I have many years personal experience of the drug based treatment for schizophrenia. I am keen to gather information about alternative ways to diagnose and treat schizophrenia. Currently in the UK NHS diagnosis is very subjective based on Pyschiatrist analysis (no clinical tests) and core treatment using prescribed drugs. I want to find out information/services in UK for alternative clinical based diagnosis ie heavy metal testing, allergy testing, organic urine/blood testing and toxicity testing, and treatment using a non drug core programme such as diet, nutrition, vitamin enhancements etc based upon the former diagnosis testing. I believe this alternate approach is not geneally condoned/funded by the NHS, but there is a growing awareness that drugs alone are not the answer. Can any one help/advise - thanks

WhoCares-Wales 

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whocares-wales

Hi -- I began working on my master's degree in clinical social work last year. In my first field placement, I worked with intensely bright people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder -- people I will never forget.  

I, too, believe in alternative ways of treating mental impairments, overall.  I have little faith in psychotropic drugs, since they eclipse quality of life (and "oxygen" on an intercellular level, as do all pharmaceuticals).  They cause intense side effects that often need to be further medicated.   Glaringly, vital information is grossly overlooked and literally numbed away when depression and other immeasurable symptoms, such as psychotic hallucinations, are stifled and treated as meaningless or symptoms to be feared.

Concerning psychosis (and actually the general human condition), I do agree that diet, nutrition, detoxification, etc., is vitally important; however, I would like to share with you the work of John Weir Perry (Trials of the Visionary Mind) and Stanislov & Christina Grof (Spiritual Emergency), which both discuss the psychotic experience as "the eruption of mythic images from the psyche's deepest level," that, in actuality, the psyche is attempting to mend imbalance via a creative and visionary form of further individuating. This (to me, "visual") explanation offers a positive and empowering rather than reduced concept of psychosis.  I believe that through love and empathy, we as professionals can truly "lend ego" to heal and help people "grow" in creative ways, rather than simply control their symptoms -- and them as individuals.  

It saddens me to see people walking around like zombies (often to be kept out of hospitals -- at least here in America -- a form of what was once known as "Outdoor Relief"), overly medicated and agitated in their own skin, often not listened to because professionals are intolerant of hallucinations as being gibberish.  It saddens me to watch this level of suffering, particularly when the side-effects of the drugs in question are critical -- well beyond creating discomfort.  For instance, Risperidone (Risperdal, by Jansen) can cause Diabetes, and I understand it is being argued that the drug causes Breast Cancer. In any event, Risperdal stops the menstrual cycle in women who are given a therapeutic dosage, which causes estrogen levels to elevate.  Unsynergized, elevated estrogen is strongly associated with Breast Cancer.    

I hope this information inspired you and was helpful -- good luck with your work.  Best, Dawn Viggiani (New York City, USA)

Hi, as a sufferer of depression I can vouch for vitamin supplements. However there is more to this than meets the eye as it is quite important to use this method quite thoroughly. By this I mean with a proffessional nutritionalist, taking blood or hair samples etc to get exact amounts needed. Almost like a personalised vitamin prescription. I believe that the place you source them from is also very important. Using non chemical forms so the body isn't under any undue stress.

Oesteopathy especially one who can do cranial) is a lot more complex than it appeares and can help improve the blood supply ( for example to the neck ) and reduce nerve pressure to certain neural pathways and organ systems.

 

hope this helps

This may sound off the wall to lots of people, but why not try to see if an entity is squatting in this person's aura?  It happened to a friend of mine.  She was able to contact a couple of people in France who deal with this kind of thing.  For her this started during a period when she was heavile into drugs and alcohol, but it can happen at any time when one's defences are down.  There are many books on the subject and several mediums mention this.  'Freeing the Captives' by Louise Ireland Frey is a good start at understanding.

Apologies of the following explanation is unduly complicated.

There is an emerging body of evidence that neural networks function in a synchronised manner and that such activity regulates the body's function i.e.. through the autonomic nervous system this regulates the function of the physiological systems and hence the body's biochemistry.   The body's function is dynamic and can be influenced at different levels.  It can be influenced at the biochemical level by drugs or nutrition, or at the system level (to make systems work better e.g. by osteopathy, colonic irrigation, etc), or at the brain wave level (influencing system function) or at the sensory level (because sense perception influences the autonomic nervous system).   You have to treat the whole system.

