If you aren’t meditating already, here are 8 very good reasons for you to consider taking it up. Whether you’re still drinking or using and trying to control yourself, just starting off with treatment or long down that winding and difficult recovery journey, stopping yourself from taking that next drink or line or hit is always going to be a challenge. Fortunately, while you may never be able to erase temptation from your life, you can take some steps to build up your resilience against cravings as you also build up your overall levels of health and happiness.

If only there was something we could do that didn’t take much time each day and didn’t cost any money and almost magically removed much of the stress from life as it also brought more joy and equanimity and a better ability to manage temptations… Hey wait a minute – meditation can do all that!

If you’re trying to control your urges to take drugs or drink alcohol, there are a number of very compelling reasons to add a session of meditation into your daily routine, and not very many valid reasons for not doing so.

Not convinced? Here are 8 reasons why you should consider learning to meditate!

8 Fantastic Benefits of Meditation

1. Meditation reduces your stress level

This alone is reason enough for most of us to get started. Meditation won’t do much to remove stressors from your life (your boss may still be a difficult person even after you meditate) but it will help you to respond to stressful events in your life without feeling as frantic on the inside – and since stress is a major cause of relapse, for those in recovery, eliminating any stress is a very good thing.

Stressful life events can trigger your sympathetic nervous system into a ‘flight or fight’ response which causes an increased heart and respiration rate, a narrowing of the blood vessels and other physical changes – the body gets ready to run or fight in response to a threat. Meditation increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system’s opposite, the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system controls bodily functions in moments free from danger or stress. Increasing the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system results in lowered respiration and pulse rate, improved blood flow and lower blood pressure, better digestive function and a better ability to handle stress without feeling your blood pressure rise.

2. Meditation improves immune function

The abuse of opiates and some other drugs can decrease the effectiveness of the immune system, and few people emerge from drug or alcohol abuse in pristine health. Fortunately, research shows that just a few weeks of daily meditation can improve immune function and keep you feeling as good as you should.¹

3. Meditation can control pain and keep you off opiate analgesics

Meditation is a proven pain management technique that may help you to avoid, or minimize your use of, problematic and addictive opiate drugs.

4. Meditation can lower your blood pressure and stave of heart disease

Anyone who has abused drugs or alcohol for long could do well to treat the heart with a little TLC; after all, all those nights of whiskey and cigarettes and cocaine and whatever else can do a lot of damage. Fortunately, research shows that regular meditation practice can lower blood pressure and even prevent the onset of heart disease.  You can’t go back in time, but you can start taking better care of yourself, starting from today.³

5. Meditation increases your empathy and compassion for others

The behaviors of addiction are necessarily selfish, and this can wreak havoc on relationships with the people we care about most. Fortunately, with kindness and right actions you can rebuild most relationships, and meditation is a great way to improve your relationships with those you love as the practice transforms you into more generous, compassionate and empathetic person.

It’s not only anecdotal evidence which illustrates how meditation can transform you into a nicer-to-be-around person, brain imaging scans done on experienced meditators shows that meditation leads to a greater neural response when confronted with the negative emotions of others. Basically, brain scans show that meditation really does amp up compassion and empathy!⁴

6. Meditation may slow down the aging process

The bad news for those of us who’ve drank more than our fair share over the years is that drinking alcohol has been implicated as something that shortens the length of telomeres, which are the protective caps situated at the end of chromosomes. Shortening telomeres are thought to influence the cellular aging process so anything you do to make your telomeres shorter increases the rate at which you age.

Fortunately, although you can’t undo what’s done, you can take steps now to preserve your telomeres. Preliminary research indicates that meditation may be something that protects against telomere shortening by decreasing things like chronic stress and emotional reactivity that are also thought to accelerate the aging process by shortening telomeres.⁵

7. Meditation can help build up your sense of spirituality

For thousands of years Buddhist monks, Hindu Yogis, Christian mystics and people from a thousand other spiritual traditions have used meditation as a way to connect with the divine and enhance a personal spiritual understanding.

Whatever your religion or spiritual take on the world, meditation can probably help you too become more connected to the powers, joys and mysteries of life. And whether you’re still drinking or using, trying to stop or on an ongoing journey of recovery, building a personally relevant spirituality is a very useful thing to do.

8. Last but certainly not least…meditation will bring joy into your life

MRI scans show what meditation enthusiasts preach to anyone who’ll listen, meditation brings more joy into your life, and it’s pretty hard to argue against more happiness in life, right?

Image Copyright: clearwisdom.net

What is adventure therapy and why is it an effective in the treatment of substance abuse? Understand this form of experiential therapy and how it promotes overall well-being.

At first glance, the term “adventure therapy” looks like it contains two words that don’t belong together. The first half of the term conjures up images of climbing rock walls, shooting down whitewater rapids, and otherwise engaging in high-adrenaline pursuits. The second half prompts thoughts of quiet rooms, soft chairs, and serious discussions. But as is often the case, first glances can be deceiving.

