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50,000 IS .86% OF COLORADO'S 5.8 MILLION POPULATION-----------------------------------------------THAT'S NOT VERY MUCH UNLESS THAT 50,000 NEEDS BED SPACE, PLACEMENTS AND/OR SUPPORTIVE HOUSING

3/27/2021

While there may be 1.2 Million Coloradans with some type of mental health diagnosis --- Colorado doesn't need anywhere near 1.2 million beds, placements, and/or supportive housing slots.

   On the other hand, we may need perhaps 50,000 intensive service living accommodations with most of that in the form of Supportive Housing.

That's a whole lot more expensive than vaccinations and the COST is the primary reason we haven't done it.

Even with a need for intensive services and living accommodations less than 1% of the population --- the SCOPE and DURATION of the need can still be daunting.

   It's not that states like Colorado aren't doing anything BUT they are certainly NOT HOLDING THEMSELVES ACCOUNTABLE TO MEET THE NEED.

We advocate a PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE --- a big part of that is for the purposes of creating more humane systems and much safer systems.

   BUT those are not the only reasons --- there's also a financial reason. WE CAN'T AFFORD LONG TERM COGNITIVE DISABILITY with EXPENSIVE INTENSIVE NEEDS of even a relatively small percentage of the population --- say 50,000 Coloradans.

When we see one of these MASS SHOOTINGS ---- we're HORRIFIED (we don't always do a lot about it, but we're HORRIFIED).

On the other hand, there are less well known tragedies happening every day in this Country and in Colorado because we don't provide sufficient resources for people with cognitive disabilities with intensive needs --- even though we're spending a lot of money.

We've got to get SERIOUS about EPIDEMOLOGICAL APPROACHES to Cognitive Disability and especially cognitive disability for those with intensive needs.

We've got to think about HARM REDUCTION.

SCATTERED SITE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING is often the GOLD STANDARD for serving people with disabilities in the community.

Are there things that we could do that would:

improve quality of life, and
public safety

that might be less expensive and that we could do NOW while we make plans and implement more permanent solutions?

One of those HARM REDUCTION MEASURES might be SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASING ACCESS to HOTEL VOUCHERS paired with GREATER ACCESS to INTENSIVE SERVICES such as ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT.

Colorado's Troubled History of
Gun Violence
LA Times

5,842,076 people
Colorado Population 2000-2050

The state's population is expected to reach 5,842,076 people in 2020. That means we'll have added a 1.5 million people in the past two decades, growing faster than most of the U.S. Nearly 91% of the newcomers settled in the Front Range. Jan 2, 2020

2020 forecast: Colorado is getting older and narrowing the ...coloradosun.com › colorado-population-2020-statistics

Mental Illness Prevalence

The share of adults in Colorado with any mental illness was 21.5% in 2017-2018, which was higher than the U.S. share (19.0%).

Mental Health and Substance Use State Fact Sheets ...www.kff.org › statedata › colorado

[21.5% of 5.8 million = 1,247,000]

Where are we getting the 50,000?

We're not limiting this to "mental illness" --- we're including Brain Injury, Developmental Disability and Substance Issues as well.
- Many of these are co-occurring
We're including disability homelessness and disability institutionalization such as Mental Institutes and Nursing Homes.
Most importantly, we're including INCARCERATION in Colorado Jails & Prisons
And we're asking some tough questions about some cases of RECIVIDISM
More tomorrow on how we came up with this ROUGH ESTIMATE.
BUT at the end of the day, these are tasks for STATE DATA COLLECTION EFFORTS that need to be posted publicly on a STATE WEBSITE and used for STATE Bed Space, Placement and Supportive Housing Planning as well as other planning needs.

THERAPY FOR SOCIALLY AWKWARD SOCIETIES

3/27/2021

Some of the ways to conceptualize some of the STRENGTHS that go with some Executive Functioning Differences:
- The person is much more DETAIL-ORIENTED than the average person;
- The person is much more BIG PICTURE ORIENTED than the average person.
- The person has above average abilities in a field of study
- Etc

It now seems that SOCIAL BEHAVIOR is both:

Tied to a delicate balance of Innate and Adaptive Immunity
- If you experienced a lot of childhood trauma or Maternal Immune Activation from Mom's autoimmune disease or something else ---
  - Things may be ramped up already.
And Stress can make that worse
- My experience is for most people, including myself -- it is not that people don't care --- it's that they care too much.
- Further, when people start saying "I don't care" --- they are getting very close to or have reached their limits.