 In principle, it would appear to be possible to treat schizophrenia by such an approach - regulating system function. The only known approach is Virtual Scanning which has not been used (to my knowledge) to treat this condition. 

 I hope that this helps.

The are several alternative or complimentary treatments for schizophrenia that I know of.  One is anything that supports brain function. B complex vitamins are critical, as are omega fatty oils.  Do an internet search engine schizophrenia + Vitamin B and you'll see what I mean. A sense of 3rd dimensional body grounding is important too, so doing daily yoga and any meditative practices that grounds your "one point" (center of gravity).  Heavy metal toxicity cleanse through chelation therapy is worthwhile, especially due to environmental contamination of mercury, which has neurological effect in humans.  Diet and exercise are obvious.  Exercise increases seratonin which diminishes depression, and cutting out "white foods" (white sugar, white flour, white rice) makes you less "edgy", and cutting out eating meat makes you less angry. Refraining from illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco are also obvious.  Lastly, I am a huge fan of psychotherapy for non-drug treatment of schizophrenia, including resolving childhood issues which can be triggers.  But let me be clear.  Diet and lifestyle changes are labour and consciousness intensive, and require significant personal commitment. Pharma drugs for mental illness are a specific, quick fix which do not address you as a "whole person".  Good luck and blessings.

Hi Graham,

 

Further to your email on schizophrenia, please check out the HANDLE (Holistic Approach to NeuroDevelopment and Learning Efficiency) Approach .It is an effective, non-drug alternative for identifying and treating most neurodevelopmental disorders across the lifespan including Autism, ADHD, Brain Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Dyslexia , Tourette's Syndrome and conditions deemed psychological in nature .  HANDLE incorporates research and techniques from many disciplines. It includes principles and perspectives from medicine, rehabilitation, psychology, education and nutrition. It is founded on an interactive, developmental model of human functioning. It does in effect treat the "whole system". The website is www.handle.org.

Sure you will find this of interest.

Rosemarie

Please look at the work of psychiatrist Abram Hoffer (Canada) who has treated over 5000 schizophrenics without drugs.

Patrick Holford could be a good contact in the UK

For full video documentation about how this disease is related to diet specifically please visit this website.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2963728494205235281&ei=8fmjSdvqHqGG_AGlwbiiDA&q=blaylock+nutrition+and+behavior

Jason Christoff

http://www.whathappenedtohealth.blogspot.com/

This is a great question. It is good to see you ask it. There is now a national petition going to the UK Prime Minister to abolish this damaging label, see link below  As you know the current treatment is not effective and more needs to be done. We are all somewhere on a continuum of mental health. Where therapy is used,  particularily CBT or Voices therapy dialogue ( see www.rufusmay.com. and all the links on his site) full recovery is taking place. i have seen it. Others have seen it. (Romme and Escher).  A holistic approach is what is needed. The work of P Holford as mentioned is a help with specific food tests etc  see www.foodforthebrain.org. He has research ongoing on this topic. The first step (as has happened in Japan and other countries) is the abolition of this unscientific label which had an uncertain beginning even in Bleuler and Jung's time.  How we feel about ourselves and how others treat us influences our well being as much as anything can. How can we expect people to feel good about themselves and crawl out from under the weight of  frightening label like this? People are individuals.  Yes the toxic in effective drugs that fund universities and hospitals are no longer acceptable but we know enough today to know that it is not what you DO to people as much as how you relate to them as a whole, the  spiritual emotional physical and mental being eg Do you care about the person?  If you do that will help them most. People are not machines to be 'fixed'.  Labels are dangerous and limiting as witnessed in the recent TV programme in UK How Mad Are You? (BBC) when a psychiatrist and psychologist failed to give the right 'labels' to the right people.

Why not join the movement and sign the national petition today? (it has the support amongst others of some forward thinking psycholgists and psychiatrists)   Quote from the capaign site: "Abolish the Schizophrenia Label!

