DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE

In her opening address, the World Health Organisation's Director General Dr Gro Harlem stated: "…initial estimates suggest that about 450 million people alive today suffer from mental or neurological disorders…. Major depression is now the leading cause of disability globally."

There is of course no question that depression blights the lives of millions around the globe. A million people commit suicide every year, with between 10 to 20 million suicides attempted annually. Suicide in the US for males between the ages of 35-49 is the number three cause of death, outstripping even diabetes, iatrogenic death (physician-induced) and motor vehicle accidents.

Canada has a particularly bad problem with depression and suicides, with a person killing themselves every two hours. Hospital records for 1998/1999 show that females were hospitalised for attempted suicide at one and a half times the rate of males. Around 9% of those hospitalised for a suicide attempt had previously been discharged more than once following an attempt on their own life in that same year. Physicians wrote out 3 million prescriptions for Paxil (paroxetine) alone, one of the most common anti-depressant medications. Sales for Paxil in 2000 exceeded those in 1999 by 19%.

DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS: Feelings of doom, the inability to take action, listlessness, and that thick lead blanket of despair wreck the lives, not only of the sufferer, but their family, friends and co-workers too.

HISTADELIA
On the physical front, nutrient deficiencies, glucose intolerance and allergies are extremely common in those suffering from depression. One major cause is an excess of the neurotransmitter hormone histamine - a condition known as histadelia. Dr Carl Pfeiffer asks: "Do you sneeze in bright sunlight? Cry, salivate and feel nauseous easily? Hear your pulse in your head on the pillow at night? Have frequent backaches, stomach and muscle cramps? Do you have regular headaches and seasonal allergies? Have abnormal fears, compulsions and rituals? Do you burn up food rapidly and sometimes entertain suicidal thoughts? ...If a majority of these apply to you, you may benefit from a low-protein, high complex carbohydrate diet (fruits and vegetables), 500mg of calcium, am and pm, 500mg methionine am and pm and a basic supplement program. Avoid supplements containing folic acid as these can raise histamine levels."

Some of our much loved stars, such as Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, were likely histadelics. Drawing from over 30 years' experience, Pfeiffer estimates that at least 20% of schizophrenics are histadelics and these are often the problem patients in psychiatric hospitals, since they do not respond to the usual drug treatments, electroshock or insulin coma 'therapy'.

Blood histamine levels can be analysed and often, the compulsive obsessions, blank mind, easy crying and confusion may highlight an underlying chemical addiction to cane sugar, alcohol or drugs. Histadelics experience high saliva discharge and rarely have cavities. Often they are seen wiping saliva from the corners of their mouth. Excess histamine presents rapid oxidation in their body, and their high metabolic rate and subsequent attractive body shape are sometimes potential indicators for the underlying condition. Marilyn Monroe was often heard to remark to photographers: "You always take pictures of my body, but my most perfect feature is my teeth - I have no cavities."

A high sex drive characterises the histadelic, who achieves orgasm and sustains it easily. Drug addicts and alcoholics also tend to be histadelic. Heroin and methadone for instance are both powerful histamine-releasing agents. A severe insomnia also characterises the condition, and sufferers often use heavy doses of sedatives in order to get to sleep. The sedatives themselves often become an addiction problem, further compounding the plight suffered by those with depression.

DEPRESSION - THE NUTRITIONAL LINK
Traditional psychiatric treatments are mostly useless for the histadelic depressive. Electroshock, examined in detail in Part 1, traumatises the patient further. Lithium in lower doses of 600-900mg is partially effective, but does not have greater efficacy at higher dosages. Anti-depressant drugs are simply mood ameliorators and can be addictive. Nor do histadelics respond to B3 mega-doses usually recommended for schizophrenics. B9 (folic acid) definitely worsens the condition.

What has been shown to work however are treatments which modify how the body releases and detoxifies histamine. Calcium supplementation releases the body's stores of histamine and the amino acid methionine detoxifies histamine through methylation, the body's usual method of breaking down the neurotransmitter. Laboratories can test for histamine levels in the blood and this is often one of the first best steps a practitioner can take to determine if histamine is a player in their patient's depression.

Maes et al also found that serum levels of zinc in 48 unipolar depressed subjects (16 minor, 14 simple major and 18 melancholic subjects) were significantly lower than those in the 32 control volunteers.

HELPING THOSE WITH SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
The major problem with those suffering from chronic depression is suicide. Today, such family members are often consigned to psychiatric care, which, as we have seen, can create problems of its own for the patient. Research group Truehope states:

"One of the particularly tragic outcomes of a mood disorder is suicide. Over 90% of suicide victims have a significant psychiatric illness at the time of their death. These are often undiagnosed, untreated, or both. Mood disorders and substance abuse are the two most common. Around 15-20% of depressed patients end their lives by committing suicide."

In times gone by, caring family members gathered around and gave the depressed relative the assurance and attention to talk things through. Often drug addiction or substance abuse were key factors. Today, with the fracturing of the family unit, the denigration of religion, and the separation of many families from each other with the hectic pace of 21st century life, psychoanalysis has simply taken over the task of counselling that used to be carried out by caring relatives or the neighbourhood minister. I strongly believe that this has had a deleterious effect on our society, in view of the medications prescribed which appear to have a quieting effect, but underneath are propagating a roiling of the emotions.

I further believe that a neighbourhood pastor/minister, or the equivalents in the other religions, also have a pivotal role to play in maintaining the mental stability of their parishioners. It simply has not worked the psychiatric way, with psychiatrists themselves, as we have seen, committing suicide more often than the public they are supposed to be treating. Later in this book, we will examine motivation and the spiritual issues connected with taking action, which have been so able to assist those suffering from depression in regaining control of their lives and starting forward once again.

COMBINING NUTRITIONAL
GOOD SENSE WITH COUNSELLING
In our current times, more than ever, it is essential for the depressed to have an understanding friend or relative with them constantly. Ideally this should be someone the depressed person looks up to, and from whom they can take guidance. Measures should be taken to remove influences that can have a depressing effect on the patient. These include newspapers, TV news, video and computer games, heavy metal, rap, pop and other 'culture' music. Instead, positive influences, serene surroundings, such as countryside outings and an active, outdoors lifestyle with plenty of exercise, far removed from those settings which have surrounded the patient during their bouts of depression, are ideal for setting the tone for recovery.

Extracted from The Mind Game by Phillip Day
Available at www.credence.org