Four Different Biotypes of Depression

Is there a role of Biological balance and Biotypes in the onset and prognosis of depression in people? Born with unbalanced biochemistry, many people struggle with depression for most of their life. After taking anti-depressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, or acid therapies like 5-HTP, etc. or other herbal remedies, people realize that over time, their symptoms have worsened rather than soothing. Some of these medications helped little, but due to presence of nasty side-effects they actually make you feel worse.

Lot of psychiatrists believe that depression is caused by low levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which makes SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) to be the standard medication. This approach does not consider the unique biochemical imbalances and different symptoms of each individual.

There was a research conducted by William J. Walsh, Ph.D., at the Walsh Research Institute, and clinical applications by Drs. Albert Mensah. They condicted detailed study of about 300,000 blood and urine test results and 200,000 medical history from approximately 2,800 patients diagnosed with depression, They found that there are majorly 4 depression biotypes.

Typical symptoms of Patients with different Subtypes

Patient with Subtypes 1 and 2 – these people often report more fatigue. Subtype 1 were more likelier to benefit from transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Many people take the antidepresant based treatment although their subtypes wants them to be treated with TMS.

Patients of Subtypes 3 and 4 often have difficulty in feeling pleasure. Brain on one hand have reduced connectivity in its network causing depressive anxiety, fear, etc., on the other hand people with subtype 3 and 4 has hyperconnectivity between stimuli center and brain control.

This subtyping helped in greater diagnostic precision, as well as finding accurate prognosis for patients bringing lot more relief with proper indivisualized treatment.

Different Biotypes in Depressive population

1. Type 1 – Undermethylators

2. Type 2 – Overmethylators

3. Type 3 – Pyrroluria or Pyrrole Depression

4. Type 4 – Copper Overload

Tap Into the Inner Genius You Didn’t Know You Had

What is Inner Genius?

There is no place in our brain which is called Genius and you cannot find it in the scientific textbooks. We have read about individuals like Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci, who’ve been popularized as genius by others. What these men have which we do not have which makes them genius? Scientists have researched that and found that few of the “genius” brains may be larger physically. In some cases like Leonardo da Vinci who could write and paint with both hands simultaneously, the explanation moved on to the lateralization of the brain functions.

Dr. Roger Sperry, Nobel Prize winner in 1981, demonstrated the independence of consciousness between the left and right brain hemispheres. Another Dr. Frederic Schiffer’s did a recent researh and wrote a book – “Of Two Minds”. The split brain has a role to play and gives lot more enigmas rather than solution.

There are few cases in which someone acquired savant syndrome and became Genius — people who spontaneously develop prodigious memories and genius level abilities. There are 32 documented cases of Acquired Savant Syndrome worldwide, where, in every case, the savant had no particular skill before the incident or accident that unleashed their inner genius.

It’s not only trauma or injury which inflicts savant syndrome, it can also be develop after other types of brain damage, such as stroke or dementia.

Special skills in acquired savants, like the unusual abilities of “natural savants” like autistic children, usually manifest as musical abilities—most often the piano with perfect pitch, arithmetic abilities, painting, drawing, sculpting, and spatial skills where the savant can construct complex accurate models or excel at direction finding and map making.

Our brain is designed to filter out unwanted details from a familiar concept.

Traits of Longer Life – Tips to Live longer and Healthier

Old is Gold, well yes or no both. We spend most of our lives lost in our reactive mind—worrying about the future, regretting the past. This way of living brings about the opposite of the personality traits associated with a long life. If we are alert and rooted in the present moment, we’ll be more conscientious, open, emotionally stable, friendly, and emotionally expressive, which are the five traits of leading a long and healthy life. Mindfulness is one of the trait which can bring out the other fundamentals found in people who tend to live long, healthy lives.

There is a delimma though, throughout history, elderly people were seen as respected leaders, pillars of wisdom for the community. And yet today, seniors are largely relegated to the corners of our society, marginalized and disrespected, which is partly because growing old is equated with becoming sick, decrepit, and senile.

Five key traits for longevity

1. Conscientiousness – Thorough and efficient people who are less likely to take risks lived longer.

2. Openness – You should be quick to listen to others. Always give a open ear to listen to other person’s feelings and ideas. This will ensure longer life span.

3. Emotional stability – Be emotionally stable which can be the strongest links to living a long life.

4. Friendliness – For women, friendliness is the second highest character quality associated with a long life.

5. Emotional expression – People who lived longer were openly expressed their emotions.

How Do Leaders Deal With Disruption and Changes in Life?

President Kennedy wrote: “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are sure to miss the future.”

Change simply means that something is different than it was a minute, a day, a week, a month, a year or a decade or more ago. Some trigger has modified the details of your life, the organization you work for, even global economic conditions.

Change can be caused by evolving external forces, such as the rise of ISIS. Most people did nothing to start this phase of terror perpetrated on the world. But that doesn’t mean they can avoid its ramifications.

And then some change is fostered internally, by the change in the way you see your life going, by new perspectives on your employment, education, relationships, and your health.

Change is disruptive and can even be turbulent — especially when it hits close to home and plays with our emotions. But then leadership today is all about managing disruption. And disruption is an hourly occurrence. Leaders are people who don’t just learn to live with or manage change — they actually create change and help others successfully navigate it.

Listen carefully to catch the change behind the change. Change can be tricky and misleading. Be careful not to make a superficial translation of some trend only to be led down some dead end. Not all change is what it seems on the surface.

If you don’t truly get under the change and analyze it before you react to it, you may miss something — like the critical time to quit your job and move on. You are not the only person in the world affected by change. You may be stuck in a trap where you think that you caused the change in your life and that it is harmful to you alone.

