Blog Archives

Resources, people with Disabilities & Carrie Ann Lucas

2/25/2019

The Issue of RESOURCES and PEOPLE with DISABILITIES is NOT a new one.
What is NEW is that our GROWING, yet still INCOMPLETE UNDERSTANDINGS & TREATMENTS are putting into HIGH RELIEF some pretty UNETHICAL & IMMORAL CONDUCT on the part of our SOCIETY.
So we see it:

In assuming that some people with significant disabilities would prefer to be dead:
- Not Dead Yet: The Resistance http://notdeadyet.org/
- Carrie was a Board Member of Not Dead Yet
- The Organization's Tribute to her is @ the link above.

Let's just say Carrie was NOT pollyannish about her neuro-muscular disease or its ultimate course.
So when she says her treatment was "arbitrarily" denied: that's something that really needs to be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.
There are A LOT of EXPLICIT & DE FACTO denials of treatment in this Society.
I'm not Catholic but I very much believe we need as Pope John Paul II said: A CULTURE OF LIFE [& Safety] -- not a CULTURE OF DEATH & PUNISHMENT.
We will have more on Carrie's Legacy.

Crap Justice & Crap Services -- They Often Go Together

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star & working ourselves out of the dark ages

2/22/2019

I had an excellent and very popular ethics professor & ordained minister @ the University of Oklahoma -- Tom Boyd -- who said, "Saying that ethics is 'Do unto others as you would have them Do unto you' -- is like saying Astronomy is 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.' "
I think @ some point we all realize -- we're living in the Dark Ages. Further, health issues of those we love and ourselves bring that home in a big way.
War & violence bring that home in a big way, too -- and they create their own health problems of many orders of magnitude.
I think for a lot of people coming of age isn't SEX -- it's DEATH. And that is really what J.K. Rowling understood in the "Harry Potter" series.
But that realization -- the realization of the trauma, disability and death of those we love and ourselves & the many vulnerabilities to death, disability & trauma to our own lives from:

Others
Ourselves
The Society
Bacteria
Infectious Disease
Etc.

----is really myriad.

AND let's face it, we think in RELATIVE TERMS -- because we have to draw on what we know.
I think for a lot of us it is pretty easy to understand how someone living in SYRIA would feel TRAPPED.
I can't tell you how TRAPPED i feel living in the US with:

a mental illness
a CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH PEOPLE WITH COGNITIVE DISABILITIES & thousands in inhuman, kennel-like conditions.
a MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM that is doing the best it can, BUT is FAR FROM COMPETENT, [Let's just submit this as a proposition: A Medical Profession CANNOT BE COMPETENT without a SCIENTIFICALLY VALID METHOD OF DIAGNOSIS.]
a Legal System :
- with the Heroic Values of Beowulf
- expensive & largely out of reach for most people
- designed by our Founders to PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF MINORITIES
a Political System that's a blood sport and doesn't know how to CAPITALIZE on the strengths & talents of the MANY & COMPENSATE for weaknesses -- rather than covering them up -- where MONEY & HYPOCRISY can be more important than INTEGRITY & GOOD IDEAS.
a RESEARCH SYSTEM that is the ENVY OF THE WORLD but is so disconnected from CLINICAL PRACTICE -- it is NOT doing anyone as much good as it should be.

Well, that's a lot. Do I believe all those systems will change -- & in FUNDAMENTAL, STRUCTURAL WAYS -- yes, I do believe that.

BUT do I believe they will change in TIME for myself and some of the older people with mental illness in Colorado's Department of Corrections--- that's a pretty open question and it appears unlikely.

It could happen -- but not without an awful lot of HARD WORK and INSPIRATION.

The LAW outweighs MONEY --- "theoretically"

Of Course, we're one race, one people. If we get there -- EVERYBODY has to get there.

Our scary legal system & multiplication of "Aggression cells"

2/11/2019

We talk a lot about Systems --- and certainly understanding the importance of SYSTEMS is INDISPENSIBLE to JUSTICE.
We are in an AGE OF INTEGRATION:

Integrating Physical & Mental Health
Understanding & Integrating the Social Determinants of Health into the Overall Provision of Healthcare
Incorporating multi-disciplinary approaches across the spectrum
Bringing FREE ENTERPRISE & SUPPORT together in creative & innovative ways.

Further, our scientific revolution in Neurosicence has been subsumed in an even grander BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION encompassing not only the Brain, but also the Immune System, the Gut, the Microbiome, etc.

AND oh there is that ANCIENT CRIMINAL LAW that was forged in an effort to end the BLOOD FEUD but was ignorant of most of this -- if not all of it..