When adventure and therapy are united under the guidance of experienced professionals at reputable treatment programs, these unlikely partners can yield impressive results.

Adventure therapy has proved to be particularly effective for individuals who are struggling with addiction or certain mental health disorders, but who have not had success via more traditional forms of treatment.

What Is Adventure Therapy?

Adventure therapy is actually a type of experiential therapy. In addition to adventure therapy, this larger category includes therapeutic journaling, expressive arts therapy, music therapy, psychodrama, equine therapy, massage therapy, recreation therapy, and others.

As its name suggests, adventure therapy does indeed add a therapeutic component to action-oriented experiences. Fishing trips, canoeing, rock-climbing, hiking, and ropes courses are examples of activities that are typically offered at programs that provide adventure therapy.

Of course, the activities are just one part of a successful adventure therapy experience. Before, during, and after the activities, adventure therapy participants work with professionals to identify and address issues that are relevant to their struggles with addiction or mental illness.

The Goals of Adventure Therapy

Adventure therapy allows participants to have fun in a supportive, substance-free environment. For people who have previously been spending significant amounts of time seeking, using, or recovering from alcohol and other drugs, developing healthier leisure pursuits is an important achievement.

But the benefits of adventure therapy are by no means limited to the adventures themselves.

While they are participating in adventure therapy, men and women have the opportunity to develop skills that can be essential to their continued recovery.

For example, various types of adventure therapy may challenge participants to confront their fears, develop a greater capacity to trust, accept responsibility for their actions, and collaborate with others in pursuit of a common goal.

Important Concepts, Essential Skills

In a more traditional therapeutic setting, such as a process group, participants may talk about the importance of concepts such as cooperation, accountability, and communication.

During an adventure therapy outing – for example, while attempting to complete a ropes course or successfully maneuver a raft through rough waters – they will put these and other skills to use.

Afterward, they’ll have the chance to review their thoughts and actions. They’ll address what they did well and what they could have done better. Perhaps more importantly, they’ll discuss how to take what they learned in the woods or on the water and apply it to their personal recovery journey.

Every step of the way, participants benefit from the guidance and supervision of professionals who have specific expertise with this dynamic form of treatment.

Long-Term Benefits

Adventure therapy is a short-term experience that can yield a variety of long-term benefits. When employed in the context of an effective comprehensive treatment program, adventure therapy can help participants to achieve the following:

• Improved attitude
• Increased confidence
• Enhanced self-esteem
• More effective communication skills
• Greater willingness to trust others
• Expanded sense of responsibility and accountability
• Heightened awareness of mind-body connection

Adventure therapy also promotes mindfulness, or the ability to focus on the present moment. People who incorporate mindfulness into their everyday lives report decreased stress, elevated mood, fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and a host of other positive outcomes.

Ultimately, adventure therapy can prepare participants for the greatest, most rewarding adventure of all: living a healthier and more satisfying life.

Marijuana is a valid medicine, and like many other medicines, it has a potential for abuse. However, with medical marijuana, you're usually left to decide how much and how often to use on your own. Here's a guide to making sure your medicine doesn't start causing more problems than it solves.

Prescribed use of medicinal marijuana is currently legal in twenty states and the District of Columbia. It appears destined to become accepted throughout the nation in coming years. Proponents advocate its use for numerous physical and psychological disorders.

As dual diagnosis clinician, I am in the minority for advocating its use. There is growing research demonstrating effectiveness of marijuana in treating Attention Deficit Disorder and anxiety disorders (especially Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The pitfall that is readily apparent is that there is a fine line between medicinal use and substance abuse. The line is subjective, unique to the individual, and hinges on the willingness and practice of the individual to practice rigorous honesty with themselves.

Help or Hindrance?

The use of medical marijuana is intended to improve one’s quality of life by reducing or eliminating negative symptoms of a disorder. If we are to judge its effectiveness to the individual, we must establish what a person’s baseline is prior to use, after short term use, and monitor effects of long term use. Baselines can be conceptualized as a normative range of functioning and quality of life of an individual over time. We have good days and bad days, but overall there is a range within which we holistically function (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and in more quantifiable ways like productivity).

If we have a clear understanding of a person’s quality of life prior to beginning medicinal use, we can measure the frequency and intensity of the symptoms that marijuana is used to relieve. We can assess mental health and cognitive functioning, productivity, and investment in improved health. Ideally, these assessments would be made in conjunction with a clinician or medically trained professional who is able to maintain objectivity and is not biased against the use of marijuana.

Self Medicating & Self Monitoring

It’s unlikely that our use will be scrutinized as it would be if we were being prescribed pain killers or benzodiazepines.

• Medical marijuana is most often prescribed not with treatment parameters (dosage amount, frequency of use, route of ingestion) but rather with little more than governmental limits as to the amount a person can have in their possession.
  
• It is highly recommended that we check with our local dispensary or other provider as there are a plethora of marijuana strains that can be matched to our specific needs.

