4 ms·

The article isn't denying a biochemical basis on emotional regulation. It's saying that building the language of treatment around that framework is harmful, be

The article isn't denying a biochemical basis on emotional regulation. It's saying that building the language of treatment around that framework is harmful, because it stigmatizes sufferers (even by simply making them fear the stigma), increases anxiety, and tends to act against recovery. It's an article about the best way to practice psychiatry.

MR4D 6y ago
I get that, and I disagree. I think the discussion about food should happen first. The food you eat affects your chemical balance, and therefore your ability to process information when you are making a decision or analyzing a situation by overloading your circuits. You can actually try this by eating a bunch of sugar and carbs for a few days, and then going without carbs or sugar for a few days. I guarantee your ability to process information will change, and your personality probably will change as well. If you have a spouse or roommate, ask them if they notice - I'll bet they will. My point is about causality. We are basically (no pun intended) a big bag of chemicals, and those chemicals are used by our brain to do its work. Simply having the wrong level of salt in your body (not just NaCl, but any salts) can significantly affect your brain. I just looked up the word because I couldn't remember it, but Hyponatremia is caused by not enough salt in the body and can make your brain physically swell. Think about that for a moment - just one chemical can make your brain change in size - imagine what the effects are from all foods you take in. So to me, psychiatry has it wrong. It's like a mechanic trying to diagnose why your engine doesn't work when you put molasses in the gas tank, or why a heart surgeon talking to a 500 pound obese person and without discussing their eating habits. Why should the brain be any different? -------- EDIT - Check out this page at the Mayo Clinic [0]. They list some of the symptoms of hyponatremia, which include, * "Confusion, Loss of energy, drowsiness and fatigue, Restlessness and irritability "* [0] - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/symptoms-causes/syc-20373711 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/...
- newacct583 6y ago
  So... the science of diet isn't nearly as well understood as you're presenting. It's like "back pain" -- everyone tends to suffer in some way from it, so everyone relates to statements like yours and wants to believe in a simple resolution. But in practice, everyone suffers in different ways, and everyone responds differently to the same treatments. It's not really "a thing" in a medical sense. Like... that hyponatremia link is almost the definition of this kind of thinking: it's a real syndrome, it's documented, it's worth understanding and studying. But come on: EVERYONE has "Confusion, Loss of energy, drowsiness and fatigue, Restlessness and irritability" at some level, and of those how many are actually sodium deficient? That's a non-diagnosis.
  - MR4D 6y ago
    You make some good points, and I don't argue with any of them (although, per your last point, I've found that eating something salty helps me from time to time :) ). I guess my main issue is if we ignore diet as a cause, then we quickly get to medications, which can make the situation worse (not necessarily make the problem worse, but other problems can arise as a result). I think that if psychiatrists were as well trained in food chemistry as they are in drug chemistry that the world would be a better place. Finally, one personal anecdote - my business partner is really attuned to my moods. When I come into the office in a grouchy mood (of which I'm often not aware), he'll call it out. The first year or so it was off-putting, and somewhat annoying, but after I got into Keto, I noticed that my mood was changing as a result of the food I ate the day(s) before. Over time, our whole team has started to become attuned to it as well (yeah, it's kinda weird, and no, we are not all on keto - we tend to have fairly varied diets among us). The great result is that we call it out like, - "you're in a grouchy mood, what did you eat yesterday?", or "I'm not focused today" and the other person asks what they ate recently. This has been really effective for us, because most of the time it's the food affecting us, as opposed to us just being a jerk. Obviously other things weigh too, such as other stressors in life. but many little things we can trace back to food, and it has made our team much better at working together because we are freer at calling these sorts of things out.

MR4D 6y ago

I get that, and I disagree. I think the discussion about food should happen first. The food you eat affects your chemical balance, and therefore your ability to process information when you are making a decision or analyzing a situation by overloading your circuits. You can actually try this by eating a bunch of sugar and carbs for a few days, and then going without carbs or sugar for a few days. I guarantee your ability to process information will change, and your personality probably will change as well. If you have a spouse or roommate, ask them if they notice - I'll bet they will. My point is about causality. We are basically (no pun intended) a big bag of chemicals, and those chemicals are used by our brain to do its work. Simply having the wrong level of salt in your body (not just NaCl, but any salts) can significantly affect your brain. I just looked up the word because I couldn't remember it, but Hyponatremia is caused by not enough salt in the body and can make your brain physically swell. Think about that for a moment - just one chemical can make your brain change in size - imagine what the effects are from all foods you take in. So to me, psychiatry has it wrong. It's like a mechanic trying to diagnose why your engine doesn't work when you put molasses in the gas tank, or why a heart surgeon talking to a 500 pound obese person and without discussing their eating habits. Why should the brain be any different? -------- EDIT - Check out this page at the Mayo Clinic [0]. They list some of the symptoms of hyponatremia, which include, * "Confusion, Loss of energy, drowsiness and fatigue, Restlessness and irritability "* [0] - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/symptoms-causes/syc-20373711 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyponatremia/...

newacct583 6y ago
So... the science of diet isn't nearly as well understood as you're presenting. It's like "back pain" -- everyone tends to suffer in some way from it, so everyone relates to statements like yours and wants to believe in a simple resolution. But in practice, everyone suffers in different ways, and everyone responds differently to the same treatments. It's not really "a thing" in a medical sense. Like... that hyponatremia link is almost the definition of this kind of thinking: it's a real syndrome, it's documented, it's worth understanding and studying. But come on: EVERYONE has "Confusion, Loss of energy, drowsiness and fatigue, Restlessness and irritability" at some level, and of those how many are actually sodium deficient? That's a non-diagnosis.
- MR4D 6y ago
  You make some good points, and I don't argue with any of them (although, per your last point, I've found that eating something salty helps me from time to time :) ). I guess my main issue is if we ignore diet as a cause, then we quickly get to medications, which can make the situation worse (not necessarily make the problem worse, but other problems can arise as a result). I think that if psychiatrists were as well trained in food chemistry as they are in drug chemistry that the world would be a better place. Finally, one personal anecdote - my business partner is really attuned to my moods. When I come into the office in a grouchy mood (of which I'm often not aware), he'll call it out. The first year or so it was off-putting, and somewhat annoying, but after I got into Keto, I noticed that my mood was changing as a result of the food I ate the day(s) before. Over time, our whole team has started to become attuned to it as well (yeah, it's kinda weird, and no, we are not all on keto - we tend to have fairly varied diets among us). The great result is that we call it out like, - "you're in a grouchy mood, what did you eat yesterday?", or "I'm not focused today" and the other person asks what they ate recently. This has been really effective for us, because most of the time it's the food affecting us, as opposed to us just being a jerk. Obviously other things weigh too, such as other stressors in life. but many little things we can trace back to food, and it has made our team much better at working together because we are freer at calling these sorts of things out.