Yes. But YOU can make the decision. It's your passion.

Here's a cute idea for your passion to help feed people:

Go get a wagon, a little red wagon, or something similar. Pull it around town and go door to door. Knock and talk. Ask for food donations for hungry people. Talk to the people answering the door. Fill up wagon. Bring food to shelter/food shelf or w/e is in your area. Perhaps, volunteer a few hours at the shelter/food shelf.

That would never work and its against the law. People think you are scamming them you need to be registered.

It's not against the law (unless his particular city has made it so) and a minute of googling has found stories of people doing this and finding satisfaction from it. OP could check with his local foodbank and get the info needed....or do one of the thousand other things he could do to help feed people....

Methinks you are mistaking singing with communicating ..

Errr, it can be both.

http://youtu.be/iR234BH9Cr4

more like

Going back about 2 years ago I rolled my car on the expressway, coming back home at around 3am to Okemos from another failed Greektown Casino trip Certainly my accident could have been a lot worse and I recovered fairly well. It turned out that I have some problems with my back as far as ruptured discs. This has created a pain in my left leg that comes and goes. I eventually was put on Tramadol for pain and I had been taking this med for close to 2 years.

About a month ago I made the decision to get off this medication. I tapered off and I have stopped taking it for 28 days. The first major withdrawal is around 7 days followed by a week or two of a different type of withdrawal symptom's. I'm doing very well. But some people have said that this is one of the hardest drugs to withdrawal from. I'm dealing with 3 separate addictions: Opiate, Norepinephrine, and Serotonin. The withdrawal symptom's can be pretty crazy. Some people can't sleep for a week or have an hour of sleep a night and too many other symptom's to mention. Full recovery can be 30 days to over a year.

I tried to be careful about taking small doses so I'm truly lucky, but it has not been easy. My doctor told me that Tramadol was not addictive and there were no withdrawal symptom's which is just ridiculous. Many people were told this by their Doctors and I should have research this drug, but the worst should be over. It could take a longtime to get back to fully functional. I have a few things going on with my withdrawal, and I also have concentration and motivational problems.

"Long term withdrawal syndromes outside of sexual dysfunction from SSRIs are not well documented, but reports are starting to be published. Symptoms can persist for months and include agitation, anxiety, akathisia, panic attacks, irritability, aggressiveness, worsening of mood, dysphoria, crying spells or mood lability, overactivity or hyperactivity, depersonalization, decreased concentration, slowed thinking, confusion and memory/concentration difficulties. [20] For some patients in this condition, restarting the drug can cause intolerable side effects, meaning these symptoms have to be endured until they eventually subside.

The persisting adverse effects seen with SSRI discontinuation may be a part of Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS). PAWS is a set of impairments that occur after withdrawal from addictive substances. The condition lasts from six to eighteen months after the last use and is marked by a fluctuating but incrementally improving course. It has importance to the recovering patient's ability to benefit from recovery, treatment, function effectively on the job, interact with family and friends, and regain emotional health. Most individuals find the first six months to be the most PAWS impacted with decreasing severity over the next six-month period. By the end of one year, most persons have returned to their respective levels of functioning.

In the addict, symptoms appear approximately seven to fourteen days into abstinence, after stabilization from the acute withdrawal. Post-acute withdrawal is a bio-psycho-social syndrome. It results from the combination of damage to the nervous system caused by drugs and the psychosocial stress of coping with life without the drug that has been discontinued. The symptoms of PAWS typically grow to peak intensity over three to six months after abstinence begins. The damage is usually reversible, meaning the major symptoms go away in time if proper treatment is received. Symptoms most often seen in PAWS are emotional lability, psychomotor problems (cognitive impairment, movement disorder, dizziness), sleep disturbances, and anxiety." (PAWS is not always involved with recovery)
http://www.wikidoc.org/index.php/SSR...ation_syndrome

Tramadol is a synthetic Opiate and it also has 2 different Antidepressant qualities that I was not told of and I never would have taken this drug if I had known that. A dose lasts 8 hours and fortunately I would take only one at 6pm and bedtime. Tramadol is a very sinister drug that keeps you in a fog all the time and some people get up to 30 pills a day. I never took more than 3 pills a day, but I'm still in a fog and have some other issues to deal with.

Some people can become addicted in as little as 2 weeks. It's unbelievable that Doctors will prescribe a pain med with Antidepressant's in it and not even tell you about it and this drug can also cause a long-term sexual dysfunction again not explained to me. I also wanted to let you know about the dangers of this drug. Doctor's will tell you that this is a low level drug, but they are ignorant and believe whatever drug companies tell them. Don't take this drug if recommended for pain relief. Believe it or not it is a common drug and is also known as Conzip, Ryzolt, Ultracet, Ultram.