Growing up --- I wasn't overly focused on what my peers thought --- I was too focused on adults and my teachers ----
- I don't know that this was the best thing in the world --- BUT I wasn't overly stressed about PEER PRESSURE either.
- I became much more racked with the impacts of PEER PRESSURE as an ADULT than I ever was growing up.

So What Is the Point?

I have many concerns regarding the PRO SOCIAL COMPETENCY EXPERTS in the Mental Health Profession --- who sometimes seem to be far behind TEACHERS in their understanding of DEVELOPMENT and SPECIAL NEEDS.
Additionally, the MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSION is not provided the TRAINING to understand the underlying dynamics or what's really going on for some people with psychiatric / developmental differences or disorders.
- Many psychiatric disorders have a strong developmental component, AND
- One of the things that is feeding additional STRESS and INFLAMMATION is a Socially Awkward Society that is not systematically recognizing strengths and compensating for weaknesses --- often Executive Functioning Differences.

Aurora Public Schools -- Aurora, Colorado (2018)

Twice Exceptional Students -- 2e

3:08: "The most important piece to remember is to identify their strengths and program for that.

"That's how a student will feel valued, engaged in the classroom and that they have a piece of the community they fit into.

"Then we can plan for their area of disability."

DSM 5 CATEGORIES ARE NOT PLATONIC FORMS AND THEY ARE NOT CORRECT

3/25/2021

ONE RESEARCHER AFTER ANOTHER HAS FOUND THAT THEIR FINDINGS DID NOT CORRELATE WITH CURRENT PSYCHIATRIC CATEGORIES

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH SAYS THEIR FINDINGS ARE THESE CATEGORIES ARE NOT DISTINCT AND ARE "BLURRED"

The Tip of a Scary, Dangerous Iceberg

My reaction to Demi Lovato's bipolar disorder "misdiagnosis:"

*How would you know?

*There are no biomarkers, and
*No valid diagnostic manual ---
who said that PUBLICALLY in 2013 -- the US National Institute of Mental Health -- click here

There are many threads to the mental health profession competency crisis -- none of which generally involve bad people
In some ways not unlike some of their patients -- there is little insight and there is little understanding that they are in desperate need of SUPPORT -- specifically RESEARCH SUPPORT.

We're at such a crisis -- somebody should be doing a FRONTLINE DOCUMENTARY --- other exposé --- because --- this is ridiculous.

On the other hand, it's not that everything mental health professionals do has no value and in fact a good chunk of it can fit into the new paradigms regarding the Immune System and Psychiatric Disorders.

BUT CONCEPTUALIZATION MATTERS --- & Demi Lovato is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG with regard to the HARM caused by INACCURATE DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES and CONCEPTUALIZATIONS.

Researchers are certainly writing in the ACADEMIC JOURNALS --- providing "PRESCRIPTIONS" for clinicians to incorporate into their practices.

How many CLINICIANS are regularly reading these ACADEMIC JOURNALS and then further APPYING that KNOWLEDGE to their practices --- NOT MANY.

Now this is hardly a problem exclusive to mental health --- BUT the diagnostic problems in mental health are already well documented.

Is it realistic to expect Mental Health Professionals or any Medical Discipline for that matter to stay on top of all this RESEARCH by themselves --- no that is NOT REALISTIC. --- In fact it is not happening and it is likely not going to happen unless we invest much more heavily in TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH & MEDICINE.

CMS (The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) partnered with NIMH (the National Institute of Mental Health) on protocols for 1st Episode Psychosis.

We need CMS & NIMH to partner on Clinician Protocols to INTEGRATE the new understandings regarding the IMMUNE SYSTEM and Psychiatric Disorders.

National Institute of Mental Health: 5 Disorders Share Common Genes (2013)

"Now that doesn't match with the idea that these are distinct."

In summary, calcium seems to play a central role in the activation of cells of the immune system. When the cells are stimulated, [Ca2+]i generally increases as a result of entry from the external medium, as well as mobilization of calcium from intracellular membrane-bound compartments.

Calcium homeostasis and the activation of calcium channels ...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › pmc › articles › PMC1807782

Calcium channels are membrane-spanning proteins that regulate the intracellular concentration of calcium ions (Ca2+). After entering the cell, Ca2+ activates specific calcium receptor proteins, e.g., calmodulin, troponin-C, or calcium-activated calcium, potassium, and chloride channels.

