklist Assessments at home and e-mail your Reports to a Doctor or Psychologist hundreds or thousands of miles away for advice. You can do part of your Treatment through “Internet Homework”.

Because in an emergency such as if Panic Attacks, Psychotic Symptoms or Suicidal Feelings etc. get much worse you can do a fresh Checklist Assessment at home and e-mail it to your Doctor/Psychologist with an SOS for an early appointment. This can also be done using the latest mobile smart phones with internet applications. Friends or Family can also be more helpful if they can read the results of your fresh Report. This system can be used as a form of suicide watch, with patients emailing regular Reports to their Health Carers.

Why Do We Use Computers and Multiple Choice Answers with our Checklists? (see www.DrBecksChecklists.com)

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:40:00 GMT

Because then anyone can easily do our Checklists as a Self Help task, using mouse clicks to choose their answers. This System allows you to Easily and Quickly take charge of your own Mental Health, greatly increasing your chances of having a Good Life.

Because then our computer Software can instantly add up and print out the scores for all of your Answers. Your latest scores print out side by side with your scores from two previous Checklists. Your Total Scores are printed out as a Graph.

Because it is then easy to see where your scores are better, are the same or have got worse and where your treatment needs to be changed because your scores are not getting better.

Because being able to see clearly where your scores have or haven’t got better keeps you informed, focused and motivated. With each Checklist you do you will be disappointed if you haven’t improved and improving your score will be a challenge for you. Your Report shows you exactly what you need to work on next to feel better and to function better.

Because doing repeated Dr Becks Checklists on the internet is easy to learn and you soon feel more in control of your life and more confident. You can do your Checklist Assessments yourself, anytime, anywhere and know exactly how you are going.

Because people who are in denial or who tell Doctors/Psychologists/Counsellors untruths find it easier to be realistic and honest when they click on ready prepared Multiple Choice Answers, than when they have to make up answers themselves.

Because you can do your Checklists before your consultations then take your Report to your Doctor/Psychologist. Your Report immediately shows them your problems clearly laid out in descending order of importance. This leaves much more time for treatment plans to be worked out and for accurately targeted treatments to be commenced. You get faster relief and improvement and save time and money right from your first consultation.

Because research and finetuning and focusing our questions and treatments will become much quicker and easier with all that we learn about people and mental health from this systematic way of doing things. (Privacy of Patient Information is absolutely guaranteed.)

The Case of Jodie - Case History of A Mother With Alcohol Problem

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:34:00 GMT

Jodie, a 41 year old married lady with 3 children originally came to the Family Neuro Health Centre because her use of Alcohol, Cannabis and Amphetamines was getting out of hand and costing far too much – approximately $700 per week. She did the Beck Mini Discomforts/Dysfunctions Checklist which showed that she had previously undiagnosed ADD, serious Anxiety Disorders (Panic Attacks and Social Phobia) and Highs and Lows suggestive of mild Bipolar Disorder.

She was supplied with our 8 page Information Handout on The “Big 7” Commonest Nervous Disorders, prescribed Fluoxetine in the mornings, Escitolopram in the evenings, Carbamazepine morning and evening and referred to a Clinical Psychologist for counselling.

I saw her 4 times and her DDC Total Score fell from 526 in November 2008 to 309 in December, then 215 in January 2009 then 137 in May 2009 (137 is in the normal range). She had no further Drug and Alcohol problems from the first consultation, find the 12 sessions with the Psychologist of great benefit for the short term and for the long term, and felt “Heaps Better”. She will continue to repeat the Discomforts/Dysfunctions Checklist online at home and is weaning off her medications. If her DDC Total Score rises above 200 consistently she will come back to see us.

Her 13 year old son subsequently did the DDC online because of some concentration and socializing problems at school and the Checklist Assessment showed mild/moderate ADD. This is being managed with increased physical exercise and a fresh natural diet with no unnatural chemicals such as colouring, preservative and taste addictives. The parents have been advised to watch for signs of drug and alcohol use and the boy has been advised about the tendency for people with ADD to crave chemicals. They have also been advised about the possible onset of Bipolar features in the later teens or twenties, which occurs in some people with ADD but is often not diagnosed and can cause serious problems. Both ADD and Bipolar Disorder can be inherited.

With all Mental Health Disorders the earlier they are diagnosed and treated/managed the less severe they become and the less damage is done.