This is a very devious drug and withdrawal happens quickly and that keeps people taking it because the withdrawal can be quite scary. The Antidepressant's puts you in a good mood, but it can be devastating on withdrawal. Withdrawal from some types of drugs, including weed and alcohol will bring back emotions that have been suppressed and consult with a Doctor along with support groups for help with this and any other concerns including a safe withdrawal strategy. Many Doctors will tell you that there is no withdrawal with Tramadol because they are ignorant and the drug companies are playing word games. Of course some people can take this drug and not have terrible withdrawal symptom's, if it is only taken for a short amount of time, however I would stay away from Tramadol.

Some people will get used to the drug and can increase the dosage to insane levels to keep that feeling. If you know anyone on this drug, I highly recommend that they get off it. The best way is to taper the dosage to reduce the withdrawal. I was fortunate because I was very careful in my doses, but it turns out that I went through many withdrawals because of my infrequent taking of the drug. More incompetence by my Doctor by not telling me this and I've read hundreds of stories about the ignorance with this drug along with horrific details.

I found the following 3 links after I quit and they were very helpful.

There are 2 good forums you can find if needed for more information about Tramadol withdrawal.

http://www.drugs.com/forum/featured-...wal-37722.html
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals...but-cant-sleep

Anyways, I'm trying to make a point about this drug.
http://www.wikidoc.org/index.php/SSR...ation_syndrome

This got me to thinking about how Serotonin works and how to increase the "good mood" that Serotonin can give us.

SEROTONIN

Obliviously this is a complicated subject and everyone is different, but we can see some familiar themes that can be related to each other in helping to have a better life.

Sunlight (I've also read that Sunlight can help people sleep better), Being Positive, Exercise, Diet and Fish Oil, which is very good for many things (Solaray makes a very good Salmon Fish Oil). These and other possible factors have to be further investigated and I'll keep searching, but I think that this is a good start.

***

While all types of exercise benefit the body, the existing research suggests that aerobic exercise works best for raising serotonin levels. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on most days of the week. Vary the aerobic activity to prevent burnout and avoid overuse injuries.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/18...ise-serotonin/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/22...otonin-levels/


Research confirms what might be intuitively expected, that positive emotions and agreeableness foster congenial relationships with others.28,29 This in turn will create the conditions for an increase in social support.

Exposure to bright light is a second possible approach to increasing serotonin without drugs.

A third strategy that may raise brain serotonin is exercise. Whether motor activity increases the firing rate of serotonin neurons in humans, as in animals, is not known. However, it is clear that aerobic exercise can improve mood.

The fourth factor that could play a role in raising brain serotonin is diet.

Nonetheless, the possibility that the mental health of a population could be improved by increasing the dietary intake of tryptophan relative to the dietary intake of other amino acids remains an interesting idea that should be explored.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/


Norepinephrine is increased along with serotonin during strenuous exercise.

David C. Nielman PhD, author of "The Exercise-Health Connection," explains that the benefits of exercise far exceed that of any medication or supplement. In fact, since the results of exercise can last for days, it just may be a more natural and safer way to raise serotonin levels and relieve depression.

So if you want optimal benefit from your exercise, eat a good balance of protein and carbohydrates.

Keep in mind that a successful workout plan does not have to consist of a rigorous routine when you are just starting out. In fact, your exercise time can be broken up over the course of the day. For instance, the ideal workout time to raise serotonin levels is 30 minutes. But the 30 minutes can be broken down into three 10-minute sessions.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5066420_ef...in-levels.html


Instead of taking Prozac and Paxil to combat depression, evidence reveals that exercise and a diet rich in salmon and fish oil capsules can be a natural route to treating mild depression.

[Exercise] affects the biology in the brain in the same way that anti-depressant drugs do,

So rather than taking Prozac, a more natural route may just be to eat more salmon and exercise more.

Experts say more than 90 percent of depressed people experience an overwhelming loss of energy. This can cause a person to stop exercising, which just compounds the effects of depression. Lack of exercise often leads to degeneration in physique, strength, and physical well being.
http://www.fitcommerce.com/blueprint...alid=2&cid=112


But eat a carbohydrate-rich meal, and your body triggers a release of insulin. This, Somer says, causes any amino acids in the blood to be absorbed into the body -- but not the brain. Except for, you guessed it -- tryptophan! It remains in the bloodstream at high levels following a carbohydrate meal, which means it can freely enter the brain and cause serotonin levels to rise, she says.

What can also help: Getting an adequate supply of vitamin B-6, which can influence the rate at which tryptophan is converted to serotonin.

Exercise can do a lot to improve your mood and across the board, studies have shown that regular exercise can be as effective a treatment for depression as antidepressant medication or psychotherapy. In the past, it was believed that several weeks of working out was necessary to see the effects on depression, but new research conducted at the University of Texas at Austin found that just a single 40-minute period of exercise can have an immediate effect on mood.