Calcium Channel - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics www.sciencedirect.com › topics › medicine-and-dentistry

Archive | Disorders Share Risk Gene Pathways for Immune, Epigenetic Regulation

Click the NIMH Logo to go to the 2015 article

Research: The Syndrome vs. The Distinct Illness

The Need for a New Integrated DSM

University of Pennsylvania proposes that "Anti-Social Personality Disorder" is a NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF MICROGLIA

3/24/2021

THE PROGRESS OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS IS AMAZING --- IT HAS JUSTICE IMPLICATIONS --- NOW

When my husband went to graduate school in the 70s for Biological Psychology --- MICROGLIA were considered the Brain's "PACKING MATERIAL" and those brain cells didn't really have any particular function.
In 50 years, things have changed a lot.

Our point at the end of the day is NOT so much that MICROGLIA are THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING.
It's more the Stanford Neuro-Biology Professor Robert Sapolsky's argument: WHAT ANIMAL BEHAVIOR (HUMAN BEHAVIOR) IS IT THAT YOU THINK BIOLOGY DOESN'T EXPLAIN?

I sometimes listen to "It's Your Move" with Andy Stanley after SNL. Stanley is a leadership guru and pastor.
One of the things he did that I thought was BRILLIANT was he embraced EVOLUTION and the STATE of NATURE -- and he said that's why we need RELIGION.
I don't agree with everything Sapolsky says or Stanley or anybody -- BUT that doesn't mean that I think EVERYTHING they say is wrong either.

When it comes to HUMAN FREE WILL --- I would say we are trying to EXPAND IT and GET MORE OF IT.
I think it is extremely SCARY to ACKNOWLEDGE the many areas in which we don't have as much CONTROL as we would like.
MODERN SOCIETIES with all their amazing accomplishments tend to OVER-ESTIMATE the CONTROL they really have and that individuals within them really have.
Especially, in the US that got dominated by a YOUTH CULTURE of the 60s -- just the reality of DEATH is largely ABSENT -- in a focus on SUPER-AGERS.
BUT even those SUPER-AGERS are going to die in our current times.

With respect to JUSTICE --- HUMAN INTENT is IMPORTANT BUT in the 21st CENTURY that importance is largely pointing to a BIO-MARKER.

I've said this before -- I think it "may be" different RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS that are in a BETTER POSITION to handle this complex reality than our current LEGAL and MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONS.

I 'think" Inter-Faith and Secular People could push for the RESOURCES needed to SUPPORT:
- Translational Research & Medicine as well as
- Housing, Placements & Intensive Services for people with cognitive disabilities.

Microglia Biology:
One Century of Evolving Concepts (2019)

Abstract

Microglia were first recognized as a distinct cell population in the CNS one century ago.

For a long time, they were primarily considered to be phagocytes responsible for removing debris during CNS development and disease.

More recently, advances in imaging and genetics and the advent of single-cell technologies provided new insights into the much more complex and fascinating biology of microglia.

The ontogeny of microglia was identified, and their functions in health and disease were better defined.

Although many questions about microglia and their roles in human diseases remain unanswered, the prospect of targeting microglia for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders is tantalizing.

We will be including Donna Jackson Nakazawa's "The Angel and the Assassin: The Tiny Brain Cell That Changed the Course of Medicine" in our Orchid Book Club.

See an interview with the author below.

The Agenda with Steve Paikin -- Feb. 2021

It's one of most paradigm-shifting and powerful stories in the history of medicine,, writes Donna Jackson Nakazawa. From MS to Parkinson's to Lupus and depression and schizophrenia the microglia, a tiny brain cell, is changing how we understand physical and psychiatric illness. Nakazawa joins to discuss her book, "The Angel and the Assassin: The Tiny Brain Cell That Changed the Course of Medicine."

"Microglia are involved in first line innate immunity of the CNS [Central Nervous System].... When activated, microglia can be potent immune effector cells, able to perform a broad range of functions, and they mediate both innate and adaptive responses during CNS injury and disease while remaining quiescent in the steady state."
Nov 18, 2009

The Role of Microglia in Central Nervous System Immunity ...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › pmc › articles › PMC3786731