Please consider signing this national petition. Or for more info about this and international initiatives go to CASL: Campaign to Abolish the Schizophrenia Label.    "It is no longer morally or scientifically acceptable to ruin the lives of millions on the basis of a falsehood that has its origins in the 19th century."   CASL is calling for the label of schizophrenia to be abolished on the grounds that it is outdated, unscientific, stigmatising and presents a barrier to effective and appropriate support to individuals diagnosed with the label. Furthermore, it does not address the root causes of serious mental health problems. Replacing schizophrenia with more meaningful, humane terminology will offer a more realistic possibility of recovery to those across the world who experience mental distress."

Hello there, Yes you have pretty good grasps of your actual needs regarding your mental illness.

What you need  is to find good Metabolic Typing Adviser in UK as wll one who is trained in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition.Your body process food nutrients in specific way and you have to know your Metabolic Type to use proper food protocols and supplements. One of mayor Fundamental Homeostatic Controls in our body is Steroidal Hormone Balance. Among other controls its vital role is in controlling Brain functions and mental health.All this you can do on line with your Adviser.You can look on line for one closest to you:www.MT-Advisors.info

Myself am one of MT and FDN Advisor's,but based in Cyprus,you need somebody close to you.

Regards

Dr.Mirjana Duvnjak-Vakos

Hi there...

we have just put in a tender to a major funding body for setting up a number of clinic/wellbeing centres starting here in the city of Sheffield South Yorkshire England,

my wife is a fully qualified therapist and i'm an alternative medicine advocate and business entrepreneur,

shortly we will be talking with a mental health organisation to provide specific alternative and complimentary services, 

i have read your comments with interest your comments are not uncommon to what i hear many other people are saying here in the Uk, i would be happy to talk with you further regarding specific non-invasive therapies and the work we are doing here in the Uk, coupled with biological findings that could in fact help the "label" of schizophrenia by dealing with the root cause.

Kind regards

the2carters

P.S private email me to talk further if you wish

I think that the KISS principle may help in this matter.

Keep it simple 'stupid'! (no implication of your condition is meant- it's only a saying!)

I would not argue with most of the advice given by others. Without stopping any treatment that you are undertaking at present, I would suggest these quite large steps towards physical and mental health, which you can undertake entirely on your own. However you do not need expensive consultations to begin your journey. In simple terms, you need to ensure adequate nutrition, regular moderate exercise, and a balanced regular daily routine. If possible include dancing to music, whether at home or socially. The type of dancing does not matter, but avoid drugs, including alcohol.

Water, fruit juices and smoothies are the best liquids to consume. Eat a balanced wholefood vegetarian diet. Two or three meals a day are best. There are lots of websites if you need guidance on vegetarian food and recipes. A basic multi-vitamin and mineral supplement with a balanced high dose (50mg) B vitamin and omega 3 supplement should also be of value.  Regular walks including steady deep breathing will offer surprising improvement in bodily and mental function. If you are feeling energetic jogging and running may be a help.

If work or home are contributing to tension, it is possible that counselling may provide some guidlines.

Within a few months your need for medication may well reduce, but keep in touch with your prescriber, and only reduce drug dosage under supervision from a professional. Hope this helps.

Hi

You may treat this with diet . Simply NO gluten and NO milkproducts . I know people who had Schisoprenia for 30 years . They went on this diet and do not have any problems any more - BUT YOU HAVE TOSTAY ON THE DIET REST OF YOUR LIFE !!!

It is leaky gut and proteinpeptides that go to the brain and make a mess , because you do not have enzymes to break them down . BUT IT DOES NOT HELP ONLY TO TAKE EXPENCIVE enzyme suplements. Good luck!

Check out the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain who are doing research into dietary/environmental links. http://www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=297 (Note there is another charity with a v similar name.. they are not the same!)

Patrick Holford is building on research by Carl Pfeiffer, Abram Hoffer et al, and his Brain Bio Centre offers testing and nutritional advice. www.foodforthebrain.org

Avoid therapists who claim to be able to find entities squatting in your aura, or any similar nuttiness. Fresh air, lots of exercise and a good book would be far more therapeutic.