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Grow Youthful: How to Slow Your Aging and Enjoy Extraordinary Health

Most mental and psychological problems

Different psychological and mental problems, same causes

Symptoms of psychological and mental problems

Consequences of psychological and mental problems

Causes of psychological and mental problems

Risk factors for psychological and mental problems

Prevention / remedies / treatment / recovery from psychological and mental problems

References

Different psychological and mental problems, same causes

Most mental and psychological problems have similar causes and risk factors:

Symptoms of psychological and mental problems

Consequences of psychological and mental problems

Causes of psychological and mental problems

  1. Psychological stressors. Prolonged exposure to mental stresses that exceed the ability to cope, such as social or business rejection, an abusive spouse, boss or family member, or any other repeated or ongoing stress. Over-reaction or not reacting appropriately to life's stresses such as bereavement, loss of job or not getting what you had hoped for. (30)

    Recurrent negative thinking leading to obsessive-compulsive thoughts or overreaction to trauma, pain (2) or other negative and stressful life events (10), and the lack of skills, resilience or assistance to cope. If the negative thinking continues for weeks or longer, it can become self-sustaining, manifesting as obsessive-compulsive behaviour (obsessive compulsive disorder). Continual thinking in a particular way reinforces itself and physically changes the brain (research shows that the brain is highly plastic).

    Suppressed anger often leads to depression.

    Mentally healthy people can cope with and even enjoy their stresses. They have:
    • Healthy outlets for their stress such as going for a walk or a jog, deep and correct breathing, meditating or going to a safe and serene place. In contrast, inappropriate outlets such as drugs, alcohol, overeating, shopping, social media or gambling can turn into harmful or compulsive addictions.
    • A realistic view and perspective of the risks involved. Stressful events may be random and unpredictable, but mentally healthy people are aware of life's risks and are not completely helpless.
    • Control over their responses. They are able to identify their stressors and respond in appropriate ways. Resilience comes from a lifetime of practice, appropriately dealing with stressful events.
    • Support from a positive partner, parents, family, close friends, other friends and acquaintances, professional support, support amenities from locality, workplace and community - these all help to cope with stress. In contrast, isolation and lack of personal support increase the feeling of helplessness.
  2. Toxins. Accumulation of a wide variety of toxins to which the brain and nervous system are exposed. Foods are the most common and major source of toxins, usually accompanied by a wide variety of digestive problems.

    Sugar is a toxic, harmful food additive that must be eliminated from your diet. Most people on a modern Western diet are addicted to sugar and suffer mental damage along with a measurably lower level of intelligence (IQ). Getting over sugar addiction is the first step in reclaiming your physical and mental health. Sugar is the primary cause of a wide variety of modern degenerative diseases, including many mental and psychological ailments. Eliminating sugar is the first thing to try when treating ADD and ADHD (and the inability to focus and concentrate for long periods). Usually, cutting out all sugar will quickly and permanently heal these kinds of problems.

    Toxic diet. Grain-based processed foods with sugar and refined carbohydrates, chemical additives and manufactured vegetable oils. (99) Malnutrition - a lack of food-sourced vitamins and minerals, particularly iodine, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D (72, 81, 82) and omega-3 essential oils. (37, 43, 48, 51, 62)

    A diet with a high level of sugar, starch and carbohydrates also feeds pathogenic infections (see below).

    A toxic diet also causes a high level of allergies and food sensitivities.

    Bromine is a widespread cause of psychoses and many psychological disorders. Bromides are used in soft drinks (colas, sodas, sports drinks), white flour and processed foods, and many pharmaceuticals and household products. The antidote to bromine is Iodine

    Fluorine is another common toxic halogen. Fluorine is added to the municipal water supply in America and countries closely aligned with the USA. Fluorides are also added to many common household products, especially toothpaste. Black tea is a source of fluorides especially if the tea is grown in Kenya. Fluorides are associated with anxiety, ADHD and many other mental and psychological problems. (22) See fluoride removal.

    Estrogens. A range of estrogen-like hormones and chemicals (xenoestrogens) in the environment cause a wide variety of hormonal problems. Estrogen is associated with depressive disorders, both at abnormally high or low levels. Premenstrual and postpartum periods of low estrogen levels are also associated with increased risk. (5) Recovery from depression post-partum, peri-menopause, and post-menopause after estrogen level was normalised. (6)

    Roundup. Another cause of autism and many mental ailments is glyphosate. Studies examined soy, corn, canola, sugar beet and many other common foods containing Monsanto's Roundup, and found an irrefutable correlation. (21)

    Manufactured household and personal products contain toxic ingredients that harm our homes, everyday environment and our bodies. Manufactured chemicals are so many and so diverse that it is difficult to connect the dots between each toxin and the ailments it causes. Only use traditional and natural products using familiar ingredients which you normally have at home.

    Pharmaceutical drugs. A 2018 study looked at the risk of new-onset dementia among nearly 350,000 older adults in the UK. It found that those who used certain types of anticholinergics (widely used to treat diseases like depression, Parkinson's disease and urinary incontinence) for a year or more, had a 30% increase in the risk of later developing dementia. (46, 48)