In the absence of ongoing medical/psychiatric assessment and monitoring, we are left to evaluate our own use and/or to seek observations from those closest to us. This is problematic. We lose our ability to be objective when we become emotionally involved and/or when we use a mood altering substance. The success of self assessment is best ensured when we externalize our insights in writing (it’s harder to rationalize or minimize in black and white). To further ensure success we can add journaling as a daily form of processing and building holistic awareness.

Consider how self surveys could help ...

Self Surveys

Self surveys provide objective information to help you make sound decisions, over the short and long-term.

Before you start:

Short term results are likely influenced by a person’s past experience with marijuana use. Those who have had positive experiences in the past may be predisposed to consider their experience of using marijuana medicinally to be beneficial. It’s common that the first time a person uses marijuana that they not experience significant effects. In a percentage of users a heightened amount of anxiety follows and for these folks continued marijuana use is likely counter indicated.

After 30 Days

Repeat the self survey questions above and contrast findings.

• Consider modifications to frequency and dosage to be made if your findings show even minor cause for concern or ineffectiveness of the medication.
• Gather impressions from friends and family. What if anything have they noticed to be different about us?

Long Term

The biggest potential pitfall of marijuana use is that long term and heavy use tends to be associated with lower levels of productivity. In assessing and monitoring continued use, what we’re really doing is weighing the pros and cons of life with and without this form of treatment. Exploring options and reevaluating with your prescribing clinician is always beneficial. 

Crossing the Line into Substance Abuse

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition, the criteria for determining a substance abuse disorder is the presence of “cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms indicating that the individual continues using a substance despite significant substance related problems.”

In the case of medically prescribed drugs, there is a significant gray area as side effects are often inevitable and can easily be viewed as “problems.” In this light, the only objective measurement would be to contrast the side effects of marijuana use to those of alternative medications and forms of treatment.

Use of any substance over time results in tolerance. The amount of marijuana required to relieve symptoms will increase over time for most users. If the amount of marijuana being used increases, we must again consider a highly subjective assessment – are we relieving symptoms or are we simply getting high?

Perhaps our best determining factor in weighing continued use is to consider that as a person develops a substance abuse problem and moves toward addiction (whether psychological or physical dependence) the use of the substance gradually becomes a focal point in their life. If we consider how much of our life is centered around using marijuana, we can spot a problem developing. Ultimately, whether marijuana causes us benefit or harm overall, it remains only one form of treating a condition. Soliciting and accepting support toward holistic health remains our best safeguard and our best medicine

Image Copyright: Alexa Augeri

Learn more about this herbal medicine that’s research-proven to reduce the agitation, irritability, insomnia and anxiety of an opiate withdrawal.

Looking for a non pharmaceutical treatment for opiate withdrawal symptoms?

Well, consider passionflower – a herbal medicine that’s research-proven to ease the mental symptoms of opiate withdrawal.

What Is Passionflower?

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is a perennial vine that’s been used medicinally for hundreds of years.

Passionflower works by increasing the activity of the GABA system in the brain, similarly to benzodiazepines, though unlike benzos – passionflower won't cause addiction.

In addition to helping with opiate withdrawal symptoms, people also use passionflower to treat anxiety, insomnia, asthma, symptoms related to menopause, ADHD, high blood pressure, pain, fibromyalgia, seizures, and other conditions.

Passionflower for Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms

Research Supporting Passionflower Plus Clonidine

Clonidine is commonly prescribed for opiate withdrawal symptoms.

Researchers at Tehran University of Medical Sciences compared the use of clonidine alone to clonidine plus passionflower extract as a treatment to ease opiate withdrawal symptoms.

The Study

65 opiate dependent study subjects were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups:

1. Subjects in the first group received a daily dose of up to 0.8 mg clonidine plus 60 drops of passionflower extract.
2. Subjects in the second group received the same daily dose of clonidine plus 60 drops of an inert placebo substance.

The researchers tracked the severity of opiate withdrawal symptoms for all subjects from the first day of abstinence to day 14 post-abstinence.

The Results

• Subjects given passionflower extract as well as clonidine had less severe mental withdrawal symptoms than subjects given clonidine alone. Subjects in the passionflower plus clonidine group experienced less agitation, irritability, insomnia and anxiety than subjects in the clonidine plus placebo group.¹

Research Supporting Passionflower to Reverse Opiate Dependence

The results of an experiment published in the journal Pharmaceutical Biology indicate that passionflower extract may at least partially reverse opiate dependence.

1. Opiate tolerant mice experience precipitated withdrawal after taking the opiate antagonist naloxone.
2. In this study, pretreatment with a single dose of passionflower decreased the withdrawal symptoms experienced after naloxone injection.²

Passionflower as an Anxiety Treatment

Passionflower may also work as an anxiolytic medication.

