From Darkness to Light: A Journey through Mental Health

100:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,404Speaker 1: Welcome to the healthy, wealthy and wise 200:00:02,524 --> 00:00:08,064podcast with Dr William Chokta, mdjd. Our mission is to empower 300:00:08,125 --> 00:00:11,897you with the knowledge and the tools you need to thrive in all 400:00:12,099 --> 00:00:16,184aspects of your life. Join us now as we discuss everything 500:00:16,285 --> 00:00:19,823from nutrition and exercise to money management and personal 600:00:19,862 --> 00:00:24,713growth. Dr Chokta will provide insightful advice on how to 700:00:24,774 --> 00:00:28,064improve your physical and financial health, as well as 800:00:28,103 --> 00:00:31,460your emotional and mental well-being. Whether you're 900:00:31,481 --> 00:00:35,930looking to boost your energy levels unlike financial freedom 1000:00:36,252 --> 00:00:40,247or cultivate a more positive mindset, we've got you covered. 1100:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,901Get ready to become the best version of yourself? So let's 1200:00:45,941 --> 00:00:50,487get started. Here's Dr William Chokta, mdjd. 1300:00:51,090 --> 00:00:54,246Speaker 2: Good morning. Today, we're going to talk about mental1400:00:54,246 --> 00:00:58,125health issues. Welcome to the Healthy, wealthy and Wise 1500:00:58,206 --> 00:01:03,247Podcast. This is part of our Leadership Masterclass series, 1600:01:03,427 --> 00:01:08,426and our intent is to provide youwith information that can make 1700:01:08,486 --> 00:01:12,079your life better. I always like to start off with my beliefs. I 1800:01:12,141 --> 00:01:15,281believe life is about being of service to others. I believe 1900:01:15,361 --> 00:01:20,000knowledge is power. I believe leaders can change the world. As2000:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,349always, we always like to give you an outline, and the outline 2100:01:23,429 --> 00:01:26,066is we're going to start off withan anatomy of the brain and the2200:01:26,066 --> 00:01:29,834mind. We're going to talk aboutmental health issues as 2300:01:29,894 --> 00:01:32,602compared to mental health illness, we're going to talk 2400:01:32,643 --> 00:01:39,658about symptoms and signs of mental health, and then we'll 2500:01:39,798 --> 00:01:44,204answer questions that you might have. Well, the brain is a very 2600:01:44,266 --> 00:01:47,483complex organ in the body. Indeed, it's one of the areas 2700:01:47,503 --> 00:01:52,219that we, as physicians, still donot completely understand. But 2800:01:52,260 --> 00:01:55,587if we were to take a look at thebrain, it's divided into 2900:01:55,688 --> 00:02:00,424multiple areas, and if we were to do a sagittal cut of the 3000:02:00,444 --> 00:02:03,501brain, we would note that in thefrontal part is what's called 3100:02:03,522 --> 00:02:08,986the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is for thinking, memory and3200:02:08,986 --> 00:02:14,283movement and behavior. Next to that is the parietal lobe, and 3300:02:14,324 --> 00:02:19,304that's speech and language, in the occipital lobe, which is for3400:02:19,304 --> 00:02:24,454sight, the cerebrum, which is for balance and coordination, 3500:02:24,759 --> 00:02:27,901and below that is the brainstem.What is unique about the 3600:02:27,961 --> 00:02:31,800brainstem is that, regardless ofwhether we are conscious or not3700:02:31,800 --> 00:02:36,570, the brainstem functions and allows us to breathe and allows 3800:02:36,691 --> 00:02:39,824our hearts to continue to beat and it helps to regulate the 3900:02:39,884 --> 00:02:43,379temperature in our body, even though we're not conscious. And 4000:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,707there's a more medial lobe called the temporal lobe, and 4100:02:46,747 --> 00:02:50,082we'll talk about that a bit later. The second issue that 4200:02:50,122 --> 00:02:56,563comes up about the brain is where is the mind M-I-N-D? Is it4300:02:56,563 --> 00:03:00,943located in the brain? Is it somewhere else? To be honest 4400:03:00,984 --> 