Intermittent Explosive Disorder - Roger Heater's Story

This post is from my guest writers, Tammy Moss and Roger Heater:

"From Institutions to Freedom" tells the story of Roger Heater who has lived with Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) for over three decades

As a child Roger suffered from temper tantrums and rage attacks. What began as tantrums, banging his head on the floor, ended in rage attacks, flipping furniture over, and destroying his bedroom. These attacks lasted thirty minutes to two hours sometimes. At times his parents were forced to sit on him and hold him down so he wouldn’t cause any damage to himself, or them.

By age 12, Roger was made a ward of the court and spent the next four years being shuffled around shelters, group homes, mental institutions, and psychiatric hospitals throughout the State of California, during which time he experienced several different forms of discipline and medications.

In the 70’s, Roger was placed in an institution where they mixed mentally handicap adults with kids. At age 13, he was living with adults as old as 70. Being stripped of his belt, shoes and pockets emptied, he was placed in a 7’ by 4’ room with no outside window or door knob on the inside. He was restrained on beds by being wrapped in sheets from the ankles to his neck. As early as 9 years old he was subjected to several different anti-depressants including Ritalin, Valium and Lithium.

Over the next 15 years Roger self-medicated with marijuana that he began to smoke excessively from as early as age 14. It seemed to control his hyper energy and aggressive behavior. By age 19 his impulsive and addictive personality began to crave the drug cocaine.

Four years later, after almost overdosing one evening, Roger began a self therapy treatment that involved one day at a time of not touching the drug and performing at local amateur comedy clubs throughout the Bay area. Just like marijuana, comedy became an excellent outlet to release his extra aggression. By age 34, with two addictive drug habits and two failed marriages behind him, the comedy stage alone was no longer enough to keep his anger under control. His aggressive and abusive behavior landed him into a psychiatric hospital twice within a 6 month period.

Three decades of Roger's IED incidents:

• Age 4; Temper tantrums began, Roger would lay flat on his stomach and repeatedly bang his head on the floor, his mother had to hold him until he calmed down.
• Age 11; He was running head first into walls, destroying his room so bad that everything was removed except his bed and dresser.
• Age 16; Roger took out 32 car windshields with a baseball bat causing over $5,000.00 worth in damages.
• In his early 20's after receiving a hamburger with mayo at a Jack in the Box drive-thru, he threw it back at the server and sped off in a screaming road rage into heavy expressway traffic, almost causing a three car pileup.
• In his early 20's to mid 30's he mentally and physically attacked 3 separate wives. During a rage attack he was known to lift wives up off the floor by their throats.

After struggling for over three decades, Roger was finally given a diagnosis in 1995. He was told he had a mental disorder called Intermittent Explosive Disorder (I-E-D). This disorder was still unknown to the public and researchers at the time, so proper medications and therapy were still in the testing stage. Over the years while learning what he could about the disease he taught himself how to overcome and survive living with it. After more than 14 years of touring and performing comedy all over the United States, he developed a strong ability to keep any size groups attention and his strong stage presence continues to shine even when delivering material on a much darker subject. His sense of humor, passion and understanding for this disorder stands out in every delivery.

Roger is in the process of writing his book- “From Institutions to Freedom” in the hopes that sharing his story with others will motivate and show others that instead of ‘you can’t’ -you can!

Stimulus Pro-bono opportunity~~
During these tough economic times, we are giving a limited amount of pro-bono talks in Las Vegas, California, Utah and Arizona. Don't wait! Email us to schedule. Contact us @ tmoss1026@yahoo.com

Roger is dedicated to speak wherever there is a need. A man who never took “you can’t” as an excuse, Roger fought through each and every obstacle and came out proving everyone wrong.

Roger is sharing his story all around the country. Please email us with where you are from and names of organizations that may benefit in hearing this powerful, motivating story

To learn more about IED and to book a pro-bono talk, visit our website- http://www.heaterproductions.com/

OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorders

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the label put on the inability to avoid persistent thoughts and stop repeated behaviors that are negatively affecting one's quality of life. About 2.2 million people in the US suffer from OCD which is classified as an anxiety disorder. It is often accompanied by one or more other problems such as other anxiety disorders, eating disorders and especially depression. OCD usually begins in adolescence or early adulthood.

Obsessions are thoughts that one can't get out of their head. No matter how hard one tries, the unwelcome thoughts return. Common subjects are germs/contamination, doubting that something was done, orderliness/organization, fear of impulsive behavior (saying something inappropriate/doing something terrible), fear of having terrible thoughts.

