Participants: Nick Evenson (Host), Dr. James Marcum
Series Code: UP
Program Code: UP000069B
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00:02 Welcome back, today we're talking about
00:03 mental health and, Dr. Marcum, we received a lot of questions 00:06 on our website at heartwiseministries.org 00:09 about this topic and what are some of the basics? 00:12 If someone is not sure about their health, 00:14 if they're wanting to see if their mental function 00:17 is where it should be, how do we go about that? 00:19 That's a great question because we see so many... 00:23 you know, 1 in 3 people, 1 in 4 have mental health problems. 00:26 You know people, we need to talk about it, 00:28 and getting back to the basics like we talked about. 00:31 We talked about the food, the nutrition, the water, 00:35 putting good things in our brain, 00:36 getting our brain back to the way it was designed to be. 00:40 Another thing we didn't mention earlier was rest. 00:43 How many people get adequate rest every day, 00:45 and we're just going 24/7, too much stimulation. 00:49 And if we can just rest our brains, 00:51 you know, the God of the universe worked 6 days, 00:53 take a day off and let the brain rest at night. 00:56 We were designed to work during the day and rest at night. 01:00 And, old Edison sort of messed us up when he invented 01:03 the light bulb and now we're up all the time; 01:06 we're stimulated all the time; the brain doesn't rest; 01:08 the brain can't recover; all these stimulations; 01:11 all the things we're putting in it and sooner or later 01:14 some people have better coping skills than others and then 01:17 BOOM, overload - we get into problems! 01:19 Now I am not a psychiatrist, 01:21 I'm not a mental health expert, per se, 01:24 but I think it's something that we need to talk about 01:27 and get people an awareness of where to go for help, 01:30 and, you know, the first place we talked about is go to the 01:33 Heavenly Father for help. 01:35 Now, what would be symptoms of mental health? 01:38 How would a person know they're having mental health problems? 01:42 It might be symptoms like not interested in things. 01:45 Tired all the time. 01:49 Feeling like, "I don't want to live, 01:51 I don't have any purpose in life." 01:53 Those are symptoms of sort of depression. 01:56 Being scared all the time, worried and then, 01:59 of course, when the brain malfunctions, 02:01 sometimes the body malfunctions too. Right 02:03 You know, you can't sleep, you're bowels run all the time, 02:07 have headaches, have a fast heart rate, aches and pains 02:10 that can't be explained all over the body. 02:12 Then the more serious things is when people see things 02:16 and hear things. 02:17 You've heard the term, "schizophrenia," 02:19 those are some of the most serious mental health problems. 02:23 And then, there are all sorts of varieties of anxiety and stress, 02:26 you know - post-traumatic stress, anxiety, phobias, fears, 02:31 all those fall within mental health. 02:33 Then there are the types of things like paranoia... 02:35 thinking people are always trying to get ya. 02:37 And then there's people that have their ups and downs, 02:40 you know - the bipolar... one minute they're manic 02:42 and pumped up and the next minute, they hit the rocks 02:44 and bottoms... they call that "manic depression," 02:47 then there's that type of mental problem. 02:49 And then there are many that overlap, 02:52 so mental health problems runs the full gamut 02:54 so if you're having symptoms like this, 02:56 go see your doctor and get some help and see if there might... 03:00 But a lot of times I see the brain malfunction after, 03:05 you know, they come with something else... 03:07 recurrent headaches, heart beating fast, 03:10 can't sleep at night. 03:11 Other symptoms develop because the brain turns on these 03:14 chemicals - adrenalin and cortisol and it affects 03:18 the body downstream. Right 03:19 So if the brain is happy, that's going to improve the 03:22 health dramatically. 03:24 So we have people that have extreme stress 03:27 and extreme stress and anxiety and trigger a heart attack. 03:30 because it makes adrenalin and adrenalin 03:32 makes the arteries constrict. 03:34 So I think that these are great questions that sort of 03:36 get other people involved in learning about their 03:39 mental health and knowing that 03:41 it's a priority for the entire body. 03:44 That's some great advice. 03:45 You know, we have another question that asks... 03:47 "I think I might be depressed?" 03:49 "Are there other options to taking antidepressants?" 03:52 What are some of the treatments? 03:53 Well there are many different treatments out there 03:55 for depression and, first of all, they need to see 03:58 a professional about this. 04:01 And you've heard about the antidepressants, okay? 04:04 But I read a study not too long ago that said... 04:07 "If you will get outside in the sunshine and exercise, 04:10 that can help fight depression the equivalent of taking 04:14 an antidepressant. Wow! 04:16 And it makes more sense to me because that will change 04:19 the chemistry of the entire brain and not just 04:22 one chemical pathway. 04:24 So, that's one thing, is get the things the brain needs. 04:28 I don't know if you've heard about it but... 04:29 I know your folks live up in Alaska. That's right, they do. 04:32 In Alaska, it's dark most of the year. 04:35 And when it's dark, you don't get out in the sunlight, 04:37 you don't make vitamin D, 04:38 so you have a serotonin deficiency. 