Tag: treatment

The Frontline Mental Health Conference.

Today’s post is about the 2024 National Frontline Mental Health Conference.

On Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th of March, I was privileged to attend this mental health conference. This annual conference is hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association.

About –

Frontline workers are heroes of our community with specific and special requirements when it comes to psychological safety, seeking help when it’s needed and challenging systemic stigma, harassment and bullying.

This conference was all about sharing research, innovations and treatment techniques from mental health experts. It was an opportunity to meet with fellow sector workers and hear from sector leaders about improving the mental health care and wellbeing of people on the frontline, the first responders – during training, whilst serving and in post-service.

Personal highlights –

There were many great speakers sharing the latest research, case studies and industry policies. For me, the two standout presenters were Dr Nikki Jamieson and Derrick McManus.

Listening to Dr Nikki was heart breaking. She told us about her son, who was in the military, took his own life out of frustration over his poor treatment in the Army. This experience led her to become a suicidologist for the Australian Defence Force. A suicidologist is someone who studies suicide, suicidal and life-threatening behaviours, as well as suicide prevention.

Dr Nikki spoke about her passion, which is “moral trauma/ injury”. This is when a person is forced, due to circumstances, to do something that breaches their internal moral code. These kinds of injuries happen every day, but for some, there are injuries that are longer lasting than others.

Moral injury is thought to be closely related to burnout and may even be the same condition. Neither of these conditions are yet recognised in this country. However, Nikki is very hopeful one or both will be added to the next versions of the ICD (international classification of diseases) and the DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders). This will mean that organisations will have to recognise that these mental injuries are real and begin taking steps to reduce their incidence, as they do with any other W.H & S process.

Derrick McManus’s story was from the other side of the spectrum. He was a counter terrorist operator in the South Australian Special Tasks and Rescue Group. In 1994, he was shot 14 times in less than 10 seconds by an offender using an automatic rifle. An ambulance finally got to him after 3 hours and the bullets were still flying around. The paramedic thought he was dead, only stopping to check him just in case. Amazingly he survived against all odds and is now sharing his mental well-being methodology with others. He spoke very strongly about post traumatic growth and how his planning for the worst before it happened, helped him get through when the worst happened.

Derrick has since founded the Australian Center for Human Durability – The Ability to go Beyond Resilience to Sustainable Optimal Performance.  He works with police, the Army and the RAAF, including fighter pilots, with great success. His methodologies apply equally to the general public too.

 Overall, I found this conference to be inspirational. It was great to speak with like-minded people who are so invested in the mental well being of our society’s frontline, first responders.

Till the next post,

 Live clean n Prosper

A bit about a muscle called Psoas.

Today’s post is about the Psoas muscle.

The reason I have chosen to write about this particular muscle is because of the challenges it has presented to many people, including myself.

So what is the Psoas?

This muscle group (pronounced So-as) may be one of the most important muscle groups in the body. They are the primary connections between the spine and the legs. Just the simple movement of getting out of bed would not be possible without them.

Commonly referred to as ‘hip flexor’ muscles, they affect your posture and help to stabilize your spine. They also help to move your legs forward when you walk or run. These same muscles flex your body forward when you bend over to pick up something from the floor. They also support the internal organs.

The diaphragm and the psoas muscles are also connected to the other hip muscles and the diaphragm. These connections between the psoas muscle and the diaphragm literally connect your ability to walk and breathe. Also how you respond to fear and excitement.
When startled or under any type of stress, your psoas contracts. This means that the psoas has a direct influence on the fight-or-flight response!

How does the Psoas become a challenge?

During prolonged periods of stress, your psoas is constantly contracted. The same contraction occurs when you sit for long periods of time, engage in excessive running or walking, sleep in the foetal position, or do a lot of sit-ups. All of these activities compress the front of your hip and shorten your psoas muscle.

Many people, from office workers to professional athletes, suffer from chronic tightness in their psoas. This can be a result of overuse (like athletic training) or limited movement (like sitting down all day), even physical and emotional trauma have been linked to psoas tension.

