Feedback: We'd like to hear your comments and views. Please forward them to the e-mail address above. Contact information is below.

Also included on the site is an array of articles on topics ranging from the medical causes of schizophrenia to the effects of toxic metals on mental health.

Special AlternativeMentalHealth.com T-shirts and bumper stickers are available at our online store.

A bookstore page lists top books that cover many areas of alternative treatments with titles like Natural Healing for Schizophrenia and Other Common Mental Disorders and No More Ritalin.

AlternativeMentalHealth.com has been created to educate the public, practitioners, and government officials on the medical conditions that create "mental illness" and the many safe resources available for addressing and often curing severe mental symptoms.

When I told her at her reception what I was doing with Safe Harbor, she was thrilled. She told me how two years ago she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and placed on 10 different meds over the following year. She became tired of the effects of the meds and felt she didn't really need them. She took herself off the drugs, started exercising, drinking lots more water (she emphasized this), took vitamins, knocked off the street drugs and alcohol and found some better friends.

My "little girl" has been drug-free for a year now. She just sparkled in telling me all this, and it warmed me to no end to see this beautiful young lady with a life ahead of her - unlike what she would have had if she would have stayed on the meds.

She emphasized the point we try to make every day at Safe Harbor: Recovery is possible. My thanks to all of you who continue to spread that message of hope out into the world.

To join the list, send an email saying so and saying what kind of practitioner you are to: SafeHarborProj@aol.com. 

The support group will meet at 7 PM and Dr. Mullan will speak and answer questions from 8 PM till 9 PM. The public is invited. We are asking attendees to call (323-257-7338) or e-mail (SafeHarborProj@aol.com) by Dec. 10 so we know how many are attending.  

Teaching the classes will be James Croxton, Professor of physiological psychology, of Santa Monica College.

Class titles will be:
Jan 4 - Basic Brain Health and Functioning
Jan 11 - Nutritional Connection
Jan 18 - Actual Illnesses and Cases

Cost: $20 (covers all three classes)

Registration is required. Call for registration form at (909) 606-9959. REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Dec 20, 2002

Location to be announced (in Chino Hills area - about an hour east of Los Angeles)

Flu Shot Season - Think twice before you shoot!

I'd like to repeat the Flu/Alzheimer's connection that so many of you have asked about.

According to Hugh Fudenberg, MD, the world's leading immunogeneticist and 13th most quoted biologist of our times (nearly 850 papers in peer review journals), if an individual has had five consecutive flu shots his/her chances of getting Alzheimer's Disease is ten times higher than if they had one, two or no shots.

I asked Dr. Fudenberg why this was so and he said it was due to the mercury and aluminum that is in every flu shot (and some childhood shots). The gradual mercury and aluminum buildup in the brain causes cognitive dysfunction. Is that why Alzheimer's is expected to quadruple?  

Randall Neustaedter OMD author of The Vaccine Guide says this: The flu vaccine gets the most-useless-vaccine-of-all-time award. Now the CDC is recommending the vaccine for children under two years old and all adults over 50. Don't fall for it.

Flu Facts

• Flu vaccine manufacturers are notoriously inaccurate at predicting the appropriate viruses to use in an individual year's vaccine, rendering the vaccine ineffective.
• Flu vaccine is relatively ineffective in those patients most at risk of flu complications.
• The vaccine has caused GBS (a paralytic illness: Guillain-Barré Syndrome) in recipients during several different flu seasons.
• Those most at risk of flu complications probably share a higher risk of adverse reactions to the flu vaccine as well.

Dear Dan,

I have a dear friend who called me a few weeks ago asking my opinion. Her MD had referred her to see a psychiatrist and to commit herself into a hospital. She looked the papers over that she was suppose to sign first and called me to see what I thought.

I told her that she needed to be tested for physical diseases. I explained that many doctors don't know what to look for that can be the source of the "mental illness" or making it worse. I sent her a copy of Safe Harbor's last newsletter which had recommendations for tests that should be run and a copy of the Field Manual (on how to do a basic mental health medical exam) which I got off of your website (http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/fieldmanual.htm).