That said, it remains unclear of the exact mechanism by which exercise accomplishes this. While some believe it affects serotonin levels, to date there are no definitive studies showing that this is the case.
http://www.webmd.com/depression/feat...rotonin?page=2


There is evidence that vigorous exercise (90–95% of VO2 Max) induces a greater degree of physiological cardiac hypertrophy than moderate exercise (40 to 70% of VO2 Max), but it is unknown whether this has any effects on overall morbidity and/or mortality.[18] Some studies have shown that vigorous exercise executed by healthy individuals can increase opioid peptides (a.k.a. endorphins, naturally occurring opioids that in conjunction with other neurotransmitters are responsible for exercise-induced euphoria and have been shown to be addictive), increase testosterone and growth hormone,[19] effects that are not as fully realized with moderate exercise. More recent research[20][21] indicates that anandamide may play a greater role than endorphins in "runner's high". However, training at this[which?] intensity for long periods of time, or without proper warmup beforehand and cooldown afterwards, can lead to an increased risk of injury and overtraining.[citation needed]

A number of factors may contribute to depression including being overweight, low self esteem, stress, and anxiety.[39] Endorphins act as a natural pain reliever and antidepressant in the body.[40] Endorphins have long been regarded as responsible for what is known as "runner's high", a euphoric feeling a person receives from intense physical exertion.[41] However, recent research[20][21] indicates that anandamide may possibly play a greater role than endorphins in "runner's high". When a person exercises, levels of both circulating serotonin and endorphins are increased.[42] These levels are known to stay elevated even several days after exercise is discontinued, possibly contributing to improvement in mood, increased self-esteem, and weight management.[41] Exercise alone is a potential prevention method and/or treatment for mild forms of depression.[43] Research has also shown that when exercise is done in the presence of other people (familiar or not), it can be more effective in reducing stress than simply exercising alone.[44]

Stopping excessive exercise suddenly can also create a change in mood. Feelings of depression and agitation can occur when withdrawal from the natural endorphins produced by exercise occurs.[citation needed] Exercise should be controlled by each body's inherent limitations. While one set of joints and muscles may have the tolerance to withstand multiple marathons, another body may be damaged by 20 minutes of light jogging. This must be determined for each individual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise


Think your way to happiness. Studies show that just the act of thinking positively can increase serotonin production and dopamine.

Another approach to increasing serotonin production is bright sunlight.

Exercise is another way to increase serotonin production and mood.

The fourth natural factor elevating serotonin is diet.
http://www.psyweb.com/articles/depre...nin-production


A recent study on anxiety and exercise found better results with resistance training than with aerobic exercise, despite the fact that most of the recommendations out there point to aerobic exercise as the best type to beat anxiety. So is one really better than the other?

The above study illustrates another difficulty in determining what type of exercise is best: studies tend to focus on aerobic exercise. There simply isn't as much data available on other exercises.

Based on the studies that have been conducted, the standard exercise "prescription" is 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 to 5 days per week. Several studies have indicated that greater intensity exercise may have additional anxiety-easing benefits. Additional strength training and flexibility exercises are also often recommended, highlighting the fact that all types of exercise are beneficial and necessary for ultimate mental and physical health.
http://www.livingwithanxiety.com/art...y-and-exercise


Many things can naturally interfere with serotonin levels: lack of exercise, caffeine, poor diet, alcohol use, and stress. Many things can also be use as natural ways to increase serotonin.
http://www.psyweb.com/articles/depre...ease-serotonin


Serotonin and central nervous system fatigue: nutritional considerations
It is well known that increases in brain 5-HT can have important effects on arousal, lethargy, sleepiness, and mood that could be linked to altered perception of effort and muscular fatigue.

It is now known that 5-HT and its major metabolite, 5-HIAA, increase in several brain regions during prolonged exercise and reach a peak at fatigue.

A possible role of nutrition in central fatigue is also beginning to emerge in the scientific literature. Nutritional strategies designed to alter brain 5-HT metabolism have received the most attention in this regard.
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/72/2/573s.full


Symptoms of Serotonin Deficiency

Anxiety in typically low stress situations Impatience without explanation Fatigue when you should feel rested and energized Cognitive impairment (inability to focus, poor memory, lack of mental clarity) Negative thoughts with no apparent cause Agitation Mania/obsession Mood swings Strong sugar cravings Chronic pain (fibromyalgia, migraines, back pain) Indifference to situations you typically would care deeply about.

Excessive worrying Inability to fall and stay asleep Masochism Moderate to overwhelming sadness Feeling worse and agitated during bad/dark weather.

Causes of serotonin deficiency

Behavioral Causes:
Lack of sufficient sleep
Not managing your stress levels
Lack of exercise/physical activity

Environmental Causes:
Insufficient exposure to sunlight
Exposure to toxic chemicals found in plastics such as bisphenol-A (BPA)
Consuming pesticide-laden meat and produce
Exposure to pesticides without sufficient protective gear

Dietary Causes:
Insufficient consumption of high-protein non-processed food
Consuming too much caffeine and alcohol
Food allergies

Multiple vitamin and mineral deficiencies
Omega-3 deficiency

Physiological Causes:
Insulin resistance
Progesterone deficiency
Chronic infections
Glutathione deficiency
Human growth hormone deficiency
Insufficient blood flow in the brain
Inborn abnormalities in serotonin receptors

Supplementation is obviously helpful at elevating low serotonin levels (more on this in a separate article), but there are other actions that you can take to increase your serotonin stores naturally. The most logical step is by eliminating the causes that triggered it in the first place (see above), which for most people means making getting enough sleep a priority, eating well, getting enough sunlight and engaging in physical exercise.
http://www.serotune.com/blogs/articl...nin-deficiency

***

I also found the following to be very interesting in helping to be more positive and enjoying life...

