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Learn more about using herbal Kava as a mild but effective treatment for anxiety. A brief summary of some studies on its effectiveness and a discussion about the potential liver damage risks of consumption.

Kava is a traditional intoxicant and ceremonial substance which has been used by South Pacific islanders for generations. In its traditional form, roots of the kava plant are ground and mixed with water to form a thick drink that when consumed, produces mild euphoria, improved well being and slight intoxication.

Beyond traditional uses, Kava extract or kava powder capsules can now be purchased legally as an herbal supplement in most countries. In addition to producing pleasurable effects, research demonstrates that kava is an effective treatment for anxiety, depression and insomnia.

Kava sounds like a perfect antidote to anxiety – a natural substance with a centuries long history of safe use that provides mild but effective anxiety relief without impairing cognitive abilities - and reflecting these positive qualities sales of the supplement reached $50 million in the US in 1998 alone.

Unfortunately, what seemed too good to be true perhaps was, and by 2002 the FDA had issued an advisory about possible liver damage associated with the use of the substance after kava use was linked to a number of deaths and cases of liver failure requiring transplant.¹

Research Backing Kava’s Effectiveness as a Treatment for Anxiety

A Cochrane Reviews literature review study on 12 clinical studies of Kava as a treatment for anxiety found that Kava was worked well as a treatment for anxiety and that people taking kava enjoyed significantly greater reductions in anxiety symptoms than people taking placebo.

No subjects in any of the studies experienced any significant adverse effects and any minor adverse side effects experienced were minor and short lasting.

The Cochrane study authors suggest that based on the evidence from the studies they reviewed, kava seems safe when used for between 1 and 24 weeks (short term treatment) but they suggest a need for further studies to clarify existing questions on safety and on the possible safety of longer term treatment.²

Safety Concerns

Reports from health authorities in the UK, Canada and in various European countries have linked the use of Kava to liver damage; with hepatic toxicity severe enough in some cases to require liver transplant, and in some cases proving fatal.

Based on this, the FDA has issued an advisory on the possible dangers of kava. The FDA says that kava is associated with a risk of liver damage and through hepatic effects are relatively rare, they warn that people with liver damage or people taking medications which can affect the liver need to be especially careful about using kava.³

In 2007, a World Health organization safety panel concluded that kava use had been associated with a number of deaths and cases of liver failure, but noted that in most cases damage occurred after the use of preparations which were based on the whole kava plant. Traditionally, South Pacific islanders would grind only the peeled root for use and some experts believe that by using other parts of the pant, and by extracting compounds with more than just cold water, health risks are amplified.

Unfortunately, since the FDA does not regulate or inspect kava as a herbal product there is no way to know for sure if products labeled as derived from the root only are adulterated with leaves and stems.

Should You Use Kava?

Kava works but it’s not without risks, and unfortunately, the experts don’t yet agree on whether those risks are worth taking.

Even those who would recommend its use, however, would always counsel you to talk with your doctor before using kava, to ensure that you do not use any medication or have a pre existing condition that would increase your risks of liver damage following kava use.⁴

Image Copyright: Paulaclemente

Can you be cured of a phobia, fear, anxiety or even PTSD in a few short sessions? New evidence indicates that it might be possible.

Can you be cured of phobia in a few minutes? Can the sting of major trauma be relieved in just a few short sessions? Is it really necessary to tell the whole story of abuse and trauma in order to get well?

While most therapists believe that the treatment of phobia or trauma is a long and difficult process and that it is important to unburden yourself of the stories of trauma and abuse in a safe setting with a trusted and experienced professional therapist, there seems to be the possibility of an alternative route. There seems to be a possibility of a new direction in psychotherapy coming from the field of energy psychology. There are two major therapies that fall under the rubric of energy psychology:

1. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
2. Thought Field Therapy (TFT)

This is the story of my experience with TFT.

My Experience with TFT

It must have been about 1999. I had recently moved from Brooklyn, New York to northern New Jersey. Of course I had to move my psychotherapy practice also. I rented an office and hung up my shingle and I would love to say that I had a thriving practice, but that didn't happen so quickly. Although I had a pretty good reputation back in Brooklyn, my refusal to become a registered provider for an insurance company was hindering my progress. I've always been interested in any method or technique that shows promise to help my clients. It so happened that I was sharing an office with a psychologist by the name of Sheila Bender. She told me of a new and innovative technique that was, according to her, pretty darn amazing. It was called, "Thought Field Therapy." So I was curious.

Dr. Bender described this new technique to me. It consisted of thinking about a trauma or phobia, rolling your eyes and tapping on different parts of the body. This was supposed to automatically relieve fears and anxieties. "Yeah, sure," I said. The whole thing sounded like a bunch of hocus-pocus, mumbo-jumbo. I have seen and heard of a lot of new fads in the psychotherapy world, so I was very skeptical.

But Dr. Bender told me of various successes that she was having and I became more curious. Finally I gave in and attended a training in South Jersey. This truly was an amazing technique and seemed to be very, very helpful. Over the next few years they used it as a supplement for therapy dealing with depression, anxiety and trauma.

But then I heard that the American Psychological Association had distanced itself from Thought Field Therapy. This actually made sense to me because the practitioners who promoted Thought Field Therapy talked about moving subtle energies with properties that were so ethereal they could not possibly have been defined. Although I was seeing some success with this technique I was not convinced that that success was not also caused by all the rest of the therapy that I used with these particular patients. Within about a year I stopped using Thought Field Therapy altogether.