* All personal details such as name, age, gender, family structure etc are changed to protect the subject from being identified.

Why Do We Use Checklists When We Do Mental Health Assessments?

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:30:00 GMT

Some people ask why do we use Checklists when we do Mental Health Assessments for our patients instead of the conventional "Questions and Answers" method most Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Doctors use.

There are some good reasons for us using Checklists when it comes to Mental Health Assessment.

Because Checklists allow us to get the questions we ask our Patients exactly right. Each Checklist Question is the result of many years of experience with and careful thought about thousands of our patients and their problems. We have repeatedly finetuned what we need to know about our patients, and the Questions we ask them to get that information. If you answer our Checklist Questions realistically and honestly your answers will point straight to each of the things that need to be fixed to help you to be Mentally Healthy and Addiction Free and to have a better life.

Because Checklists are a systematic, thorough way of making sure that nothing important is overlooked each time someone does one of our Assessments.

Because consultations that don’t use very carefully laid out, well tested Checklists sometimes waste time on questions that don’t really make any difference. Distressed people often only concentrate well for 15 to 30 minutes and we don’t want to waste any of that “prime time” on questions that don’t help. Each Checklist Question is there because we have asked it thousands of times, have finetuned it dozens of times, and it really does give us information that we really do need, to help people to get better.

Because our Checklists and each question in each Checklist are carefully designed to help people to understand Mental Health Disorders, as well as to understand how their own Mind is working. Each time a troubled person reads one of our Checklist Questions they learn something about a Mental Health Disorder. Then as they read through the Choice of answers for that Question and choose the answer that is most appropriate for them, they learn something about themselves.

Because carefully designed Checklists give Mentally Troubled People a greater chance of getting completely better since Discomforts/Dysfunctions are less likely to be misunderstood or overlooked.Every Mental Health problem is known about because it is asked about in simple clear English. Then everything that needs fixing can be fixed. With less carefully prepared less systematic questions things are often misunderstood or completely overlooked. They then don’t get properly treated, or don’t get treated at all. The person concerned then won’t get completely Mentally Healthy.

Check out what you can learn in 20 or 30 minutes by doing
The Beck Mini DISCOMFORTS/DYSFUNCTIONS Checklist at http://www.drbeckschecklists.com/

My Journey so far!

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:26:00 GMT

   I went into private Family Medical Practice in Perth Western Australia with the ambition of being able to do everything from delivering babies, to treating pneumonia, to giving general anaesthetics, to taking out tonsils and appendices. I wanted to be good at what I did, to be a wise Counsellor and to be a compassionate person who did his best for those in most distress. I soon found that those most often in serious distress, need and danger were people who had Mental Health Disorders. I also eventually came to the conclusion that Drug and Alcohol Addictions were almost always due to Underlying Mental Health Disorders. The abuse of Alcohol and Benzodiazepines and the use of Tobacco, Heroin, Speed, Ice, Marijuana etc in almost every case was actually Self Medication of Underlying Mental Health Distress or Dysfunction. Unfortunately this Self Medicating was almost always short term gain for long term pain and very often more severe Mental Health Problems led to Drug and Alcohol Addictions.

        After 34 years of Family General Practice and having done what I had wanted to do, the Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol problems appeared to be getting worse, and in 1997 I started to work 10 hours a week in a Drug and Alcohol Clinic. Then in 2001 I opened my own Drug and Alcohol Clinic, “The Chemical Health Centre”. Since then I have been focussing intensively on helping individual people with Mental Health and Addiction issues to live normal happy lives. I have also been developing tools and systems to make Mental Health work much faster and more effective so that more people can be helped, and more people can help themselves. I feel strongly that we need to be able to make very efficient effective Mental Health Services and Self Help Aids available to everyone needing them, and to get rid of waiting lists in this field. Most Mental Health Professionals would say that that is an impossible dream and I would certainly agree that it has been impossible in the past. It is also still impossible using our present methods. However there are new technologies now available which we are not yet taking advantage of that would give us the level of efficiency and effectiveness required to provide everyone with the Mental Health Assessments and Treatments they need, without waiting lists.