"A group of psychologists did an on-going survey about happiness. When asked to rate their over all level of happiness, on a scale from 1 to 10, most people indicated about 6.7 or so. Interestingly it was discovered that a divorce, or serious injury, even the loss of a limb, caused this level to go down a point or two, for a year or two. But then it usually came back to about 6.7.

Falling in love or winning the lottery caused the level of happiness to go up a point or two for a year or two, but then it went back to the previous level. What this implies is that a slight increase that could be sustained, was more significant than more dramatic life events. In other words if you find small things that make you feel good, and do them on a regular basis, your overall level of happiness is greater than if you fall in love, win the lottery."
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/TheSeer/seratonin.html


I'm currently reading - The Serotonin Power Diet
http://www.serotoninpowerdiet.com

This looked very interesting - http://cegant.com

More here - http://www.amazon.com/End-Your-Addic...der_0757003133

Negligence Incompetence and Fraud and Functional vs Conventional Medicine’s “Accepted Standards of Care”

by CE Gant on August 10, 2010

The Physician has but a single task: to cure; and, if s/he succeeds, it matters not a whit by what means s/he has succeeded. Hippocrates (400 BC)

Questionable and Deceptive Health Care Practices

In the position paper entitled “Questionable and Deceptive Health Care Practices (1),” The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) suggests that Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) (2), or that CAM practitioners themselves, provide medical care which is “unproven, unsafe, worthless, incompetent, unprofessional, improper, unlawful, fraudulent and felonious.” The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (3) with a budget in 2010 of $128,791,000, “conducts and supports basic and applied research and training and disseminates information on complementary and alternative medicine to practitioners and the public.” In essence, the FSMB (4), an organization which governs the standards of care and licensing of all US physicians considers a 130 million-dollar-tax-payer-financed division of the NIH to be “unproven, unsafe, worthless, incompetent, unprofessional, improper, unlawful, fraudulent and felonious.”

This rift between large organizations which set policies as to what constitutes “accepted standards of care” is prototypic of the raging conflict between conventional and non-conventional or complementary and alternative medicine.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), being the “new kid on the block,” apparently treads lightly and seeks to merely “complement” conventional medicine in order to avoid a confrontation with conventional medicine, which sees any challenge to its supremacy as “unproven, unsafe, worthless, incompetent, unprofessional, improper, unlawful, fraudulent and felonious.” Most of NCCAMs projects and grants are aimed at research into indigenous healing practices such as herbal medicine, and very little is focused on functional medicine (5), the author’s field of expertise.

Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is defined as “personalized medicine that deals with primary prevention and underlying causes, instead of symptoms, for serious chronic disease (6),” and functional medicine is popularly classified as a type of Alternative Medicine (7). Functional medicine relies heavily on investigating biochemical, nutritional, metabolic, toxicological, allergic, immune, hormonal, neurotransmitter and genetic variables using diagnostic laboratory testing of stool, urine, saliva, blood and hair samples. Thus functional medicine seeks to determine the underlying causes of chronic disease, rather than palliative treatment of symptoms with medications or herbal products (see Diagram below, Conventional Medicine vs Functional Medicine Method of Establishing a Diagnosis).

The accepted standard of care in functional medicine for establishing a diagnosis represents a radical shift away from conventional medicine’s accepted standard of care (see Diagram below). That shift may appear so radical in fact to those who are schooled only in conventional medicine that it may appear to be a Questionable and Deceptive Health Care Practices (8) ,” or even “unproven, unsafe, worthless, incompetent, unprofessional, improper, unlawful, fraudulent and felonious.” Based on applications of biochemical science which are alien to most conventional practitioners, the prospect of “curing” chronic disorders, which until recently could only be managed with palliative, symptom-suppressive, drug therapies, is understandably a threatening prospect.

Conventional Medicine vs Functional Medicine Method of Establishing a Diagnosis

Note: The complete article (with chart) is available as a PDF download at the end of the article below. You are invited to download and distribute it to the world.

The American Medical Association defines seven “Principles of Medical Ethics (9),” one of which states that “A physician shall deal honestly with patients and colleagues, and strive to expose those physicians deficient in character or competence, or who engage in fraud or deception.” Despite the passage of state laws to protect CAM- or functional medicine-practicing physicians, when physicians are suspected or reported to be using so-called “questionable” practices they are often investigated (10). After a period of investigation by their State Medical Board, CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) physicians are then often charged with negligence, incompetence and fraud for having violated certain ill-defined, conventional medicine “accepted standards of care.”