TFT Gains Acceptance

About three months ago, however, I heard from a friend of mine that TFT was extremely popular in Europe and was beginning to be researched more extensively here in America. Then in December, 2012 a psychologist by the name of David Feinstein published an article in the very important journal, "Review of General Psychology," where he reviews dozens of research articles that show that therapies like TFT can be truly effective.¹

What's important here is that the Review of General Psychology is published by the American Psychological Association. Which means that the American Psychological Association is no longer actually distancing itself from these therapies. In addition, with some major insurance companies researching energy psychotherapies, like Kaiser Permanente, there is a real possibility that TFT and EFT will become mainstream.

How Well Does It Work?

The real question is: can this deceptively simple and amazingly rapid treatment modality provide relief for millions of people suffering from phobias, anxiety, trauma and other problems?

The answer is: mostly likely, yes.

Of course, it is not a silver bullet. It carries no guarantees. Even in the hands of the most experienced practitioner it is purported to have an 80% success rate. While that is astronomically good, it is also a 20% failure rate. Since other therapies are considered really good with a 60% success rate, this is truly phenomenal.²

What Happens When You Go for a TFT Treatment?

The first step is that the clinician will conduct a diagnostic interview. In essence he or she will try to help you determine the structure of your problem. It might be that you have a simple phobia, in which case treatment should be very quick and simple. On the other hand most people have developed much more complex feelings and behaviors around the issues that bother them. The clinician will try to determine which particular aspect might be good for you to start to work on. That he or she will tell you to think about that specific aspect of your problem and ask you to rate, on a scale of 0 to 10, how much discomfort you have while thinking of that. After recording your rating he or she will ask you to do a series of tapping on particular parts of your body and ask you again to rate your discomfort while thinking of the problem. There are particular patterns of tapping on specific places in the body in order to reduce the discomfort. Once you feel completely rid of the discomfort you she will tell you to do another sequence of behaviors which includes tapping, rolling your eyes in a particular pattern, and humming.

For anybody who's ever been in psychotherapy this certainly seems like a really strange way of dealing with anxiety, fears or trauma. How does this work? What is it based on? How does the change happen so quickly?

How Does EFT Work?

Proponents of energy psychology talk of energy fields and subtle energies. While that might sound a bit flakey, it is hard to say that it is not real. The tapping points are places determined by acupuncture and traditional oriental medicine. So it has a tradition, even if it is not the “normal” western tradition. There are other aspects of this method which are based on modern neuroscience and relatively new understanding of how the brain works. This actually gives rise to some of the “stranger” aspects of the treatment including the eye rolling and humming (which activates specific brain regions and functions.)

Self Administration vs. Working with an Experienced Clinician

Thought Field Therapy is so easy that it could be self-administered. But I do not suggest it unless it is used for very simple fears or phobias. People are almost always very complex. And it takes an experienced clinician to break down a person’s issues and problems into manageable “chunks” that can be easily treated with TFT. This is a very difficult process, and often it is here that the treatment become difficult even for the experienced clinician.

In summary, Energy Psychology is a new and emerging treatment option. It might actually give many people a quick cure. It is a good option to consider for treatment. It is especially good for fears, anxiety, and PTSD. The more complex an issue is the more work and time might be involved, but it is still faster and seemingly more efficient than many other options. It is not usually covered by insurance, but insurance companies are looking into it. However, it is important that you find a qualified and experienced clinician.

Image Copyright: Lyne (Gracie's Mom)

Can an intense Amazonian hallucinogen help you to overcome drug or alcohol addiction? Read on to learn more about how Ayahuasca works and to find out where you can get treatment with this traditional shamanic medicine if you so desire.

Traditionally used in shamanistic ceremonies in the Amazon basin, ayahuasca is now also used to help people overcome addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Ayahuasca is concocted from a mixture of boiled banisteriopsis caapi vine and leaves from the chacruna or chaliponga shrubs. Boiling this combination of vines and leaves together produces as brew containing the potent hallucinogenic substance, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) that is able to cross into the blood brain barrier to produce psychoactive effects.¹

What Does Ayahuasca Feel Like?

Ayahuasca induces a visionary state of consciousness. For a few hours after you take ayahuasca you experience rapid thinking and hallucinations which are multi sensory in nature (not just visual). Most people will experience a purging at some stage, either intense vomiting or diarrhea, but this purging is considered to be a spiritual cleansing and a necessary part of the ritual journey.  Although ayahuasca can induce feelings of ecstasy, it can also induce feelings of terror and hopelessness and a genuine fear of imminent death. Ayahuasca unlocks the experience of all emotions, both those we consider to be positive and negative - although in an ayahuasca experience, no emotional experience is value-judged, as they are all teachable and important parts of the experience.

Ayahuasca deadens sensations in the body and some people find it brings a heaviness to their movements. Although the drug induces very potent hallucinations, it does not impair cognition and you are fully alert in the moment.

Because of the intensity of the experience and the physical side effects, ayahuasca is not something that is likely to be abused for recreational purposes.

The Philosophy Behind Ayahuasca as Addiction Treatment

Although traditional cultures had used ayahuasca as a healing agent for thousands of years and had been using it to treat cocaine and alcohol addictions long before the modern world took notice, it wasn’t until a French doctor, Dr. Jacques Mabit, spent years in Peru the early 80s studying plant medicines as an apprentice shaman that the outside world really became aware of this hallucinogen’s potential.