REJECTION SENSITIVE DYSPHORIA: THE PROBLEM ISN'T THAT PEOPLE DON'T CARE --- IT'S THAT THEY CARE TOO MUCH

3/21/2021

Conjecture

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is a term that now retired and internationally recognized ADHD Colorado Doc -- Dr. Bill Dodson -- dug up to describe common sensitivities of people with "ADHD"
It is now widely recognized as a common symptom of ADHD.
With the "BLURRING" of traditional psychiatric categories, I certainly think it needs to be considered for most psychiatric problems.
Many countries have already begun to recognize that a surprisingly large percentage of their prison population is made up of people with "ADHD."
Does this affect boys and men more? Yes, BUT more and more girls and women are getting caught in Criminal Justice because of Substance Problems.
So the issue is generally NOT --- did the person "INTEND" the Crime or not. The person "intended" the crime -- BUT:
- They were so wasted from various substances in an effort to NUMB THEMSELVES or
- Their INTENT was so off the "NORMAL SCALE" and/or DANGEROUS ---
- That we should be recognizing that something "BIOLOGICALLY" is off.
- If there is not another handy diagnosis -- there's always ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER --- which is responsible for a great amount of INJUSTICE in this society.
So two CRUCIAL DISCOVERIES of recent years:
- Cognitive and Social Abilities Rely on Fine-Tuned Equilibrium of Innate & Adaptive Immune Responses (2019)
- Innate Immune Cells are Regulators of Brain Development & Behavioral Function (2018)

3 Big Research Take Aways

ADHD and the Irish Criminal Justice System: The Question of Inertia (2018)

Even for people who have "ADHD" or symptoms of "ADHD" --- how this plays out depends a lot on:

what medications you can tolerate
what supports you can get, and
what environment you're in
- A super sensitive person in a racist, sexist, anti-progressive, anti-conservative, anti-religious, homophobic environment is going to have more challenges because they are picking up on more cues in the SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT -- & their reaction to it is MUCH GREATER than the average person

I do think people with ADHD are a SOCIETY'S "CANARY IN THE COAL MINE." That doesn't mean that everything they think or say is "RIGHT" --- BUT digging down to understand where that "REACTION" came from is important --- and it came from something and it often got AMPLIFIED by a lot of neuro-inflammation.

WHAT IS "MENTAL ILLNESS?"

3/13/2021

IF WE RECOGNIZED NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL & AFTER AQUIRED INFLAMMATION AS THE KEY DRIVERS OF "MENTAL ILLNESS" ----

COULD WE STOP HAVING SOME OF OUR RIDICULOUS DEBATES ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS & CRIME

Neuro-Developmental Inflammation is largely UNIVERSAL --- the simplified issue is more HOW MUCH & WHERE?
This involves general intelligence
It involves Developmental Disabilities such as Down Syndrome
It involves Developmental Disabilities / Psychiatric Disorders such as ADHD / Autism
It involves Psychiatric Disorders such as "Bipolar Disorder," "Depression," and "Schizophrenia."

Further, Inflammation is also acquired during the course of a person's life.
Additionally, it is often inflammation that is a significant factor in the cognitive issues of BRAIN INJURY.

The issue of BEHAVIOR CHALLENGES is a profoundly HUMAN, maybe even MAMMALIAN, ISSUE --- it is NOT somehow an issue of ALIEN people with "MENTAL ILLNESS."
It is about the BRAIN BUT it is the Brain's INTERACTION with:

The Immune System
The Gut Microbiome, and
The Endocrine System -- at a minimum

So on the one hand --- people with Behavioral Challenges are NOT aliens ---
On the other hand, the PROOF is IN THE PUDDING --- if that person is having Behavioral Challenges --- something is very likely wrong with the biological system that should be SUPPORTING their BEHAVIOR.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM IN COLORADO --- WE'RE FOR IT . . . BUT

3/8/2021

IF CO STATE GOV'T DOESN'T TAKE MORE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ---
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM WILL LIKELY HAVE SOME HARMFUL UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES IF NOT LEAD TO A HUGE BACKLASH

There is a substantial MUTUALITY OF INTEREST between Low Crime Rates and Humane Treatment.
Many places have already started taking a PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH to CRIMINAL JUSTICE, including Colorado.
That will likely ACCELERATE this decade as more and more research is attributing behavior issues to NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL and AFTER ACQUIRED INFLAMMATION. --- Is that a SOCIAL JUSTICE and EQUITY issue --- you bet it is.
We are left in 2021 with quite a CONUNDRUM ----- someone with a cognitive disability being forced to stay in Jail or Prison is NOT the same thing as having to stay in the Hospital (and of course Colorado doesn't have sufficient mental health beds, supportive housing, placements or intensive services anyway.)

SB21-062

It's easy to tell others what they should be doing --- I do it all the time --- BUT the REAL KEY to CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM is State & Federal Funding of:

Supportive Housing'
Placements, and
Intensive Services.