        Just to be normal and to have a normal life is all that most of the more Mentally and Drug and Alcohol Troubled people I see hope for and I believe it is in the whole Community’s best interests for these people to be able to do this – to be normal and to live a normal life. They should be helped to have this normal life from as early an age as possible, preferably before they start Self Medicating with Drugs or Alcohol.

        I love and benefit greatly from my books, the best of which I often read twice when I first get them, and then again several times over the years e.g. Florey The Man Who Made Penicillin, Innovate Like Edison, 50 Success Classics, The Google Story, Made In America, The Brain That Changes Itself, 50 Great E Businesses And The Minds Behind Them, Think And Grow Rich, Leanne Preston and The Wild Child Story.

        I also love my BMW, my CD’s and my iPhone and they, together with my books, inspire me to aim high in looking for better solutions for Mentally Sick and Injured people. As I move safely, comfortably, quickly from place to place in my car, enjoying wonderful music and able in less than a minute to speak to family members in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Toronto or London, I often think about and ask myself questions about my work. One question I ask myself is “How much Mental Suffering Weakness and Dysfunction, how many Painful and Damaging Relationship and Family Breakdowns, how many Agonising and Destructive Addictions, and how much Waste of Public and Private Resources and Money could we prevent, if only we Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Doctors were as productive as the people are who make BMW’s, Recorded Music and Mobile Phones?”

        I think that Doctors and Psychologists are most likely as intelligent as the people are who make BMW’s, Recorded Music and Mobile Phones and I don’t believe our task is any more difficult than theirs, although it is a much much more essential service. What needs to be done in Mental Health affects many people profoundly but is no more difficult than the amazing things people in some other branches of Medicine and in some other industries have already done or are doing. So why aren’t we getting it done like they are getting it done? What is stopping us from achieving results in our field comparable to their results in their fields? In the last 70 or 80 years why have Cars, Recorded Music and Communication Technology been improved so much that they satisfy consumers’ wishes beyond what they probably ever imagined was possible, while in the same period Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Medicine have made poor progress, apart from what the Pharmaceutical Companies have contributed. Why do we Mental Health workers produce insufficient services, which are also so often ineffective, inconvenient and/or unaffordable for many people?

        Why do so many people live long periods of their life, or their whole life, with a Quality of Life of only 1 or 2 or 3 out of 10 because of unresolved Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol issues? Some people would say it is due to insufficient funding of Mental Health Services and certainly I agree that in the last 3 years the additional funding of Psychological Counselling in Australia through Medicare has been a very wonderful step forward and something that obviously needed to be done. However I regret to say that I think that Governments could pour large amounts of money into our present Mental Health Systems and not many more Mentally Sick, Injured or Drug or Alcohol Addicted people would be better off. We need new and much better methods and systems.

        It has been said that if Abraham Lincoln came back today the method of diagnosing his depression would be little different from what it was 150 years ago. He would also probably find himself on a long waiting list. His treatment would be very much better today than it was 150 years ago, but that would nearly all be due to Pharmaceutical Industry advances rather than to improvements in other forms of Mental Health Treatment.

        Psychologists, G.P.’s and Psychiatrists spend 6 to 12 or more years studying and training and usually work very hard in a stressful and sometimes nasty and dangerous field, so they do make a very substantial effort; but far too often their methods are very time consuming and too “Expert Intensive”, their results are very slow, only partial improvements are achieved and those improvements often don’t last; and this slowness and need for highly trained costly experts makes Mental Health Care unaffordable for most of the people who need it most.

        We seem to be slipping further and further behind rather than getting on top of the Mental Health/Drug and Alcohol Problem. One major factor is that we spend so much time working on long neglected deeply ingrained Mental Health problems in people who have got so disturbed that they can’t be ignored any longer. We then have little time left for Prevention, Early Detection and Early Treatment, which are so much easier, quicker and more effective. Another major factor is that in Mental Health we have failed to take advantage of modern technology. Modern Technology could enable us to be much more effective and productive in our work and to help our patients to help themselves far more than they can at present. Another factor is that Mental Health is not a part of our Education System as Human Biology and Physical Education are; why not when Mental Health is so much more important?