One way to cope with the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts is to take action. These actions can get out of control and interfere with life in a negative way. The thought and action are not necessarily connected in logic. Now they are called "compulsions." Here are some examples:

• If someone is afraid of germs, they might start cleaning and sterilizing things constantly (more than the average person would) as well as refuse to touch anything in a public place or shake hands with anyone. They might also start washing/scrubbing their hands many times a day.
• A person who doubts might start checking things over and over and over. Ten minutes later, the doubt returns and they have to check again. It's as if they don't remember or trust their memory. Did I lock the door? Did I close the garage door? Is the stove turned off? Did I put something away? Did I turn on/turn off something?
• People who obsess on orderiless and organization can't stand anything out of place. Everything has a place. No paperclip can sit outside of the official paperclip box. The lamp is not allowed to be an inch out of place on the tabletop. Couch cushions have to be just so. These people might also fixate on a certain type of thing that is out of place everywhere they go. Imagine walking to work and having to pick up every piece of trash (no matter how small) found on the street.
• Some people with OCD are afraid of their own impulses to say something inappropriate (vulgarity, insults, lies, hoaxes) and so they avoid going places and being with people. It's like being afraid of suddenly being overcome with Tourrette's Syndrome when one doesn't even have it in the first place. Some people are afraid of doing something inappropriate, dangerous or worse. Again, these people isolate themselves to protect others.
• Fixation on words, phrases or repeated actions are another way to deal with the anxiety. Some people will say certain words or phrases over and over until they "feel better."
• Hoarding is another OCD compulsion. Suffers might keep something for a reason that seems logical to them but it gets out of control and becomes extreme. Imagine keeping an empty jar because it would be good for storage. Compare that to someone who has accumulated hundreds of jars, none of them used, to be saved for a future, possible use. There are also people who hoard animals to the point of their homes becoming filthy and they are unable to afford to feed and provide proper veterinary care for their pets.
• Some people become obsessed with negative parts of their body. They scrub or wash or pluck to the point of causing damage to their appearance and/or health.
• Scrupulosity is an religious expression of OCD that goes way back into history. A person focuses on their religion, or a certain aspect of their religion, way too intensely and loses sight of the big picture. Clergy in many faiths have been helping their members with this problem for hundreds of years. This is not to be confused with being religious and devout. This is a situation of extreme religion when even the leader says there is a problem.

Thoughts and behaviors are usually classified as Obsessive Compulsive Disorders when they take up (waste) more than an hour of day of one's time or interfere negatively with one's life. Sometimes it's so severe that sufferers can't hold down a job, take (almost) forever to get tasks done, and isolate themselves from friends and family. Some sufferers turn to alcohol and drugs to "calm down" and control their OCD. Not the best choice.

Psychiatry and psychology have come a long way in the past 50 years. Now there are ways to deal with the anxiety. OCD can't be cured, but it can be managed and it's impact on life lessened . There are many anxiety medications available. There is also Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) to help people react and deal with anxiety.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a reaction to a tense situation that might be at home, work, play or at school. It's very normal to have anxiety now and then because it helps us cope with life. Sometimes anxiety grows into being excessive for the circumstance or perhaps an irrational reaction to everyday situations that shouldn't normally cause anxiety.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD):
This type is a constant anxiety, extreme worry or tension, even when there is little or nothing to cause it. There are also physical effects such as being tired all the time, headaches, muscle tension and aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, and hot flashes.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD):
Here there are recurrent, unwanted thoughts/obsessions or repetitive behaviors/compulsions. Rituals of repetitive handwashing, counting, checking, saving items, or cleaning are common. These tasks are done too much and/or unnecessarily.

Panic Disorder:
This is characterized by sudden, unexpected episodes of intense fear as well as physical symptoms like chest pain, fast beating heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, weakness, sweating, tingly or numb hands, flush or chill, or nausea.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):
This can develop after exposure to something horrible and violent. Events that can trigger PTSD include being assaulted, disasters, accidents, or military combat. Victims as well as onlookers can be affected. People with PTSD keep re-experiencing thoughts and memories of the frightening ordeal and, to protect themselves, appear to be emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. They may have sleep problems, feel detached or numb in relationships, or be easily startled.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD):
This is the fear and, even physical symptoms, of meeting with other people whether it's at school, work, a party, get-together, or going out into crowds. There is intense anxiety in everyday social situations. SAD is sometimes limited to only one type of situation but, in its most severe form, a person suffers symptoms in all social situations. There is a feeling of being watched and judged, and a fear of being embarrassed or humiliated. Sufferers often feel the blushing, profuse sweating, shaking, nausea, and difficulty talking.