Because of revolutionary scientific advances in laboratory science which can define the unique biochemical, nutritional, metabolic, toxicological, allergic, immune, hormonal, neurotransmitter and genetic causes of medical and psychiatric disorders, conventional medicine’s accepted standards of care, intended to enhance quality of care, are in fact increasingly obsolete and threaten to destroy quality of care.

Who is Guilty of Negligence, Incompetence and Fraud?

Definitions:
neg•li•gent adj. 1- habitually failing to do the required thing; neglectful 2- careless, inattentive, etc. – neg’li•gence n.
in•com•pe•tent adj. without adequate ability, knowledge, fitness, etc. –n. an incompetent person – in•com’pe•tence n.
fraudulent adj. 1- deceitful; using trickery 2- Law intentional deceptiveness

A critical phrase in the definitions listed above is “the required thing” used to define the term negligent. “The required thing” or “things” which functional medicine (11) physicians do which are guided their potentially curative standards of care are entirely at odds with “the required thing” or “things” which conventional physicians do which are guided by their palliative standards of care. “The required thing” guiding the practices of functional medicine physicians is “personalized medicine that deals with primary prevention and underlying causes, instead of symptoms (my underlining), for serious chronic disease.(12)”

In other words and conversely, a physician who represents themselves as practicing functional medicine would be guilty of negligence should they not attempt to address the “underlying causes, instead of symptoms.” Furthermore, should they fail to provide “primary prevention” by not addressing biochemical, nutritional, metabolic, toxicological, allergic, immune, hormonal, neurotransmitter and genetic processes in their asymptomatic patients, functional medicine doctors would be misrepresenting themselves and would therefore be guilty of fraud.

“The required thing” for a conventional physician, however compassionate and devoted to the care of their patients, is entirely different and in essence completely opposite. Instead of dealing with “primary prevention and underlying causes, instead of symptoms, for serious chronic disease,” conventional medicine practitioners are “required” to manage (not prevent) the symptoms (not causes) of both chronic and acute diseases, usually with symptom-suppressing drugs. A conventional doctor would by definition be guilty of negligence should they fail to meet these “accepted standards of care” as defined by their State Medical Board(s) and Federation of State Medical Boards.

“The required thing” that consumers increasingly want of their physicians is to prevent and/or address the root causes of their ailments, and only manage them with drugs, surgery and radiation as a last resort. Even conventional physicians want more information about CAM (13) to be more informed about interventions other than disease management and symptom suppression. The quote from Hippocrates above (14) suggests that functional medicine physicians are in far greater compliance than their conventional medicine counterparts with the expectations of the public as well as the objectives of a much older, traditional, Hippocratic version of an “accepted standard of care.”

From the functional medicine perspective, conventional medicine practice is negligent because its accepted standards fail to do “the required thing” and provide “personalized medicine that deals with primary prevention and underlying causes, instead of symptoms (my underlining), for serious chronic disease.(15)”

From the conventional medicine perspective, functional medicine practice is negligent because it fails to competently manage the symptoms of both chronic and acute diseases according the accepted standards of care which are dictated by one’s licensure.

Each group is violating the “accepted standards of care” of the other.

As functional medicine physicians become increasingly proficient in the prevention and cure of disorders and diseases, the management of symptoms with drugs and surgery becomes increasingly obsolete and irrelevant. As an increasing proportion of their medical practices are devoted to CAM therapies, less of their knowledge and skills are devoted to the latest nuances of conventional medicine and drug management protocols. Thus CAM physicians often appear to be out of touch with the latest drug therapies and thus appear to be incompetent to conventional physicians.

Likewise, most conventional physicians were never trained in CAM and as CAM physicians become ever more convinced that CAM works (because it does), conventional physicians appear to be increasingly out of touch and incompetent. As with the issue of negligence, each appears incompetent to the other.

Finally, each group appears to be fraudulent to the other.

Conventional physicians believe that prevention, cure and healing is impossible for most of their patients, a true statement if their patient’s treatments are indeed largely limited to only the management of symptoms with drugs, surgery and radiation. CAM physicians have a completely different view, stemming from years of observing one “incurable” patient after another becoming well. Conventional physicians often dismiss the CAM physician’s claims of efficacy as fraudulent because such interventions, often involving a dozen or more different therapies applied simultaneously and prescribed in different combinations for different patients with the same diagnosis, are not “proven” by controlled studies.
In fact, CAM therapies cannot be “proven,” unless one is willing to acknowledge the validity of each patient’s cure by itself to be proof that each unique treatment tailored to the precise and unique biochemical, nutritional, metabolic, toxicological, allergic, immune, hormonal, neurotransmitter and genetic needs of that patient actually worked.

CAM physicians counter that conventional physicians are fraudulent, because disease management with surgery, radiation and especially drugs is often misrepresented as the only acceptable treatment, and furthermore conventional medicine treatments are often misrepresented as preventative, curative and healing interventions. As an example, mammography is often mislabeled as preventative when in fact it does not prevent cancer – mammography is an early detection technology to find the disease that is already present.

