Lindsay Kolasa

Ochre and watercolor art, by Lindsay Kolasa

I’ve decided to post more information on mental health issues because I keep seeing case studies and people keep contacting me about this.  Here is a little run-down on what I think is going on with mental health issues (and chronic, health issues).

First off, have you read my blog on my experience back in 2000-2001???  There are some really informative links throughout the blog post and tons or resources at the end.

In addition to that, I was recently interviewed by documentary film director, Phil Borges, about my experience with psychosis and my journey through healing.  He directed a timely and amazing film called, Crazywise.

What stimulated the writing of this blog post is that we had a long conversation just a couple of days ago…  It made me reiterate some understandings of how such mental-physical-spiritual-emotional collapses can happen.

Care to ponder this?

childhood trauma (stress) =

inflammation =

dysregulated immune function =

vulnerability to bacteria and viruses (due to comprised immune function) =

auto immunity =

psychosis

Inflammation can also lead to severe depression, thyroid issues, diabetes, and/or cancer…

This is why proper nutrition, stress management, herbs, and…well…an overhaul of our society is so necessary (to be completely honest…how long can we keep putting out these fires?).

As well, any well-read and intelligent psychologist or psychiatrist will TEST THYROID FUNCTION (or, at least look for common symptom patterns for thyroid excess or deficiency) before labeling someone bipolar or schizophrenic.  Please feel free to check out the following articles for more info:

Thyroid Function and Bipolar Disorder
Thyroid: What’s Mental Health Got to Do with It?
Thyroid Deficiency and Mental Health
Thyroid Disease and Bipolar Disorder

These are just some basic articles you can read to begin to get an understanding of the link.  And, by sharing this, I’m not suggesting people get on thyroid meds…however, for some that may be the answer…

What I am suggesting…is to call on herbs and foods to help re-balance the thyroid…even stress management techniques…EMDR…soul retrieval…explore ways to re-balance your system!

Then again, it may be something upstream (pituitary?) or downstream (liver?) effecting thyroid function.  It would be wise to review the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) and HPT axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid) to get a clearer picture of how a mental, physical, or emotional stress may be effecting the body.

HPA Axis

HPT Axis

Now, onto the next topic.

If you provide care services in any way (health, medical, social, educational), you should already know about the ACE Study.  You can also check out this on-line resource.

I’ve worked with a lot of clients that came to me with auto-immune issues…  Of course, it did not surprise me when they talked about childhood trauma.

You should also understand that increased levels of antibodies from our bloated vaccine schedule could also play into auto-immune issues (thus creating a domino effect when it comes to immune function, infections, mental health, gut health, etc).

The above link in the previous paragraph links to a book that just came out on vaccines and auto-immune issues.  Check out this audio interview with the author, part 1 and part 2.

Hey.  Don’t freak out on me because I mentioned vaccines, either.  I’ve seen antibody #’s in a Hashimoto’s patient go through the roof after necessary vaccine shots for nursing school.  The psychosis I experienced was shortly after a round of vaccines in Peace Corps.

Keep your mind open, please.

And finally, recent research about the link between auto-immunity and psychosis.