• In one study (which lacked a placebo group) passionflower was found as effective as oxazepam in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.
• In another study, subjects given passionflower before surgery had less anxiety than subjects given a placebo. The passionflower did not adversely affect recovery from anesthesia.³

Passionflower for Virility?

As an aside, consider that passionflower may also protect male virility against the degrading effects of daily marijuana use.

In an animal-model study, male mice given THC each day for a month experienced decreased sperm counts, mounted females less frequently and impregnated fewer mates.

• However, mice given THC and passionflower extract experienced no such sexual side effects.⁴

So if a heavy marijuana habit seems to impair your libido or virility, consider a marijuana break, or if not that - consider adding a passionflower supplement to your daily routine.

Safety Considerations?

According to the National Institute of Health, (NIH) passionflower is:

1. Likely safe when taken orally in amounts normally found in food.
2. Possibly safe when taken for less than one month as a medicine.
3. Possibly unsafe when taken orally in large amounts.
4. Not safe during pregnancy or while breastfeeding^.5
   

Side effects can include dizziness, confusion, altered states of consciousness and inflamed blood vessels.⁶

Worrisome Interactions?

Passionflower may cause sleepiness and may increase the sedative effects of other sedative herbs and drugs, such as:

• Benzodiazepines
• Z drugs
• St John’s Wort
• Valerian root
• And others

The herb may also affect blood thinning medications like Coumadin and older antidepressants like MAOs and MAOIs.

Where to Buy Passionflower?

Passionflower is not FDA regulated as a medication; you can buy passionflower extract and supplement pills at health stores or through Amazon or other online retailers.

The supplement is quite affordable, starting at roughly 10 cents per daily dose.

Image Copyright: Paterjt

Used for thousands of years as a traditional medicine, nigella sativa is a safe and effective complementary medicine that treats everything from cancer, to arthritis - and possibly opiate withdrawal. Learn more about the benefits (and risks) of this affordable and natural home-remedy for opiate withdrawal.

Some research evidence and considerable anecdotal evidence (forum chatter) indicates that nigella sativa reduces opiate withdrawal symptoms.

1. However, no authoritative source has yet published comprehensive guidelines on the use of nigella seeds for opiate withdrawal.
2. This article pieces together initial research findings, traditional uses and anecdotal reports to provide an overview of the current and potential uses for this seed as an opiate withdrawal aid.
3. Please do not take this information as medical advice (though you might want to use this information as a basis for a conversation with your doctor about nigella sativa or other natural withdrawal-aid options.)
   

Caution!

Be careful - though the seeds are likely safe when used after you quit opiates (to ease a cold-turkey detox) many people use nigella sativa seeds to aid in opiate tapering. This may work, but there is no research evidence to support this practice. Given that the seeds increase the potency of opiates and increase neural serotonin levels, taking nigella with opiates likely increases the overdose risks and combining nigella with tramadol may also increase seizure and serotonin syndrome risks.

Read on to learn more about:

1. The long traditional history of use
2. Research evidence that supports the use of nigella seeds to treat opiate withdrawal symptoms
3. Information on safety concerns and risks
4. A review of some of the pros and cons of use and some general recommendations
   

What Is Nigella Sativa?

Nigella sativa is also known as black seed, black cumin, black caraway, kalonji and black onion seed.

Nigella sativa is a plant that grows naturally throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. The plant’s seeds are used as a cooking spice and also as traditional medicines. People have used the seeds for more than a thousand years as a traditional medicine for conditions like:

• Cancer
• Inflammation
• Asthma
• Arthritis
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Allergies
• Many other conditions¹

As a Treatment for Opiate Withdrawal?

A couple of animal-model studies provide evidence that nigella sativa limits the development of opiate tolerance and dependence.

• In one study, it seemed to work almost as an opiate, inducing conditioned place preferences in mice, just like morphine does.²
• Another study revealed that it inhibits the nitric oxide overproduction and oxidative stress that normally accompanies opiate or tramadol abuse - and this may account for its beneficial opiate withdrawal properties.³

Human Withdrawal Study

At least one study on human opiate dependent volunteers provides encouraging results.

• In a Pakistani study, motivated opiate-dependent study subjects took three daily 500 mg capsule doses of ground up seed (not oil) and experienced an immediate lessening of acute opiate withdrawal symptoms and a sustained reduction in opiate craving over a 12 week course of treatment. The researchers suspect that nigella sativa’s calcium channel blocking effects account for the positive outcomes.⁴

What do the experts say?

• Well, Natural Standard gives the evidence on nigella sativa for opiate dependence and withdrawal a C grade - indicating unclear scientific evidence for this use. (Though this sounds unimpressive, it’s actually a middling grade that indicates some evidence.)

An Opiate Potentiatior = Increased Overdose Risk

Using the seeds as an opiate tapering aid may increase your risk of an adverse reaction or a fatal overdose.

The seeds potentiate opiates through the inhibition of liver P450 enzymes CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 (similar to grapefruit juice.) Knowing this, you need to be very cautious when combining any opiate with nigella sativa.