04:41 So some people get depressed 04:42 just because a serotonin deficiency. Right 04:45 They take vitamin D - serotonin improves. 04:47 Yeah, it's really common in the wintertime. 04:48 Yes, and some people get cabin fever, so-to-speak. 04:52 Then there are situations where people get depressed, 04:54 you know - a loved one loss and sometimes that can 04:57 be worked through with cognitive therapy, 04:59 talking, making sure their nutrition is good, 05:02 exercise - those things too. 05:04 So there's lots of other alternatives to taking 05:07 antidepressants, but this is when you want to see your 05:10 doctor about - ask him what the situation is... 05:14 What I try to do is - if it's mild forms, 05:16 I recommend to try to do these things first, 05:20 and then if that's not working, then see a mental health 05:23 professional about getting some professional advice on 05:26 the way they can help with depression, 05:28 but there are lots of ways... 05:29 We talked a little bit about cognitive therapy, 05:32 and then they help people think better. 05:35 You know, how do you cope with things. 05:37 Sometimes just having friends, you know, what do they say, 05:41 just having some friends to talk to and talk to you about things, 05:44 and help you out. 05:46 We know that the Scripture is a great way to help. 05:50 The Bible says "Come unto Me all ye that are worried 05:52 and are burdened and I will give you rest." 05:55 So we know that worship is a 05:56 proven way to help the brain improve better. 05:59 And you would have to think, you know, if it's going to help 06:01 anxiety, it's going to help other types of brain problems. 06:03 There are a lot of researchers that thought, David 06:06 maybe had bipolar and by coming to God and 06:10 worshiping and through music, that helped 06:13 sort of settle down his highs and lows. 06:15 But it's natural for people to have highs and lows. 06:18 Now how much of that is an organic problem 06:22 and how much of that is a real structural problem, 06:26 that's sort of hard to figure out sometimes, 06:28 and I'm afraid that sometimes the quickest thing is 06:31 to say, "Oh, there's nothing I can do to help, 06:35 you know, I have to accept this way in life." 06:37 But I want people to look at all the inputs and maybe if they 06:39 can put in more positives and less negatives, 06:43 maybe the brain can help heal itself in many circumstances. 06:47 That sounds like some great advice. 06:49 Another viewer has written in: "I worry so much about 06:51 everything - my health and my family, I know this 06:54 makes the situation worse." 06:56 "My doctor gave me an anti-anxiety medication." 07:00 "What other suggestions might you recommend?" 07:02 Well, I think one of the best... 07:04 and you think about anxieties, you worry about things, 07:08 and there are also phobias, you fear things and then the 07:12 most serious anxiety is post-traumatic stress. 07:15 You know that's a very serious form of anxiety. 07:18 And, the body, when it's under anxiety, it makes chemicals 07:21 we talked about some of the chemicals it makes already. 07:24 But I think where I would start is - I would go to the 07:27 text where it says, "Be anxious about nothing," 07:33 in the Bible it says, "Be anxious about nothing." 07:35 God doesn't want us to be anxious. 07:37 He just tells us - "Don't be anxious about nothing." Right 07:39 And then, the next sentence, He starts giving the answers. 07:42 You know - "Come to Me, pray with Me, be with Me, 07:44 worship Me; turn your burdens over to Me; 07:47 let Me handle that for you." 07:49 So for people that are anxious, I think that's a great place 07:52 to start because God will take you to the people 07:55 and the lessons you need to go. 07:58 He might take you to a mental health professional; 08:00 He might take you to a doctor; He might give you 08:02 other things that you can do to get over 08:04 your anxieties and fears. 08:06 One of the things that I've noticed that helps fears 08:08 and anxieties is serving other people. Yeah 08:11 Sometimes that helps get over anxieties where it's 08:15 not all about you, it's not all about the selfishness. 08:17 Start thinking about other people. Yes! 08:18 You start putting love into the equation. Right 08:21 See anxiety, you know you're so focused on me all the time, 08:24 sometimes when you focus on others, 08:25 you start learning to love more and you start learning 08:28 to help more - sometimes that helps with it. 08:31 Now, anxiety medicines - this person is on anxiety medicines, 08:35 what are they going to do, take anxiety medicines 08:37 the rest of their lives? 08:39 And I guess there might be some people that might benefit 08:42 if they had organic problems, but I would, again, 08:45 I would hopefully use this medication only as 08:48 a bridge to help them over the hump until they can 08:52 get at the cause of the problem. Right 08:53 You know, help them get over the rough spot in the road, 08:56 until we can help them - we do that in hearts all the time. 08:58 You know, you're having a heart attack - I want a stent. 09:00 The stent doesn't fix the problem, but maybe now the 09:03 person will say, "Well what caused me to have the 09:05 problem and let me reverse that;" we talked earlier about 09:08 charcoals, someone getting a poison - well the charcoal 09:11 helps get you over the poison hump, 09:12 but let's not do the poisons anymore! Right 09:14 So I think the same thing - if we can find the things 09:17 that are damaging our brain and correct that, 09:19 letting God lead us, I think that's a great place 09:23 to start in recognizing that we don't want to live 09:26 years and years with mental health problems. 