I gave it to her to pass on to the doctor if need be. I told her to look it over and to demand that tests be done! I highlighted the statement in the manual that the doctor has a legal and professional responsibility to locate any physical diseases.

She called me up crying today after she had gotten back from seeing the doctor - she was crying for joy. She told her doctor that she would go to the psychiatrist like he recommended and go to the hospital but not until he ran diagnostic tests on her to determine that what she was experiencing was not due to a medically untreated disease. She said that there was a particular test she wanted done. It was a specific test to detect a rare blood disease she thought she may have.

You see, she is on Medicare, and even though she had requested many years ago that this test be done, no doctor would do it. They had not heard of this disease and thought she was just imagining her severe pain. She has been put on antidepressants four different times throughout the years. She stopped however because they made her suicidal. She was not that way prior to the medications.

Anyway, her doctor called her in today and told her to sit down. He told her that she did have this rare deadly blood disease and told her over and over again how he now understood what she was saying. (About how she was in so much pain.) Apparently it is EXTREMELY painful! Apparently it is SO painful that in its last stages one goes psychotic. Not because it is part of the disease but because it is SO painful. To the doctor this was bad news that she has this disease, to her it was a blessing. It was because for years she has been told her pain was all in her head. That she was mentally ill (depressed) and lazy. Finally after 25 years it looks like the source of the problem has been found. There is finally understanding and maybe it is not too late. She thanked me profusely for being her friend and understanding her. Everyone else thought she was crazy.

Thank you for what you and your volunteers are doing. 

Veterinary medicine is adopting psychiatric drugs at an alarming rate. The field of behavioral medicine is being medicalized in a manner paralleling the human psychiatric profession. This is not a surprise as most veterinary behavioral graduate programs use psychiatric literature to educate their graduates. The result is an increasing dependency upon psychotherapeutic modalities and diagnostic matrices by veterinarians. What is currently a major problem for people in the mental health field is now spreading to the veterinary field as veterinarians look to human psychiatry as a solution for behavioral problems in animals.

Veterinary behaviorists are developing diagnostic criteria, which promote the use of psycho-active drugs as agents to solve behavior problems. Many of these behavioral problems are real, but the use of agents not properly researched or approved for these uses is troubling. Since we know that many psychotropic drugs cause brain injury after relatively short periods of use, veterinarians need to be better informed before adopting such treatments. The current trend of human medical practitioners that are adopting nondrug treatments for their patients is encouraging and proper documentation of successful methods will assist humans and pets alike.

As an integrative veterinarian of twenty years experience, I do not use psychotropic drugs as therapy. While it is true that some cases have elusive causes, it is generally worthwhile to pursue these causes and then administer effective treatment to resolve the condition. Veterinarians face similar challenges to the human mental health field and there is much that we can learn from one another. For instance, pets that suddenly display abnormal behaviors should have a complete medical evaluation including physical examination, blood pressure, urinalysis, complete blood count, serum chemistries and thyroid testing. Finding and treating the correct medical cause can solve many behavioral problems. In this regard, veterinary behaviorists are doing an excellent job.

Difficulty arises when no specific cause for the abnormal behavior can be located. There is a tendency to attach an agreed-upon label and then prescribe a drug to solve the problem. This happens for many reasons. There is a genuine desire to help these pets and their owners and drugs promise a quick fix. Veterinarians are trained to prescribe a pill for a problem and once a behavior has a medical name established then it becomes nearly habitual to prescribe whatever medication is currently trendy. One example of this is the condition known as "separation anxiety."