Mixing opiates with substances that potentiate (increase) their effects can lead to overdose. Be careful.

Use Cautiously with Tramadol

An SSRI-like substance?

There is at least some evidence that the seeds may increase serotonin levels in the brain.

1. In an experimental model, animals that took a regular daily dose of oral nigella sativa had elevated serotonin in the brain.
2. Nigella seed may work similarly to SSRIs, by blocking the re-uptake of serotonin in the brain.⁵
3. Nigella sativa will also partially potentiate tramadol, and since it also increases endogenous serotonin levels, it may increase the risks of serotonin syndrome.⁶

It’s unclear how much the seeds boosts serotonin levels, especially at low doses. This makes it difficult to estimate how dangerous it could be when combined with other serotonin boosting substances, like SSRIs or tramadol.

So as far as tramadol is concerned:

1. The serotonin boosting effects likely increase the dangers of using it concurrently with tramadol
2. However, any SSRI-like effects would likely ease the atypical withdrawal symptoms associated with a cold-turkey tramadol withdrawal
   

So don't underestimate the risks of taking nigella seeds and tramadol together.

Safety Concerns

According to the FDA, nigella sativa seeds are generally recognized as safe.

• The seeds are toxic at high doses, but they are considered safe at doses normally associated with food.⁷
• A very high dose of 2g per kg of the fixed oil of nigella sativa caused liver and kidney damage in rats.

Nigella Sativa Seeds - The Pros and Cons

The Pros

• There is research evidence that the seeds may ease opiate withdrawal symptoms
• They have a very long history of traditional use and are generally recognized as safe at amounts normally consumed as food (think up to a few teaspoons of the whole seeds per day, or less of the oils.)
• They are a low cost, no-prescription substance that induce few side effects. (As an example, a pound of organic seeds on Amazon goes for about $20. This amount would last for a while.)

The Cons (Cautions)

• There is little information from authoritative health sources on how to use the seeds safely to alleviate opiate withdrawals. It is uncharted territory and you may be putting your health at risk by experimenting.
  

Should You Try Nigella Sativa?

Firstly, talk to your doctor to make sure that nigella sativa makes sense for you.

• There is probably little risk in using nigella sativa seeds or extract, at moderate doses, after opiates have cleared from your body. If going through a cold-turkey detox, nigella seeds may ease the discomfort.
• Though many people on forums will recommend the seeds and extract to ease tapering-related withdrawal pains, this is a more dangerous practice without research evidence to support it. Be cautious with combining nigella sativa with opiates. This is dangerous, you risk overdose and if you decide to do it make sure you understand the risks.

Image Copyright: Eran Finkle

How about a cup of tea? L-theanine may not replace your need for therapy or medication, but if you struggle with stress or anxiety, or even if you don’t, the soothing and cognition enhancing effects of this tea amino acid may be just what you need.

Making the case for a cup of tea...an amino acid in tea may be just what you need to feel less anxious.

Whether taken as a supplement or in cups of tea, l-theanine is safe and helps many people reduce stress and anxiety. Research shows that l-theanine induces alert/relaxed thinking states, reduces your fight-or flight response to stressful events and helps protect the mind from stress-linked thinking and memory deficits.

Read on to learn more about:

• L-theanine’s side effects and safety profile
• How to take it
• How it works and what it does
• Research which support its use

What Is L-Theanine?

L-theanine, or theanine, is a water soluble amino acid that’s found in tea leaves; it’s also available at higher concentrations as a dietary supplement (one dose equaling roughly 10 cups of tea). When you drink tea, l-theanine passes through the blood-brain barrier and affects the brain directly.

• L-theanine shares a very similar chemical structure to the neurotransmitter glutamate – which is a transmitter involved in learning and memory.
• Consuming theanine increases the production of GABA and dopamine.¹

How Does It Induce Relaxation?

One way it promotes relaxation is by reducing sympathetic nervous system activation in stressful situations.

1. When stressed, your body goes into fight or flight mode – heart rate and blood pressure spike, respiration grows shallower and more rapid, pupils dilate and perspiration increases; your body gets ready to fight a threat or flee the scene!
2. Chronic sympathetic nervous system over-activation is unpleasant (you feel stressed out!) and can lead to serious health problems, like cardiovascular disease or dementia.

But theanine can help:

• Studies show that people who take theanine prior to stressful situations have a decreased sympathetic nervous system response to that stress.²

What Other Benefits Does It Have?

• Theanine has neuroprotective effects – it protects the brain from excess glutamate toxicity.
• It is an antioxidant and it inhibits lipid peroxidation.³ Both black and green teas have strong antioxidant properties.
• It works as a cancer fighter and anti-tumor agent. Theanine can increase the effectiveness of some chemotherapy agents.⁴

Side Effects or Long-Term Health Concerns?