Dr Mabit is the founder of the Takiwasi addiction treatment center in Peru and a trained ayahuasca healer who has participated in the treatment of literally thousands of patients with debilitating addictions to drugs and alcohol. The philosophy of his treatment is based on a study of the traditional uses of ayahuasca, his personal experiences with the drug as a consumer and as a shaman healer and his decades of experience working with addicts at his treatment center in the jungles of Peru.

Dr. Mabit believes that addiction arises as people search for meaning in a modern world that has been stripped of meaningful ritual and sacredness; where many no longer feel a sense of belonging or participation in the spiritual or transcendent realm of life.

Traditional people will often use psychoactive substances like ayahuasca as tools to gain access to the spiritual realm. What they find there during periods of altered consciousness makes sense through the lenses of a shared cultural framework and so what they take away from such experiences is recognized as real and important and lessons learned there can be integrated to good effect in ongoing life.

In modern society, most of us lack this cultural framework that would help us to understand and integrate transcendent experiences of altered consciousness. However, it is part of the human condition for all of us to seek out this transcendence and so we try, through various ways, to achieve states of altered consciousness that will bring us what we want. We search for happiness from without, rather than from within, and hoping to find it we take drugs and alcohol, gamble, have too much sex and eat very poorly among other things.

So, according to Dr. Mabit, it is not the seeking of altered consciousness that is the problem - since this is something all humans are want to do as they explore the spiritual realm - it is that we use the altered consciousness we create for ourselves so poorly that it offers us nothing lasting, and so the only thing we can do is strive to repeat and repeat and repeat again what we hope will bring us happiness. Unfortunately however, in doing so, we most often bring ourselves pain - such as drug or alcohol addiction.

But the answer cannot be total sobriety or abstinence from all psychoactive substances as this closes an avenue of access to ‘the otherworld’ or the spiritual plane. According to Dr. Mabit, then, the answer lies in the controlled and guided use of a substance like ayahuasca, which has little risk of abuse and which helps people find their own personally valid spiritual understanding as it also helps to open up and heal past wounds and roadblocks to growth and recovery.²

How Does Ayahuasca Cure Addiction and Why Does it Work?

How Does It Work?

• Ayahuasca opens the door to the vast unconscious experience, inducing rapidly transforming visions and repressed memories that are experienced, not solely as visual hallucinations, but as experiences that integrate all 5 senses and which are processed at the cortical level of the brain as well as in deeper parts of the ancient mind.
• With the synthesization of your physical being, your perceptions and your thoughts comes a very novel way of experiencing your reality. When you approach a problem you’re dealing with from this new vantage point (and while experiencing greatly accelerated thinking processes) you can often discover for yourself a unique and personal solution to your challenges that matches your needs and wants exactly. 
• Working with a therapist after ayahuasca experiences helps you to further process and learn from the richness of material you’ve just ’discovered' from within your own unconscious mind.  Working with these new insights, you and a therapeutic helper can continue the forward progress by taking any self discovery and working to apply it so that it serves you well in the modern world you’ll return to.³

*People receiving addiction treatment with ayahuasca will typically take the drug on many occasions, over a period of months.

*According to Dr. Mabit, it is not only the drugs within the brew which are curative -  the rituals, honed on 1000’s of years of traditional practice, also exert enormous influence over outcomes. Taking the drug in a different or falsified environment would not result in the same positive results.

Why Does It Work?

According to the clinical team at the Takiwasi Addiction Treatment Center in Peru, the benefits of ayahuasca as an addiction treatment medication are as follows:⁴

• Ayahuasca opens the door to another world that is normally invisible to humans. Once this door opens, information from this other world becomes available through dream-like visions.
  
• The drug provides a non verbal experience, where information in transferred through all senses. This can help those who are not strong in verbal communication or language come to a strong awareness of their own mind.
  
• The problems of life become images and visionary scenes for viewing in the subconscious. Looking at problems from this new perspective often results in the finding of novel solutions or alternatives.
  
• The drug affects our deep selves, and is equally relevant to anyone, no matter what cultural or religious framework they choose to interpret it through.
• Ayahuasca visions can reduce the power and influence of some traumatic memories which lie buried and hidden in our unconscious but nevertheless affect our day-to-day lives.
  
• Ayahuasca aids mental health. It increases intelligence and concentration, decreases anxiety, improves self esteem and helps us to resolve and relinquish past conflicts. The ayahuasca experience opens people up to much more productive psychotherapy.

Legal Status of Ayahuasca

The psychoactive chemical DMT in ayahuasca is considered to be a schedule 1 controlled substance by the United Nations. The sale and use of DMT is illegal in most countries of the world.

In some countries, religious groups have fought and won for the right to use ayahuasca as a ritual aid on the grounds of religious freedom. Ayahuasca is not widely approved for use as an addiction treatment medication. In a recent case (2011), a Canadian doctor who had been treating patients with the medication publicized his good results and was consequently threatened with prosecution and ordered to desist from using the herbal medicine.⁵

Ayahuasca is used legally as an addiction treatment medication in Peru.

Ayahuasca – Medical Concerns and Other Risks to Consider

While ayahuasca proponents have long pointed to the thousands of years of continuous safe human use as validation enough of the safety of the herbal medicine, a literature review study appearing in the journal ‘Addiction’ in 2006 took a more clinical approach to develop risk and safety conclusions that are based on established scientific criteria.

