Re: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

[Guest guest]

Hi Dr. Elias,I shouldn't do this, but from the sound of it, I would guess her constitutional remedy is likely Pulsatilla. If she is sweet, likes hugs, likes attention, cries easily, has irregular menses, along with other things you said about her, Pulsatilla would be at the top of my list. Of course, you need to take her case. I find constitutional homeopathy to be a life saver when it comes to helping patients with their emotional challenges. Ask her if how she feels about drinking water, and whether her mouth feels dry or not? Most Pulsatillas have a dry mouth, yet do not like to drink water! This is an SRP (strange, rare and peculiar) about them, and it does not always have to be true for every Pulsatilla patient.

Keep in mind that any constitution can suffer from anxiety, so my educated guess here may be wrong. Just thought I'd try to help a fellow patient. Best wishes, Sharum Sharif, ND To: "NaturopathicChat " <NaturopathicChat >; "UNDA Cases "

< > Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 7:00 PM Subject: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help. I don't see much of this population and my heart went out to her. I'm not sure what i can do for her. She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression. She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle. She lives with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and gets angry. They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so she is in a new school since Dec. She hasn't made any friends and feels that she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly. Her mom is still in love with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the father of her half-sister. She worries daily and probably all day about

her mom and that she

will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter. Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't. She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life and gets very upset. She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom. She ruminates so much, turns things over in her head, over and over. The anxiety gets so that she cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop. She is unable to sleep most nights, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She has a lot of pent up anger. She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or shows affection. She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she hangs in there and just tries to

make it through each day and counts the hours for each day to end. Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period, sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out. There is heavy bleeding the first couple of days. Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots of prepared and frozen food. She has to be malnourished. She is undergoing counseling every other week. I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!Alia Elias, ND, LAc.Newburyport MA and NH

[Guest guest]

Hi Dr. Elias,I shouldn't do this, but from the sound of it, I would guess her constitutional remedy is likely Pulsatilla. If she is sweet, likes hugs, likes attention, cries easily, has irregular menses, along with other things you said about her, Pulsatilla would be at the top of my list. Of course, you need to take her case. I find constitutional homeopathy to be a life saver when it comes to helping patients with their emotional challenges. Ask her if how she feels about drinking water, and whether her mouth feels dry or not? Most Pulsatillas have a dry mouth, yet do not like to drink water! This is an SRP (strange, rare and peculiar) about them, and it does not always have to be true for every Pulsatilla patient.

Keep in mind that any constitution can suffer from anxiety, so my educated guess here may be wrong. Just thought I'd try to help a fellow patient. Best wishes, Sharum Sharif, ND To: "NaturopathicChat " <NaturopathicChat >; "UNDA Cases "

< > Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 7:00 PM Subject: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help. I don't see much of this population and my heart went out to her. I'm not sure what i can do for her. She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression. She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle. She lives with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and gets angry. They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so she is in a new school since Dec. She hasn't made any friends and feels that she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly. Her mom is still in love with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the father of her half-sister. She worries daily and probably all day about

her mom and that she

will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter. Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't. She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life and gets very upset. She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom. She ruminates so much, turns things over in her head, over and over. The anxiety gets so that she cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop. She is unable to sleep most nights, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She has a lot of pent up anger. She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or shows affection. She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she hangs in there and just tries to

make it through each day and counts the hours for each day to end. Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period, sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out. There is heavy bleeding the first couple of days. Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots of prepared and frozen food. She has to be malnourished. She is undergoing counseling every other week. I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!Alia Elias, ND, LAc.Newburyport MA and NH

[Guest guest]

Natrum Muriaticum- came to my mind- grief, depression, ruminating and mother issues. I agree with Dr Sharif, that you need to take her case before deciding on a constitutional remedy. Are the cramps during her period, or just before? I would look also at Lachesis, esp if the cramps get better with her period.s The periods, fainting, anger, alcoholism and family situation fit Lachesis. They can get quite depressed also .

Good luck, it is a very tough case because of the family situation.

German

To: " " < > Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 8:32 PMSubject: Re: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

Hi Dr. Elias,

I shouldn't do this, but from the sound of it, I would guess her constitutional remedy is likely Pulsatilla. If she is sweet, likes hugs, likes attention, cries easily, has irregular menses, along with other things you said about her, Pulsatilla would be at the top of my list. Of course, you need to take her case. I find constitutional homeopathy to be a life saver when it comes to helping patients with their emotional challenges.