• L-theanine is very well tolerated. People have been drinking green and black tea for a very long time without experiencing health problems. In rare cases, drinking too much tea can lead to digestive upset or nausea.
• Animal model studies show that even at very high doses, sustained ingestion of theanine causes no significant adverse effects.⁵
• If you drink too much tea you may get too much caffeine.*

*However, a typical cup of coffee contains between 2 and 3 times as much caffeine as an equivalent amount of black tea. If you’re already a coffee drinker, swapping out a cup or two per day for a few cups of brewed tea shouldn’t cause any noticeable differences.⁶

How Much L-Theanine in a Cup of Tea?

Researchers at the University of Bristol experimented to find out how much l-theanine you’d find in a cup of normally brewed commercial tea. They found that longer brewing times led to higher quantities of the amino acid, but on average:

• A typical 200 ml cup of brewed black tea contained 24.2 mg of l-theanine (+ or – 5.7 mg)
• A typical cup of brewed green tea contained 7.9 mg (+ or – 3.8 mg)

L-theanine supplements are typically sold as 200 mg doses, so if you drink 8 cups of black tea per day – or many more cups of green tea – you'll get the same quantity of the amino acid as you’d get by taking a supplement.

If you want to get very serious about extracting the maximum quantity of l-theanine from each pot of tea, then follow the advice of researchers from The University of Newcastle in Australia, who tested various extraction methods to see which yielded the best results. They say, to get the highest possible amount of L-theanine:

1. Steep tea at 80 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes
2. Use a water to tea ratio of 20 ml per 1 gram
3. Steep tea that is between 0.5 and 1 mm in particle size!⁷

Research Supporting L-Theanine for Relaxation

Theanine vs. Xanax?

Researchers in Australia compared 200 mg of theanine to 1 mg of Xanax. Subjects were given either theanine, Xanax or a placebo during either a resting task (baseline) or a task that provoked anxiety.

Theanine worked better than Xanax to induce relaxation during the resting task, though neither theanine nor Xanax had any significant effects during the anxiety task.⁸

Theanine for Alpha Waves

L-theanine supplements are typically sold as 200 mg doses – or 8 to 10 times as much as you’d get from a typical cup of brewed black tea. So would you experience any relaxation effect after drinking just a couple of cups of tea?

1. To find out, researchers in the Netherlands took EEG measurements of healthy study subjects from 45 minutes to 105 minutes after ingesting 50 mg of l-theanine (approximately 2 cups worth).
2. They found that even at this moderate dose, compared to subjects given a placebo, those given l-theanine displayed significantly more alpha brain wave activity.

Alpha waves signify an alert but relaxed brain.⁹

Theanine to Protect Against Stress-Linked Memory Problems

Chronic elevated stress can harm your memory. The theanine in tea may protect your brain from this negative consequence.

Some very recent animal model research (June 2013) shows that theanine protects the brain against stress-caused memory impairments – probably by defending against the toxic impact of stress hormones.

1. A group of rats were divided into two experimental conditions. One group received three weeks of pre-treatment with theanine and the other group did not. After three weeks, all rats were put under severe stress.
2. Control rats experienced stress-caused visual memory impairments but rats pretreated with theanine did not.
3. Rats pretreated with theanine had a much smaller corticosterone level increase than control rats, which likely explains the differing results on the memory tests.¹⁰

Theanine to Block Stress-Related Blood Pressure Spikes

Some people experience more significant blood pressure increases during periods of high stress.

Researchers in Japan ran an experiment to see what effect theanine had on stress-related blood pressure increases.

Study subjects were given a placebo or 200 mg of theanine and then tested on mental and physical performance under different conditions: at rest, under psychological stress and under physiological stress.

1. Compared to placebo, theanine lowered blood pressure increases associated with stress situations.
2. This effect was greatest for subjects who experienced the greatest change from resting blood pressure to stress-situation blood pressure during placebo trials.¹¹
   

Image Copyright: Kanko*

Mounting evidence suggests aromatherapy can help reduce anxiety. Most people can use this affordable therapy without experiencing negative side effects, so if you struggle with stress or anxiety, maybe you should add a little lavender or citrus to your daily routine! Read on to find out more.

How about an easy, cheap and drug-free way to reduce your anxiety right now? The answer could be as close as the tip of your nose!

Scents trigger memories and emotional reactions:

• Freshly cut grass on a hot day – the joy and freedom of childhood play
• The smell of roasting turkey – warmth and comfort and family

Our ancient olfactory systems – much older than our thinking cerebral cortex – intertwine with systems of emotion and stress; the olfactory cortex is actually located within the limbic system and amygdala of the brain, areas that handle emotions and emotional memories.¹

Smells have a direct pathway to the emotion centers of the brain and they can provoke strong emotional responses.

Given this, it’s no stretch to wonder if you could use the application of certain aromas as a way to manipulate your emotional reactions.