They found that:⁶

• The ayahuasca LD50 (the dose it would take to kill 50% of the people who ingested it) was approximately 20 times greater than the average dose given in ceremonial preparations. The ayahuasca LD50 is similar to the LD50 of other hallucinogens, such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms).
  
• There is no evidence that regular use of ayahuasca results in any dependence or abuse.
  
• Using ayahuasca concurrently with other serotogenic substances, such as SSRI antidepressants, increases the risk of an adverse experience
  
• Ayahuasca can produce transient psychotic episodes or adverse psychological reactions (bad trips) but these tend to dissipate  naturally a few hours later
  
• There is evidence that chronic use of ayahuasca within certain spiritual or social contexts can result in psychological benefits
  

Other Risks

Marlene Dobkin de Rios and Roger Rumrrill in their book 'A Hallucinogenic Tea, Laced with Controversy' take a broader look at the practice of westerners traveling to economically deprived parts of South America for spiritual journeys and point to risks that go beyond the strictly medical. They say that an increasing number of American drug tourists and spiritual seekers are visiting countries like Peru to try ayahuasca and are being tricked or even abused by those only pretending to be shamans and experts.

Other ayahuasca researchers, such as psychologist Stephen Trichter, acknowledge the power and potential of the ayahuasca experience for spiritual and psychological growth, but say that caution must be used when transferring an intense hallucinogenic experience from one culture onto an audience for that experience from a vastly different social and cultural framework.

Trichter says that some people, such as those with certain mental health disorders or those at risk for certain mental health disorders should be very wary of using this ‘potent hallucinogenic.’ He says the ayahuasca experience can bring to immediate consciousness past traumas that can cause overwhelming mental and emotional stress, especially to already emotionally vulnerable people – in some cases, doing more harm than good.

Because of this, he recommends that ideally people coming from abroad and using ayahuasca for therapeutic reasons should take the medication in a context that bridges the gap between the traditional shamanic powers of drug and the need to incorporate awareness gained through the experience into a modern-world framework - for example by working with a team that employs both a traditional shaman as an expert to deliver the medication and a trained therapist who can help a client to interpret and gain from any awareness and awakenings unearthed through the process.⁷

For safety it seems paramount that anyone considering using ayahuasca:

• Become very knowledgeable about the hallucinogen, specifically: its traditional uses, its effects, risks to health and safety, legal issues and its possible benefits
• Comply with recommended dietary and medication restrictions for a period prior to using the drug. There are a number of foods, prescription and even over the counter medications that must be avoided for some time before using ayahuasca.
• Ensure that you are entrusting yourself to a team that has your best interest in mind and legitimate expertise in the use of ayahuasca
  

Foods and Drugs to Avoid (Ayahuasca Is an MAOI)

Ayahuasca contains the potent hallucinogen DMT. Under normal circumstances, orally consuming a DMT containing solution would produce no effects, as the DMT would be destroyed in the stomach and intestines, but ayahuasca contains other compounds called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) which protect the DMT and allow its absorption into the brain.

MAOIs can be very dangerous if combined with a number of common medications and foods.

Drugs to avoid with any type of MAOI include:

• SSRIs
• Cocaine
• Amphetamines
• Opiates
  
• Decongestants and allergy pills
  
• Cold medications
  
• Asthma inhalers
  
• Some hypertension medications
  
• Dopamine
• Levodopa
• Ecstasy
  
• Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine
  
• Others (not a complete list)

Some medications, such as SSRI antidepressants like Prozac require several weeks or even months to clear from the body before an MAOI can be used safely, and because combining an MAOI and an SSRI can be fatal, it is quite important that you take the possibility of negative drug interactions seriously and check to make sure that anything you use, or have recently used, is compatible with MAOIs.

Eating foods high in the amino acid tyramine can cause hypertension, brain hemorrhage and other dangerous side effects while on an MAOI. Foods to avoid with any type of MAOI include:⁸

• Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, dried sausages and pickles
• Cheeses
• Liver
  
• Wine, sherry, cognac, vermouth, beer and ale
  
• Smoked meats
  
• Chicken and fish
  
• Meat tenderizers and extracts
• Chocolate
  
• Yeast extract Avocado
  
• Caffeine
  
• Raspberry jam
  
• Nuts and dried fruits
  
• Soy bean products
  
• Others (not a complete list)
  

Where to Get Ayahuasca Treatment

Ayahuasca addiction treatment is legal in Peru. At the Takiwasi Addiction Treatment Center, recovering addicts spend an average of 9 months in residence at a cost of approximately $1000 per month (the center is a nonprofit).

The first period of treatment involves using plant based purging agents to accomplish physical detoxification and a reduction of withdrawal symptoms.

The second period of treatment involves the weekly use of ayahuasca and periodic times of solitude in the jungle under the influence of other psychoactive plants. During this second period, the lessons of each progressive ayahuasca experience get worked out with a therapist between sessions and what’s learned gets put into practice through daily communal living with other members of the treatment center.

A study done on graduates of the program (2 years post treatment) found that:⁹

1. Of those that left treatment before completion, about half reported either having been cured of their addictions, or of having experienced substantial improvements
   
2. Of those that stayed until ‘graduation’  67% reported either having been cured or having experienced substantial improvements.