Ask her if how she feels about drinking water, and whether her mouth feels dry or not? Most Pulsatillas have a dry mouth, yet do not like to drink water! This is an SRP (strange, rare and peculiar) about them, and it does not always have to be true for every Pulsatilla patient.

Keep in mind that any constitution can suffer from anxiety, so my educated guess here may be wrong. Just thought I'd try to help a fellow patient.

Best wishes,

Sharum Sharif, ND

To: "NaturopathicChat " <NaturopathicChat >; "UNDA Cases " < > Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 7:00 PMSubject: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help. I don't see much of this population and my heart went out to her. I'm not sure what i can do for her. She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression.

She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle. She lives with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and gets angry. They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so she is in a new school since Dec. She hasn't made any friends and feels that she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly. Her mom is still in love with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the father of her half-sister. She worries daily and probably all day about her mom and that she will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter. Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't. She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life

and gets very upset.

She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom. She ruminates so much, turns things over in her head, over and over. The anxiety gets so that she cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop. She is unable to sleep most nights, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She has a lot of pent up anger. She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or shows affection. She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she hangs in there and just tries to make it through each day and counts the hours for each day to end.

Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period, sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out. There is heavy bleeding the first couple of days.

Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots of prepared and frozen food. She has to be malnourished.

She is undergoing counseling every other week.

I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!

Alia Elias, ND, LAc.

Newburyport MA and NH

[Guest guest]

Lots of things you can do for this girl, but whatever you do, in my opinion,most immediately should also involve some overture toward drawing the mom into this...by your account it appears to me that SHE needs a remedy...SHE needs counseling, and that this is a crucial part of this girl’s treatment. If you haven’t seen the mom yet and feel comfortable doing so, you might consider suggesting a session to allow you to better understand the family dynamic—doesn’t have to violate the young girl’s confidentiality at all. Whenever I see kids I always want to have parent(s) present (at least initially), or separately (before/after depending on case), or both. Evening primrose flower essence taken on rising, noon, dusk and bedtime might be a good choice for the girl. I might have her take it in conjunction with engaging her imagination around the role this flower essence can play as her ally, her friend, her teacher---a plant that manages to survive and even thrive in difficult environmental conditions (poor soil), a plant that sets up soil conditions for other plants to begin growing near it, where they wouldn’t grow before, a plant which manages to bloom beautifully even as it doesn’t have the nourishment and attention of sunlight that most other plants have....sounds like this girl could use a friend like this right about now....

Bob

I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help. I don't see much of this population and my heart went out to her. I'm not sure what i can do for her. She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression.

She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle. She lives with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and gets angry. They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so she is in a new school since Dec. She hasn't made any friends and feels that she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly. Her mom is still in love with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the father of her half-sister. She worries daily and probably all day about her mom and that she will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter. Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't. She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life and gets very upset.

She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom. She ruminates so much, turns things over in her head, over and over. The anxiety gets so that she cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop. She is unable to sleep most nights, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She has a lot of pent up anger. She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or shows affection. She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she hangs in there and just tries to make it through each day and counts the hours for each day to end.

Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period, sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out. There is heavy bleeding the first couple of days.

Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots of prepared and frozen food. She has to be malnourished.

She is undergoing counseling every other week.

I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!

Alia Elias, ND, LAc.

Newburyport MA and NH

[Guest guest]

Lots of things you can do for this girl, but whatever you do, in my opinion,most immediately should also involve some overture toward drawing the mom into this...by your account it appears to me that SHE needs a remedy...SHE needs counseling, and that this is a crucial part of this girl’s treatment. If you haven’t seen the mom yet and feel comfortable doing so, you might consider suggesting a session to allow you to better understand the family dynamic—doesn’t have to violate the young girl’s confidentiality at all. Whenever I see kids I always want to have parent(s) present (at least initially), or separately (before/after depending on case), or both. Evening primrose flower essence taken on rising, noon, dusk and bedtime might be a good choice for the girl. I might have her take it in conjunction with engaging her imagination around the role this flower essence can play as her ally, her friend, her teacher---a plant that manages to survive and even thrive in difficult environmental conditions (poor soil), a plant that sets up soil conditions for other plants to begin growing near it, where they wouldn’t grow before, a plant which manages to bloom beautifully even as it doesn’t have the nourishment and attention of sunlight that most other plants have....sounds like this girl could use a friend like this right about now....