Read on to learn more about:

• Research which supports the idea of using aromatherapy as a means of reducing stress, anxiety or agitation
• Why states of anxiety increase our smelling power and how this can magnify smell’s emotional influence
• Which smells reduce stress, anxiety and agitation
• How to incorporate the calming power of aroma into your daily routine

Research on Aromatherapy for Anxiety Reduction

Lemon Balm Reduces Agitation

Researchers at Newcastle General Hospital in the UK compared aromatherapy with lemon balm vs. a placebo as a treatment for agitation among a group of study subjects with severe dementia.

They found that subjects receiving the lemon balm (applied to the face and arms twice a day) achieved a 35% reduction in agitation, compared to an 11% reduction seen in the placebo group, which received a twice daily application of neutral smelling oil.²

Lavender Reduces Dental Anxiety

Many people experience anxiety while sitting in a waiting room for a scheduled dental appointment. Could aromatherapy alleviate some of this anxiety?

To find out, researchers interviewed 340 subjects over a period of days who were waiting for dental procedures. Half were interviewed while experiencing lavender aromatherapy in the waiting room and half were interviewed under an odor-free control condition.

Those who got the lavender aromatherapy reported significantly less current stress than those in the control group.³

Neroli Reduces Anxiety and Blood Pressure During Colonoscopies

Patients in Taiwan scheduled to receive a colonoscopy were divided into 2 groups: one group underwent the procedure with neroli aromatherapy and the other group underwent the procedure with placebo aromatherapy.

Those who received neroli aromatherapy had lower systolic blood pressure before and after the procedure.

Based on the efficacy, lack of side effects and the ease/affordability of use, the study authors recommended aromatherapy as a useful intervention.⁴

Smells Influence How Much We Like Other People

Knee-jerk dislike and distrust of new people works against recovery from anxiety disorders and against achieving general happiness in life.

Interestingly and surprisingly, smells seem to influence our perceptions of the likeability of new people that we meet.

Researchers at Northwestern University gave study subjects pictures of neutral faces to rate for likeability. Prior to showing each picture, experimenters released a positive, neutral or negative odor, which was delivered at a lower than detectable threshold.

Subjects rated faces as less likable after smelling a negative odor and more likeable after smelling a positive odor.

Interestingly, this effect only occurred with smells at a subliminal level. When subjects were consciously aware of negative odors, these smells no longer influenced likability ratings.⁵

Anxiety Heightens Sense of Smell

Maybe it shouldn’t surprise us that aromas have such a profound influence on mood and stress, especially when you consider that the physiological state of anxiety actually heightens our smelling powers.

To find out how much anxiety influences sensory abilities researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison popped study subjects into an MRI machine and then exposed them serially to minute levels of positive, neutral and negative aromas.

1. Researchers then asked periodically if subjects could detect any aroma.
2. As they performed these smell tests, they also evaluated subject anxiety levels (after all, spending time in an MRI machine can be quite stressful).

They found that as stress levels rose a person’s ability to detect very faint negative aromas also increased - and that as anxiety spiked, negative smells caused greater emotional arousal.

So heightened stress and anxiety increases smelling power and also our emotional reaction to smells. This likely occurs as a part of a defense mechanism associated with the fight or flight response.⁶

Side or Adverse Effects and Risks

Studies on aroma therapy report few adverse results. This is a low-risk intervention to try out.⁷

People who may need to use essential oils with caution include:

• Pregnant women
• People with strong allergies
• People with severe asthma

Additionally:

• People with estrogen-linked cancers may need to avoid estrogen-like compounds, like sage, fennel or aniseed.
• People with high blood pressure may want to avoid rosemary or spike lavender.
• Pregnant women and those with a history of seizures should avoid hyssop oil.⁸

You should avoid getting essential oils in your eyes or mouth and you should never ingest these oils, in any form.

Anxiolytic Scents

Essential oils commonly used to reduce anxiety, stress or depression include:

• Lavender
• Orange
• Rose
• Bergamot
• Lemon
• Sandalwood
• Clary sage
• Roman Chamomile
• Geranium⁹
• And others   

How to Do Aromatherapy at Home

You can incorporate the power of scents into your daily routine by using one or more of the following:

• In the bath - Add 4 to 6 drops of an essential oil into a spoonful of honey or vegetable oil, and then add this into a full tub.
• Through massage – Add 4 to 6 drops of an essential oil into a Tbls of vegetable oil, and then use this as massage oil.
• By inhaling – Add 2 drops into a large bowl of hot water, and then inhale the humid air.
• With an oil burner – add 6 drops in water to an oil burner or electric vaporizer.¹⁰

Buying Essential Oils

You can buy essential oils for aromatherapy at health food stores and stores which sell vitamins and dietary supplements.

Make sure you buy plant-derived essential oils, not chemical reproductions.

Aromatherapy Won’t Cure You – But It May Help

Certain smells clearly reduce stress and anxiety. However, aromatherapy provides only modest benefits and no one suggests that it be used as a stand-alone treatment for any type of clinical anxiety condition.