Please click HERE for ways to get help for an anxiety disorder.

The Four Stages Of Dementia / Alzheimers

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Alzheimer's is divided into four stages which progress from one into the next. They are classified as Pre-Dementia, Early Dementia, Moderate Dementia and Advanced Dementia.

Pre-Dementia:

The first symptoms are sometimes mistaken for ageing or stress. Detailed neuro-psychological testing can reveal mild cognitive difficulties as early as eight years before a person is officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

The most noticeable early symptom is memory loss, which usually shows up as trouble remembering recently learned facts or an inability to remember new information. Subtle problems with attentiveness, planning, flexibility, and abstract thinking, or impairments in semantic memory (memory of meanings, and concept relationships), can also be signs of the early stages. Apathy is sometimes seen at this stage and it remains throughout the next three phases. This early stage of the Alzheimer's is also called "mild cognitive impairment."

Early Dementia:

The increasing challenges of learning and memory eventually leads to a doctor's diagnosis of Alzheimer's. In a few people, difficulties with language, executive functions, perception/understanding, or movements are more prominent than their memory problems.

Alzheimer's does not affect all types of memories the same. Older memories of the person's life, facts learned, and implicit memory tend to be affected less than are newer facts or memories. Language problems are mainly characterised by a shrinking vocabulary and decreased word fluency, which eventually interfere with one's writing and speaking skills. In this stage of Alzheimer's, the affected person is slowly reduced to communicating only basic ideas.

While performing fine motor tasks (finger control) such as writing, drawing or dressing, one's movements that require planning and coordination are difficult, making sufferers appear clumsy. As the disease progresses, people can often continue to perform many tasks independently, but might need help or supervision with the more mentally demanding activities.

Moderate Dementia

During this third stage, one starts losing their ability to be independent. Conversation becomes difficult, due to an inability to remember words. Sometimes wrong words are substituted. Reading and writing skills also decline. Complex movements that require coordination are more challenging, causing the ability to normal daily living activities to be difficult. During this phase, memory problems worsen, and the person may fail to recognise close relatives.

Long-term memory becomes impaired and behavioral changes become more noticeable. Common neuro-psychiatric manifestations are wandering, sundowning, irritability and labile affect can lead to crying, outbursts of aggression and/or resistance to caregiving. About a third of patients also develop illusionary misidentifications and other delusional symptoms. Urinary incontinence can develop.

During this stage of Alzheimer's, the patient's symptoms create increasing stress for their relatives and caretakers. It's at this point most loved ones must consider moving the patient into long-term care facilities that specialize in caring for Alzheimer's patients.

Advanced Dementia

During this last stage, the patient has become completely dependent upon others for care. Speaking with simple phrases or single words eventually turns to a complete loss of speech. Despite this, patients can often understand and return emotional signals. Aggressiveness might still be present but extreme apathy and exhaustion are more common.

Patients will eventually become unable to do most simple tasks without assistance. Muscle mass shrinks and mobility deteriorates to the point where they are bedridden. The Alzheimer's patient will lose their ability to feed themselves.

Finally comes death, usually caused directly by something external such as pressure ulcers or from a cold turning into pneumonia.

My grandmother had Alzheimer's. She eventually became a "vegetable" sitting in a wheelchair. She died of pneumonia.

Please click HERE to find out how doctors diagnose Alzheimer's.

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AUTISM - The Basic Facts

Autism is a very complicated subject. There are heated debates and fears over the causes. There are arguments over treatments and cures. It's a messy subject with a whole lot of information and misinformation to sort through.

Let's start from the beginning to try and understand autism...

First, there is "Austism Spectrum Disorders." It's an all-encompassing phrase for a group of different developmental problems. Some of these "problems" within the realm of ASD include Autism, Asperger's, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rett's Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

Now let's talk about one of these - autism. It is defined as a serious ASD that shows up in a child by the age of three. There are several kinds of autism, all of which affect the child's ability to communicate and interact with other people. About 4 or 5 out of every 1000 children in the USA have been diagnosed with some type of autism.

