Equilibrium Magazine Issue 37

The Omega3
Connection
by Dr Andrew L. Stoll
Andrew Stoll
is director of
the psychopharmacology
research
laboratory at
the McLean
Hospital in
Boston and
also assistant
professor of
psychiatry
at Harvard
Medical
School. In 1999, he was lead author
of a study that suggested abundance
of fish oil could dramatically
improve the course of severe bipolar
disorder (also known as manic-depression)
and ADHD sufferers. Fish oil
and flax oil are notable for being the
major dietary source of the hottest
fats of all, the omega-3 essential
fatty acids.
Dr Stoll’s wide research focuses
on the importance of a good diet
which can have a major impact on
our mental wellbeing and behaviour.
Following his analysis and observations,
he came to the conclusion
that a shortage of omega 3 oils can
cause stress, anger and hostility…
Furthermore, in recent studies,
alcoholism and violence in males
aged below twenty were linked
genetically doubling their likelihood
to incarceration for criminal violence
and quadrupling their tendency
to attempt suicide according to
Joseph R. Hibbeln (US National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
In one part of his book Dr Andrew
L. Stoll says too “Nearly everyone has
expressed elements of major depression”.
Many studies linking the eating
of large amounts of omega 3 oils
lowers rates of major depression.
During his research, Dr Stoll
suggest that we can maintain
appropriate levels of omega 3 oils
that can help us protect ourselves
from certain illnesses; such as arthritis,
heart disease and any major
physical health including mental
health.
This book is quite interesting for
anyone wanting to understand the
importance of omega 3 oils and
their importance in our body and
mind.
Siham Beleh
Dine for
Depression
A staggering one in five of us will
be affected by depression at some
point in our lives. It’s a shocking
thought – do you know someone
who might be struggling? Maybe
you’ve been affected yourself and
would like to do something to raise
awareness of this debilitating illness
or help others like you.
Depression Alliance is launching
Dine for Depression –a wonderful
way of getting together with
friends and family to cook, eat and
chat, and to get us all talking about
depression. It’s also a great way of
raising vital funds for Depression Alliance,
the leading charity for people
affected by depression.
How it works:
Good diet and positive social interaction
are key features in maintaining
well being and recovery, so what
better way of showing your loved
ones that you care by arranging a
get-together. As the host you take
care of the food, drink and entertainment,
and rather than roping
your guests in to help out with the
washing up, you ask for a donation
to Depression Alliance, with all the
money raised going directly towards
our front line services. So no gruelling
marathons or pestering your
colleagues for sponsorship money
– just a fun and simple way of raising
money from the comfort of your
own home. Whether it’s a many
course spectacular or fish and chips
on the sea front, you’ll be helping
Depression Alliance by lifting the lid
on this much misunderstood illness
and encouraging people to come
together and talk about it. Depression
doesn’t have to be scary but
it is real and it can cost lives. More
importantly you could be directly
helping your friend or loved ones.
For more details on how to get
involved and arrange your own Dine
for Depression. For more information
on depression visit www.depressionalliance.org.
Extract from Waking up in
Toytown
John Burnside
“…It’s a long time
since I wanted to
be normal. I’ve
been there, and
they wouldn’t even
sell me the T-shirt.
Now, I have no
desire to be sane,
partly because it’s
not in my nature
but, mostly, because the generally
accepted definition of sane is hideously
inadequate. If Surbiton – real or
imaginary – is sanity, then I have no
desire to be sane. I have no desire
to be mad either, but I don’t regret
having been mad, once upon a
time. The world is not to much for
me, these days, but it’s more than
enough – and these days, after long
consideration, I have begun to think
that there might be an alternative
to the twin poles of mad and sane,
a discipline somewhat like flying,
or vanishing. On any night of the
year, but especially in the deep
midwinter, when the land is silent
and still, I can sit up alone, listening,
watching, aware of the road to the
afterlife running past my window,
and occasionally, for a minute or
two and sometimes longer, I can feel
like some old-time aviator, rising high
in a bright thermal, floating in thin
air, guided by the crudest and least
trustworthy of navigation systems,
but touched with the holy and unexpected
blessing of the flyer, which
is to be and not be at exactly the
same moment, to be always there,
in the eye of gravity’s needle and,
at the same time, to be always on
the point of vanishing. Moment by
moment, breath by breath, into the
afterlife.”
EQUILIBRIUM 16