Except under limited circumstances, such as antibiotic treatment for infectious disease, drugs, surgery and radiation generally do not prevent, heal or cure diseases or disorders. On the contrary, conventional medicine disease management strategies employing drugs, surgery and radiation often interfere with healing and in fact are at least the 3rd leading cause of death in the USA.(16)

Conventional physicians often believe that CAM physicians are guilty of negligence, incompetence and fraud. CAM physicians often believe that conventional physicians are guilty of negligence, incompetence and fraud. There can be no compromise as long as each side judges the other based on different versions of the term “accepted standards of care.”

Since the AMA mandates that “A physician shall ….. strive to expose those physicians deficient in character or competence, or who engage in fraud or deception,”(17) should CAM physicians be ethically compelled to expose all conventional physicians as fraudulent and vice versa? Both sides need to expand their definitions of such standards to include the others.

Federation of State Medical Boards Accepted Standards of Care

If State Medical Boards only apply conventional medicine’s, increasingly obsolete, accepted standards of care (management of disease symptoms – their version of “the required thing”) to judge and prosecute CAM physicians and fail to realize that CAM physicians are practicing by a completely different, curative, preventative, Hippocratic-based standard of care, State Medical Boards will continue blindly to wage their illegitimate war against CAM physicians.

The chilling effects over the decades of such prosecutions on conventional physicians, who might otherwise have expanded their repertoires by now to learn and apply safer, science-based, cost-effective and often more efficacious CAM and functional medicine therapies, may be the single greatest impediment to authentic medical innovation and to a genuine solution to the current health care crisis. The narrow definitions of “accepted standards of care,” negligence, incompetence and fraud used by the Federation of State Medical Boards must be redefined so that curative and preventative CAM therapies can be introduced into mainstream medicine.

The complete article is available for download at the link below:

http://www.cegant.com/Medical-Neglig...Fraud-2010.pdf

How Is Functional Medicine Different than Conventional Medicine? http://youtu.be/p7Dzz1ewyO8

Find a Functional Medicine Practitioner http://www.functionalmedicine.org/pr...ch.aspx?id=117

Massive scientific research suggests strongly that the root causes of alcohol, tobacco and drug addiction, ADD & ADHD, depression, anxiety, and other common mental disorders, are reversible brain toxicities and brain nutritional deficiencies. Rather than covering over symptoms with drugs, this science-based approach employs laboratory, diagnostic testing to identify and reverse the causative toxicities (such as mercury or food allergy) and the causative nutritional deficiencies (such as magnesium or certain amino acids).

Always consult with your doctor before taking supplements. Don’t take tryptophan or 5HTP if you are taking an SSRI antidepressant.


Mood Disorders - Causes and Solutions - Dr. CE Gant
http://youtu.be/O5Q34yORS7E

Drug Addiction Causes and Cures - Dr. CE Gant
http://youtu.be/dkpDuI-cdT8

Nicotine Addiction Solutions - Dr. CE Gant
http://youtu.be/6kchhJnwjy8

To say Christians should not be hedonists is controversial.
I think Christians should be hedonists, because following Christ is going to be the ultimate best option. That is not to say we as Christians will have a happy/easy life. There will be suffering as a Christian for sure.

Check out John Piper's book Desiring God.
John Piper was the first guy I heard really tout Christian hedonism, but it makes sense to me and is in agreement with Jesus' teaching/ideology.

OP I don't know much about prescription drugs and stuff. However if you want to PM me re getting out of debt I can see if I can help you out in that area.

I just helped a friend through a bankruptcy and pay down a bunch of debt (around 50K). It is a tough process but the problem solving and reward of financial independence is great. Debt is a real killer in regards to enjoying life. It is amazing to me how trained we have been in N. America that having a massive amount of debt is ok and a good way to acheive happiness. Consumer debt is like slavery and can be so debilitating.

Hey OP, not sure how involved you are with your local church but maybe you could get Christian counselling. Sounds like there is a lot of personal issues/pain you are self medicating with drugs/alcohol. I know debt is an issue so paying 80/hour might be out of your league. You need to get counselling and work through some of the stuff you have been through in your life. Don't feel ashamed about needing counselling. It would be more sad to be 60 + years old and have unresolved issues you are still drinking/drugging to cover the pain for. Go get counselling and work through it.

Re: Health & Weight Loss

Read this book and do what it says:

Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman

http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Live-Amazi...ds=eat+to+live

You will be more healthy overall and lose a lot of weight without even exercising (exercising is still a good idea).

I started following some of the stuff in this book and its great.

Hello LEMONZEST

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

I'll check my libraries for the book that you are recommending. I'll have to think about your other comments and I'll reply as soon as I can.

I alluded to it in my other post about counselling but maybe I wasn't clear. What I was trying to say is maybe you could get free counselling from someone in your Church. Just make sure they are trustworthy/trained and not a whackjob. You probably want someone who is actually trained in counselling people through tough issues. Just a nice guy probably won't suffice.