00:03:03,631with you, we don't really know, but the belief is that it's 4500:03:03,711 --> 00:03:07,765probably in the brain, probably located somewhere in the frontal4600:03:07,765 --> 00:03:12,439lobe, depending on your philosophical position. What's 4700:03:12,479 --> 00:03:15,948important is that, as we look atthe undersurface of the brain, 4800:03:16,368 --> 00:03:22,026that's a very unique section or part of the brain, if you will, 4900:03:22,086 --> 00:03:29,800called the amygdala, the amygdala A-M-Y-G-D-A-L-A, the 5000:03:29,920 --> 00:03:33,974amygdala. And one of the reasonswhy the amygdala is so 5100:03:34,034 --> 00:03:37,981important is that it is considered to be the emotional 5200:03:38,141 --> 00:03:43,516center of the brain. Some call it the happiness center of the 5300:03:43,557 --> 00:03:46,951brain, and we'll get to that a bit later. But let me 5400:03:47,032 --> 00:03:50,241parenthetically say that when wetalk about mental health issues5500:03:50,241 --> 00:03:54,699. You notice I say I use the term issue and not illness or 5600:03:54,780 --> 00:03:59,537disease, because we may all havesome mental health issue, but 5700:03:59,676 --> 00:04:04,465we obviously do not all have mental health disease or illness5800:04:04,465 --> 00:04:09,139. Issues can be anything relatedto how we think and how we feel5900:04:09,139 --> 00:04:13,435and how we behave. For instance, basic fear and anxiety can be 6000:04:13,515 --> 00:04:19,151an issue. One may be afraid of heights as an issue, but as long6100:04:19,151 --> 00:04:22,298as that does not interfere withyour normal activity in life, 6200:04:22,999 --> 00:04:26,511then that's not considered an illness for you, and so it's 6300:04:26,571 --> 00:04:31,658important that we consider how we function and that we 6400:04:31,718 --> 00:04:36,863differentiate between mental health illness and mental health6500:04:36,863 --> 00:04:42,396issues. And when we talk about mental health illness, it's 6600:04:42,456 --> 00:04:46,023important to understand that mental health illness is nothing6700:04:46,023 --> 00:04:49,392to be ashamed of. It is basically a medical problem, 6800:04:49,413 --> 00:04:54,560just like heart disease or liverdisease or kidney disease or 6900:04:54,680 --> 00:04:59,091any other type of malady that may affect the body. And one of 7000:04:59,110 --> 00:05:03,838the things that it interferes with our ability to care for 7100:05:03,899 --> 00:05:08,331patients who have actual mental health illnesses is that we tend7200:05:08,331 --> 00:05:14,199not to understand the illness itself or the problem itself, 7300:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,865and that makes us many times notcare for these patients as 7400:05:18,946 --> 00:05:23,132quickly and as thoroughly as we should. So when we go back to 7500:05:23,774 --> 00:05:27,879the amygdala, the amygdala, again, is a part of the brain 7600:05:27,899 --> 00:05:32,932that's located in the area of the hippocampus, and some even 7700:05:32,992 --> 00:05:36,379call it the happiness of the reward center. It is the part of7800:05:36,379 --> 00:05:39,632the brain that affects how we feel. Let me say that again, the7900:05:39,632 --> 00:05:43,041amygdala is the part of the brain that affects how we feel, 8000:05:44,451 --> 00:05:48,639and those feelings are controlled by hormones that have8100:05:48,639 --> 00:05:53,225an impact on this particular part of the brain that can 8200:05:53,266 --> 00:05:56,132result in a whether we're happy or whether we're sad, and one of8300:05:56,132 --> 00:05:59,567those hormones is dopamine, andanother one of those hormones 8400:05:59,586 --> 00:06:03,656is serotonin. And so, indeed, one of the ways that various 8500:06:03,697 --> 00:06:07,406types of illnesses that involve the brain, ie mental illness 8600:06:07,466 --> 00:06:13,016like depression and others, are treated is with medications that8700:06:13,016 --> 00:06:18,846manipulate or change the impactof a number of these hormones 8800:06:19,346 --> 00:06:24,857that occur in the brain. So if one were to have a high dopamine8900:06:24,857 --> 00:06:29,245level dopamine one of the hormones in the brain one would 9000:06:29,305 --> 00:06:34,596be happy, motivated, alert, focused. Likewise, if, if the 9100:06:34,637 --> 00:06:38,702dopamine level is low, those patients tend to be tired, 9200:06:38,975 --> 00:06:43,540unmotivated, unhappy, mood swings, sleep problems and 9300:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,040difficulty concentrating. It's really important to understand 9400:06:47,120 --> 00:06:52,420that much of how we interpret how we feel really depends on 9500:06:52,500 --> 00:06:56,278who we are and what our backgrounds are. Even more 9600:06:56,358 --> 00:07:00,716specifically, as a book once said some time ago, men really 9700:07:00,817 --> 00:07:04,156are from Mars and women really are from Venus, meaning that 9800:07:04,298 --> 00:07:09,766even though we're both human, but because of the various types9900:07:09,766 --> 00:07:15,802of sex hormones in our body, wemay interpret or relate 10000:07:16,223 --> 00:07:19,769differently in terms of our moods and in terms of how we 10100:07:19,829 --> 00:07:25,125feel. Likewise, when we look at children who may have mental 10200:07:25,165 --> 00:07:30,975health issues, children many times are not little adults and 10300:07:31,055 --> 00:07:35,079we should not consider them little adults. So mental illness10400:07:35,079 --> 00:07:39,357in children is a very unique area of specialty that should be10500:07:39,357 --> 00:07:43,755treated by child psychologists and child psychiatrists. Let me 10600:07:43,855 --> 00:07:47,605also, parenthetically, say that I think it's very important that10700:07:47,605 --> 00:07:52,500we keep in mind again that boysand girls are different in 10800:07:52,521 --> 00:07:59,437terms of how they act and in terms of their behavior. This 10900:07:59,497 --> 00:08:03,507has to do with their particular age and their particular area of11000:08:03,507 --> 00:08:06,959development. But I think it's important to be very cautious 11100:08:07,079 --> 00:08:11,576about how we attribute certain things to children, particularly11200:08:11,576 --> 00:08:16,416as it relates to mental type issues. I personally think that 11300:08:16,456 --> 00:08:25,029the phrase or the definition or the term attention deficit, 11400:08:25,855 --> 00:08:32,557hyperactive disease or ADHD is overused in children. I think 11500:08:33,759 --> 00:08:39,057many times it'll be a situation where in a maybe elementary 11600:08:39,096 --> 00:08:43,684class or maybe in preschool or even beyond preschool, 11700:08:46,575 --> 00:08:52,097elementary class, or in high school or junior high class. One11800:08:52,097 --> 00:08:54,725group of students may be very quiet and very attentive. 11900:08:54,815 --> 00:08:59,025Another group of students may bevery interactive and not very 12000:08:59,066 --> 00:09:03,264attentive. It's not uncommon. Many times that boys in my 12100:09:03,384 --> 00:09:09,542experience have been, I think, unfairly classified as having 12200:09:10,023 --> 00:09:16,120ADHD or some type of behavioral disorder, when they're actually 12300:09:16,139 --> 00:09:18,515just boys and when you compare them with girls, there's 12400:09:18,615 --> 00:09:21,879obviously a difference. My pointis be very, very careful and 12500:09:21,938 --> 00:09:28,875have a health care professional evaluate them and decide whether12600:09:28,875 --> 00:09:33,725indeed there is a mental type of issue and certainly anything 12700:09:33,745 --> 00:09:37,240that might require treatment, like Ritalin and other types of 12800:09:37,299 --> 00:09:41,376medication that are frequently used with children. My point is 12900:09:41,417 --> 00:09:45,980just be very cautious in terms of what you do. One of the great13000:09:45,980 --> 00:09:49,495things about health care and mental health issues is that 13100:09:49,534 --> 00:09:52,475there is medication that's available for treatment. For 13200:09:52,495 --> 00:09:56,559many, many years there was not very, very good medication with 13300:09:56,639 --> 00:10:01,037minimal side effects. That