Dogs that become overly upset and demonstrate annoying behaviors such as destruction of property or excessive vocalization when left alone are labeled as suffering from separation anxiety. We state that dogs suffer from separation anxiety, when usually the biggest suffering is on the part of the owner. If we consider that dogs are social animals and that instinct dictates that being left alone is akin to being left as a meal for a wandering predator, then we see that this disorder is actually based upon very survival oriented behavior. What these dogs need is correct training so that they come to understand that they are safe. Studies show that training helps the majority of these pets and that use of a psychiatric drug causes diarrhea and only shortens the problem by a short time over training. We have no studies on the long-term use of these medications, but veterinarians are prescribing them in large amounts, and they are very profitable to sell. Are we damaging brain elements? Do individual dogs treated have increased risks for allergies or cancer? We simply don't know.

Modern psychiatric therapy has been progressively medicalized. Scientific method is sadly missing. Often conditions are named merely to describe a set of findings with no real pathology documented. Once a name exists, it becomes easier to attach a therapy to the name. If the name is based upon a correct assessment and accurate understanding of the condition, then that therapy can be found to be truly useful. Sadly, in biologic based mental health there are so few truly effective therapies that we can become desperate to find a treatment before we really understand the condition.

Prescribing psychiatric drugs for mental disorders becomes a stimulus-response activity and the result is devastating. Practitioners who routinely use nutritional means, allergy testing and other modalities see many patients suddenly recover from illnesses that have only descriptive diagnoses before. A delusional patient recovers when his thyroid is properly diagnosed and treated. His actual working diagnosis is hypothyroidism, and while delusional psychotic may be descriptively accurate, the psychopharmaceutical agent given is often times extremely destructive, and may cause even more pathology to occur. Integrative and holistic practitioners frequently see these problems and are very concerned with the efforts to medicalize behaviors and to present drugs as solutions for many of these disorders. Hopefully, in the future behavioral problems will be better handled through the work of such groups as Safe Harbor.

Through the spring and summer, we have noticed a lot of e-mails regarding attempts to "debunk" the recovery movement. People in positions of authority claiming that those of us who have these difficult symptoms can never get well and that we need to be kept in our place - even forced to do what others have determined is "the right thing" for us to do, without consideration for our own wants, needs and goals. We find this to be very disturbing.

First I want to applaud those people who have spoken out so strongly against this counter movement.

And then we remind ourselves, and we want to remind you, that once a movement reaches a certain number of people, there is no turning back. And that is true of the recovery movement. There is no turning back. The movement is too big. We have learned too much about ourselves. We know that many of the myths we were taught were not true. We know the difference between good and bad treatment. And we know lots and lots and lots of things we can do to help ourselves feel better when we are not feeling well. We have taken back control of our lives.

And we have done this with the assistance and support of many, many wonderful, supportive health care providers, family members and friends who have walked this hard journey with us. There is no turning back.

Although often referred to as "wheat allergy," Celiac Disease (also called Celiac Sprue) is not an "allergy" but rather an intolerance to the protein in gluten, a substance found in wheat and other grains. It actually harms (destroys) the villi (miniscule "fingers" that make up the intestinal lining) in the small intestine that take in nourishment. The mental disorders that Celiac brings to a child and adult is due to the malnutrition caused by the damage to the small intestine.

It is my wish to have Celiac Sprue disease a common subject and something parents and doctors can consider when they see their children lagging behind in school and social skills. Note that this list was compiled with the help of many people willing to share.

22 people replied.

20 people saw improvement from a gf (gluten-free) diet. (One had just started the diet and it was too soon to tell)

All spoke of delayed learning prior to a gf diet either in themselves or their children.

The physiological, cognitive, and emotional changes that took place are as follows:

• Improvement in my ability to learn
• Interest in school improved
• Concentration improved
• No more meds for depression problems
• No more avoidance of meeting people
• Expected full recovery of ataxia problems (inability to coordinate muscle movements)
• Ability to catch up in delayed gross motor skills
• Able to catch up in physical growth progress
• Went from bottom of class to the top of his class after 3 months on gf diet
• Found a "hunger" for learning after going gf
• Loss of crossness and crankiness
• Lots of stories about children able to catch up with peers developmentally
• Definite increases in intelligence
• Grade point average went from 2.5 to 3.9
• Many have acquired college degrees with high gpa after going gluten-free
• Came alive academically
• Able to meet daily challenges better
• Much "quicker" when it comes to her studies
• Absenteeism no longer a problem
• Lots of stories about coming out of withdrawn state socially to an outgoing one -- running for student council, more motivated in doing well and meeting people
• Increased well-being and better brain chemistry
• No more "brain fog"
• Noticeable improvement in reading
• Better temperaments in children