Image Copyright: Leo.Prie.to

Researchers at Boston University Medical School show that sustained yoga practice results in increased levels of one the body’s natural antidepressant neurochemicals, GABA, in the brain.

Yoga is known as a mind-body exercise with physical health benefits that also relieves stress, boosts mood and protects against mental illness, but will it enhance mood and well-being amongst people already suffering from depression?

The answer, according to initial research, is probably yes. Brain imaging studies show that yoga practice results in enduring positive changes to neurochemistry, improved mood and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms.

Yoga as a Treatment for Depression

Anecdotal studies of emotionally distressed and depressed people demonstrate that as little as a single training and practice session on yoga exercises yields a pay-off in improved mood and lowered anxiety and tension.¹ But why is this so?

The answer to this seems to be that sustained yoga practice results in lasting changes to our neurochemistry.

Low levels of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain are associated with depression and anxiety whereas higher levels of GABA work as an endogenous antidepressant. To see how yoga practice might result in changes to GABA levels in the brain researchers at Boston University School of Medicine took a sample of study subjects and had half of these randomly assigned to a group that did yoga practice three times a week for an hour per session and the other half of the subjects randomly assigned to a group that did an hour of walking exercise, three times per week for an hour per session.

Each study subject submitted to brain scanning for GABA before and after the 12 week experiment and each study subject also responded to well-being and anxiety/depression questionnaires at several points throughout the 12 week study.

The Results

• Participants who did yoga for 12 weeks showed greater improvements on self reports of mood and greater reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms than did subjects in the walking exercise group.
• Brain imaging done on the yoga participants revealed increases in GABA in the thalamus of the brain after a session of yoga.²

Commentary

Experts say the promising findings back strong anecdotal evidence that yoga works well as a treatment for depression and call for further studies investigating yoga as a promising non-drug intervention against a devastating mood disorder.³

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Can sitting quietly and focusing on mindfulness of breath really help you to manage cravings and overcome relapse as well as other forms of addiction treatment? Read descriptions of a few clinical research studies which show just how well the ancient practice of meditation seems to work as a complementary treatment for substance abuse and addiction.

Can the simple act of being mindful and aware of your life as you live it help you to overcome addiction as it also brings more joy and serenity into your day to day life? Read on to learn what modern clinical research is discovering about the ancient philosophy and practice of mindfulness meditation and find out if it might be just what you need to improve the health and happiness of your everyday life.

Mindfulness Meditation and Substance Abuse

People have turned to the spiritual plane for answers to life’s greatest challenges since the dawn of time, but do these ancient spiritual traditions and practices truly offer us the health benefits we demand in this modern pharmaceutical world?

Here is a brief review of some clinical research proving just how useful mindfulness meditation can be as a part of any addiction recovery program.

Mindfulness Meditation as Aftercare for Relapse Prevention

To test whether a mindfulness based relapse prevention program might outperform standard aftercare relapse prevention programs, researchers took 168 adult substance abusers, all of whom had just finished an intensive inpatient or outpatient addiction treatment program, and randomly assigned half to 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation based relapse prevention training and the other half to a standard relapse prevention aftercare program.

All study subjects were assessed for substance use at the completion of the intervention, and at 2 and 4 months following the completion of the intervention.

The results:

• Study subjects who completed the mindfulness based relapse prevention program had significantly lower rates of substance use over the 4 month follow up assessment period. In addition to this, Subjects who completed the mindfulness program also reported decreased cravings and improvements in acceptance and awareness.¹
  

Mindfulness Meditation to Reduce Stress Related Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol Related thought Suppression

A significant percentage of persistent alcoholics drink, at least in part, as a coping response to stressful situations. Unfortunately, the more a person drinks the more likely they are to experience very stressful events, which leads then leads to ever more drinking. Additionally, although it seems intuitive to try to reduce thoughts about an activity we don’t want to engage in, active though suppression about alcohol has actually been found to increase drinking.

To find out if mindfulness meditation training might help alcoholics improve their capacities to handle stress and to reduce alcohol thought suppression, researchers found 37 adult long term alcoholics living in a therapeutic community and randomly divided these participants into 2 groups. One group received mindfulness based training and the other group participated in a standard evidence based alcoholic treatment support group.

The results:

• 10 weeks of mindfulness training resulted in significantly greater stress reduction and frequency of alcohol treated thought suppression than participation in a support group.²
  

Vipassana Meditation for Incarcerated Substance Abusers

In a controlled study in a prison environment, incarcerated substance abusers were provided with either a course on Vipassana meditation or with the prison’s standard substance abuse treatment program.

Prisoners were followed through incarceration and after release and were measured for return to drug and alcohol use.

The results:

• The prisoners who received the Vipassana meditation training used significantly less alcohol, marijuana and cocaine after release than the prisoners who received the ‘standard’ addiction treatment program. The Vipassana subjects and also showed improvements in psychiatric and social outcomes as compared to the standard treatment group.³

Image Copyright: Olivander

Thinking about taking the natural supplement 5-HTP for depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia or any number of other serotonin linked conditions? Well, read on to find a summary of the clinical research on its effectiveness and a discussion on the risks and side effects of its use.

Looking for something a little more natural to ease your symptoms of depression? Well, 5-HTP is a plant derived serotonin booster that many people swear eases the symptoms of depression and a host of other serotonin linked conditions.