Targeted actions for managing Change for Leaders like CEO’s

Targeting pockets of opportunity: CEOs should focus on a few well chosen initiatives, primarily in their existing markets, to stimulate organic growth.

Concentrating on the customer – CEOs are creating new ways to demand and foster customer loyalty. Few could be capitalizing on digital marketing platforms and involving customers in product/service development. But does not mean they have a open budget. They need to cut down cost of R&D and take care of innovation.

Improving operational effectiveness – CEOs should be balancing efficiency with agility.

A New Way to Understand the Narcissistic Male

though many people can be selfish and conceited from time to time, some individuals take it to a whole other level. When these traits define the person – and they negatively impact everyone who is part of their life for as long as they are a part of it – they usually signal a mental health condition known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Like all personality disorders, naricissism can have far-reaching consequences for both the one suffering from it and the people who care about them.

Some typical characteristics of Narcissistic Males

Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder have a very distorted sense of self. They are generally “grandiose”, which means they have an inflated or exaggerated opinion of their positive traits and / or abilities. Even though some are very attractive, highly intelligent, or exceptionally talented, narcissists typically regard themselves as elite or exceptional compared to everyone else.

The Statistics of Narcissism

There are no firm statistics available in regard to the frequency of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Psychologists state that 1% of the population is diagnosed with NPD, and that 75% of the cases in therapy are men. Remind yourself that this 1% statistic is gathered only from individuals diagnosed in therapy.

By definition, narcissists severely lack humility and will avoid admitting there’s something wrong with them at all costs. Most narcissists in therapy are forced there by the courts, or have arrived for ‘other’ reasons such as alcoholism or a divorce. They usually don’t show up to deal with ‘narcissistic’ behaviour.

According to experts estimates there are up to 16% of society who are severely narcissistic. This is almost 1 in every 6 people. I believe this is a much more accurate assessment. What is frightening is: narcissists are extremely emotionally insecure.

Narcissists thrive on the praise and admiration of others. Their air of superiority is exaggerated often quite obvious, although some narcissists are very skilled at pretending to be humble when necessary.

Symptoms of Narcissistic Persons

  1. Exaggerated sense regarding their accomplishments and talents
  2. Use of others to get what they want in life
  3. Belittlement of others to boost their fragile self-esteem
  4. Obsessive self-involvement
  5. Inability to feel empathy; lack of a sincere interest in others
  6. Slightest criticism is met with rage and/or shame
  7. Inability to maintain healthy relationships
  8. Unreasonable expectations of favoritism
  9. Striving for constant admiration and attention
  10. Fantasies revolving around personal success and attractiveness

Treatment or Handling options

While medication can help treat symptoms of depression or anxiety that may also be present, there is no medication that is effective for the treatment of narcissistic personality disorder.

7 Strengths for 7 Stressors of Today

The modern world today has been the worst all across human history for the stress effects on our daily life. There are many people who are feeling the psychological burden. Lot of us are feeling very tired and withdrawn from everyday routine and daily activities. The constant exposure to media is aggravating the situation towards the downward spiral because of the environmental and social events happening all around us and in the world we live.

Here are some of the top stressors in the current times and how we can overcome them to live a simple yet fulfilling life. Following these tips will mobilize your strengths towards achieving greater resilience and buoyancy in daily life.

1. The world is going through tough times and going to a shallow bottom – there are many horrific events like fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding. The political environment all around is also not giving any sense of stability either.

To cope up, remember that in all the times of despair and calamity, we see many resources being mobilized by people to care for others whom they do not know or never met. This is the human nature which has made us coexist since so long. The feeling of altruism, sympathy, and empathy are still in all of us fundamentally. Be helpful and provide hope for yourself and others.

2. Are we destroying our planet and making it inhabitable – The population of the world has been growing ad currently it is over populated, due to which we are consuming more and more resources. This causes Earth to suffer due to waste, deterioration of resources, oil reserves, etc.

Well, think that the basic step starts from you. We must do all that we can individually and collectively to make our planet better.

3. Feeling Lonely – We are living in a mobile world where people are moving constantly for school, work, leisure, etc. Therefore, we are often lonely with extended family living at distance, whether hundred miles or thousands of miles. Disintegration of community and relatives is making us get lesser and lesser emotional support.

To cope up with feeling of loneliness, we do need to be with others and feel part of a group. Invite friends over for dinner or extended an invitation to someone for coffee. Be inspired and extend yourself to an activity or an invitation and savor some connection.

4. There is so much anger around us with people upset naturally always. – The frustrations of life comes out in any form at any time with minimal or no provocation at all. Well, you might have heard it million times before, but the coping mechanisms remain same – exercise, meditation, friends and family, vacation time, etc are all the ways to reduce the daily life frustration. Do what you enjoyed once and stopped doing it due to time and its relevance.

5. How can I help or how can I get help – Healthy stepping back from your own world can take you to the longer road of good and destressed life. Keep in mind that grief and loss are part of life. What does loss or grief mean to you? How have you managed your own loss or grief in life? What helped, what didn’t? How can you cultivate them? Time to introspect and help others introspect.

6. Accept that stress is part of life – When stressful situations arise, remind yourself that they are part of life and will come and go. Nothing in this life is permanant – neither does your stress. So take a relaxed approch towards stress in life.

7. Have a realistic outlook about everything in your life. Do not see the world through rose-colored glasses rather have your own outlook which is realistic. You also need to check the silver lining in the tough circumstances. Stressful circumstances are there to make you become stronger and better.