Omega-3 shown to help depression and bipolar disorder

Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid that is found in fish and in certain plants such as flaxseed, pumpkin seed, and walnuts flax seeds. Omega-3 appears to be critical to the growth and maintenance of brain cells. It is strongly implicated in helping depression and Bipolar Disorder. A 1999 Harvard pilot study was conducted on 30 patients with bipolar disorder. The trial was supposed to go on for nine months, but was stopped after four due to its outstanding results. Psychiatrist, Andrew Stoll, MD, faculty member at Harvard Medical School, wrote the book, The Omega-3 Connection, where he documented how daily intake reduces depression and improves heart function. He set up www.omegabrite.com to distribute high quality Omega-3 supplements. I’m pleased to report that more than one of my clients have had excellent results from taking Omegabrite as predicted by Dr. Stoll. Omega-3 supplements, however, should not be taken without first consulting your doctor or psychiatrist.

Neurofeedback helps Bipolar Disorder

Siegfried Othmer of eeginfo wrote, “Some 57 years ago the efficacy of lithium was discovered in Australia for what was then called "Manic-Depressive Illness." The finding took another fifteen years or so to gain acceptance in the United States, but then lithium changed the face of American psychiatry almost single-handedly. By now, of course, treatment with lithium and the anti-convulsants is standard. But we are still just trying to manage the condition with the medications.

Neurofeedback now seems so tailor-made for Bipolar Disorder that we may well be on the way to a second revolution in psychiatry to supersede the pharmacological revolution spurred on by lithium. The problem is one of brain instability, and this instability appears to be lodged in the cerebral networks. Neurofeedback can be used to train the brain toward stability.

Neurofeedback represents a more organic remedy is buttressed by the reports that people don't experience the constriction of their functionality that is sometimes seen with the meds. Successful training may mean that trainees must forego the euphoria that can attend uncontrolled mania, but at least there is no evidence that function is constrained or that a person's spark and spunk are somehow dulled.

In practice, Neurofeedback is usually combined with a medication strategy. People will usually already be well medicated when they seek us out for Neurofeedback, and successful training will usually result in a downward titration of the medication dose. Where that process ends is a very individual matter, and also depends on the judgment of the responsible physician.”

Ode Magazine writes about neurofeedback

In the March 2009 edition of Ode Magazine, writer Blaine Greteman offers an in depth view of neurofeedback. She writes, “After years on the outskirts of medical respectability, neurofeedback has been vindicated by a growing body of evidence showing its potentially remarkable benefits to everyone from elite athletes and musicians to violent criminals and children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The U.S. National Library of Medicine's database of scholarly articles, for example, contains dozens of positive scientific studies on neurofeedback published in the last two years. The results, from some of the world's top universities and research hospitals, suggest that neurofeedback is a promising treatment for a range of cognitive health issues: seizures, low IQ in kids with learning difficulties, vertigo and tinnitus in the elderly, and substance abuse, even with notoriously addictive, destructive drugs like crack cocaine.” To read the entire text, go to http://www.odemagazine.com/doc/61/neurofeedback

Rapid recovery from PTSD

In the latest eeginfo newsletter, Siegfried Othmer presented a case history of a successful outcome of Vietnam veteran using neurofeedback. He wrote, “We have just experienced a remarkably quick recovery from PTSD symptoms in a Vietnam veteran. The case is illustrative of the more rapid pace of recovery that is achievable with the latest neurofeedback techniques that encompass the infra-low range of EEG frequencies. The veteran has had a forty-year history of PTSD, and was rescued from homelessness by the Salvation Army here in Los Angeles. He came to our offices for intensive neurofeedback training through the auspices of the Salvation Army. In exchange for our providing services at no cost, the veteran has allowed us to make his case history available for the benefit of other clinicians.

After 18 sessions, the veteran reported more than an 80% reduction in overall symptoms and 93% reduction in PTSD symptoms. Even more significantly, nightmares, flashbacks, suicidal thoughts, and binging and purging were all eliminated within three sessions. You can read the full story at http://www.eeginfo.com/newsletter/02.20.09.html

I was trained by Sue and Siegfried Othmer and use the latest neurofeedback techniques they describe in this article.