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Neural therapy is not usually thought of as a treatment for psychological problems. To be sure, relief of pain and other symptoms of illness can give a lift to the psyche, but neural therapy as a treatment for emotional distress? ‐ This seems unlikely. However there is one relatively common circumstance where immediate and impressive relief of emotional pain can be obtained through neural therapy. That is in certain instances of acute depression. The word "depression" is all too often used to signify a diagnosis, when its use should really be limited to description of a symptom or perhaps a constellation of symptoms (sadness, listlessness, fatigue, etc.) The impetus behind employing the term depression for a diagnosis seems to be that immediate treatment with antidepressant medication is then justified. Symptomatic relief may be obtained, but attention is diverted from making a true diagnosis and finding a more rational solution to the patient's distress. The treatable causes of depression are too numerous to be discussed here, but commonly overlooked ones in my own practice are hepatotoxins such as mercury (from amalgam fillings) organic solvents and some medications, vitamin B12 deficiency, hypocholesterolemia, hypothyroidism, dietary protein deficiency (in vegetarians) or combinations of the above. You will note that at the top of my list is hepatotoxins. In fact, with unexplained depression, the first place I look is at the liver. For those of you familiar with Chinese medicine, this should come as no surprise as the liver has been associated with anger and depression for millennia. In Western culture, an example of this association may be seen in alcoholism, where anger and depression are never far from the surface. From a neurophysiological standpoint, the autonomic nervous system reacts when the liver is stressed by toxins or infection. The liver itself may then become an "interference field" and begin to function at a suboptimal level. With this often comes depression, fatigue, apathy and/or irritability. If a liver interference field is suspected in a patient presenting with depression, the first step is (as always) to take a careful history, particularly asking about the few weeks or months preceding the onset of symptoms. Exposure to new toxins in the workplace, in the home, in personal care products (lotions, creams, etc.), medications, vaccinations, dental work, etc. may all be significant. Alternatively, chronic (compensated) exposure may suddenly become a problem (i.e. a decompensation occurs) if an additional stress is added to the patient's system, e.g. a viral infection, dental work, a change in diet, overwork, personal conflicts, etc. Mild environmental toxic exposures do not usually cause problems in otherwise healthy people. However those who have experienced serious liver stresses in the past, e.g. hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis, or drug overdose (especially acetaminophen) are more vulnerable. Their livers carry the "memory" of the previous insult and the autonomic nervous system is then more likely to react in an exaggerated manner, such that an interference field is created. A positive response with autonomic response testing confirms the diagnosis. (See Chapter 4 of my book available at http://www.neuraltherapybook.com. Treatment usually requires three steps:
Neural therapy of the liver can in some cases give instant relief, i.e. an immediate improvement in mood and energy level. This happy result may occasionally be permanent, but more commonly repeat sessions of neural therapy in conjunction with the detoxification program are needed, i.e. the neural therapy gives a "boost" to the liver until the liver can function normally on its own. There is probably no better example of the organ-emotion connection than that between the liver and depression. Judging from the sales of antidepressant medications in our society, depression is epidemic. Physicians should be on the lookout for these easily treatable causes and then use neural therapy to sometimes give spectacular relief. Sincerely, Robert F. Kidd, MD, CM |