It is a topic we so rarely talk about; mental health and children.
In all reality, who wants to look it? Not the children and parents, why they
seems to think that it is their fault a society blames them so not the parents,
so who looks at it? Yet children being diagnosed with psychiatric conditions at
an alarming rate and rarely do we want to look at that fact little long talk
about it.
There are many issues children need to deal with growing up. In
today’s world we have a divorce rate of over 50%, our unemployment is
astounding, people are losing their homes, parents are worried, teachers are
distracted, and young children feel this. How could they not? To top that off,
school bullying has increased and so has cyber bullying, and kids are getting
it from every direction.
Is being bullied or worried about your family a Prozac deficiency
or is it a natural response? Do the trying threes really require an
antidepressant? Some doctors and pharmaceutical companies would say yes. In
fact, the number of school children prescribed anti-depressants and
mind-altering drugs has more than quadrupled in the last decade. New figures
show general practitioners are prescribing pills in record numbers to combat
stress, violent behavior and even tiredness.
Child drugging has been a huge profitable market with earnings of
about $4.8 billion dollars a year. Pharmaceutical companies have done
everything in their power to convince the press, legislators and especially
parents why children need to be put on drugs.
There are 20 million children in the United States who have been
diagnosed with some kind of psychiatric disorder and drugged for it. It has
become an epidemic. Innocent children are being turned into patients for simply
acting like kids. As we know, there have been a number of serious and deadly
results from young people taking medications for depression. Many if not all
the recent school shootings have shown us a picture of a disturbed young person
who is on some type of antidepressant. But that is not is as disturbing as
three and four-year old children on antidepressants.
Let’s look at ADHD and children. At this very moment at least
6,000,000 U.S. school children are being administered Ritalin or other addictive,
mind-altering, psychiatric drugs. A pediatric psychologist became concerned
when she was suddenly inundated with ADHD referrals. She worried that the
disorder was being over diagnosed and began a study of 30,000 grade school
students in two school districts in Virginia. The study raises many questions
about ADHD diagnosis but provides few answers. Were previous estimates too low
Is ADHD being over diagnosed, or are doctors now doing a better job of
diagnosing it.
In the U.S. and many of those are being prescribed medication
because the parent, daycare worker or school teacher feels that the child might
be ADHD.
Did I say that right? A person working in day care who has no
medical or psychology background are telling parents their child has ADHD? That
is about as scary as it gets! It is almost as scary as parents are not being
informed about all the potential risks to their child when they agree to a
psychiatric drug prescription.
According to testimony given in the fall of 2004 to the
Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee insignificant results were found in
two thirds of the studies in which children were given anti-depressants and
compared to children given a placebo.
About 1.5 million children ages 5 on up take Ritalin for relief
from attention and hyperactivity disorders, researchers reported in the journal
Pediatrics. The drug’s popularity is growing. Ritalin use is up 250% since
1990, according to a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical
Association.
With the recent news coverage on how our children are being abused
by medications for depression and ADHD, I feel this three part series comes at
a great time. Please keep in mind that the majority of children on psychotropic
medications are not necessary and more and more research and news coverage is now
validating that we must stop drugging our children.
There are so many alternatives that can help with our children and
I am going to list just a few. Please remember to do your research. There is
NEVER a reason to give our children unnecessary medications.
Omega Three Fatty Acids is probably the best alternative one can
use. These fatty acids are needed to make brain and nerve tissue in the body
and are crucial for proper growth, mental function, the immune system and brain
development. Omega Three Fatty 3 is a wonderful and affordable option for
treating depression and ADHD. They have omega three for children, there is also
a product called by VAXA called Attend- It is effective for 70% of ADD ADHD
individuals, as measured by computer testing and parent scales. Attend blends
amino acids, fatty acids, homeopathic, and other herbs and supplements to
produce a product that is curing symptoms of ADHD. http://www.vaxa.com/
Iron can help with children as there is growing evidence that
hyperactive children are commonly deficient in iron, which is important for the
production of the mood-regulating brain chemical dopamine.