Before going gluten-free, students had the following difficulties/complaints:

• Daydreaming in school
• Difficulty in finishing sentences and finding words
• Speech delay
• In and out of Special Education classes
• Delays in walking and talking
• Delayed puberty including menarche
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Non-epileptic seizures
• Arthritis and osteopenia
• Short term and long term memory was not good
• Many reports of struggles with school but score high in intelligence
• Misdiagnosis of fibromyalgia
• Visual and auditory delusions
• Anxiety problems, tummy aches
• Temporary dyslexia

When my eldest son was 23, he was failing all his college classes and was plagued with visual & auditory hallucinations. I was scared to death he would end up on major tranquilizers and be in and out of institutions for the rest of his life.

About that time I was diagnosed with celiac disease (see above article) and thought perhaps that was his problem. I had been unable to get my son into a doctor's office for his problems, but somehow I managed to talk him into cutting out "white stuff" from his diet (flour & sugar). The transformation was almost overnight. He was suddenly able to concentrate on his school work and all his delusions and demons left. He eventually was diagnosed with celiac disease & began the gluten-free (gf) diet in earnest. He further refined his diet to omit dairy products which also caused him unpleasant symptoms.

He's now fulfilling his dream to attend a four-year university & pursue a degree in history.

My youngest son, age 17, has suffered with ADD symptoms for many years with the usual problems -- obnoxious behavior that annoyed teachers, family and peers, under achievement and resorting to illicit drugs for comfort.

After seeing the success of his elder on the gf diet, he voluntarily began the gluten-free, milk-free diet. After six weeks, he noted how calm he'd become and was enjoying being included in more social activities. He's strictly adhered to the diet for almost 18 months now and his ADD symptoms are well controlled. He's now a senior in high school, succeeding academically, popular with his peers and teachers and happy at home.

Is this from an episode of X-Files? No, it is real. It is an early chapter of Dr. John Martin’s battle with "stealth viruses," a phrase he coined to describe viruses that lack the typical markers that allow them to be spotted by the body’s immune system.

And how does a simian virus get into humans? Vaccines. Most people do not know that some vaccines are "cultivated" from the kidneys of African green monkeys.

Dr. Martin’s early research found that stealth viruses do not evoke the usual inflammation response expected from pathogens. But they seemed to be responsible for a wide array of neuropsychiatric symptoms as well as other complex conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Many in the healthcare field believe that the increased use of vaccines in the past few decades may be responsible for recently-seen rises in behavioral disorders such as childhood autism and "ADD." Where others suspect the mercury in the vaccines, Dr. Martin would add that stealth viruses should also be on the list of culprits.

In the mid-90s, Dr. Martin created the Center for Complex Infectious Diseases in Rosemead, CA, to study stealth viruses and to develop protocols for treating them. The results of double blind studies on blood samples are printed on the group’s web site, showing the following ratio of samples found to be positive for stealth virus: Symptom-free blood donors: 10%; psychotics: 100%; autistics: 80%.

In October 2002, Dr. Martin presented in Washington, D.C., to the American Academy for the Advancement of Science on the role of stealth viruses in mental and physical disorders. For further information on his work see www.ccid.org or call (626) 572-7288.

The research, conducted for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and led by Dr. Paul Lelliott, also found several other violations of the guidelines.

For example, in order to administer psychiatric drugs, the patient must be informed and give his consent. The study found that up to 80% of patients were not informed of the doses they were on.

Additionally, official guidelines state that the decision to prescribe dosages of the drugs above recommended levels must be made by a fully trained psychiatrist. In half the cases investigated, the decision was left to nursing staff because the psychiatrist left instructions that the drugs were to be taken "as required."