That is not easy. But if Colorado tries to BY-PASS that, they could create a mess that is hard to clean up.

The paradox of "InTelligence"

3/2/2021

It is relatively recently that Americans could realistically acknowledge the flaws in some of our most venerated leaders.
Certainly Jefferson and JFK come to mind --- undeniably brilliant BUT complex and morally suspect when not repulsive.
Historically, often the flaws of powerful and/or intelligent people are RATIONALIZED,
Building a "MERITOCRACY" based on "INTELLIGENCE" has turned into a much more complicated endeavor than we ever imagined.
"INTELLIGENCE" has been perceived as an unqualified good, certainly when I was growing up ----
- Maybe religions have occasionally voiced concern about ARROGANCE in relation to Intelligence, BUT
- In Modern Times, it was really Daniel Goleman's 1995 Book "Why Emotional Intelligence Can Matter More Than IQ" that started to knock some big dents into the armor of "INTELLIGENCE" or at least "TRADITIONAL INTELLIGENCE."
I think what we often DON'T GET is that a big chunk of "INTELLIGENCE" is BIOLOGICAL SENSITIVITY & REACTIVITY to the ENVIRONMENT.
So if you pick up one end of that stick, you're going to get the other.
Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, a Black Rap Scene that has been pretty mysogynistic -- and maybe Andrew Cuomo --- represent a lot of INTELLIGENCE & TALENT and behavior that often goes beyond INAPPROPRIATE to SCARY.
Is that the FAULT of those individuals -- maybe --- BUT putting Highly Intelligent People with Powerful Biological Drivers in HIERARCHICAL & DISCRIMINATORY SYSTEMS is going to produce some UNCOMFORTABLE RESULTS.
"INTELLIGENT" people aren't what we've pretended they are --- whether a "Rhodes Scholar" or a "Self-Proclaimed Stable Genius."
The Intelligence and Talent of those people are REAL --- SO ARE THE WEAKNESSES.
BUT we all have STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES --- and that is why HIERARCHICAL SYSTEMS can be so dangerous --- THEY EMPOWER THE STRENGTHS AS WELL AS THE WEAKNESSES.
As Canadian Psychologist and Academic Tayyab Rashid observes: NOBODY HAS IT ALL, NOBODY LACKS IT ALL.
The sooner Americans realize that NOBODY HAS IT ALL & NOBODY LACKS IT ALL--- the sooner we might be able to FLATTEN THE HIERARCHICAL CURVE.

Stephen Covey: "When we pick up one end of the stick, we pick up the other."

Tedx UTSC (University of Toronto at Scarborough)
Tayyab Rashid
What Are You Good At?

This video is an excellent discussion of "Strengths." It is being posted here because of Rashid's comments at the end of the video --- Nobody Has It All, Nobody Lacks It All.

We don't know that here in the US and it is leading to some extremely negative unintended consequences.

MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT IN 2021 IS A MIXED BAG

3/1/2021

I would submit: "MENTAL ILLNESS" is the ULTIMATE MIXED BAG and not only can but often does involve:
- Sensitivity / Reactivity
- Innate Intelligence or Ability (which is NOT separate from all that sensitivity & reactivity)
- Executive Functioning Issues, and
- An often less than ideal balance between the person's INNATE & ADAPTIVE IMMUNE SYSTEMS.
The sub-optimal experiences that Highly Sensitive, Highly Intelligent People had with the Mental Health Profession really led to the ANTI-PSYCHIATRY MOVEMENT.
Unfortunately, the ANTI-PSYCHIATRY MOVEMENT was often an ANTI-SCIENCE MOVEMENT.
There are plenty of ways to "attack" the current state of Mental Health Practice on SCIENTIFIC GROUNDS.
- I think a lot of National Advocates did realize that with Caltech Neuroscientist David Anderson's Tedx Talk on:
  - Psychiatric Medication being more problematic than most Clinicians were willing to admit
  - Primarily, because those medications impacted the brain globally and not specific neural circuits of which there are billions.
Medication can be extremely helpful for SOME NOT ALL people --- and it is very INDIVIDUAL, requiring BOTH EXPERT ASSESSMENT in some cases from a NEURO-PHARMACOLOGIST and LISTENING to the PATIENT.