It’s not without its drawbacks though. There’s a real lack of clinical data to prove that the supplement does what it’s supposed to do and there may be a risk of serious side effects. 5-HTP use has been linked to eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS), which is a serious blood and muscle disorder.

Proponents of 5-HTP claim that early production methods introduced a contaminant into the supplements which caused some cases of EMS but that newer methods of production have resolved this issue.

However, because no clinical data exists to prove that 5-HTP is now safe and that the EMS problem has been resolved, experts groups like The National Institute of Health classify 5-HTP as possibly unsafe and do not endorse its use¹.

Is it right for you? Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of this natural ‘antidepressant’.

What Is 5-HTP?

5-HTP is the chemical your body requires to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Your body makes 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) from the tryptophan that you consume when you eat foods like potatoes, milk, turkey and many others. 5-HTP, in turn, is transformed in the body into the neurotransmitter serotonin, a chemical messenger which plays an important role in regulating mood, energy, emotion, food consumption and the experience of pain.

Why Do People Use 5-HTP Supplements?

Consuming 5-HTP supplements results in increased levels of 5-HTP in the body and this can result in more serotonin in the brain. You cannot really increase your 5-HTP levels beyond a very minimal amount by eating foods high in tryptophan but you can increase these levels through the consumption of 5-HTP supplements, which are typically made from the ground-up seeds of a plant called griffonia simplicifolia.²

Since serotonin levels play a role in conditions like depression, anxiety, obesity and fibrolmyalgia, 5-HTP supplements, which increase serotonin levels, are sometimes touted as a more natural treatment option than pharmaceutical drugs.

Effectiveness of 5-HTP as a Treatment for Depression

A quick internet search will bring forth thousands of anecdotal success stories on the use of 5-HTP for the treatment of conditions like depression and anxiety, but clinical experiments have yet to produce overwhelming evidence in support of their use.

A 2001 Cochran Review of existing research on the use of 5-HTP for depression found only 2 studies which met their quality standards for inclusion. Both of these studies compared the effectiveness of 5-HTP as a treatment for depression as compared to a placebo.

Both studies found that 5-HTP worked better than placebo to reduce symptoms of depression – working about as well as standard SSRI antidepressants.

The researchers concluded, however, that because only 2 very small studies demonstrated the supplement’s utility that further research is needed before 5-HTP can really be considered an effective treatment for depression.

Additionally, because 5-HTP is still possibly associated with the potentially fatal eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and because there is a safe and effective alternative treatment for depression in SSRI antidepressants there is little reason to recommend the use of 5-HTP until more is known about its safely and effectiveness.³

The bottom line from the experts seems to be that though it probably works, there is a safe alternative in SSRIs and since not enough is yet known about the safety of 5-HTP, you’re probably better off avoiding it for now.

Side Effects and Risks

10 people taking 5-HTP supplements have contracted EMS, which is a potentially fatal muscle and blood disorder. No one has yet proven if the EMS is being caused by the 5-HTP, by a contaminant in certain 5-HTP supplements or by something else entirely.⁴ Due to this uncertainty, many experts do not recommend the use of 5-HTP.

If you use 5-HTP and also take another medication which increases serotonin levels in the brain you are at risk to develop serotonin syndrome, which is a dangerous condition that occurs when the brain is overloaded with serotonin. Do not use 5-HTP concurrently with other medications which increase serotonin levels, such as:

• Many antidepressants
• Tramadol
• Carbidopa
• Dextromethorphan (an ingredient in cough syrups)
• Demerol
• Triptans
• Many others – this is not a complete list and you should talk to your doctor to confirm your eligibility to use 5-HTP before using the supplement

At low to moderate doses other reported side effects tend to be mild. Possible side effects can include:

• Nausea
• Feelings of fullness
• Heartburn
• Gas
• Others

Image Copyright: Ed-Meister

Tai Chi is known to yield physical health benefits like improved muscle strength and balance, but can it also alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, reduce stress and improve mood and self esteem? Read on to find out what clinical researchers say about Tai Chi as a treatment for psychological well-being.

Practitioners of Tai Chi know that the ancient energy based martial art reduces pain, improves balance and mobility and muscle strength and reduces symptoms of conditions like osteoarthritis. Clearly, Tai Chi yields substantial physical health dividends, but does it have any influence over mood and mental health?

According to initial clinical studies, the answer is probably yes.

Tai Chi likely helps people cope with depression, anxiety, stress and other mood related disorders. Here’s an overview of some research findings that demonstrate the martial art’s effectiveness as a complementary mental health treatment.

Research on Tai Chi for Mental Health

Tai Chi and Depression for Older Adults

Researchers at UCLA looked at whether Tai Chi might help older adults with major depression who had not achieved remission with medication alone.

A pool of study subjects was divided into 2 groups. One group received 10 weeks of Tai Chi instruction (a once a week class and practice at home) and the other group received 10 weeks of health education (with practice exercises to do at home).

• After the 10 week period, 65% of subjects in the Tai Chi group had achieved remission compared to 51% of subjects in the health education group.
  
• Subjects from the Tai Chi group also scored higher on tests of cognitive abilities and had lower levels of inflammation in the body as measured by blood tests.¹
  

A Review of 40 Studies Examining the Mental Health Benefits of Tai Chi

Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine did a systematic review of studies previously done on the mental health benefits of Tai Chi.