Well guess what -- what is one of the BIG IRONIES of all this:

Law Enforcement
Attorneys, &
Judges

Are NOT IMMUNE to BIOGOGY.

The Legal Profession is kinda catching on that Well Being is important & there is maybe, kinda sorta a relationship between poor attorney well being and the legal system.

AND they are starting to make changes around the edges. Ultimately, the changes will have to be FUNDAMENTAL & STRUCTURAL.

REMEMBER: Analysis it is not just breaking things down -- it is also putting them back together as a whole.

Edward de Bono is is a Maltese physician, psychologist, philosopher, author, inventor and consultant. He originated the term: "Lateral Thinking" which is the act of solving problems by an indirect and creative approach, typically through viewing the problem in a new and unusual light. -- Wikipedia & Dictionary.com

Aggression: Humanity's Ultimate Double Edged Sword

It's Both or Law Enforcement as "Peer Specialists"

Neuroscience News

High activity in a relatively poorly studied group of brain cells can be linked to aggressive behaviour in mice, a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows.

Using optogenetic techniques, the researchers were able to control aggression in mice by stimulating or inhibiting these cells.

The results, which are published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, contribute to a new understanding of the biological mechanisms behind aggressive behaviour.

https://neurosciencenews.com/aggression-neurons-9139/

Moms, culpability, Systems failures & a bright light in psycho-neuro-Immunology

2/11/2019

***Physical Health Issues, the Immune System & Mental Health Index

Our limited legal services generally involve contracting for payment from family members for legal services to the adult person with a disability or disabilities.

Broadly our take is so long as "legitimate" safety concerns are addressed & as limited by the Court System--   the adult person with a disability is directing placement & engaged in shared decision-making regarding treatment.

Who is this generally hardest on: you guessed it -- MOM.

  To make matters even worse, our society when it is not blaming the INDIVIDUAL has a long tradition of blaming MOMS for difficulties their children are experiencing. ---Hey, somebody's responsible for this!

The reality is we are on the CUSP of some major scientific advancements. Further, there have been some major scientific advancements.

There is A LOT of work to be done on the bi [tri?]-directional communication within the GUT-IMMUNE-BRAIN-AXIS and psycho-neuro-immunology.

Further, the American Psychological Association has recognized what a "BRIGHT LIGHT" --psycho-neuro-immunology is & how it appears to be the future of mental health practice.

A lot of that research work is going on right here in Colorado.

   If Colorado can only fund 42 more psych beds ---
We better get on the Stick:

to re-structure our Medicaid Behavioral Health Program;
Fund research, &
Get that research to clinicians in a timely manner.

Brain-Gut-Microbiota Axis

CU Boulder Distinguished Professor Steven F. Maier. Research Interests: Neurochemistry and neuropharmacology of stress, drug addiction, bi-directional communication between the brain and the immune system, psychoneuroimmunology.

CU Associate Professor of integrative Physiology Christopher Lowry. A CU Boulder-led study showing that injecting beneficial bacteria into mice can make them more resilient to stress has been named among the “top 10 advancements and breakthroughs” of 2016 by the nation’s leading non-governmental funder of mental health research.

CU Behavioral Immunology and
Endocrinology Lab

Located @ The Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil

Microbes, Immunity, and behavior: Psychoneuroimmunology meets the Microbiome

WE NEED TO FUND DISABILITY PLACEMENTS OVER THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE "RABBIT HOLE"*

2/4/2019

ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

The Criminal Justice System as it is currently structured isn't adequately funded.
BUT much of that SYSTEM we don't need and/or could be put on-line -- & we COULD get better Safety AND Due Process results -- if we address the ROOT CAUSE of these large dockets.
Our Criminal Justice System is one of the most inefficient & ineffective areas of STATE GOV'T.
The reality is that the State is in much more NEED of Disability Long -Term Placements than courtrooms & judges.
We need the Court System to adjudicate truly disputed factual matters -- that is not most cases.
We DESPERATELY NEED TO FUND placement alternatives so that our jails & dockets are not overwhelmed & we are not asking taxpayers to throw money down the RABBIT HOLE.

*Rabbit Hole: used to refer to a bizarre, confusing, or nonsensical situation or environment, typically one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself. ----Dictionary.com

WHO BEARS THE BURDEN OF SOCIETY'S IGNORANCE?