That being said, aromatherapy doesn’t cause side effects, it costs very little to try and it may well provide you with positive results. For these reasons, if you struggle with stress or anxiety, you should consider experimenting with aromas as one way to manage these negative states.

Image Copyright: Brittney Bush

If you have alcoholic liver disease should you be taking milk thistle? The research evidence is inconclusive, but a number of studies show real benefits and no studies show significant harms. Read on to learn more about this potentially life-saving herbal medicine.

Milk thistle is a well known liver tonic and people have taken the herb for its medicinal properties for millennia – but does this supplementary medicine stand up to modern scientific scrutiny? Should you rely on this herbal medicine to treat a serious alcohol-related liver condition?

Read on to learn a bit more about:

• The medicinal ingredients within the herb
• How it works to promote liver health
• The research results which argue both for and against its effectiveness as a liver medication
• Expert recommendations on using this herbal treatment
  

What Is Milk Thistle?

Silybum marianum – better known as milk thistle - is a weed-like purple flowered plant that originated in the Mediterranean basin and which now grows well in temperate areas across the world.

The seeds and spinach-like leaves of the plant can be eaten as food or taken as an herbal supplement – in fact, people have used the plant for its medicinal properties for more than 2000 years.¹

Milk thistle contains a substance called silymarin, which has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Silymarin is thought to be the herb’s primary medicinal substance.²

What’s It Used for?

People most often take milk thistle to protect or repair the liver, especially people with conditions such as:

• Alcoholic hepatitis
• Alcoholic cirrhosis
• Viral hepatitis
• Jaundice
• Mushroom toxin poisoning
• Liver damage caused by chemical toxins
• People at risk of liver cancer

People also use the herb to:

• Treat heartburn
• Stimulate appetite
• Treat hangovers
• Treat diabetes
• Treat prostate cancer
• Treat depression
• Treat malaria
• Increase breast milk flow
• Reverse certain allergy symptoms
• And many other conditions³

How Does It Work?

Milk thistle influences liver health in a number of ways.

• It is a potent antioxidant and has membrane stabilizing properties (alcohol causes significant oxidative stress damage)
• It protects against lipid peroxidation
• It helps with liver cell regeneration
• It decreases liver inflammation and protects against fibrosis
• It seems to reduce tumor cell proliferation (protecting against liver cancer)⁴

Research Supporting/Contraindicating Its Use

Cirrhosis

• In one study, a group of patients with cirrhosis were divided into 2 groups. Half were given milk thistle and half were given a placebo. Neither group knew which they were taking. After 4 years, 58% of those taking milk thistle were still living, compared to only 38% of those taking a placebo still surviving.⁵
• In a more recent study from the National Cancer Institute, among people with chronic serious hepatitis, the long-term use of silymarin slowed the fibrotic progression to cirrhosis, but had no effect on long-term outcomes. Based on these results, the researchers call for more research to investigate what’s causing the improvements but do not recommend a default use of the herbal medication.⁶

Alcoholic Hepatitis

• A study from Finland performed on soldiers with alcoholic hepatitis showed that 4 weeks of treatment with milk thistle resulted in decreases in previously elevated liver enzymes and in improved liver histology.⁷
• However, a more recent (2007) Cochrane Database Systems Review on milk thistle for alcoholic hepatitis was less favorable. According to this review, most studies reporting a protective effect from milk thistle were of poor quality, and in high quality studies, the herb did not reduce mortality.⁸
  

Side Effects and Safety

Most people can use milk thistle without experiencing side effects. In some cases, the herb may cause diarrhea and in fairly rare cases, nausea, bloating, gas and general gastrointestinal distress.

Long-duration studies indicate that it’s safe for chronic use.⁹

Where Can You Get It?

Since the FDA doesn’t regulate milk thistle as a medication you can buy it without a prescription as a dietary supplement.

The supplement is relatively inexpensive, retailing for approximately 10 cents per dose.

Do Experts Recommend It?

A number of smaller European studies show that it works and no studies indicate any significant side effects, but a couple of larger and better controlled studies haven’t found the same effectiveness.

• Based on an overview of the current evidence, the Mayo Clinic gives milk thistle a B grade for the treatment of cirrhosis and chronic liver disease. This B grade is the second strongest recommendation, which indicates that there is ‘good scientific evidence’ supporting its use for this application.¹⁰
• After weighing effectiveness evidence against the risks of use (few) experts from the Institute of Complementary Medicine in Zurich Switzerland advise that those with liver cirrhosis make use of the herb as a supportive medication (supporting other more conventional treatments).¹¹
  

So Should You Use It?

It’s up to you. It’s not a magic-bullet solution to your problems and it certainly won’t protect you completely, but since there is evidence indicating its likely benefit and since it causes few/no serious side effects - it’s definitely something to consider.

Image Copyright: Jkirkhart35

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: Cayusa

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: Paulaclemente

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: Lyne (Gracie's Mom)

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

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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

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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: Ed-Meister