Freud had a lot of great ideas, but the idea that bad toilet training causes mental problems wasn't one of them.

However, Freud and many others since, have realized that stress is THE major cause. What causes the stress is a different matter, often overlooked in our "drug fix" world dominated by Big Pharma, the FDA (which is now dominated by Big Pharma as well), and the "educationally handicapped" medical profession in general.

One of the basic principles misunderstood by most of the above is INDIVIDUALITY. I've found that this principle is much better understood by the average person generally. MD's are too "cookbook" oriented by Big Pharma, and they measure height and weight and prescribe, in effect, by volume estimation. But, all too often, the individual person may require either much more of that drug or much less, and may even get sicker on more or less than correct. Individuality depends on what each person inherited and what each person "learned" (both consciously and unconsciously) during their life.

Another problem is that researchers with "wrong data" information for a particular test get wrong answers as a result (The computer term is GIGO - garbage in - garbage out). As a prime example, the RDA for vitamin C is 75 mg daily for humans, yet for optimum health the RDA for a 150 pound ape (or other primates) in a zoo is 4000 mg daily. All primates (including us) have the same lack of built in vitamin C manufacture (out of glucose - what a shame, if we and the other primates hadn't lost the enzyme to convert glucose into ascorbic acid 65 million years ago, we'd be a lot healthier on the sugar rich diets in our culture today).

However, so-called researchers (paid by Big Pharma) "fool" the general public by the RDA of 75 mg, often test people with colds using amounts of 250-1000 mg per hour, or even per day. They then put out a "scientific" paper that states that "Vitamin C does not have any effect on colds or flu". The lack of knowledge causes their mistaken conclusion. By the time a virus or cold is noticed by the symptoms, it has multiplied - doubling every 20 minutes in the bloodstream. Now, it takes 3-4 grams at a minimum, within that 20 minutes to kill, even half or more.

The truth is that Vitamin C kills both bacteria and virus in the blood stream very well, but the blood MUST be saturated with C to work effectively. Vitamin C is used up quickly when any infection (viral or bacterial) is present, and low doses only kill a small fraction of what may be present. Both viruses and bacteria multiply in a binary way - doubling their number in 20 minutes or so - If you even kill off half of the infecting invaders, 20 minutes later, their numbers are back to what you started with. 250 to 500 mg simply cannot saturate the blood!!

Another important factor - There is no such thing as a mental disease. At best it may called a mental problem, or a mental condition. A disease is again binary - you either have it or not. Measles, mumps, shingles, etc are diseases. ADD/ADHD, autism, depression, insomnia, even schizophrenia are all "conditions", and all vary depending on the individual. All of these are "continuum's" with similar, but varying symptoms depending on the individual. The attempt to codify these with many 100's of different definitions, as is done by the DSM, is useless except for insurance purposes. There is only one kind of depression, with hundred (or maybe an infinite) number of INDIVIDUAL symptom responses.

If you understand all the foregoing fairly well, then the rest is easy. Putting all the current reasonably good research together, it's easy to separate and see the three basic causes of stress causing ALL mental "disease".
1. Nutritional deficiencies. This is a given in our modern world of pollution of all food sources, processed food that "tastes good", but has little nutrition we need. From a certain set of nutritional deficiencies in two different people, one may exhibit mental symptoms, while another may seem fine. Anyone with three brain cells that rub together knows that his or her diet doesn't really supply what is needed for optimum health, and even with dozens of supplements daily (which help dramatically as good research has shown), few people reach optimum health. Few understand even what they need, and the basic RDA misunderstandings don't help. It's so much lower than actually needed for "good" health, that it's now actually dangerous to our health.

2. Mineral Toxicity. Also in our modern world of pollution, we are releasing some very toxic chemicals into the air, water, and food, Many of these affect some people (individuality again) more than others. The autism "epidemic" is now being seriously looked at as being largely caused by mercury pollutions in the increasing number of infant and child vaccines, along with increasing pollution of the atmosphere and the soil, and the water, including the sea. The number of autism cases has increased geometrically over the past few years. This autism evidence of mercury cause is mounting, and the FDA (and Big Pharma) are looking more and more like a cat trying to cover up their mess.

Mercury is also now very high in the fish food chain and this adds to mother's milk to increase the mercury in infants. Even very low amounts are accumulative, and any is dangerous. Lead in toys, and paint, copper in various uses. Cadmium is high around smokers and other metal workers. Arsenic is high around insecticides, etc, etc, etc.

3. Unsuspected allergens. I am constantly amazed at the lack of knowledge about mental problems being caused by (usually) unsuspected allergens. Most people, (even those with allergic shiners - puffy or dark around the eyes like a raccoon - don't realize this is a sign of serious allergy. Most think they don't have any allergies. Very few MD allergists even know (or seemingly care) that every mental problem cataloged can be caused directly by allergies. (None of four allergists in one allergy clinic were even aware that allergies can cause mental problems directly until showed proof of this.)

This is a negative going equation. The more stress put on you by life, mineral toxicity and/or allergy(s), the more nutrition you need. This need for better and more nutrition can lead to "Leaky Gut Syndrome" that, in effect opens up the transfer of amino acids, vitamins, minerals etc into the body. This results in longer chains of amino acids that can look like a bacteria or virus chain, and the brain causes a food allergy to this combination. (That's why most autism children become allergic to milk and grains, as they are under huge stress from birth, and those are the first foods.

There's even a sort of stress table that lists stress factors from loss of a spouse and other serious stress factors, down to perhaps poor toilet training (who knows, it could be a factor). However, mineral toxicity and allergen stress are the two most important factors in all mental problems!

What to do? Where to start? This is again individual and requires some serious detective work. What do you suspect first?

If nutritional deficiency, find a good supplement program, and try it. If you are seriously deficient, you'll feel much better within a few days. I recommend the following starting supplemental program.

Solgar VM-75 (2 of the new capsules for adults, and 1 for 6-12 year olds) - take at least 3-4 hours before AND after any ascorbic acid vitamin C. Available in most health food stores.

1 - 2000mg of vitamin C at breakfast and dinner - increase during flu season if needed.

200 IU of Vitamin E per 40 years of life (minimum - add more if heart problems noted.

500 mg of calcium citrate and 500 mg of magnesium citrate.

Of course, there are many other supplements to be added to this list depending on your individual age and health history.

If you suspect mineral toxicity, get a hair analysis and if any toxic mineral is double the average, learn how to chelate it out. More info at www.drbate.com/content/chelation.shtml

If you suspect allergy, you're probably correct. The Neuroliminal Training therapy solves most of these "brain allergies" by changing brain wave strengths. More info at www.drbate.com.

Author's Bio: 

Phil Bate PhD - Orthomolecular Psychologist (30 plus years)
Inventor of NL Therapy - An inexpensive, effective approach & "at home" therapy for ADD- autism, insomnia, depression etc
http://drbate.com and drbate@bellsouth.net