2/4/2019

WELL, TRADITIONALLY IT HAS BEEN POOR PEOPLE, MINORITIES & PEOPLE WITH COGNITIVE "INVISIBLE" DISABILITIES LIKE BRAIN INJURY, MENTAL ILLNESS, SUBSTANCE ISSUES, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

The First Step is Protecting the Community
Even if we don't know everything [& we don't] --- the next Step is NOT punishment.
We're Still At Step 1 -- Protecting the Community
If we let go of "punishment" -- we are no longer @ "Proof Beyond A Reasonable Doubt" --- we can't get there on "Mens Rea" -- the "mental thing" or intent, except in a very over-simplified and damaging way -- which is what we are doing now.
If we take Mens Rea out of it -- and still say the "Actus Reus" [the criminal act] has to be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt"
Then we modify "Mens Rea" to be dealt with not in a "Sentencing Hearing" -- but in a "Treatment Plan" Hearing
On felonies, "Treatment Plans" are not limited by a term of years but by a showing of dangerousness which must be made be "Clear & Convincing" Evidence.
If there is not a viable treatment @ this time, whether for Brain Injury, Mental Illness, Substance Issues or Developmental Disability, etc. the person is NOT to be incarcerated -- but they may be ordered to 24/7 Secure Facility to maintain the person's functioning as much as possible and protect the community.

NOW to a lot of Stanley Kubrick fans this probably sounds like a "A Clockwork Orange." But the presumption in "A Clockwork Orange" was that the State was taking away the "FREE WILL" of a "bad actor" [pun intended] in order to comply with societal norms.

We DON'T have the presumption that somehow "bad acts" are the true expression of free will. In fact our view is that people are struggling mightily with incredibly complicated biological forces and to the extent we can -- we need to help them AND protect the community. That is very much fraught with peril, but no more morally perilous than punishing people with "Brain Injury" ------which we do everyday.

(2015) The Link Between the Immune System & the Brain -- Neuro-Inflammation Simplified

Neuroscience News (2018)

In one of the biggest breakthroughs in schizophrenia research in recent times, Professor Cynthia Shannon Weickert from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW Sydney has identified immune cells in greater amounts in the brains of some people with schizophrenia.

https://neurosciencenews.com/schizophrenia-immune-cells-9867/

(2017) Researchers @ the National Institutes of Health discover ‘Drain Pipes’ in the Brain: Lymphatic Vessels Act As A Pipeline Between the Brain and the Immune System

"IT" is not working

2/4/2019

From our perspective, in some cases what we are doing to "TREAT" mental illness -- just isn't working:

It's not working for the person,
It's not working from a clinical perspective
It's not working from a family perspective
It's not working for the society

TRUST --- does change everything -- & it really speeds things up -- ultimately -- BUT the FOUNDATION has to be laid.

Of the 4 major players:

the person
the clinician
the family
the society---

All may be clear that "it" is NOT working.

If we are all clear that SAFETY is non-negotiable -- maybe we can open things up, get curious & find some real solutions.

Finnish "Open Dialogue Approach": We have already approached Mental Health Advocate Amy Smith about spearheading a renewed advocacy effort for "Open Dialogue" in CO -- we might like to see that paired with including options for "anti-inflammatory" assessment, treatment, etc. as well as the traditional menu of options.

Former Nat'l Mental Health Institute (NIMH) Director -- Dr. Thomas Insel

Post by Former NIMH Director Thomas Insel (2013):

Antipsychotics: Taking the Long View

"[A]ntipsychotic medication, which seemed so important in the early phase of psychosis, appeared to worsen prospects for recovery over the long-term."

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/directors/thomas-insel/blog/2013/antipsychotics-taking-the-long-view.shtml

Cal-Tech Neuroscientist David Anderson on among other things the complicated reasons why psychiatric medications often don't work well: they are targeted to the brain globally -- not to specific neural circuits. In "some" cases, they can do more harm than good.

NIMH: Treating 1st Episode Psychosis: RA1SE -- Recovery After An Initial Schizophrenia Episode

WE WANT HICKEN- LOOPER & KASICH TO LEAD A BIPARTISAN CENTER OF ELDER STATESMEN & WOMEN TO SERVE AS NAT'L POLITICAL MEDIATORS

2/4/2019

This may come as a HUGE shock to people -- especially given how critical we have been of the previous Hickenlooper Administration.

Further, isn't this too "political" for a non-profit? Well, our dysfunctional politics impacts people with disabilities A LOT.

While we talk about the problem of "Systems" a lot -- we ourselves are not above "blaming" individuals.

With such a crowded Democratic Presidential field, there is a possibility that Hickenlooper may run for Senate. He would probably be a very good Senator.

BUT Hickenlooper & Kasich have the POTENTIAL to CHANGE our NATIONAL POLITICAL LANDSCAPE & DISCOURSE in a BIPARTISAN manner.

