RE: Life is awesome - argumentum ad populum
November 7, 2011 at 12:08 pm
(This post was last modified: November 7, 2011 at 12:20 pm by Vaginasaur.)
(November 7, 2011 at 5:06 am)Shell B Wrote: On the exercise thing, it is a huge part of suggested treatment for common mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression. I use the example because it s a non medicinal alternative that actually works and so I feel comfortable using it as an example. I don't feel comfortable speculating about other types of non medicinal treatment.
Book except, Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life by John B. Arden, p.120-121:
Quote:Aerobic exercise can have an antianxiety effect. The physiological changes that occur by exercising can overpower the negative effects of the physiological contributors to anxiety. For example, in one study, the subjects were injected with CCK - 4, a chemical that can induce a panic attack even in healthy adults with no history of panic. Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise prior to the injection of CCK - 4 lowered the panic scores, whereas resting before the injection did not.
Exercise contributes to stress reduction by doing the following:
• Providing a distraction
• Reducing muscle tension
• Building brain resources (neuroplasticity and neurogenesis)
• Increasing GABA and serotonin
• Improving resilience and self - mastery
• Mobilizing feelings in order to take action
One study showed that a twelve - session aerobic exercise program reduced some of the symptoms of PTSD. This is signifi cant, because the symptoms of PTSD are long - lasting and intermittent.
Exercise should be part of the overall strategy of preventing and treating general anxiety and PTSD. Exercise increases the levels of the specific neurotransmitters that promote antianxiety and antidepressant effects. One of the ways it does this is by increasing the neurotransmitters GABA and serotonin. Simply moving your body triggers the release of GABA, your brain ’ s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.
Antianxiety medications like Valium and Ativan target GABA receptors to calm you down, but those medications have terrible side effects, including depression, and they are very addictive.
Once you remove the medication, the anxiety symptoms return — and at an increased level.
Serotonin, which has been associated with depression and anxiety when it is at a low level, is increased by exercise. An increase in serotonin level occurs when your body breaks down fatty acids to fuel your muscles. These fatty acids compete with the amino acid L - tryptophan (the precursor to serotonin) for a place on the transport proteins that increase fatty - acid concentration in the bloodstream.
Once L - tryptophan pushes through the blood - brain barrier, it is synthesized into serotonin. Serotonin also gets a boost from BDNF, which also increases with exercise.
Quote:How would you get reliable data if we know for a fact that certain mental illnesses can render a person incapable of working and securing medications? How can we get reliable data if the very nature of some of these illnesses cause patients to be uncooperative with doctors? You can't test that demographic without a lot of hard work and money and, I'm afraid, they're likely to be the worst off of the bunch.
Sorry, I just didn't find any evidence to support the argument that the majority of people with mental illness do not need medication or do do better without it. Mind you, the "in the long run" aspect of it was not introduced until recently. From what I read of that link, I only saw mention of antipsychotics given to schizophrenics. Not only is that not the only medicinal treatment for schizophrenia, it is also only one disease and one medication. The broad brush being painted with here is that of all mental illnesses. Those were the general statements being made and which I argued. If the goal posts move, this was a waste of time.
Book except, Rewire Your Brain: Think Your Way to a Better Life by John B. Arden, p.50-51:
Quote:The striatum is involved in movement, and because of its rich connections with the accumbens and the PFC, it serves as an interface between our emotions and our actions.
The PFC, as we have noted, is involved in problem solving, planning, and decision making.
The accumbens - striatal - PFC network connects movement, emotion, and thinking. Thus, the effort - driven reward circuit links what you do or don't do with rewards or the absence of rewards. When, for example, you lose a sense of pleasure, the accumbens is deactivated.
When you are sluggish in your movements, the striatum is deactivated.
If you have poor concentration, the PFC is deactivated.
Without knowing what brain systems are involved, cognitive-behavioral therapists have encouraged depressed people to increase their activity level and have found that these people become less depressed. Behavioral activation, as this is called, appears to trigger the same effort - driven rewards circuit that involves the accumbens, the striatum, and the PFC.
The following correlations have been made between hemispheric asymmetry and depression:
• Evidence from neurology indicates that a left - side stroke has a catastrophic effect and causes the person to become very depressed, whereas a right - side stroke has a laissez - faire effect and causes much less depression.
• The relative inhibition of the left PFC and the relative activation of the right PFC are associated with depression (O ’ Doherty, Kringelback, Rolls, Hornak, and Andrews, 2001).
• The left PFC is associated with positive emotions and is action - oriented.
• The right PFC is associated with negative emotions and is passive-oriented.
• Language, making interpretive sense of events, and generating positive and optimistic emotions are all products of robust left hemispheric functioning.
• Instead of putting details into context, depressed patients are overwhelmed by a global negative perspective. The right hemisphere favors global thinking.
• Behavioral activation (the left PFC) is one of the principal therapies for depression.
Thus, making an effort to put yourself out there helps you lift depression. In fact, “ putting on a happy face ” is actually helpful.
Here's how it works: There are neural pathways that link the facial muscles, the cranial nerves, the subcortical areas, and the cortex. Information flows down from the brain to the face and also back up again. For example, if you contract the muscles on the right side of your face, that activates your left hemisphere, which creates the likelihood of a positive emotional bias. In contrast, if you contract the muscles on the left side of your face, that activates your right hemisphere, which creates the likelihood of a negative bias.
There's also a lot of information on activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, frontal lobe, wiring positive thinking and priming positive moods, cultivation of memory, how amino acids, vitamins and minerals have direct effect on brain chemistry and the production and/or depletion of neurotransmitters, sleep, social medicine and much more. I urge you to read this book.
Also, watch this documentary on the human mind if you have already:
![[Image: Evolution.png]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i1118.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk619%2Fjcincain%2FPublic%2FEvolution.png)