• They found that practitioners of Tai Chi could expect to benefit from decreased stress, anxiety and depression, increased self esteem and improved mood.
  

The researchers say that based on the study results it seems that Tai Chi practice is associated with improved psychological health. They note that further studies, particularly high quality control group studies, are needed to provide more concrete data on which to base medical decision making.²

Should You Practice Tai Chi?

While the research indicates that Tai Chi can help to alleviate symptoms of mental illness, reduce stress and improve mood and self esteem, more solid research is needed to illuminate how, or even if, Tai Chi really produces these mental benefits.

For the moment, though – Tai Chi is an activity that is known to have physical health benefits, very likely yields mental health benefits and has no significant side effects or risks associated with its practice.

Should you practice Tai Chi? Why not – It can’t hurt and it will probably help, and since there aren’t any side effects or risks associated with this particular mental health ‘treatment’ you have little to lose by giving it a try.

Image Copyright: Alice Popkorn

A growing mountain of evidence points to meditation’s effectiveness in controlling and reversing conditions as varied as anxiety and depression to high blood pressure and diabetes, but new research out of Massachusetts General Hospital shows that just 8 weeks of meditation training and practice actually results in physical grey matter changes in the hippocampus.

People in myriad cultures for thousands of years have turned to meditation for spiritual awakening and well-being in life – and if it didn’t work, they probably wouldn’t have!

By using clinical research practices to evaluate the benefits of meditation we can see clearly how well it works to alleviate symptoms of disease, prevent disease onset and improve overall quality of life, but although we know that it works pretty well – exactly how and why it works its magic remains more mysterious.

Now, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Bender Institute of Neuroimaging in Germany  say they are starting to unravel that mystery with the results of an experiment that show that just 8 weeks of meditation practice result in measurable changes in grey matter density in the areas of the brain responsible for emotion control, memory and self perspective and self processing.

The Experiment

Researchers did MRI scans on 16 participants of an 8 week mindfulness meditation course, scanning each participant once, 2 weeks prior to the start of the 8 week course, and once more 2 weeks following the end of the 8 week course. 17 control subjects who did not participate in the meditation course also received MRI scans at similar intervals.

In addition to checking for structural changes in the brain, the study participants and control subjects completed questionnaires throughout the study period which evaluated for improvements in aspects of mindfulness, such as being non judgmental about inner experiences, reacting less to inner experiences, acting with an awareness of why you are acting, observing your environment and self describing your environment.

The 8 week meditation course consisted of weekly meditation training sessions. Each participant was encouraged to practice at home and was given audio CDs to help guide home meditation sessions.

The Results

8 weeks of meditation resulted in improvements on 3 of the 5 measures of mindfulness. Control subjects who did received no meditation training showed no improvements.

MRI scans revealed that, compared to control subjects, those who received the meditation training showed measurable differences in grey matter density in the left hippocampus, the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporo-parietal junction, and the cerebellum.

Commentary

The researchers suggest that the brain changes visible after only 8 weeks of meditation training may help to explain some of the mental health benefits of mindfulness meditation.¹

Image Copyright: Dancing Lemur

Put 5000 years of Ayurvedic treatment experience behind your goal of overcoming addiction. Learn more about Ayurvedic medicine, how it works and if it might work for you.

In Ayurvedic medicine, health and well being is achieved by living in harmony with others and with the universe and by maintaining a correct balance of vital life energies in the body.

Ayurvedic practitioners believe that there are three types of energies in the body, called doshas. Illness arises out of an imbalance between the doshas and ayurvedic treatments attempt to restore a sense of balance to prevent and treat disease.

Things that skew the doshas out of balance include poor dietary choices, poor lifestyle choices, pollution, relationships with others, aging and other factors.¹

The three doshas are:

1. Vata

This is the dosha that controls movement, the nervous system and blood flow. When Vata is out of balance people will experience anxiety and fear. When balanced, they will experience creativity and enthusiasm for life.

2. Pitta

Pitta controls digestion and temperature and other metabolic functions. With an imbalanced pitta dosha people feel anger but with balanced pitta people experience intelligence and contentment.

3. Kapha

Examples of Ayurvedic Treatments

The treatments you get to restore optimal health and wellness are not related to the condition you have, be it substance abuse, depression or anxiety or any number of physical illnesses.

The treatments you receive will depend instead on your unique imbalance of the doshas and by any disharmony you have with your environment and the people in it. In Ayurvedic medicine, rather than treat the disease or symptoms of illness, these are viewed as signs of imbalance to be eliminated by restoring whole body wellness and balance. By the logic of ayurvedic medicine, there is no one type of treatment for any given condition as 2 people may experience similar symptoms or diseases but have totally different types of imbalances and require totally different types of treatments to restore inner balance and whole body health.³

To understand your personal imbalance of doshas, any Ayurvedic healing program must begin with a comprehensive diagnostic session, which will likely include a medical history, questions about your diet, lifestyle, relationships and environment  and an examination of various parts/systems of your body, such as your fingernails, skin, eyes, tongue, your heart (pulse) and abdomen. You may also be asked to provide urine and stool samples and submit to other medical tests.

Based on your unique profile of doshas you will be prescribed a series of treatments designed to restore balance.

Some examples of Ayurvedic treatments include:

• Treatments to remove impurities from the body – treatments such as enemas and deep tissue massages may be used to remove toxins and other impurities from the body.
  