The Day-to-Day Challenges of being an Emotionally Intense, Asynchronous Person

I don't think Mental Health Professionals are very good at addressing this --- and I don't think it's worth most people's money to pay for them to do it.
I do think TEACHERS are way ahead at understanding the EXCEPTIONALITIES which are often driven by NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL Inflammation.
It's not as if there is some CORPS of Adult Educators ready to step in on this --- but one way or another we need to harness that knowledge for ADULT INDIVIDUALS with Mental Illness who are often one of the "LEARNING EXCEPTIONALITIES."
Further, that knowledge needs to be incorporated into Supportive Employment Programs.
At the end of the day this comes down to a STRENGTHS-BASED APPROACH --- with an understanding of just how COMPLICATED that can be for people falling within the "EXCEPTIONALITIES."

We already WON'T AFFORD the SUPPORTIVE HOUSING necessary for people with Cognitive Disability

EVEN WHEN . . .

THERE IS A LEGAL OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE IT.

What We Want to See -- Building on Strengths of Clinicians & Patients

Many clinicians are good if not excellent at "Medication Management"
Many clinicians are good if not excellent in dealing with TRAUMATIZED PATIENTS
That's a lot -- we need to get Mental Health Patients to some other folks so:
- Clinicians don't become BURNED OUT; and
- Patients get their needs met.

Executive Functioning Issues

I think Clinicians can recognize Executive Functioning Issues and perhaps attempt to address them through medication.
Further, if the patient just wants to TALK about the challenges ---- that could be appropriate for Clinicians
BUT if people are looking for EXPERT ADVICE on PRACTICAL WORK-AROUNDS --- they're probably barking up the wrong tree when it comes to Clinicians.
A Consult with an Occupational Therapist expert in addressing Executive Functioning Issues is probably going to be much more fruitful.

TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH & MEDICINE

There is often a lot of INVESTMENT in Cancer Research and there has been more recently in mental health.
BUT the INFRASTRUCTURE to keep Clinicians on top of the latest research is NOT as ROBUST as that for Cancer.
Ironically, they are both dealing with processes that involve the IMMUNE SYSTEM.
The NEW CONCEPTUALIZATIONS coming out of RESEARCH of the last 10 years --- SHOULD BE A GAME-CHANGER, BUT it's going to be a GAME CHANGER in 20 years if we can't ---
- More effectively communicate those new understandings to CLINICIANS, and
- Provide them practical applications

Would we put up with this for COVID --- I don't think so, and we shouldn't put up with it for "mental illness" either.

NEURO-INFLAMMATION AND OLMSTEAD

2/25/2021

WHAT WE GET:

Overwhelming the Health Care System with Covid cases is a BAD THING.
One of the reasons we get that is Covid-19 is a more dangerous BUT FAMILIAR looking VIRUS.

WHAT WE DON'T GET:

We don't get that OVERWHELMING the Systems serving People with Cognitive Disability is a BAD THING
One of the reasons we don't get that is we think a lot of those people are just BAD PEOPLE.
AND the CARE & TREATMENT of people with COGNITIVE DISABILITY at the HIGH END of the CONTINUUM of CARE is extremely expensive in 2021.

Recent Advances and Changing Paradigms

Conjecture

The dominant paradigm was that "Mental Illness" was a BRAIN DISEASE.
Now, many researchers might say "Mental Illness" isn't a classic disease.
Rather "Mental Illness" is a product of NEURO-INFLAMMATION on the brain that can produce a wide range of "symptoms."
Further, a lot of people with SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS (SMI) --- had significant MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION.
It's a complicated EQUATION but many people wouldn't have SMI BUT FOR Maternal Immune Activation.
For many people "Mental Illness" is really a DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER that can get worse with additional inflammation.
Further, I would submit the "OVEREXCITABLE" Minds and Bodies of people with NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION are often FEEDING this INFLAMMATION on a regular basis.
This is pretty OVER-SIMPLIFIED TAKE but the new focus on NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL INFLAMMATION, INFLAMMATION in general and the Gut MIcrobiome are starting to bring "MENTAL ILLNESS" down to earth.

So What Does This Have to do with Olmstead?

States are way behind in what they should be doing for people with Cognitive Disabilities
The needs of people with cognitive disabilities after DECADES of REFUSAL to come to terms with the SCALE of the PROBLEM are ENORMOUS.
Getting away from the UNCONSCIOUS BIAS "BAD PEOPLE" Paradigm of Cognitive Disability to the "NEURO-INFLAMMATION" Paradigm would be a big step up.
Further, having access to STATE OF THE ART CARE would certainly be important to staying out of the mental institute or more likely the jail or prison.

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