How many people have the opportunity to do that? Not many.

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper & Ohio Gov. John Kasich

Why shouldn't Hickenlooper & Kasich lead a Nat'l & Global bipartisan, inclusive mediation center & Movement?

THE SCARY DIVIDE BETWEEN THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY & THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION

2/3/2019

   We said we thought the Global Mental Health Crisis might be affecting a Billion people -- Forbes magazine just estimated 450 Million.

The World Economic Forum estimates that the Global Financial Mental Health Burden could be @ $16 Trillion by 2030.

"The “Lancet Commission” report by 28 global specialists in psychiatry, public health and neuroscience, as well as mental health patients and advocacy groups, said the growing crisis could cause lasting harm to people, communities and economies worldwide," quoting from Reuters.

This is A LOT more complicated than the paradigms contained in the DSM 5 or our current treatment protocols.

If something works -- that's great -- BUT the reality is that the concerns of people with mental illness regarding "side effects" are rationalized away pretty easily by the Mental Health Profession & the Society -- hey, these people are crazy.

  [See also "Is Mental Health Declining in the U.S.? Despite more people taking medications, progress against mental illness seems to have stalled" -- Scientific American (2017) ]

  Our mental health profession is struggling under old paradigms that are in many cases NOT being used by the RESEARCH COMMUNITY. Is that the Mental Health Profession's fault -- not exactly -- but we could use A LOT more leadership @ the National Level to address this SCARY DIVIDE.

As a Society, we tend to focus on medication -- A LOT. But the rate of mental illness isn't going down -- It's going up.

The hard truth is those medications can have a lot of side effects and they don't ALWAYS work as well as we need them to.

It is in not all but in at least some cases a MYTH that if that recalcitrant person with the mental illness would just take the medication -- Everything would be fine.

The reality is the person is NOT fine for very complicated reasons that are only partially understood.

The burden & challenge on the State is much, much greater than just providing for greater access to forced medication.

Science Up

Physical Health Issues, the Immune System & Mental Health Index

Mental Health's 3-Legged Stool is Falling Over

Surrealism & Ignorance in Forensic Practice

2/1/2019

David Lynch's "Six Men Getting Sick." Lynch says, "Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance."

PEOPLE USED TO SAY THAT MENTAL ILLNESS WAS COMPLICATED BECAUSE IT DEALT WITH THE BRAIN.

WE DIDN'T KNOW THE HALF OF IT & THE PROBLEM IS NEITHER "DO" FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGISTS & PSYCHIATRISTS.

ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

David Lynch's Surrealism
Madness in the Human Mind

CU Study linking beneficial bacteria to mental health makes top 10 list for brain research

A CU Boulder-led study showing that injecting beneficial bacteria into mice can make them more resilient to stress has been named among the “top 10 advancements and breakthroughs” of 2016 by the nation’s leading non-governmental funder of mental health research.

Now, lead author Christopher Lowry, an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology, is moving forward with clinical trials to see if altering the microbiome, or composition of resident bacteria, in military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder can be beneficial.
http://www.colorado.edu/today/2017/01/05/study-linking-beneficial-bacteria-mental-health-makes-top-10-list-brain-research

Frontiers in Neuroscience (Sept. 2018)

Gut-Brain Psychology: Rethinking Psychology From the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis.

Mental disorders and neurological diseases are becoming a rapidly increasing medical burden.

Although extensive studies have been conducted, the progress in developing effective therapies for these diseases has still been slow.

The current dilemma reminds us that the human being is a superorganism.

Only when we take the human self and its partner microbiota into consideration at the same time, can we better understand these diseases.

Over the last few centuries, the partner microbiota has experienced tremendous change, much more than human genes, because of the modern transformations in diet, lifestyle, medical care, and so on, parallel to the modern epidemiological transition.

Existing research indicates that gut microbiota plays an important role in this transition.

According to gut-brain psychology, the gut microbiota is a crucial part of the gut-brain network, and it communicates with the brain via the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

The gut microbiota almost develops synchronously with the gut-brain, brain, and mind.

The gut microbiota influences various normal mental processes and mental phenomena, and is involved in the pathophysiology of numerous mental and neurological diseases.

Targeting the microbiota in therapy for these diseases is a promising approach that is supported by three theories: the gut microbiota hypothesis, the "old friend" hypothesis, and the leaky gut theory. The effects of gut microbiota on the brain and behavior are fulfilled by the microbiota-gut-brain axis, which is mainly composed of the nervous pathway, endocrine pathway, and immune pathway.

Undoubtedly, gut-brain psychology will bring great enhancement to psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry.

