This is so superb in so many ways - it sums up the conflicts of interest & general untrustworthiness of Big Pharma that’s had me avoid pharmaceuticals myself for 4 decades. I absolutely do not think I would be here today had I dabbled with the mainstream suggestions for all my extensive 3 syndrome deep mental health problems.
The contraindications for Bipolar & ADHD & the medications recommended for each would have been a disaster. I was regularly offered SSRI’s which i refused as I was instinctively terrified of them for good reason as they would have triggered a Bipolar High with likely hospitalisation *at best*.
I was so suicidally depressed that the risk of worsening, or the risk of worse rage would have been fatal, that’s how perilous my position felt. I’d read about suicides who had recently started or stopped SSRI’s & it was not worth the risk. As I say, for a person with Bipolar SSRI’s usually means psychosis & hospitalisation so….no. The fact that this stoic refusal is essentially why I went undiagnosed & unsupported for so long is absolutely criminal imho.
Love Russell - it’s so deeply heartening to see this level of exposure of corruption reach such a big audience - awesomeness 🤓😎
In this fascinating video Russell Brand & the author of "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke" discuss how even relatively low Dopamine surges demand brain chemistry to self correct pretty swiftly causing a slight low. This is a general human response, as in everyone will experience this although i'm aware that as a Bipolar 1 sufferer i'm probably more experientially knowledgeable re: high & low dopamine at very extreme levels than a lot of people.
I had various degrees of Anorexia throughout roughly 2002-2008, some poverty related but much related to my Emotional Dysregulation that I now know to have been undiagnosed BPD plus BP1 - I was very very conscious at that time that i desperately needed Oxytocin, I was in the aftermath of a bad relationship break up but also a very disorientating Bipolar high (I was undiagnosed ) - I remember I used to fantasise about having my hair brushed by kind women friends which is terrifically emblematic of Oxytocin production to my mind, but I was suffering such a serious Bipolar depression by that point that I was not able to muster the strength to get any help.
I was always researching natural health & I found that Oxytocin was in development as a pain relieving, mood improving, anti anxiety medicine at that time, 2004 ish - I did not have a pet yet, a really top valuable Oxytocin provider. Singing in a group & along with music is also another well known way to get 'free' Oxytocin. But I was single & having drunken one night stands in a desperate bid for Oxytocin but to no avail. You get masses of exciting Dopamine but without that lovely cuddle hormone to soften the drop.
In fact i'd go so far as to say I don't think you can make Oxytocin from casual sex when you are drunk, which is why you might feel uncomfortable when you next see the person rather then warmly fond..... that's just my personal observation. If i'm correct, that makes that kind of sex much more expensive in terms of problematic brain chemistry (see video above) than sex in a trusted pair bond scenario. (i'm open to this maybe being a bit different for some intrinsically polyamorous types; assume naturally high Oxytocin status?)
Just to clarify, the following is not about people who have an innately strong Oxytocin supply naturally. That is they do not suffer from any of the mental health issues mentioned, get over break ups with relative ease, feel naturally welcome in life generally, for want of a better description. I know because I don't so easily get these things up & running..... its a huge conscious effort for me.
One further point I want to insert here is that naturally occurring post-birth Oxytocin & indeed any pair bond Oxytocin famously can bring with it an increased sense of a spiritual dimension to life, I guess coming in via the feelings of safety, connectedness, oneness pointing the self towards an increased sense of an overarching cosmic consciousness. Which is lovely & a bit magical.
I tried to find research on the down side of supplemental Oxytocin & whilst there seemed to be only a positive response in sufferers of serious nervous system dysfunction; PTSD, Anxiety, ASD, ADHD, eating disorders etc, 'well' people in the research could suffer the unwanted side affect of increased empathy to the subtle emotional signalling of strangers/acquaintances, potentially resulting in unnecessary intense emotional reactions. (This last bit makes me think that BPD might included a particular hyper sensitivity to Oxytocin or the absence of or problems with creating it in some way)
It seems to me to be beyond obvious that we should trial supplemental nasal spray Oxytocin in the deemed largely 'untreatable' Anti-Social Personality Disorder/Sociopathy/Psychopathy & Narcissistic Personality Disorder cohort. These disorders all suffer from a basic, deep seated lack of empathy, resulting in huge problems in life & relationships. Maybe its been done. I hope so.