At this time there is no "cure" for autism but early intervention and continual treatment can help lessen it's impact on the child's life. Be wary of anyone claiming to cure autism - they might offer ways to help the child handle life better, but they do not have a cure. They are hoping you are desparate and are out for your money!

The symptoms of autism affect the ability to interact with others, language skills, and behavior. Autism varies in severity and each person's symptoms are different from the next. People with severe autism do not interact or communicate with others at all.

The social skills of someone with autism might include failure to respond when their name is called, poor or no eye contact, doesn't react to hearing sounds or words, resists physical contact such as touching, holding, hugging or cuddling and prefers to be alone during play. They don't point to pictures during the reading of a story book. This lack of interaction affects their future language skills.

Language is also affected by autism. Symptoms include delayed speech (first words or short phrases come late), verbal skills regress after previously acquiring them, doesn't look at person they are talking to, unusual speech tone or rhythm, can't maintain a conversation, repeats words or phrases but doesn't understand what's being said, and asks questions or make statements repetitively.

The behavior that is seen in people with autism includes repetitive movements, routine or ritual movements that must be done, is very bothered by small changes in routine, constantly moves, might become overly fascinated with an object and they might become overly sensitive to lights, sounds or touch and yet, undersensitive to pain.

The development of an autistic child can be a roller coaster. Typically, as the child matures, he or she does develop in a positive direction, it's just much slower than the average child's pace. They will learn new things, develop skills and interact a little bit with others. But then the adolescent years might bring regression of behavior issues.

Children will autism have low, average, and high intelligence just like the rest of us. Some are slow learners and some are fast learners. It's the autism that gets in the way, affecting one's language and social skills as well as ability to apply the knowledge that's in their head. Some children with autism are "gifted" with a certain skill such as incredible knowledge on a single subject, trivia collection, or their abilities in music, art or math.

The causes of autism are a heated subject these days. It's a very complex disease and scientists suspect there are many different causes. Right now everything is a theory, nothing is fact. Currently, the suspected causes are genetic errors (brain cells multiplied/reproduced with a defect), the environment (pollution, viruses, toxins), and the age of the father (babies born to fathers over the age of 40 have a six times higher incidence of autism as compared to babies of fathers under 30), and gender (boys are over 3 times more likely than girls to have autism).

There is current research into problems during labor and delivery, the immune system, and a part of the brain called the amygdala to see if there is any connection with autism.

There has been a recent unfounded hysteria about immunizations causing autism. Some parents believe these rumors to be true and are refusing to get their children measles-mumps-rubella MMR shots. This puts the child at risk for these other diseases and some preschools, school districts and towns are now experiencing epidemics of measles, mumps and rubella. These other diseases can cause brain damage, blindness and death.

Let's set the record straight. There has been no scientific study to find a link between getting a shot and autism. Some people point their fingers at a medication preservative called Thimerosal the use of which was discontinued back in 2001. If Thimerosal was the cause, then we should have seen a sudden drop after 2002 in the numbers of children diagnosed with autism. This hasn't happened.

Now let's talk about treatments and medication. Behavior therapies teach new skills, reduce problem behaviors, and foster proper interaction in a social setting, Educational therapies set up highly structured programs to help with learning and socialization. Medication can help reduce symptoms such as anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorders and severe behavior problems.

There are also "alternative therapies" to help (not cure) such as the use of art, music or sensory activities to help reduce a child's oversensitivity to physical stimuli; special diets that prescribe extra vitamins and minerals and avoidance of food allergans; and there is "chelation" therapy - a way to remove mercury from the body.

Whatever you chose to do for your child, you will need a team of doctors, therapists and teachers to help your child attain their potential. Do your research on therapies and don't throw your money at anyone trying to sell you a miracle cure.

Source - Mayo Clinic

BIPOLAR DISORDER - DEFINITION, TREATMENT, MEDICATIONS

Everybody has their usual lives, personalities, and ways of doing things. But people with Bipolar Disorder are sometimes involuntarily thrust into an extreme amusement park and they just aren't themselves for the rides. Sometimes they are stuck way up high and sometimes they are down very low. Sometimes they even bounce upon and down as if on a bungie jump of emotions.

These times are called "episodes." During an episode, a person is "different" than they usually are or what one might call "normal" or "average" for the rest of the population. Perhaps they are too happy, too crabby, too depressed or in a funk - more than what their life circumstances should cause.