Praying and reading the bible are great. In addition to that counselling and lots of other practical steps can be taken to get yourself out of the bad place your in.

All the best bro.

Yes, very good advice. Everyone has to research different ways to have a better life. Counseling and support groups are a very good start.

Addictions have been a serious problem for me. I was addicted to cigarettes by the age of 10 years old. Addicted to marijuana and alcohol by the age of 12 years old. These were very serious addictions. I smoked marijuana all day and every day for over 30 years. I used to drink around 30 drinks a night for over 30 years. Some other drug use, on and off, LSD almost everyday for a year. Mushrooms, cocaine, crack, PCP (Angel Dust) and whatever. At one period of time I would fill up a trash bag with Nitrous oxide (Laughing Gas) and inhale doses. Drinking 12 cups of coffee a day.

Please keep in mind that I'm not an expert about addictions or the newer thinking on taking supplements or Functional Medicine, however I do believe that I have a good understanding about how they generally work. Much of this information is new and as always, opinions can differ between people.

I was driven to use drugs in excess. Some people can use drugs responsibly and some people can't. Some people don't have the urge to use drugs.

People are finding that a big part of drug use can be related to 1) missing chemicals in our body and 2) how addictions can work. Some people can be addicted to carbohydrates, sugar or fat. Risky behavior can be addicting. I'm finding out that regardless of if someone has a chemical imbalance (deficiency), all these things that I have mentioned can be addictive.

Here is an example of how things can work. I moved to Okemos about 10 years ago and I did not have a weed supplier. At night I would drink and then have a desperate feeling to smoke weed. After 3 months, surprisingly, I noticed that I no longer had this feeling to smoke weed. Smoking weed will increase a chemical in the body and when we take too much of a certain substance, we can then become addicted. When that happens our brain will stop producing a certain chemical or chemicals and wait for ourselves to give our body this substance. When we stop, in this case, smoking weed, we can go through withdrawal.

It takes around 1-3 months and possibly longer for our brains to start working fully at producing these chemicals once we stop taking a drug or food. Although 1 month is more common and a noticeable improvement can be seen in 2 weeks. Generally doing some things in small doses are not a problem with becoming addicted to something. As an example, drinking 3-5 drinks per day over a prolonged period makes a person alcohol dependent. (3 drinks for genetic predisposition for addiction, woman and the elderly). Addiction can start when the activity being done, releases a certain chemical or chemicals in the body, over some period.

You can even have withdrawal symptoms by not exercising for a couple days. Some people become addicts because they had a chemical deficiency to begin with. That is where testing comes in to find out if someone might have this deficiency and be more likely to become addicted to some things.

Over time I reduced my weed/marijuana intake and it was hard because there was that withdrawal going on. I did not know, but I could have taken supplements to help with my withdrawal, but regardless I no longer wish to smoke weed. It got to the point where it was damned if I do or damned if I don't. I would go back to my old neighborhood and see friends that still smoked weed and I would try a hit and I could not believe how I could have ever smoked that stuff for so long.

I have not smoked weed in 5 months and I have no desire to smoke it. I see my friends and I repeatedly turn down offers to use it. There is a slight temptation, but I remember how awful that feeling was to get high and I don't.

Alcohol is somewhat the same way. I reduced the amount that I drank over the last 10 years and then I stopped drinking for 4 months. I then experimented with alcohol, but there again, I did not like the feeling. I did this all without taking supplements, but I still have a feeling of missing something in my life, but this is improving.

This person has up to an 80% success rate for quitting drug addictions (End Your Addiction Now. See link below) while Alcohol Anonymous has a success rate of about 25%. More information about drug addiction and supplements in following links.

I have already posted some of this information, however here it is again.

End Your Addiction Now: The Proven Nutritional Supplement Program That Can Set You Free
http://www.amazon.com/End-Your-Addic...der_0757003133

Functional Medicine
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc....1.nW_im56pFhE

Molecular Health and Healing - CE Gant, MD, PhD
http://cegant.com/

Some foods can become an addiction as well, not as severe as some other addictions, but still troubling nonetheless. Here again we see that eating too much of a particular type of food can shut off our brain from producing certain chemicals and then we can crave certain foods as we go though withdrawal. People might find themselves craving carbohydrates, sugar or fat and then eating these foods can give us different moods such as a good feeling and or energy. The problem here is that fatigue will follow and other problems can result such as weight gain. Weaning off of these foods can get the brain back to working better. This is still a new science, but there is a lot of information. Diet is very important in how we feel. Chemical deficiencies and taking supplements can be a very important consideration here.

2 books to read more about this.

The Serotonin Power Diet: Use Your Brain's Natural Chemistry to Cut Cravings, Curb Emotional Overeating, and Lose Weight
http://www.amazon.com/Serotonin-Powe...der_B00196UBL2

Diet Rehab: 28 Days to Finally Stop Craving the Foods That Make You Fat
http://www.amazon.com/Diet-Rehab-Fin...der_B005ERITWU

How we think and different activities should be researched by everyone. Thinking of going on a vacation can give us joy. Working on puzzles can energize us. I naturally can daydream a lot. Keep thinking positive, but there are many different ways to approach this. Many different ways that activities can change our outlook. Again it can change mood altering chemicals in the body. The Diet Rehab book (above link) has an excellent list of different ways of thinking and activities.

