24:00 "Lifestyle management program 1) Food 2) Exercise 3) Circadian rhythms 4) Stress management 5) Relationships love & purpose in life" - Wise words that apply so broadly!
Wow! Tim is a man of indomitable spirit! How much suffering can a human being endure? And still seek to use that deep suffering to help others. This is a story of the wounded healer and the healed healer. I LOVE his answer to the question "Is there a place for medication?" Answer: "It is NOT necessary." This is interesting because if we're not medicating someone in a manic or psychotic episode, then it means we would have to view their state of consciousness from a different perspective. If you look at the Open Dialogue program from Finland, they teach about tolerating the uncertainty of those intense states of consciousness, psychotic and manic episodes, as possible "breakthroughs", not just "breakdowns." Looking at all the symptoms of mania and psychosis as resources instead of something to be obliterated with medication and fixed right away. This will require clinicians and families alike to tolerate a wide range of human states of consciousness. It means for us to be receptive to the possibility, that during a psychotic or manic episode, it maybe the first time this person is able to speak their truth. This maybe the very first time they feel they are able to speak what's in their mind/brain and heart. I've witnessed this in many of my clients over the years as a psychiatric RN. Often in a manic or psychotic state, clients disclose deep betrayal, trauma, as well as their dreams, hopes and fears. They even share some gold nuggets of wisdom. Somehow during those incredibly intense states of consciousness, their guard/filter is down, and they are more in touch with their innermost feelings, fears, wishes, dreams, as well as their pain, sadness, and grief. It's such a sensitive and fragile state but it is also has a quality of innocence, genuineness, and purity. Open Dialogue encourages us to look at crisis as an opportunity for change. Many a times someone who is manic or psychotic may not make a whole lot of sense, but there's a thread of truth to what they are saying if we listen with our hearts. And if we suppress that with medication right away, then we may miss that opportunity to support them in speaking and owning their truth. That said, I believe medication can be useful in acute crisis. Those states of consciousness are incredibly powerful and the brain can only tolerate them for so long. There is a balance of listening and not suppressing a person in a manic or psychotic state, and letting them spiral out of control and put undue strain and stress on their brain. I believe it is compassionate to use minimal amount of medication to help them rest their brain at some point, but while still allowing them to be human and own their truth. It is what I call a holistic approach. Just the same as if I was having a heart attack, please take me to the nearest emergency department. There's a place for medication and for western medicine. However, I agree with Tim, medication is often "not necessary", not in every instance. There is definitely a tendency to overuse medications as a way to silence our own anxiety and distress, rather than witnessing and providing a sacred space for this person, and in the best interest of the client. Medication use, misuse, and abuse in psychiatry is undeniable and it often does more harm than good. Tim, You are a brave soul. Thank you for sharing your story here and thank you to Matt and Dr. Campbell for creating this container of safe space. Warm regards, Neseret
Thanks a lot for this amazing eye opening info. I was suspecting about the connection between my metabolic problems and my bipolar and this is a confirmation for mr. I will start right now with keto and keep you posted. The rest of the points I think I'm already on them..
What a wonderful man, Wim. Iain and Matt produce wonderful material and they allow their guests to really share their experience. Wim is special with an extraordinary clarity. He has impressed me more that most doctors I’ve met. His clarity is phenomenal.
Very interesting talk on the spiritual slant that many psychosis take. For myself i was depressed and anhedonic from 18-24yrs and this turned me into a seeker like Ian mentioned. Because if the pain and lack of meaning I was constantly researching and trying to find the meaning of life and what this was all about. This lead me to spirituality and learning about different states of consciousness. Every night for several years I would read for hours and go down massive rabbit holes looking for answers. That curiosity and search lead me to places all around the world to find an answer and try to 'heal' myself, India, Peru etc. It also led me to try different substances hoping some kind of plant medicine could heal me. It led to a psychotic episode when i was 24 that was centered around spiritual delusions, thinking I was being allowed entry into a spiritual realm. I was admitted to hospital for 2 months and I had zero insight, I thought I was being punished for not being good enough to make it into this spiritual dimension. I find it so curious that so many psychosis have this spiritual slant to them. I also truly believe I have had real spiritual experiences at times in my life, and that the power of those real experiences and inability for my concious mind to reconcile them with my everyday life could even have contributed to the emergence of my psychosis, along with a number of other factors. I am 8 years post that psychosis with relative stability but still anhedonia, brain fog and some social and general anxiety. I am day 1 of a ketogenic diet and excited to see what happens. Thank you for sharing your stories, really really helpful and healing to hear people I can relate to speak about things that are so hard to explain and describe.
Awesome interview and channel guys, I am curious would you recommend checking ketones after dinner or before bed and maintaining that 1.5-2.5 range? I find keto very helpful with my adhd and social anxiety but I haven't stayed consistent with it. Curious when you think is the best time to measure for maximum benefits. Also do you recommend the glucose ketone index being 1:1 like was mentioned here?
Epilepsy studies tend to measure in the afternoon as "dawn effect" cortisol surge pushes glucose up in the morning and this has settled by then. I find 1:1 or 1:2 GKI to be good for mood stabilisation, again this is reflected to a degree in the epilepsy literature.
@@ketobipolar Awesome, thank you, just checked my GKI is 1:1.8 :D - also can I ask what substances you take for glucose control and when you take them? I seem to remember you taking berberine to push sugar down. Thanks
How exactly do you get in the upper ketone levels? I've been doing keto/ carnivore for three years. I finally learned that high fat moderate protein was better for me but not quite there. It would be nice if you had something on fat to protein ratios. People seem to get instantly better but i don't think it's true for everyone. I don't know what i'm getting wrong.
Protein is not easy to determine. But a good starting point is eat per day 0.6 grams of protein per kg of ideal body weight. To make this even more difficult . You have to use a good app like my fitness pal or Cranometer. Because if you use a scale and weigh out 100 g of hamburger meat that is 80% protein 20% fat you are NOT getting 80 g of protein and 20 g of fat. But!!! It’s 25.3 g of protein and 16 g of fat. So it’s very challenging. I wish there was a video just on this.
I’m not sure a calm place would work for women who become psychotic with their menstrual cycle. I mean I wouldn’t hurt anyone or perhaps you could hide me away for a time. ….The inputs come from inside us during this time. The stimulants are not externally inputs only. Although, the external inputs are certainly what I generally react to. But, the drama is there.
Too much input; your Dr should not give you pills, but find a forest, get rid of tech, and let your psychosis play out for four weeks until it magically ends. It's all about too much input. Sorry wim, it's all about genetics and environment/trauma, and dopamine flooding. How do you stop dopamine flooding without medication? Mania stops sleep, and I have yet to find a natural method for sleep. In the UK, Wim's method wouldn't work because we don't spend enough on mental health - we get concrete wards with staff too busy to have the time to guide us through mania and psychosis without medication. Wim if it took you forty years to master this, what chance do we have? On the flip side I totally agree with keto/exercise and lifestyle changes to stabilise the condition, and on that front I'm grateful for what you are putting out.
That's a part of it. The modern world is hard for a bipolar brain to handle. Too much information. Best times in my life I lived in a tent and worked manuel labor with good friends out in nature.