Over 5 million children and adults are affected with Bipolar Disorder, many of them being treated for a different/wrong diagnosis. About 70% of the time, doctors are only consulted for one of the problems of Bipolar Disorder such as depression or anger. The resulting treatment and/or medication is wrong. One study I read stated that about 10 years can be wasted before the correct diagnosis is made. So please tell your doctor about everything - happy, sad, angry, anxious, everything! Communication is key! Your doctor only knows what you tell him or her. Don't hold anything back! Sometimes mood disorders are in the family tree, so ask your family questions about relatives and ancestors. Tell your doctor everything.

The experts define three types of episodes- manic, depressive and mixed. The mixed episodes are a roller coaster of both depressive and manic episodes. Warning signs that an episode is coming include slight changes in mood, sleep, energy, self value, sexual interest, concentration, enthusiasm, optimism, and way of dressing and grooming.

Manic episodes can cause people to feel wonderful as if nothing could go wrong, very aggitated and short fused, uncooperative and belligerent, overly angry and aggressive. Examples of manic behavior are talking too fast or constantly, risky or impulsive actions, sexual promescuity, spending binges, going without much sleep, easily distracted and unable to stay focused, having a feeling of great self worth or invincibility, becoming too focused on a goal, and racing thoughts.

Depressive episodes can cause depression and saddness, loss of interest or wanting to do anything, and no longer enjoying the things one used to do for fun. Examples of symptoms include loss of weight without being on a diet, decrease or increase in appetite, insomnia or restlessness, feeling sluggish or excessive sleeping, constant fatigue or loss of energy, feeling worthless or inappropriately or excessively guilty, difficulty thinking, concentrating and making decisions, and thoughts of suicide, making a suicide plan, or actually making an attempt.

Experts do not know what causes Bipolar Disorder. They theorize that too few or too many neurotransmitters (brain chemicals that travel between cells) might be the cause. Scientists have experimented with various drugs to see if something can be found to have a positive effect and have come up with a long list of medications that doctors now prescribe.

For a listing of bipolar medications by brand name and their information, click here .

You will need to do more than just take your medication. You need to see your psychiatrist/psychologist on a regular basis to help you cope with stress and other issues. You will also need to take care of your body and de-stress your life. Eat healthy (stop the junk food and sweets and eat on a regular schedule), exercise (go on walks at the very least), and give up the drugs and booze (join a support group - don't do it alone).

Video Games are Good for the Brain!

My grandmother went through Alzheimers to the point of becoming a total vegetable who couldn't take care of herself or have conversations. My mother has forgotten some things and when she forgot her granddaughter's name, my dad marched her into the doctor for some help. She's on medication now and dad says there's an improvement. Good. I don't want what happened to my grandmother to happen to my mom. Of course this makes me all paranoid about what's in my future. The area between Alzheimers and being naturally scatter-witted is a gray one.

I recently read a few stories about the effect of video games on the "older" population. These articles cited a University of Illionois project, funded by the National Institute of Aging. In a nutshell, the study had 2 groups- the control group that didn't play video games and the test group that spent a month playing RISE OF NATIONS which is all about creating a civilization (set up cities, merchants, create an army and more). This game was chosen because it requires strategy from the players. The people in this little experiment were in their 60's and 70's.

The results showed a positive effect on the test group who played the game for a month. Results included increased scores on cognitive tests, increases in memory, reasoning and the ability to multi-task. The "working" memory improved.

So now I know what to get my mom for Christmas!

WHAT IS NORMAL?

At what point do we say someone has a "problem?"

I've seen behaviors that are in one society completely acceptable, even part of the culture. Yet, in other societies these exact same behaviors are deemed unacceptable and in need of treatment or a cure, perhaps even punishment.

I guess the guidelines for what is or isn't "normal" are set by society, cultures, even the micro-cultures of neighborhoods, religions and other affilations. The problem comes into play when someone is a member of two groups with opposite views on a particular behavior:

For example - what's acceptable to the micro-culture of a gang member from the inner city, might not be acceptable to the larger cultures of that person's religion, neighborhood, city and country.

Another example - why is nail-biting socially acceptable and yet other "picking" behaviors are not? There are no victims, the individual's health is usually not an issue and the only outcome is cosmetic. Seems the "fashion police" and people hung up on looks and vanity (most of us to a certain degree) are the ones who say this behavior is wrong.

I guess whenever someone has difficulty coping, dealing with life or otherwise functioning in society and the brain is involved, then there is a "problem" that needs to get fixed, or at least lessened in severity.