    Heavy metals. Poisoning from heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium is common. Sources include fish and seafood (depending on the source), pollution from mines, agriculture and industry (particularly from coal-burning power plants), thimerosal-containing vaccines, dental amalgam (old silver fillings in teeth), old lead-based paint and plumbing, and conventional chemical household cleaning products.
  3. Vitamin D deficiency and lack of natural sunlight, lack of red light, excess blue light (tech devices, screens, harsh white LEDs) causing a variety of hormonal imbalances. Seasonal affective disorder has depressive episodes in the autumn or winter. (27, 51, 66, 72, 73, 81, 82)
  4. Deficient diet. A modern diet based on processed foods is deficient in nearly all micronutrients. Boron, magnesium, iodine and zinc are nearly always deficient in those suffering from psychological and mental ailments. (43, 62)
  5. Insufficient cholesterol. Low blood cholesterol levels are associated with depression and numerous psychological and neurological problems. Generally, raising cholesterol levels leads to a longer, happier, healthier life with a better heart and arteries. (63, 64)
  6. Intra-cellular infection with pathogenic microorganisms. (30, 36, 47, 48, 52, 53, 54) Usually a virus, small bacteria or protozoa. These parasites live inside cells, and some shed their own cellular walls to better hide from the immune system. Thousands of these microorganisms can live inside a single cell; eventually the cell walls burst and they spread to a new cellular host. These pathogens mostly affect the brain, nerves and immune system rather than other parts of the body. For example, Toxoplasma gondii infection is associated with schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, mood disorders and cognitive impairment. (19, 56) Chlamydia pneumoniae has been found in the brains of nearly all multiple sclerosis patients, and the majority of Alzheimer's patients.

    A study published in 2018 found a connection between Alzheimer's and the herpes virus. (47)

    Human herpes virus 6A is associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). (65)

    A 2023 study found that some types of bacteria were more commonly found in people with multiple sclerosis, while other types of bacteria were more commonly found in people without MS. (75)

    Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). (70)

    A study (54) published in 2019 found the gum disease bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis is associated with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Gum infection is more common in the elderly, and the problem is self-reinforcing causing a reduced ability to take care of oral hygiene as the disease progresses. (55)

    A 2023 study showed that Coprococcus bacteria are protective against Alzheimer's, and that Desulfovibrio are a cause of Alzheimer's. In this study, healthy young rats showed cognitive decline and other Alzheimer's symptoms less than ten days after receiving Desulfovibrio bacteria from human Alzheimer's patients. (84)

    A variety of spirochaete type bacteria and co-infected biofilms which cause Lyme disease are also responsible for a wide range of neuropathies. Some kind of bacterial infection with biofilm is usually present in autopsies of patients suffering from the ailments on this web page.

    People with periodontitis (gum disease) have a substantially higher risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a 2016 study (33).

    Prior infection with a variety of viruses are associated with schizophrenia, particularly the Epstein-Barr virus. (52, 53)

  7. Get your gut microbiome sequenced
    - buy a simple test kit

  8. Bacterial imbalance. Loss of healthy bacteria, and the proliferation of other bacteria and micro-organisms all around the body but particularly in the gut biome. (48) Damage to the gut biome can affect the health of the brain biome. (76, 77) This is in addition to the intra-cellular infection of brain and nerve tissue cited under the Primary Causes above.

    Note that most autistic children have digestive disorders and many schizophrenics have digestive problems that started as children. (10, 30, 36, 59)

    A study of severely autistic children published in 2019 found that they were all deficient in Prevotella and Bifidobacterium species of bacteria, and two years after giving them a faecal transplant the majority were completely cured. (58)

    Gut biome sequencing.
  9. Lack of sleep. Sleep is a brain detox process. Studies show that lack of sleep is associated with numerous brain and psychological ailments, (74) including Alzheimer's. (41, 83)
  10. Lack of exercise. Exercise is an excellent toxin remover and form of relaxation. (38, 42, 45, 57, 62)
  11. Pharmaceutical drugs. The medications used to treat depression are toxic, addictive and have a variety of serious and horrible side effects. Once started they are difficult to stop, because a rapid reduction in dosage can cause symptoms to reappear with a vengeance. Drugs must be discontinued slowly, usually over many months. Unfortunately doctors have strong financial and professional incentives to prescribe pharmaceutical drugs in preference to altering patient's diet or using the highly effective, safe natural cures. Aside from being lucrative profit earners, they lock in their patients/customers for years, sometimes for life.

    One of the most common side-effects of anti-psychotic drugs is a strong increase in appetite. Most people who take these drugs put on weight, with many becoming obese after starting one. The obesity leads to diabetes and other ailments. (48) But one of the worst effects is that just when the patient is suffering from depression or some psychosis, their self-image may be threatened when they look in the mirror at their new, fat body.
  12. Pyroluria. 10-15% of all people suffer from pyroluria. If you have several of the symptoms listed for pyroluria, its simple treatment may be the key to successfully treating depression and many other psychological and physical ailments.
  13. Genetically modified foods are a cause of numerous neurological ailments such as brain inflammation, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, brain fog, anxiety, mood swings, autism, depression, insomnia, poor memory and poor concentration.
  14. Under-methylation, also known as histadelia.
  15. Air pollution (small particulate) is associated with many mental and psychological disorders, and may also act as a trigger. (23, 24) A study of over 18,000 American seniors published in November 2020 found a 10% variation in the incidence of Alzheimer's depending on the level of air pollution where they lived, when all other factors were statistically accounted for. (67)
  16. Chronic high levels of cortisol which eventually cause cortisol resistance. Lactic acidosis is strongly associated with many stress and cortisol based psychological problems. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) is a good remedy. (79, 80)
  17. Testosterone insufficiency is associated with depression and other mental disorders, particularly in men. (15)
  18. Post-partum depression after childbirth. Incidence of 10-15% among new mothers.
  19. Excessive caffeine or alcohol. Virtually all other social drugs are harmful. However, low to moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a 34% lower risk of dementia among elderly people. (50)
  20. Genetic. One study estimated the hereditary differences in occurrence to be about 40% for women and 30% for men. (4)
  21. Calcium deposits, hypercalcemia.
  22. Sliding hiatus hernia syndrome.

Risk factors for psychological and mental problems

Prevention / remedies / treatment / recovery from psychological and mental problems

References

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