“The key to a healthy life is having a healthy mind.” - Richard Davidson
It's no secret that mental illness in the United States is on the rise and has been climbing year after year for decades. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one if five Americans is currently living with a mental illness, with only 50 percent seeking treatment. Another stat delivered by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that nearly 60 million visits to physician offices per year are attributed to a mental disorder as the primary diagnosis. This is not factoring in visits to the ER, psychiatric hospitals, therapist's offices, and meetings with psychiatrists. This is an incredible amount of suffering happening for a country filled with folks who seem to have every modern convenience known to man at their fingertips. With such modern-day conveniences, there must be a better solution for treating a majority of the mental illness cases affecting Americans on a grand scale.
Current Treatment Options
With such high rates surrounding mental illness in America, especially concerning depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, and ADHD, it brings one to question what solutions are being sought after the most, and what effects they're having on long-term treatment and recovery.
For the 50 percent of sufferers (those who do seek treatment), the go-to solution is oftentimes a prescription psychotropic medication. There are a variety of medications available for the treatment of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, etc. and one's symptoms and health records will determine the best route for each individual. While there are a variety of additional options available, medication is typically the first line of defense sought after by physicians and psychiatrists. Other methods of treatment include therapy, holistic medicine and implementing healthy lifestyle changes.
Are All Psychotropic Medications Safe?
With 49 million (1 in 5) Americans taking at least one psychiatric medication over the course of a year, it would appear that these medications are safe. However, according to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR International), there are dangerous side effects to be cautious of such as heart attack, stroke, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, mania, sudden death, and severe withdrawals. What's even scarier is that these medications become more dangerous when taken long-term.
Renowned psychiatrist, Peter Breggin, cautions prescription med users on the dangers of long-term use to treat mental disorders as they can cause permanent brain and neurological damage, and in the case of benzodiazepines, fatal withdrawals.
In light of the research presented, it's fairly safe to say that all psychotropic medications are not safe, and should only be used when absolutely necessary. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) states that prescription medications are most powerful when combined with therapy and that sometimes (for some people) these medications are able to reduce psychological symptoms enough to allow other forms of treatment to be more powerful. While this is true, and research has backed this up, psychotropic medications are not healing the root cause of an illness, rather, they're masking some symptoms for some people.
Medications used to treat depression, for example, one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder in the US, have a 50/50 chance of alleviating symptoms. A study conducted by Professor Rene Han, professor of pharmacology at Columbia University, studies why only 50 percent of people respond to SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) antidepressants. For those who are unfamiliar with antidepressant medications, SSRIs are the most widely prescribed as they have the least number of side effects in comparison with the more “old-school” medications like MAOIs.
Taking a prescription medication to treat an illness that comes with a list of severe side effects and only has a 50/50 chance of working to help lower symptoms doesn't sound like a good line of defense for treating mental illness in America.
Treatment for anxiety, the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder, is even worse. Many anxiety sufferers are prescribed benzodiazepines or antidepressants to treat their symptoms. The problem with benzodiazepines is that they are not intended for long-term use. In fact, after taking a benzo daily for as long as one month they become physically addictive, and withdrawals can cause seizures and death.
Perhaps these are the reasons so many millions of people suffer from poor mental health while remaining untreated each year. But does it have to be this way? Certainly, there must be a better alternative for treating mental illness outside of taking a prescribed medication.
The Solution: Micronutrients
One solution for enhancing mental health that's been researched in recent years is the use of micronutrients for treating mental illness. What are micronutrients you ask? Micronutrients are the key elements needed by organisms to function. Micronutrients are responsible for good physiological health, and we as humans require a certain amount of key vitamins and minerals to perform at our optimal level of health, just like any plant or animal.
Perhaps the problem is with our society, as a large majority of people are not getting an adequate amount of required micronutrients in their diets on a daily basis. We are always on the go, and we eat more for pleasure and convenience than for fuel, and this has a direct effect on the way we feel. As our relationship with food has changed over the years so has our health. A majority of us are lacking the essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids we need to be our best. This balance of nutrition is a key component to our health that's been lacking in our mainstream culture.
Several scientists have researched the impact of key micronutrients required to sustain optimal health in humans and found these supplements to have a positive impact on the mental health of participants. Research has been conducted on the impact of micronutrients on both children and adults who suffer from ADHD, psychosis, mood disorders such as depression, bipolar II, trauma, smoking addiction, and anxiety. The research findings were unanimous. Essential micronutrients showed significant improvements in the mental health of participants.
Right now you might be wondering where to find the micronutrients that were used in these studies. The researchers all developed their own formulas containing the key nutrients needed for healthy functioning. If you really wanted to you could look up the micronutrients used in the studies and try to replicate them yourself in your diet and with supplements, but it is going to be very difficult and, quite frankly, pretty exhausting.
Another route is to find a supplement with the right balance of key micronutrients. This is where the search can get tricky. Many manufacturers cannot create the formulas exactly as needed, and have to leave some ingredients out, causing many supplements on the market to be created unequally.
We recommend trying our Focus Essentials formula, as we've crafted a supplement that's remained uncompromised by manufacturers' limitations. We do not believe that the quality of your mental health should be compromised in order for us to save some money on manufacturing costs. Therefore, we did not give up until we found someone who would produce this formula for us—investing more than the industry standard to deliver a supplement that truly contains everything the body and mind needs for improved mental health and clarity.
I challenge you to try a bottle and give your mind some relief. There's nothing to lose if it doesn't work for you. If you try a 30 day supply and don't feel any improvements, you'll get your money back.