Bob

I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help. I don't see much of this population and my heart went out to her. I'm not sure what i can do for her. She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression.

She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle. She lives with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and gets angry. They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so she is in a new school since Dec. She hasn't made any friends and feels that she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly. Her mom is still in love with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the father of her half-sister. She worries daily and probably all day about her mom and that she will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter. Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't. She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life and gets very upset.

She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom. She ruminates so much, turns things over in her head, over and over. The anxiety gets so that she cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop. She is unable to sleep most nights, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She has a lot of pent up anger. She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or shows affection. She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she hangs in there and just tries to make it through each day and counts the hours for each day to end.

Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period, sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out. There is heavy bleeding the first couple of days.

Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots of prepared and frozen food. She has to be malnourished.

She is undergoing counseling every other week.

I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!

Alia Elias, ND, LAc.

Newburyport MA and NH

[Guest guest]

Yes, Nat mur is another possibility. To know which one, I typically ask one key question, "if you are ever upset, do you like to talk about it right away, or do you hold your emotions in?" As a rule, Nat murs hold their emotions in, and Pulsatillas like to talk about their emotions. Of course, both can do both, but what I am saying here is "as a rule".... Nat mur is not social at all, but Pulsatillas are typically very social unless they truly feel depressed, and even then, deep inside, they crave socializing. Nat mur, deep inside, enjoys being left alone (worse with consolation). Anyways, wish you the best. To: " " < > Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 9:54 PM Subject: Re: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

Natrum Muriaticum- came to my mind- grief, depression, ruminating and mother issues. I agree with Dr Sharif, that you need to take her case before deciding on a constitutional remedy. Are the cramps during her period, or just before? I would look also at Lachesis, esp if the cramps get better with her period.s The periods, fainting, anger, alcoholism and family situation fit Lachesis. They can get quite depressed also .

Good luck, it is a very tough case because of the family situation.

German

To: " " < > Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 8:32 PMSubject: Re: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

Hi Dr. Elias,

I shouldn't do this, but from the sound of it, I would guess her constitutional remedy is likely Pulsatilla. If she is sweet, likes hugs, likes attention, cries easily, has irregular menses, along with other things you said about her, Pulsatilla would be at the top of my list. Of course, you need to take her case. I find constitutional homeopathy to be a life saver when it comes to helping patients with their emotional challenges.

Ask her if how she feels about drinking water, and whether her mouth feels dry or not? Most Pulsatillas have a dry mouth, yet do not like to drink water! This is an SRP (strange, rare and peculiar) about them, and it does not always have to be true for every Pulsatilla patient.

Keep in mind that any constitution can suffer from anxiety, so my educated guess here may be wrong. Just thought I'd try to help a fellow patient.

Best wishes,

Sharum Sharif, ND

To: "NaturopathicChat " <NaturopathicChat >; "UNDA Cases " < > Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 7:00 PMSubject: Help with adolescent anxiety/depression

I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help. I don't see much of this population and my heart went out to her. I'm not sure what i can do for her. She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression.

She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle. She lives with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and gets angry. They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so she is in a new school since Dec. She hasn't made any friends and feels that she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly. Her mom is still in love with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the father of her half-sister. She worries daily and probably all day about her mom and that she will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter. Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't. She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life

and gets very upset.

She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom. She ruminates so much, turns things over in her head, over and over. The anxiety gets so that she cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop. She is unable to sleep most nights, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She has a lot of pent up anger. She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or shows affection. She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she hangs in there and just tries to make it through each day and counts the hours for each day to end.

Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period, sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out. There is heavy bleeding the first couple of days.

Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots of prepared and frozen food. She has to be malnourished.

She is undergoing counseling every other week.

I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!

Alia Elias, ND, LAc.

Newburyport MA and NH

[Guest guest]

If any one of us were this girl, we would most likely be feeling the way she is in that hard, hard situation at home. The problem is not with the girl, as it sounds like you already know, it is with the mother. That is what you need to treat. However you can get to her, through suggestions or actions from the daughter, or yourself asking her to become part of the treatment, whatever it takes, if you want to help the girl you have to intervene at root level of the problem- the mother.

In the meantime, I would empower the girl to help herself through this hard time of her life with some tools- perhaps suggesting that she get a book on flower essences and play around with some of those, or something like this. Something to bring hope to get her through this, and feel like she is taking care of herself and is being nourished in the process.