Toxins in our body and things such as chemical imbalances, diet, positive thinking and what we think about, fish oil, meditation, supplements, exercise, getting sunlight, can all have an effect on our moods. I knew these things were good to do, but now I know why they are good because they actually can release different chemicals in the body which can make us feel better, think better and be more productive. Now I can appreciate doing these things because for me, knowing how and why they work to make me a better person was very important in deciding to take the time and do these things.

Getting back to me. I'm over my addictions to weed, alcohol, opiates and antidepressants, cautiously keeping in my mind the problems that can arise from using again. I reduced my coffee from 12 cups down to 4 cups and I can see reducing further and changing to green tea or quitting caffeine all together. I'm reducing my smoking down to around 8 cigarettes and I will try to quit. There are supplements for quitting cigarettes which would help me, but they are too expensive, maybe I can quit with all the things that I have learned about creating better moods, that I have mentioned in this post. My sleeping is much better which is so important to improving overall health.

I'm working on a better diet and that is helping me feel better and lose weight with just a little effort. I now have a good reason to change my eating habits because I can see fast results and again, it was important to me to know how and why it happens. I'm trying to exercise which is hard, but I can do most of what I have talked about here. I'll buy supplements when I can to help me feel better along with getting additional benefits. Also, detoxing my body, testing for toxins, testing for any chemical deficiencies and supplementing them is a top priority. No doubt I'll have better things to report to you in the future.

Get negative thoughts out when they come in. Breathing exercises can be a powerful way to quickly relax, reducing stress and anxiety.

Breathing: Three Exercises - Dr. Weil
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00521...exercises.html

3 Ways To Stretch Away Stress
http://www.physician.com/3-ways-to-s...ay-stress.html

Most of these techniques are very easy and quick, but we have to do them and better to do them before stress happens.

Using support with different on-line forums and researching information is suggested. Thinking about good things and a good future are so important in actually changing how our body produces "good mood" chemicals that will makes us feel better. Do something to change your life today. Write a list of important things to accomplish then work on each item if only for 5 minutes a day!

I still have enormous problems. Massive debt. Being alone. Our power will be shut off in a couple days. Our cable/Internet/phone service has been interrupted for some time and will be turned off soon. I have not been able to watch football, baseball or poker shows, some of the things that gave me a big part of my joy in life, but I have made enormous changes in my life and I do feel better! I simply have to live within my means until I can create more income for myself. Less stress and more energy equals more motivation to work on my many ideas to increase my income and have a better future. No doubt I'll have better things to report to you in the future.

Drug addictions, food addictions, chronic stress and other things that I have mentioned can devastate motivation and increase fatigue, that can lead to a vicious downward spiral. Doing the right things (little things) can bring us to an upward spiral. It's not all or nothing. The more we do the better we can feel.

I have more motivation, confidence and most importantly of all, Hope!

And I know that as time goes on I will feel better and better!

I have more Happiness because I have the Knowledge to do so.
I have a Better Life because I have more Contentment.
God truly Loves Me because my Life is Better.

Greetings

I wanted to share with you that God has been such a wonderful blessing in my life.

Peace & Life Everlasting with Jesus ❤️

HEAVEN is the dwelling place not only of God, but also of the angelic beings who worship Him. Jesus Christ came from Heaven returned to Heaven after His death and resurrection, at present appears in Heaven on behalf of His people and will one day return from Heaven to save His people and judge His enemies.Through the grace of God, Heaven becomes also the eternal dwelling place of all those who through faith have become God’s children. For them, to be for ever in the presence of God is to be in Paradise.

Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life.

Luke 13:3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.

Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul ❤



https://www.facebook.com/life.everla...ibextid=ZbWKwL

What did god do for your life and how do you know it was god, or which god?

Do you have a soul?

The words "souful" and "soulless" have very powerful non-supernatural meanings and apply to the human condition. As to supernatural souls, so claimed by people who believed every form of magic and superstition under the sun, and is now default accepted by some who dismiss reality testing to believe and who pretty much just go:

"Yeah, what they believed in the 1st Century, that's what I believe. It's in a book they wrote, how could I not believe it? The soul goes thru the Pearly Gates, a few thousand of them while the rest go to hellfire, because it says this in the book of superstitions and magic galore. What do you want me to do about it? This is the way reality works. Or ... wait a minute, maybe that's just the way religion and indoctrination work. Let me reassess for a minute, and take into account the things that were believed in the 1st Century, and then I will have great grounds for throwing their religious claims on the fire with, say, their astronomy and medicine beliefs."


Do I have the Pearly Gates soul that needs salvation because of that talking snake story? If we move our understanding and discussion out of the 1st Century and its silly stories, we ask different questions than they did then. And if we don't, we don't.