09:27 We want to do something right now because the brain 09:30 might interrupt the function of the body, 09:33 and it might lead to other problems, 09:34 and we might mask that... 09:36 Well let's focus on this where the real problem was the brain.. 09:39 It's been estimated that 80-90% of doctor visits now, Nick, 09:43 are caused by stress, world stress - lots of anxiety, 09:46 so it's a big issue and we need to talk about it, 09:49 and, unfortunately, the world is not getting any better. Right 09:52 Now what about someone who has a family history of Alzheimer's? 09:56 Is there something they can do to lower their risk? 09:57 Yeah, anything that's going to improve the function 10:01 of the brain like we talked about 10:02 will help Alzheimer disease. Okay 10:04 Exercising the brain - a lot of people have Alzheimer disease 10:09 because of vascular problems, blood vessel problems. 10:12 We talked about how blood vessels can be enhanced by 10:16 going to a whole food plant-based diet 10:19 with lots of greens, an exercise program, a hydration program. 10:23 One of the things that has been shown in the literature 10:26 to help very well is to read out loud for 10 minutes. 10:30 That's exercise for the brain. 10:32 Unfortunately, I've seen some people, when they get older, 10:35 their brains aren't as active. Right 10:37 They retire and they just sit at home, 10:39 and they don't do anything. 10:41 Well the brain is like any other part of the body, 10:43 it requires movement or activity on a regular basis. Yes 10:47 If you don't use those neurons, you LOSE those neurons. 10:50 So the brain is designed to do things, to be functioning... 10:54 NOT to be entertained! Right 10:55 Unfortunately our modern media entertains our brains, 10:59 and that sort of hurts our brains and it changes 11:01 the way we think and the way the neurons work. 11:03 But so the more our brain can stay active... 11:06 And I think if you read the Scripture out loud 11:08 10 minutes a day, that's a great thing because you 11:10 see it, you say it, you hear it, you think about it, 11:14 you come in to worship, lots of things can happen 11:17 good for the brain when we do that. 11:18 You throw in some service, eating the right foods, 11:22 doing the right exercise, staying away from 11:24 vascular problems and all of a sudden, 11:26 you've optimized your brain function. 11:29 We've got time for one more question here... 11:31 It's about someone whose son has ADD. 11:34 "What are some ways to help with ADD?" 11:36 A lot of people now have "attention deficit disorder," 11:40 and unfortunately, many children 11:42 are placed on a medicine right away. Yeah 11:44 I had a lady that came to me and she didn't want 11:47 to be placed on this medicine and she said, 11:50 "Well, what can I do for my child?" 11:51 I said, "Well just try this for 10 days - No processed 11:55 food or sugar, exercise every day, no media, 12:00 and in 10 days, tell me how that child is doing." 12:03 Ten days, Nick, she came back... she got rid of all that stuff, 12:08 the child was doing fine, settled down, 12:10 put some limits on him, started taking control 12:13 and his brain had improved. 12:14 He is exercising every day... all that change. 12:17 They did not go on the Ritalin and some of those medicines 12:20 which really are stimulants... 12:22 Because it never makes sense... what are the people going to do? 12:24 Take the medicines the rest of their lives? 12:26 Or try to fix the problem? 12:28 Well in this child work, I think it's definitely a 12:31 good place to start and I would start in this route 12:34 before I would jump on the bandwagon 12:36 with all the medicines. 12:37 That's incredible, you know, just a few small lifestyle 12:40 changes is going to change his life forever. 12:42 But I think the place to start on the brain is prayer. Right 12:46 Well we hope you've benefited from our thoughts and 12:49 discussion here today and we want to be right back 12:52 in just a moment - Dr. Marcum is going to lead us in prayer, 12:54 so stay right with us. 13:00 Thank you for tuning in today on "The Ultimate Prescription" 13:05 If you might be someone out there that has a 13:07 mental health problem, please get help and the first 13:10 place I'd like to turn is turn to God, your Creator, 13:14 the Ultimate Physician who has the prescription for your life. 13:18 And if there's someone out there with mental 13:20 health problems, we want to pray for you 13:22 that you might get better and encourage you to get your 13:25 brain back to functioning the way that God 13:27 originally designed us, let's bow our heads. 13:29 Heavenly Father, There are some out there that 13:32 need Your help especially in a special way today. 13:36 We pray for that listener who might have a mental 13:38 health problem - please lead them to Your word. 13:42 Please lead them to the power that You give, 13:44 and the people that You might provide in their lives 13:47 to help turn things around. 13:49 And we just want to thank You God for the love You give us, 13:51 and for the promise that if we walk with You, 13:54 You will heal us permanently in Your time. 13:56 This is our prayer... Amen 13:59 Well, we're glad you joined us today on 14:01 "The Ultimate Physician" 14:03 Stayed tuned and if you have questions, 14:04 send them to our website: heartwiseministries.org |
Revised 2016-06-21