Anxiety and Depression in Glen Carbon

With over 40 million Americans suffering from anxiety and 15 million from depression, it is not surprising that everywhere you look there are advertisements suggesting anxiety or depression “may” be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and that medication can “correct” this biochemical imbalance. The experienced team at Upper Cervical Health Centers can help you find relief today.

In today’s fast-paced world that promotes overstimulation and overscheduling, it’s no wonder that many of us are feeling a little “stressed out”. We’ve all been there at some point. But when these feelings become overwhelming they can actually turn into larger mental health issues such as anxiety or even depression.

There is a “chicken or the egg” dilemma when it comes to these conditions. Did the life situation cause a mental health issue or was there an underlying health issue that made it difficult to deal with daily life in a healthy way?

Big Pharma: Depression for Profit in Glen Carbon

Pharmaceuticals for anxiety and depression are a multi-billion dollar industry. What many Americans don’t know is that there has never been definitive research that proves that anxiety or depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

The problem with the theory that depression is a consequence of a “chemical imbalance in the brain” is that depression can be both triggered by and resolved by life events. In fact, the relationship between brain chemistry and life experience is a two-directional phenomenon: Life experience affects brain chemistry at least as much as brain chemistry affects life experience.

A true diagnosis of major depression involves some combination of the following: inability to feel the pleasure of any kind, loss of interest in everything, self-hatred or guilt, inability to concentrate or to do the simplest things, sleeping all the time or not being able to sleep at all, dramatic weight gain or loss, and suicidal thoughts or actions. Depression is a thing unto itself, an undeniably physical and medical affliction.

Antidepressants: A Growing Trend

Between 2011 and 2014, approximately one in nine Americans of all ages reported taking at least one antidepressant medication in the past month, according to national survey data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Three decades ago, less than one in 50 people did. The use of antidepressants has been steadily increasing. Nearly 19% of adults 65 years and older have been on prescription medications for the treatment of depression.

More than 17 million children worldwide have been prescribed psychiatric drugs; more than 10 million of these are in the United States. These drugs include addictive stimulants, antidepressants, and other psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs for educational and behavioral problems.

In 2003, the FDA approved Prozac® for treating depression in people 18 years and younger. However, reports of young people committing or attempting suicide while using the drug became too numerous to ignore. The following year, the FDA reviewed 24 studies and concluded that the drugs in question doubled the risk for suicidal behavior.

By 2004, the FDA ordered that the most serious alerts, called “black-box warnings,” be added to all antidepressant drug labels. This warning clearly states that antidepressants raise the risk of suicidal thoughts and hostile behavior in children and adolescents. In spite of the evidence and clear warnings, preschoolers are now the fastest-growing age group taking antidepressants.

Health or Money?

David Healy, in Let Them Eat Prozac (NYU Press, 2004), calls the growing use of antidepressants “a creation of depression on so extraordinary and unwarranted a scale as to raise questions about whether pharmaceutical and other health care companies are more wedded to making profits from health than contributing to it”.

Dr. Irving Kirsh, a University of Connecticut psychology professor, had to use the Freedom of Information Act to extract startling information from the Food and Drug Administration. Over 50% of the trials used by the FDA to approve the six leading antidepressants. His research shows that the drugs failed to outperform the placebo sugar pill!

In addition, all drugs have side effects. Antidepressants can cause a wide range of unpleasant side effects, including:

• nausea
• increased appetite and weight gain
• loss of sexual desire and other sexual problems
• fatigue and drowsiness
• insomnia
• dry mouth
• blurred vision
• constipation
• dizziness
• agitation
• irritability
• anxiety
• tics

Anxiety medicines not only have the possibility of some severe side effects but can also cause physiological and psychological dependence (addiction). This is when your body and mind actually start to need the drug to cope with anxiety so that it becomes even harder to cure the anxiety without medication over time. Great news for Big Pharma, not so great news for your health. This is just one more problem that happens as a result of treating symptoms over causes.

Upper Cervical Care for Mental Health

While science has not determined the exact cause of anxiety or depression, research has pointed towards a likely involvement of the nervous system and specifically the brain stem and upper cervical spine in many mood disorders.

In fact, the brain stem (whose lower portion is located in the uppermost part of the spine) is involved in the regulation and control of brain chemistry as well many other vital functions, so we should not be surprised to see this vital area of the nervous system as tied to mental health. Even a mild injury, whiplash or concussion to the head, neck or upper back can increase the risk of depression.

A study designed to test the correlation between chiropractic care and its impact on mental health was published in the Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research on June 20, 2013. This study cited prior research that showed the 2818 patients undergoing chiropractic care, 76% reported an improvement in their mental/emotional health.

Additionally, these 76% also reported positive changes in stress and increased life enjoyment in the months after receiving chiropractic care. Similar findings have also been reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr. Thad Vuagniaux at Upper Cervical Health Centers in Glen Carbon, IL is an upper cervical doctor who has extensive training and education in the brainstem and upper cervical spine. The goal of upper cervical care is not to treat the disease, but to correct head and neck alignment and restore “brain to body communication” thereby allowing the body to heal on its own without the use of potentially dangerous drugs or surgery.

If you are suffering from anxiety or depression and would like to schedule a free consultation, visit Upper Cervical Care of Glen Carbon or cal (618) 692-6992.

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