Tonsils – the brain’s drain

Have you suffered challenges to your mental health?

Depression has the third highest burden of all diseases in Australia (13%) [1] and also third globally [2].

Almost half (45%) Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime [3].

One in five, about 20%, Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any year:

• 11.5% have one disorder and 8.5% have two or more disorders.
• 14% of Australians suffer from anxiety disorders.
• 6% depressive disorders [4].

The age with the highest prevalence of mental illness is between 18-24 years of age.

21.2% of adolescents between 15-19 years of age met the criteria for a probable serious mental illness [5].

Six Australians die from suicide every single day, with a further 30 people will attempt to take their own life [6].

Suicide is the leading cause of death for people Australians aged 25-44 and the second leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 [7].

Australians are more likely to die by suicide than skin cancer.

Indigenous Australians experience double the rate of suicide when compared to non-indigenous Australians [8].

The LGBT community experiences four times the rate when compared with those identified as heterosexual [9].

In 2011, men accounted for 76% of deaths from suicide [10], yet an estimated 72% of males don’t seek help for mental disorders.

54% of sufferers with mental illness do not seek treatment [1], which is only compounded by the delay in treatment due to problems with detection, social stigma and accurate diagnosis.

Individuals with mental illness accessing treatment are half that of people seeking treatment with physical disorders [11].It’s time to raise awareness for mental health.

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References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). Australia’s Health 2014. AIHW: Canberra.
2. World Health Organisation. (2008). The global burden of disease: 2004 update.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009). National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 4326.0, 2007. ABS: Canberra.
4. Kitchener, B.A. and Jorm, A.F. (2009). Youth Mental Health First Aid: A manual for adults assisting youth. ORYGEN Research Centre, Melbourne.
5. Ivancic, L., Perrens, B., Fildes, J., Perry, Y. and Christensen, H. (2014). Youth Mental Health Report, June 2014. Mission Australia and Black Dog Institute, Sydney.
6. The Australian Senate. (2010). The Hidden Toll: Suicide in Australia Report of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
7. http://www.aihw.gov.au/deaths/causes-of- death
8. Australian Bureau of Statistic. (2012). Australian Health Survey: First Results. ABS, Canberra.
9. National Mental Health Commission. (2013). A Contributing Life, the 2013 National Report Card on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. NMHC, Sydney.
10. Department of Health and Ageing. (2013). National Mental Health Report 2013: tracking progress of mental health reform in Australia 1993 – 2011. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.
11. Commonwealth of Australia. (2010). National Mental Health Report 2010. Canberra, Australia.

In a meta-analysis assessing the mineral intake of approximately 3,000 women. It found that eating an iron-rich diet (20mg per day) was linked to a 30-40% lower risk of developing premenstrual syndrome when compared to the lowest intake of iron (around 10mg per day) (Am J Epidemiol. 2013 May).

Menstruating women lose around 40% more iron per day when compared to men, with some studies stating how heavy menstrual bleeding is one of the leading causes of anemia in the developed world (Liu Z, et al. 2007).

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicates that 12-16% of non-pregnant women (aged 16-49 years) have iron deficiency, with 2-4% having anemia.

Increasing iron intake through diet and supplementation for two months has been shown to reduce PMS symptoms considerably in all anemic women (Mitesh Sinha et al. 2013).

Depression is a complex disease with multiple contributing factors. The diagnostic criteria for depression include:

• Depressed or irritable mood
• Decreased interest in pleasurable activities and ability to experience pleasure
• Significant weight gain or loss (>5% change in a month)
• Insomnia or hypersomnia
• Psychomotor agitation or retardation
• Fatigue or loss of energy
• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
• Diminished ability to think or concentrate
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
  (Berton O, et al. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006)

Chances are that you have felt several of the above criteria but yet you may not have associated it with depression.

This is because depression is a broad term that may affect one person differently to the next, along with having a diverse range of possible causations.

Below is a list of some of the factors that can lead to depression and apathy:

• Trauma
• PTSD
• Abuse
• Post-natal depression
• Adverse childhood exposure
• Lack of safety
• Economic struggles
• Autoimmunity
• Social isolation
• Heartbreak
• Social media
• Lack of purpose
• S.A.D – Seasonal Affective Disorder (Vitamin D deficiency)
• Mold exposure
• Anaemia
• Sex hormone imbalances (Low/high oestrogen, low testosterone)
• Hypo/hyper thyroidism
• Stress
• Pain
• Chronic illness
• Genetic traits
• Methylation issues
• Heavy metal toxicity
• Parasites
• Nutrient deficiencies (B6, etc)
• Nutrient excess
• Artificial light exposure
• Poor sleep
• Mitochondrial dysfunctions
• Poor gut health
• Gut/brain axis inflammation
• Cytokine model of depression
• Medication
• Loss of a loved one
• Divorce
• Substance abuse
• Neurotransmitter imbalances
• Lyme
• Toxic and ambivalent relationships

Each reason, being so unique, may require a completely different approach for therapy from the next.

This reverberates a quote of William Osler, stating ‘It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has’. Unfortunately, society generally neglects the beauty of individuality whilst overlooking the crucial interplay and synergy from the multifactorial systems essential for optimal function within our body.

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