In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt said “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” during his first inaugural speech as a newly elected President of a United States. The country was suffering from the Great Depression and many people were unemployed and struggling to survive. You can hear his inspiring words from that day in a short excerpt from the speech, and read the full transcript at historymatters.gmu.edu: [http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057]
So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933, First Inaugural Address, [http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057]
Fear can paralyze and divide us at times when we need to take action and work together to make changes that help stabilize the situation causing fear.
There are a lot more psychiatrists with prescription pads than there are suicide bombers and lots more individuals with unhealthy microbiomes than either psychiatrists or suicide bombers. The odds of encountering a psychiatrist may be lower than the likelihood of meeting someone with an unhealthy microbiome or having the bad luck of being in the vicinity of a suicide bomber.
The psychiatrist with a prescription pad writing olanzapine/Zyprexa prescriptions may be turning otherwise non-violent people into violent people (who may or may not also develop diabetes or other unpleasant side effects); and the individual with an unhealthy microbiome may have anxiety or other negative mood symptoms because of the neurotransmitters that are being produced by the types of bacteria colonizing the intestines. Some types make positive mood neurotransmitters and some types make anxiety producing neurotransmitters. Read more about the intestinal microbiome and mood: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166223613000088]
We have been trained by advertising to fear too many things, silly things like whether someone might notice our body odor, or whether our outfits are the currently popular style, or whether the little one will get accepted at the best preschool so that they will have a better chance of later being accepted at the best university. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself because it disables us from making decisions based on our values rather than basing them on advertising messages.
Note for anyone who may be trying to wean off of olanzapine/Zyprexa, based on patient forum comments and my own experiences with the medication: (with your psychiatrist’s approval and guidance) Cut the tablets into smaller and smaller fractions and gradually taper off the drug over several days/weeks/whatever it takes; and taking a tablet of ibuprofen every four-six hours when stopping the medication may also help with withdrawal symptoms from the olanzapine/Zyprexa, because ibuprofen’s anti-inflammatory and pain relief functions are also due to it preventing the breakdown of our natural cannabinoids, however ibuprofen doesn’t cause psychiatric affects or withdrawal symptoms, so it must not be affecting the cannabinoids in quite the same way as olanzapine/Zyprexa.
/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./