Various microbiota-improving methods including fecal microbiota transplantation, probiotics, prebiotics, a healthy diet, and healthy lifestyle have shown the capability to promote the function of the gut-brain, microbiota-gut-brain axis, and brain.

It will be possible to harness the gut microbiota to improve brain and mental health and prevent and treat related diseases in the future.

Oslo University Hospital, Norway

The Brain-Immune -Gut Triangle: Innate Immunity in Psychiatric & Neurological Disorders
https://www.researchgate.net/publication
/261994663_The_Brain-Immune-Gut_Triangle_Innate_Immunity_in_
Psychiatric_and_Neurological_Disorders

See Also: The Emerging Link Between Autoimmune Disorders and Neuropsychiatric Disease
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3086677/

What Does The Environment Have To Do With Diseases Affecting The Immune System
https://ensia.com/features/environment-diseases-immune-system/

Houston Methodist Research Center

TREATABLE IMMUNE SYSTEM DISORDER
COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA OR BIPOLAR DISORDER Summary: A major finding from researchers at Houston Methodist reveals a significant number of people diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may actually have a treatable immune system disorder.

The condition causes NMDA receptors to stop functioning properly and can result in symptoms commonly associated with neuropsychiatric disorders.

Source: Houston Methodist.

“We suspect that a significant number of people believed to have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder actually have an immune system disorder that affects the brain’s receptors,” said Joseph Masdeu, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s principal investigator and a neurologist with the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute.

“If true, those people have diseases that are completely reversible – they just need a proper diagnosis and treatment to help them return to normal lives.”
https://neurosciencenews.com/schizophrenia-immune-disorder-bipolar-8179/

This is a Lecture from the National Institute of Health on "The Microbiota as Instructor and Arbiter of Immune Responses in Health and Disease" (2017) -- It's over an hour long!

TRAUMA, Inflammation & autoimmune disorders

University of California @ San Francisco VA & Psychiatry Dept.

Childhood Trauma Can Result in Chronic Inflammation which can affect the Immune System (2012)
http://www.medicaldaily.com/childhood-trauma-can-result-chronic-inflammation-241114

Elevated Risk for Autoimmune Disorders in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with Post-Traumatic StressDisorder (2014)
http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(14)00457-0/fulltext

Val's Blog

Resources, people with Disabilities & Carrie Ann Lucas

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star & working ourselves out of the dark ages

Our scary legal system & multiplication of "Aggression cells"

Moms, culpability, Systems failures & a bright light in psycho-neuro-Immunology

Microbes, Immunity, and behavior: Psychoneuroimmunology meets the Microbiome

WE NEED TO FUND DISABILITY PLACEMENTS OVER THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE "RABBIT HOLE"*

ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

WHO BEARS THE BURDEN OF SOCIETY'S IGNORANCE?

WELL, TRADITIONALLY IT HAS BEEN POOR PEOPLE, MINORITIES & PEOPLE WITH COGNITIVE "INVISIBLE" DISABILITIES LIKE BRAIN INJURY, MENTAL ILLNESS, SUBSTANCE ISSUES, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

"IT" is not working

WE WANT HICKEN- LOOPER & KASICH TO LEAD A BIPARTISAN CENTER OF ELDER STATESMEN & WOMEN TO SERVE AS NAT'L POLITICAL MEDIATORS

Why shouldn't Hickenlooper & Kasich lead a Nat'l & Global bipartisan, inclusive mediation center & Movement?

THE SCARY DIVIDE BETWEEN THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY & THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION

Surrealism & Ignorance in Forensic Practice

ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

TRAUMA, Inflammation & autoimmune disorders

Role of gut
microbiome in posttraumatic stress disorder: More than a gut feeling

Author

Archives

Categories

Val's Blog

Microbes, Immunity, and behavior: Psychoneuroimmunology meets the Microbiome

​​​​ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

WELL, TRADITIONALLY IT HAS BEEN POOR PEOPLE, MINORITIES & PEOPLE WITH COGNITIVE "INVISIBLE" DISABILITIES LIKE BRAIN INJURY, MENTAL ILLNESS, SUBSTANCE ISSUES, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY

Why shouldn't Hickenlooper & Kasich lead a Nat'l & Global bipartisan, inclusive mediation center & Movement?

​​ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

TRAUMA, Inflammation & autoimmune disorders

Role of gut ​microbiome in posttraumatic stress disorder: More than a gut feeling ​

Author

Archives

Categories

ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

ORCHID THEMES & SYMBOLS

Role of gut
microbiome in posttraumatic stress disorder: More than a gut feeling