Good luck and hang in there with her!

Yezman ND, LAc

Clinic Of Natural Health

www.clinicofnaturalhealth.com

Portland, Oregon

"Helping people who are committed to their Health feel Better, Recover, and Improve their Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Well-Being using Natural Remedies and Energetic Medicine"

--- Help with adolescent anxiety/depressionDate: Sat, April 14, 2012 7:00 pmTo: "NaturopathicChat "<NaturopathicChat >, "UNDA Cases "< >

I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help. I don't see much of this population and my heart went out to her. I'm not sure what i can do for her. She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression.

She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle. She lives with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and gets angry. They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so she is in a new school since Dec. She hasn't made any friends and feels that she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly. Her mom is still in love with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the father of her half-sister. She worries daily and probably all day about her mom and that she will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter. Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't. She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life and gets very upset.

She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom. She ruminates so much, turns things over in her head, over and over. The anxiety gets so that she cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop. She is unable to sleep most nights, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She has a lot of pent up anger. She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or shows affection. She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she hangs in there and just tries to make it through each day and counts the hours for each day to end.

Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period, sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out. There is heavy bleeding the first couple of days.

Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots of prepared and frozen food. She has to be malnourished.

She is undergoing counseling every other week.

I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!

Alia Elias, ND, LAc.

Newburyport MA and NH

[Guest guest]

Hi Alia,

This sounds like a very challenging situation. In addition to the homeopathic

remedies, flower essences, and reaching out to and involving the mother that

have already been suggested, I think she might benefit from going to Al-Anon, if

possible. I would also be on high alert for signs of abuse and report to child

protective services, as appropriate. To me, the mother's drinking and anger and

the girl's desire to live with her father are all red flags.

Good luck with this patient and let us know how it goes.

Best,

, ND

Eugene, OR

>

> I just saw a 14 yo girl who i really want to help.  I don't see much of this

population and my heart went out to her.  I'm not sure what i can do for her.

 She came in for trouble with sleeping, anxiety and depression. 

> She has a very difficult home life, so that is a major obstacle.  She lives

with her mom and half sister who is 4, and her mother drinks every night and

gets angry.  They just moved from another town in MA and before that from NC, so

she is in a new school since Dec.  She hasn't made any friends and feels that

she has disappointed the kids by not being friendly.  Her mom is still in love

with her ex (her stepdad) who is not a nice man and lives in NC and is the

father of her half-sister.  She worries daily and probably all day about her mom

and that she will get back together with her ex, but also mostly she worries

about her mom and the fact that she is emotionally unavailable to her daughter.

 Her dad lives in CT a few hours away and she wants to live with him but can't.

 She has noone but a long distance friend in NC to talk to. She comes home from

school everyday and sits on couch and freaks out about her life and gets very

upset. 

>

> She has tremendous anxiety about school and her mom.  She ruminates so much,

turns things over in her head, over and over.  The anxiety gets so that she

cannot breathe, and cries and can't stop.  She is unable to sleep most nights,

difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep.  She has a lot of pent up anger.

 She doesn't feel like her mom cares about her - she never says ' i love you' or

shows affection.  She just wants it all to end and has suicidal thoughts but she

hangs in there and just tries to make it through each day and counts the hours

for each day to end.  

>

> Her menses is irregular and she has cramping during and not during her period,

sometimes so bad that she is dizzy and feels will pass out.  There is heavy

bleeding the first couple of days.  

>

> Diet is not great - lots of carbs and minimal vegs - typical teenager but lots

of prepared and frozen food.  She has to be malnourished.  

>

> She is undergoing counseling every other week.  

>

> I would greatly appreciate any input, thanks!!

> Alia Elias, ND, LAc.

> Newburyport MA and NH

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Alia,

to all the great suggestions I might add powdered inositol to address the

anxiety directly; works quite quickly and you increase the dose gradually up to

12 - 18g; addresses depression as well and tastes sweet; pure encaps and vital

nutrients make a powder with 4g as dose; I'd start out with 2g BID;

the other thing you might want to consider is to teach her some practical tool

to find an inner resource like we do in trauma work - imagery, EFT (emotional

freedom technique - emofree.com for lots of free practical info), body/breath

sensing; you can contact me directly if you would like more help with this

Aspen Wellspring

Dr. le Duebendorfer, ND

101 N 4th Ave, Suite 106

Sandpoint, ID 83864

aspenwellspring@...