It seems pretty obvious that unimpeded Oxytocin production during childhood, the steady feeling of belonging in a family, in a community, being physically comforted when you need to etc etc powerfully lays a framework for nervous system wellness in later life & that Physical & Psychological trauma interferes with Oxytocin production among other things, of that there is no doubt.
I find this subject absolutely fascinating. It accounts for why, for myself, casual relationships, one night stands are innately painful in a way that's really hard to describe. I think that making love without making Oxytocin requires the participants to be 'out of it' in some way, so with a blunted awareness of the lowering of boundaries & self consciousness, vulnerability etc hence why inhibition removing alcohol is a drug of choice wherever very casual sex is lauded as a very casual pastime.
I haven't so much as had my hand held romantically for over a decade..... that's quite extreme isn't it. I've had one serious 2 year relationship since I gave up alcohol in 2007 & zero casual hook ups...... the reason is within the statement I think.
In my defence I was undiagnosed, actively misdiagnosed as not having Bipolar in fact & yet knew absolutely there was something seriously wrong with me for the longest time. My dating aversion has been as much to protect others from my emotional dysregulation as it has been to protect myself from triggers. Unfortunately, my best efforts at close friends were also smited by undiagnosed BPD elements that I did not understand at all & was immensely frustrated by too.
So happy to now know what's wrong with me, so happy to be working on myself & being my own wellness project - Happy Valentines Day 💜 (for tomorrow)
This is from 2 years ago “Ceremony, Relationships & Communal Living” - Russell Brand talking to shaman Wendy Mandy, to be fair the first half was the best bit but with lots of loose threads that I would have loved to have heard unravelled - the second half ended up being predominantly about psychological healing with powerful natural psychoactive substances, which I’m less keen on with my very fragile nervous system, particularly when certain very simple lifestyle/dietary changes/supplements can be so transformative.
Also, I’ve been peripheral to the use of very many of these psychoactive substances mentioned in the second half, in friends that are essentially undiagnosed severely mentally ill & despite many many safeguards, extensive knowledge & proper supervision the desired effects of psyche repair did not take place in this population, in fact I’ve seen people worsen with these substances. But, that said, I do still believe they have an important place in healing, as does the now becoming mainstream medicinal use of ketamine, MDMA & even LSD in psyche repair….. & better compared to most of the mainstream psyche drugs available which I would not touch with a barge pole personally.
I love & get huge benefits from my (citations in the sidebar) DL Phenylalanine powder, which is an individual amino acid that has specific beneficial effects on the nervous system, also my N-Acetyl Cysteine powder and my pure GABA powder. This summer I have been back on Kava Kava in the evening to get my cortisol under control which is fab & I’ve been using CBD oil by mouth too for a month which is lovely but too expensive to come to rely on. I also take masses of B vitamins, Vit C & high EPA fish oil every day (plus D & K2 & E for being old). I cannot eat refined sugar period & alcohol would have me hospitalised in no time…..just sayin….. 15 years sober otherwise I would have died…….& I have to be in nature twice a day whatever the weather…. it’s a bit austere but it works, being inside cut off for the sky & the Earth can be majorly depressive.
One last thing….. she’s got to me, Wendy, she’s reminding me of things I knew and since finding this video the other day I’ve stopped using my headphones in nature to reconnect my consciousness with the consciousness surrounding me in my local area & it’s been so so helpful & grounding….. there was a reason I started using headphones, I was trying to protect my nervous system from my own bark reactive dogs & as a way to avoid other people but it’s made me increasingly orphaned in my sense of place so I’ve stopped using them. I will still take them out though, they’re my favourite body armour. 😍
This video is not intended to make anyone on meds do anything rash, it is a very general video which is extremely powerful in its capacity to somewhat humorously explain the intense predicament we are in with “science” - love it…..thank you so much Russell 💜
