Mind Alive Blog
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
3 Bigs Ways and 5 small ways to Help Reduce Mental Health Stigma
Mental Health issues affect about one in five people – over six and a half million Canadians – experience a mental disorder during their lifetime. Unfortunately, many people don’t ask for help because they feel ashamed or scared. People may judge them and treat them negatively based on a mental health problem. Others
have trouble finding a place to live, finding a job, maintaining relationships and other important parts of life. In fact, most people living with a mental disorder say that stigma is worse than the symptoms they feel. Below are some ways we can make difference.
1. Promote direct personal contact:
Meeting and interacting with people with mental health problems is one of the best ways to improve attitudes and behaviours. This works best when the people meeting each other have equal status, when there can be discussion, and when the presenters with personal experiences can counter major myths. Education efforts like this fact sheet can help us understand the challenges, but they don’t change attitudes.
2. Help people be heard:
We need to encourage and empower people with experiences of mental health problems to be leaders in any efforts, such as anti-stigma programs and research. This includes supporting people and connecting them with peers. When people relate to each other’s struggles and want to see changes, they’re more likely to share their stories and protest when they see injustice.
3. Help media be a force for good:
Media like TV, movies, newspapers and web sites influence how we see others. Media should be encouraged to show people for who they really are – capable and productive community members. Hearing the direct voice of people with mental health problems through the media can be incredibly powerful. And we need to challenge media that discriminates against a
group of people.
Five small ways I can make a difference:
1. Tell someone who doesn’t know my story of mental health problems, or help others tell their story.
2. Seek direct contact by volunteering for a mental health organization, or find personal stories of recovery.
3. Think about the words I use. Do I use people-centered language like, “A person living with...” or do I say, “A
schizophrenic” or, “A depressive?”
4. Think about how I personally support and treat people around me who are living with a mental
health problem.
5. Speak up when I see discrimination or when I see a law or policy that unfairly excludes people.
Taken from The Canadian Mental Health Association Fact sheet
Labels: Mental health, Stigma
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Emerging Technologies of Stimulation: Audio-visual Entrainment, Cranio-electro Stimulation and transcranial DC Stimulation – Physiology and Clinical Outcomes - by Dave Siever C.E.T.
Stimulation modalities of Audio-visual Entrainment (AVE), cranio-electro stimulation (CES) and transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) have been in clinical use for several decades.
Since the discovery of photic driving by Adrian and Matthews in 1934, much has been discovered about the benefits of brainwave entrainment (BWE) or audio-visual entrainment (AVE), as it is commonly known today. The first clinical applications of AVE are the credit of Sidney Schneider who developed the first photic stimulation device called the Brain Wave Synchronizer in 1958 and prompted the first research. AVE affects cerebral blood flow, neurotransmitters, dissociative states and brainwave activity. Research on the effectiveness of AVE in promoting relaxation, cognition and hypnotic induction, treating ADD, PMS, SAD, PTSD, migraine headache, chronic pain, anxiety, depression and episodic memory is now available.
As far back as the first century, the Greeks and Romans used the electric eel, a variety of the “torpedo fish” for electrical stimulation. Current interest in CES was initiated by Robinovitch, who, in 1914, made the first claim for electrical treatment of insomnia. In 1958, the book Electro-Sleep inspired research in Europe and in Eastern Block countries, as well as in South America, Asia and finally the US. Roughly 130 studies have been published on CES. Most of the roughly 130 studies have shown CES as a reliable method to reduce anxiety, depression, pain, improve sleep, and improve cognition and IQ.
In 43 to 48 AD, Scribonius Largus, the physician of Roman emperor Claudius, observed that placing a large torpedo fish (electric eel) over the scalp of a patient suffering with headache, elicited a sudden transient stupor with pain relief. A major advantage of tDCS is that the cortical activity over a specific site on the brain may be enhanced or suppressed, much like NF. Dozens of studies on, tDCS have been published to date.
Labels: Audio Visual Entrainment, cranio-electro stimulation, transcranial
Monday, March 14, 2011
Mind Alive Monday and Mental Health Wednesday
I've been at Mind Alive for about 3 months now helping Dave with marketing and social media. It's been fun learning and discovering about this "new to me" technology given it's been around for 30 years. I've also looked at different ways to appeal to various networks such as holistic practitioners as well as looking at the pros and cons of selling to individuals versus finding a distributor to sell to that particular market.On the social media side in three months I've been playing around on the blog to see what types of things I should write about. No one ever comments so I'm not exactly sure what people would like to hear, but to make things easier for me I would like to experiment with some different themes for days of the week. This technique works well for some of the other blogs I subscribe to so we'll see how it works here.
As I also posted on our facebook page, I'd like Monday to be for activities that people engage to keep their minds alive or as Dave would say "dancing in the dendrites". Dave and I have some interesting hobbies, (translations: I'll have some material for a few weeks) but hopefully other people will come forward with photos and/or videos that we can post on here.
For Wednesday I thought since mental illness is a growing topic that Mind Alive has successfully treated in the past people would like to see the types of ailments it treats as well as the different types of professionals that use them. Many of our distributors are psychologists helping people through difficult and stressful times using AVE to assist. More and more people want to be involved in their own healing and Mind Alive AVE products give them that ability to look after themselves in between appointments. Ipod puts 10000 songs in your pocket while our Delight products put a therapist in your pocket :)
S
As I also posted on our facebook page, I'd like Monday to be for activities that people engage to keep their minds alive or as Dave would say "dancing in the dendrites". Dave and I have some interesting hobbies, (translations: I'll have some material for a few weeks) but hopefully other people will come forward with photos and/or videos that we can post on here.
For Wednesday I thought since mental illness is a growing topic that Mind Alive has successfully treated in the past people would like to see the types of ailments it treats as well as the different types of professionals that use them. Many of our distributors are psychologists helping people through difficult and stressful times using AVE to assist. More and more people want to be involved in their own healing and Mind Alive AVE products give them that ability to look after themselves in between appointments. Ipod puts 10000 songs in your pocket while our Delight products put a therapist in your pocket :)
S
Labels: hobbies, Holistic Therapy, Mental health, Mind Alive, stress