A tight (or short) psoas muscle can cause pain in the lower back or hips, especially when lifting your legs. Usually stretching the muscles and releasing the tension is the best way to prevent it. However, while most people with psoas issues have tight muscles, there are some people whose issues may be caused by overstretching. In this case, if you try stretching an already overstretched muscle, you can cause more problems. It takes time and daily attention to keep these muscles relaxed, stretched, and strong.

There are several symptoms that may indicate a psoas imbalance. These include knee and/or lower back pain, postural problems, sciatica and leg length discrepancy.

The key is find out what condition your psoas is in to determine the treatment. If the muscle is short and tight and needs stretching. If the muscle is weak or overstretched it may need strengthening.

This is where a health care professional is required to rule out other conditions and injuries. You may need a physical exam of your back and hip and diagnostic tests. Consider a practitioner who is experienced in biomechanics and who can address any potential pelvic distortion, joint restrictions, foot pronation, and hip and knee imbalances.
Some chiropractors and massage therapists also have experience in treating psoas conditions.

My own challenge has been dealing with tight psoas muscles. Personally I found that a physiotherapist was able to assist in correcting the issue, along with stretches and exercises that I work through often to ease tension.

I hope that you found this information interesting.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper
(Sources – www.drnorthrup.com, PubMed, Wikipedia, The Psoas Book by Liz K

Homeopathy – an overview

Today’s post is a bit of an Overview of Homeopathy.

I was recently speaking with a Homeopath about how the treatment works. I found the concept quite interesting and thought I would share.

Homeopathy, like most of the natural therapies, works on treating the body as a whole. Working on the premise that if you give the body the right tools, it will heal itself.

The history

In the late 1700’s Samuel Hahnemann developed the central idea of homeopathic medicine. This was the principle of ‘like cures like’ or the ‘law of similars’.

Hahnemann also came to assume that the body was highly sensitive to drugs during illness. He prescribed very small doses of drugs – hence the expression ‘homeopathic doses’ for very small amounts.

Homeopathy spread rapidly through Europe in the early 1800s. The first homeopathic hospital opened in 1832 in Leipzig. In 1835, Hahnemann moved to Paris, where he was a popular practitioner until his death in 1845.

So how is it meant to work?

The basic principle behind homeopathy is “like cures like.” In other words, something that brings on symptoms in a healthy person can, in a very small dose, treat an illness with similar symptoms. This process is meant stimulate the body’s own natural healing response.

Homeopathy works on treating the “whole person”. This means that two people presenting with the same complaint may receive a different medicine based on their individual symptoms and emotional response to the illness.

Homeopathic practitioners repeatedly dilute these ingredients by adding water or alcohol. Homeopaths also believe that the lower the dose, the more powerful the medicine. In fact, many of the remedies no longer contain any traceable molecules of the original substance.

Conditions that are most commonly treated by homeopaths include – coughs, colds, hay-fever and travel sickness.

Does it work?

Homeopathy has had quite a lot of bad press. Numerous doctors and researchers have reported that the practice does not work and is nothing more than a placebo.

As is the case with many alternative or natural healing practices, there are people who have had success with the treatment and those that have not.

Interestingly, while conducting my research, I found out that the ‘like cures like’ principle is also used for vaccinations.

To immunise against viral diseases – such as polio and measles – the vaccine usually incorporates virus particles that have been weakened or killed. With providing immunity against bacterial diseases – such as tuberculosis, diphtheria and cholera – introducing an inactivated portion of the bacteria, or its toxic products, is used. Vaccinations are used to stimulate the body’s immune system to increase antibody formation.

With this in mind, is it such a stretch to consider that homeopathic treatment can work for some individuals?

My personal experience with homeopathy is so far a positive one. I have found the treatment to be effective in managing menopause symptoms.

On that note, do your own research before taking on any kind of treatment and discuss your situation with a reputable health professional.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper  

(Sources – http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk, www.wikipedia.org, www.homeopathyoz.org o