        With Mental Health I learn best by watching and listening very carefully to the troubled people who consult with me, by doing a limited amount of good quality reading, and by then further clarifying my observations, experiences and results by writing about them. When still a General Family Doctor in the 1970’s I started to write a book called “Simple Psychiatry” and learned a great deal from doing this; but I didn’t ever get to the bottom of Mental Health. In 1980 I did a 4 weeks intensive residential course at the Western Institute for Group and Family Therapy in California, with some benefit and some added confusion. I couldn’t seem to get a simple clear handle on Mental Health and couldn’t find anyone else who had a simple clear handle on Mental Health that I could learn from. It was all very complicated and I gave up writing “Simple Psychiatry” after about the 10th draft at Easter 1988 feeling as though I was never going to see clearly through what seemed to be an endless highly complicated jungle.

        Drug and Alcohol Clinics are full of people with Multiple Mental Health Disorders so I began to learn a great deal more when I started to work in the Drug and Alcohol Clinic in 1997. I then learned an invaluable new way of looking at Brain Function and Mental Health Disorders at a 4 day intensive workshop on EEG Biofeedback in Brisbane in 1999. The Brain works through Electricity as well as through Chemistry and our neglect of “The Electricity Factor” has substantially lessened our ability to Assess and Treat People with Nervous Disorders.

        After opening The Chemical Health Centre in May 2001 we quickly became very busy and I did my best to diagnose and treat the Mental Health Disorders and Addictions of 736 new patients in the 2002 calendar year, an average of 3 new patients every day plus many ongoing patients. These patients were mostly addicted to Heroin but there was also a fair sprinkling of everything else including Morphine, Speed, Ice, Marijuana, Benzodiazepines, Alcohol, 60 Cigarettes a day, Ecstasy and some Cocaine. We found that in approximately 60% of cases Heroin addictions were mainly secondary to underlying Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD the “Addictive Brain Disorder”) and that the ADD was nearly always untreated and undiagnosed. In the other 40% of Heroin cases the main underlying problem was usually Major Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Disorders, Insomnia or Schizophrenia. But we found that regardless of which was the main problem every patient had 2, 3 or more of the other Mental Health Disorders as well, and that to get truly better all of those Disorders had to be diagnosed and successfully treated.

        As I diagnosed, treated and carefully observed the progress of this great variety of troubled people my understanding of Brain Functioning, Mental Health Disorders, Chemical Cravings and Addictions grew rapidly. Also my understanding of Mental Health became much simpler and clearer. I realised that Mental Ill Health is mainly a matter of Mental Discomforts and Mental Dysfunctions. I was no longer bluffed by big Psych Words and complicated Theories. It was simple. If you have no Mental Discomforts, Distress or Pain and you are able to do all of the Mental Tasks you need to do to have a good life, then you are Mentally Healthy. Mental Ill Health is when you are troubled by Mental Discomforts, Distress or Pain, and you have Mental Dysfunctions that stop you from performing some of the Mental Functions that you need to be able to perform to have a good life e.g. to Focus and Concentrate Well, to Stay on Task and Finish Things, to Remember Things, to Make Wise Decisions, to Talk, to Laugh, to Cry, to Relax, to Sleep, to be comfortable in Crowded Places and on Public Transport, to Communicate, to have Good Relationships, to Discover the Silver Lining in every Cloud, to be Positive and to take Positive Action in Negative Circumstances.

        The excellent results I now achieve daily, often with very disturbed people, give me confidence that my understanding of Mental Health is realistic. If my understanding of Nervous Disorders and Addictions was not accurate my Assessments and Treatments would not be working as well as they are and we would still be having many mystery cases which we couldn’t understand, as well as unpleasant surprises and failures, which we now seldom have.

        This Blog is part of a comprehensive E Program through which I want to make available the benefits of all that I have learned from all of my past Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol patients; from many associated experiences; and from what I continue to learn through the Diagnostic Assessments, Treatments and Progress Reassessments involved in my on-going work with troubled people. I want to help anyone anywhere in the world at any time convenient to them who has access to the Internet and who has a desire to become “Mentally Healthy and Addiction Free”. I want to help troubled people to be very clear about what the Mental Discomforts/Dysfunctions are that are spoiling their life; to help them to learn to be fast learners; to help them to develop a simple clear understanding of any of the “Big 7” Common Nervous Disorders and any of the “Big 8” Commonest Addictive Drugs that trouble them; and to help them to overcome their problems in those areas so that they can live normal happy lives.

For more information go to:
www.DrBecksChecklists.com , www.ADDselfhelp.com and www.DrNeilBeck.com