is nolonger the case. I would 13400:10:01,057 --> 00:10:06,386encourage you, if there's a suggestion in yourself or maybe 13500:10:06,427 --> 00:10:09,783a family member, that you seek out a health care professional, 13600:10:10,174 --> 00:10:15,395psychologists or psychiatrists to assist with that problem. Let13700:10:15,395 --> 00:10:18,865me just say a word about a particular type of mental health13800:10:18,865 --> 00:10:26,836illness. Now. This is not a mental health situation but an 13900:10:27,037 --> 00:10:31,283actual illness. Let's take a look at the illness called 14000:10:31,342 --> 00:10:35,263depression. Depression is very, very serious and very, very 14100:10:35,403 --> 00:10:40,004unique. Usually, these patients have what I call the hopeless, 14200:10:40,495 --> 00:10:47,022helpless, worthless syndrome. They feel things are bad for 14300:10:47,062 --> 00:10:50,517them and that there's no hope that they will get better. They 14400:10:50,557 --> 00:10:53,970feel the things are bad for themand no one can help them make 14500:10:54,010 --> 00:10:57,980things get better, and some evenget to the point where they 14600:10:58,020 --> 00:11:01,148feel that things are bad for them and they actually deserve 14700:11:01,207 --> 00:11:06,724it. My point is that if you see someone, or you know someone, or14800:11:06,724 --> 00:11:11,376yourself have any of those thoughts, particularly if they 14900:11:11,417 --> 00:11:16,346begin to migrate toward self-harm and even the thought 15000:11:16,447 --> 00:11:23,024of suicide, immediately seek help so that individuals can get15100:11:23,024 --> 00:11:27,421the appropriate treatment. You would be amazed at how common 15200:11:27,922 --> 00:11:32,636the thought about self-harm and suicide is. So, even if 15300:11:32,756 --> 00:11:37,645individuals appear to be joking,I would encourage you to go to 15400:11:37,745 --> 00:11:41,219the free hotlines that are available and to make sure those15500:11:41,219 --> 00:11:45,298individuals get proper treatment. So, in summary, we 15600:11:45,339 --> 00:11:48,505talked about mental illness as amedical problem. Like heart 15700:11:48,546 --> 00:11:52,321disease, mental illness is treated with medication that 15800:11:52,380 --> 00:11:56,308regulates many times dopamine and serotonin hormone levels. 15900:11:56,835 --> 00:11:59,740Men and women are fundamentally different in terms of how they 16000:11:59,980 --> 00:12:06,018act when they may have mental abnormalities. And the children 16100:12:06,057 --> 00:12:10,522are very, very unique, and all of these maladies should be 16200:12:10,562 --> 00:12:13,798treated by healthcare professionals. So, in conclusion16300:12:13,798 --> 00:12:17,746, thank you very much for spending a very valuable time 16400:12:17,807 --> 00:12:23,962with us. We will continue to provide interesting topics about16500:12:23,962 --> 00:12:29,538healthcare and others as the time moves on. Have a wonderful 16600:12:29,599 --> 00:12:29,840day. 16700:12:30,674 --> 00:12:32,517Speaker 1: And thanks for listening to the Healthy, 16800:12:32,557 --> 00:12:37,301wealthy and Wise podcast with DrWilliam Choctaw, mdjd. We hope 16900:12:37,341 --> 00:12:40,803you enjoyed this episode. In fact, if you found this episode 17000:12:40,884 --> 00:12:45,248helpful, you can support and subscribe to the podcast on your17100:12:45,248 --> 00:12:49,951favorite podcast platform with the keywords Dr William Choctaw,17200:12:49,951 --> 00:12:55,601and you'll find it very quickly. Also, subscribing helps ensure17300:12:55,601 --> 00:13:00,217that you don't miss any future episodes. And then take the next17400:13:00,217 --> 00:13:03,924step of action and share it with your family, friends and or17500:13:03,924 --> 00:13:08,159your co-workers. They'll be glad you did so. Until the next 17600:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,554time, live your best possible life the best possible way. 17700:13:13,075 --> 00:13:15,418You've been listening to the Healthy, wealthy and Wise 17800:13:15,518 --> 00:13:19,302podcast with Dr William Choctaw,mdjd.