There are foods high
in iron such as:
• Red meat
• Egg yolks
• Dark, leafy
greens like spinach
• Dried fruit
(prunes, raisins)
• Iron-enriched
cereals and grains
• Oysters, clams,
scallops
• Turkey or
chicken giblets
• Beans, lentils,
and soybeans
• Liver
• Artichokes
EEG Biofeedback is about 75% effective. This technology involves
the acquiring biofeedback machine that averages from 50.00-150.00. There are
biofeedback clinicians as well. This is a technique that trains people to
improve their health by controlling certain bodily processes that normally
happen involuntarily, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and
skin temperature.
Decreased TV and Video game time– Research has concluded after
studying 5,000 children for two years that TV and video games can cause, yes
can cause ADHD. Suggestion is two hours in front of the tube either watching TV
or playing video games daily.
A new study has shown improved brain functioning, increased brain
processing, and improved language-based skills among ADHD students practicing
the meditation technique. In addition it can help decrease symptoms of
depression in children.
Spending time in ordinary urban nature can also help. These
settings can include a tree-lined street, a green yard or neighborhood park may
offer additional relief from ADHD symptoms. Spend time in nature, play more
sports, ride bike, do homework outside in the fresh air.
Once again before taking your child to a doctor for ADHD or
believing your child may need dangerous drugs for just being a child, try to
answer the following questions.
• How many hours
did you child watch TV today?
• How much time
did your child spend on video games today?
• How long was
your child outdoors today?
• Did your child
exercise today?
• How much time
did you spend time with your child today?
• What did your
child do in school today?
• Did you do
something exciting with your child today? What?
• What did your
child eat today?
As you can see, there are a variety of treatments that help with
your child’s mental health. The main focus should make sure you are educated.
Just don’t give your child a handful of vitamins. Make sure you understand each
supplement, and make sure they do a great deal of movement daily.
The vast majority of medical doctors consider
ADHD to be of unknown causes. What we do know is that the elimination of food
additives and refined sugar produces dramatic improvements not just for
children with ADHD but for children who show signs of depression.
One thing I have noticed when I work with children with ADHD or
depression and anxiety is their diet. I ask the parents to keep a food diary
for their kids for two weeks. Some parents are honest some are not.
After reading all the food diaries I began to look at how we send
our children to school. Let’s say we give them a nice bowl of Frosted Mini
Wheat’s which have 10 sugars and a whopping 41 grams of cards which turns to
sugar. Now add milk, non-fat or low fat milk is pact with sugar on the average
12-15 grams. Now let me tell you that 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar equals 4
grams of sugar. Now 3.75 grams of carbs equal 1 gram of sugar. So a small bowl
of frosted mini Wheats with a cup of milk equals about 14 teaspoon of sugar.
Feeding our children fresh fruits and a good protein source offers
good brain health. Carbohydrate loaded breakfasts of frozen waffles, pancakes,
pastry rolls and cold cereal do nothing to feed the brain. Instead, eat an
omelet with low-fat cheese and a lean meat to activate neurotransmitters in the
brain. If you are in a time crunch, have them drink a protein shake for
breakfast.
Foods That Are Good For You
• Vegetables (except corn, potatoes and squash).
• Beans and peas
• Fruit
• Nuts and seeds
• Fish oils, Flaxseed oil, Olive oil, Primrose oil
• Leans meats
• Eggs
• Low-fat cheeses
• Protein powder
Foods To Avoid or Decrease
• Breads and pasta from processed white flour
• White rice white potatoes
• Desserts, ice cream, candy, chocolate, cookies, doughnuts
• Powdered or refined sugar
• Soda, sports drinks, tea, coffee and alcohol
• Fast foods, burgers, pizza, hotdogs, milkshakes
• Processed foods-Hotdogs, lunchmeat
• Junk food, chips, soda
• Fruit juices
• Artificial colors flavors and preservatives
• Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin, sucralose).
Folate is one of the B vitamins and helps aid in depression. Foods
high in folates include: orange juice, strawberries, citrus fruits and juices,
leafy green vegetables, whole grain breads, and pinto, navy and kidney beans.
Foods rich in protein are rich in an amino acid called tyrosine. Tyrosine may
help boost levels of the brain chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine, which can
help treat depression as well as ADHD. Foods include turkey, tuna, salmon or
chicken beans and peas, lean beef, low-fat cheese, almonds, milk, poultry, soy
products, yogurt.