The guidelines also require precautionary tests such as an electrocardiogram (ECG), regular pulse, blood pressure and temperature checks. Fewer than 1 in 10 patients affected had been given an ECG.

In the files of 400 patients, two thirds of the patients found to be given excessive dosages, the case notes contained no explicit statement that BNF limits had been exceeded.

"This might reflect sub-optimal record keeping, a lack of awareness or a combination of both," the researchers commented. They also warned that "Patients have made allegations of negligence involving doses of antipsychotics outside the BNF recommended range. The lack of objective data to support the efficacy of high doses, in conjunction with the lack of informed consent and failure to conduct simple precautionary tests, are likely to make such allegations difficult to defend against."

Twenty-six per cent said they had seen large improvements in mood swings, 26% in panic attacks and anxiety and 24% in depression.

The survey was conducted by the Food and Mood Project, which is backed by the UK's largest mental health charity, M.I.N.D. The Project was founded by British nutritionist Amanda Geary, author of The Food and Mood Handbook and it has been so popular that the first Food and Mood Conference was held in England this past September.

At Safe Harbor we have heard from individuals who have fully recovered from diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADD, anxiety disorder, panic attacks, depression and others - simply by changing what they eat. The role of diet in mental health is so critical, yet few psychiatrists ask the simple question: What do you eat?

In her outstanding book The Food and Mood Handbook: Find Relief at Last from Depression, Anxiety, PMS, Cravings and Mood Swings, Amanda Geary takes a very thorough look at how foods affect mental and physical function. She walks us through a detailed guided tour of the role food plays in neurotransmitter production, allergies, cravings, blood sugar balancing, and other biochemical processes. The book includes recipes and many guidelines on how to determine how food affects you and what you can do about it.

It is one of the most extensive books we have seen on this topic. For more information see www.foodandmood.org.

Pupils who cut out artificial food additives can concentrate better in class, teachers have discovered. They are calmer and work better when chemical flavor enhancers and colorings are removed from their diet. Parents found their children were able to sleep better too. Teacher Ann Fitzgerald spearheaded the scheme at St. Barnabas Church of England First & Middle School in Drakes Broughton, Worcestershire.

Mrs. Fizgerald had been surprised by the number of hidden additives in foods such as gravy, sauces and bacon. The ban is now implemented. The school serves white custard for school meals instead of coloured yellow custard. Head teacher Charles Lupton said, "We are so convinced of the negative effects of food additives that we are very keen for other parents to be aware of our findings."

Teachers at Tywardreath Primary School in St. Austell, Cornwall noticed an improvement after parents stopped "E-numbers" for a week. (See discussion of E-numbers below.) Children were calmer, less argumentative, with greater concentration spans. This confirms the United Kingdom's Food Commission study last month showing the additives which are in hundreds of foods can cause tantrums and disruptive behaviour.

E-numbers are numerical designations which have been developed within the European Community (EC) for declaration of foodstuff additives. Lists of E-numbers are available on many websites, including:

http://www.elc-eu.org/approved.htm
http://www.fst.rdg.ac.uk/foodlaw/additive.htm

The list includes dozens of approved food colorings. A glance at a few of the names should be enough to give us second thoughts about feeding these substances to children (or ourselves!):

E133 Brilliant Blue FCF
E141 Copper complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllins
E150a Plain Caramel
E150b Caustic sulphite caramel
E150c Ammonia caramel
E150d Sulphite ammonia caramel
E151 Brilliant Black BN, Black BN
E171 Titanium dioxide
E172 Iron oxides and hydroxides
E173 Aluminum
E174 Silver
E175 Gold

The list includes at least twelve approved sweeteners. Saccharin and its sodium, potassium and calcium salts are classified as E954. Aspartame is E951. According to www.truthinlabeling.org, Aspartame contains aspartic acid and L-cysteine, neurotoxic amino acids as potent or more potent than the neurotoxic glutamic acid found in MSG. People who react to processed free glutamic acid (MSG) typically react similarly to aspartame, and vice versa.