• Treatments to improve a person’s harmony with the universe – examples of such treatments include exercises to release negative thoughts and emotions and counseling on how to avoid situations that lead to worry or anxiety.
  
• Treatments to reduce the symptoms of disease – examples of treatments that are used to reduce the severity of disease symptoms include prescribed meditation exercises, dietary changes, spending time lying in the sun, breathing or stretching exercises and herbal medicines or tonics.
  
• Treatments to reduce susceptibility to disease – herbal tonics and mineral tonics⁴
  

Caution – a National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine study of 70 over the counter Ayurvedic medicines in 2004 found that 14 contained lead, mercury or arsenic at levels high enough to be harmful.

Ayurveda as Addiction Treatment

Ayurveda is used to help people overcome addictions to nicotine, alcohol and illicit drugs. There is no one set course of treatment for addiction (as everyone’s balance of doshas is unique) but some common elements of an Ayurvedic addiction treatment program are:

• Therapies to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms and to improve overall health and well being, such as cleansing treatments like massage and enemas to remove toxins and impurities from the body.
  
• Therapies to improve health and disease resistance – such as herbal medicines and dietary changes
  
• Therapies to improve spiritual health and well being, such as meditation, yoga and others.

Image Copyright: Seasidebear

A study on electrical acupuncture demonstrates its possibilities as a form of opiate addiction treatment.

Researchers at Mclean Hospital and Harvard Medical School say that transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is a treatment that may help opiate addicts achieve longer abstinence.

TEAS works similarly to acupuncture, but instead of inserting small needles as in conventional acupuncture, TEAS practitioners affix electrodes to specific areas of the body and use electric current to stimulate the nervous system.

The researchers ran a study at a private addiction treatment hospital (Mclean Hospital) to evaluate how well TEAS might work to help people stay clean after withdrawing from opiates in a brief inpatient detoxification protocol.

Study subjects were assigned to one of 2 groups and all subjects received three daily half hour TEAS sessions over a 4 day period.

• Half of the study subjects were assigned to a placebo group. This group thought they were getting a full course of TEAS treatments, but received only very low amplitude stimulation (1mA), which is non-detectable.
  
• Half of the study subjects received true TEAS treatment, with a maximum tolerable electrical stimulation at 15mA
  
• All study subjects also received a brief course of buprenorphine, to aid in the detoxification
  

To evaluate the impact of the TEAS, the researchers followed up with each subject over the proceeding weeks to check for return to drug use, the intensity of withdrawal symptoms experienced, general levels of physical health and tolerance to pain.

The Results

• Subjects who received real TEAS were more than twice as likely to maintain opiate abstinence for the first 2 weeks. 65% of subjects who received the simulated TEAS relapsed back to opiate use within the first 2 weeks, compared to only 29% of those who received true TEAS.
  
• Subjects who received true TEAS were also much less likely to return to other drug use. In the first 2 weeks, 75% of those who received placebo TEAS returned to at least some drug use while only 35% of those who received real TEAS returned to any drug use.
  
• Subjects who received true TEAS reported greater better pain tolerance and overall physical health than the subjects who had received placebo TEAS. The researchers concede that this effect may have been due to the greater levels of abstinence achieved by the real TEAS group.
  
• There was no difference in the intensity of withdrawal symptoms between the 2 groups. Previous studies have shown that TEAS can reduce withdrawal symptoms intensity, but this effect may have been blunted by the corresponding use of buprenorphine by all study subjects.
  

Commentary

Image Copyright: Megan Mallen

Researchers at University of Louisville School of Medicine ran an experiment on acupuncture as treatment for PTSD and they found that it worked as well as the more conventional treatment of cognitive behavioral therapy.

An enormous number of Americans experience the debilitating symptoms of PTSD. This year, 3.5% of Americans will live through PTSD and a poll of adults aged between 45 and 59 indicates a lifetime prevalence rate of nearly 10%.¹

Cognitive behavioral therapy works well as a PTSD treatment, but as many as a third of those afflicted with the disorder will go on to experience a chronic course and need ongoing care.

Some of these people may go one to find relief through an unexpected treatment – the ancient Chinese art of acupuncture.

Acupuncture as a Treatment for PTSD

Acupuncture is now a National Institute of Health (NIH) endorsed complementary therapy for a range of conditions and there is some strong evidence that the technique may work very well for those with PTSD.

One study which provides strong preliminary evidence of acupuncture's utility as a PTSD treatment comes from researchers at University of Louisville School of Medicine, who compared the effectiveness of acupuncture to cognitive behavioral therapy and to no treatment on a group of study subjects all suffering with PTSD.

The researchers measured changes in anxiety, depression and overall impairment. 73 study subjects with PTSD were randomly assigned to one of three control groups, subjects in one group received no treatment, subjects in a second group received 12 weeks of group cognitive behavioral therapy and study subjects in a third group received 12 weeks of acupuncture.

The Results

• 12 weeks of acupuncture and provided symptoms relief equal to 12 weeks of group cognitive behavioral therapy.
  
• Both of these treatments provided greater symptoms relief than no treatment.
• Symptoms relief endured for subjects in both the acupuncture and group CBT groups endured for at least 3 months post intervention.
  

The Commentary Based on the study results, the researchers suggest that acupuncture may be an effective and acceptable (low side effect) treatment for PTSD. They call for larger more controlled studies to build on their preliminary results.²