If you want to
improve your brain function,
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then this is the
program for you, stay with us!
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I'm Dr. James
Marcum, are you interested
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in discovering the reason why?
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Do you want solutions to
your health care problem?
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Are you tired of
taking medications?
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Well, you're about to be given
"The Ultimate Prescription"
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Mental health problems
are plaguing our world,
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and what can we do about it?
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Dr. Marcum has some
suggestions that might just help
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us think better and
also the rest of the world.
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Dr. Marcum,
welcome to the program.
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Thank you, it's nice being
here, Nick, and this is a major
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problem that many people
struggle with and I'm hoping
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that those that have
mental health issues are
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paying attention
today because it's estimated
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that 1 in 4 people now
have mental health problems. Wow
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And that might include
things like depression, anxiety,
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phobias, fears... you
know, all sorts of things
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can fall into this
mental health problem. Right
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And, unfortunately, we
look at what's out there,
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and the numbers keep
going up every year...
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so it concerns me that maybe
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what we're doing
is not the right path.
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So we wanted to answer some
questions about mental health
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issues about how people could
help their brains do better,
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and when I think about how
peoples brains can do better,
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I think if we want to do
things that make the brain
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work better... now let's
think logically about that.
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Well, what
logically, do you think would
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help the brain work better,
Nick... what would you say?
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Fresh air? YEAH!
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I mean, you know, if you
are outside and get fresh air,
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that makes the brain
work better because it gets
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better oxygen. Right
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We've seen that brains
that don't get good oxygen
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get other chemicals
that they're breathing
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that doesn't do well.
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Another thing that our
brains need is water! Yeah
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Eighty percent plus
of our brain is water.
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If you were dehydrated,
if you were walking around
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the desert all day, you
would start not working well.
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So that's another
thing, movement, exercise,
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getting around that improves
the blood supply to our brain.
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Circulation and
more oxygen to the brain.
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Exactly, more oxygen.
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So we've talked about breathing,
we talked about water...
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Nutrition - very
important for the brain.
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The brain has to
get the substances
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it needs to work well.
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Remember, the original
design for our brain wasn't made
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to have lots of
processed foods. Right
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Lots of high processed sugar...
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We know that people that
take heavy processed sugars,
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they spike chemicals like
dopamine in the brain. Right
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There are certain chemicals
that we get addicted to
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in the brain - that's
not good for the brain.
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All this fat
content - we know that fat
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causes
inflammation in the brain.
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We know that too much
animal products, proteins...
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some people eat foods...
for instance - Mr. Chicken
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Let's pick on Mr.
Chicken for a while.
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Chickens live
thousands and thousands of them
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live next to each other
and, you know, to get them
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to grow up quicker,
guess what the farmer does?
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He feeds them high protein feed;
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he gives them growth
hormones because they live
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next to each other and
they might catch infections
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so they give them
antibiotics. Right
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In fact, 80% of the
world's antibiotics are now
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used on livestock. Really?
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So if Mr. Chicken gets
all these chemicals in him,
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and you eat Mr. Chicken,
and you absorb all these
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chemicals in you,
eventually it could
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get to the brain.
That's a lot of stuff we
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weren't made to
have in our baskets. Yes!
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And, you know, a lot of
stuff and we always hear about
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fish and mercury
and all these toxins,
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but there are toxins everywhere
that affect the way we think.
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And it used to be, years ago,
we didn't hear too much about
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mental health
problems, and Alzheimer disease.
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But it's not only the food,
I think it's also the media,
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remember, our brains
weren't made to have media.
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The average person spends about
8 hours a day in the media. Wow!
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Now, I know
that people out there
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don't spend a lot of time
on cell phones, computers,
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face books, TV, but
other people are! Sure, sure!
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And when it does that...
see, our brains were designed
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to be creative and
not to be entertained.
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Our brains were designed to
serve and not to be selfish.
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Our brains were designed to
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drink water and
eat healthy foods?
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And when we've done all
these other things, guess what?
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Damage occurs and then
when we start having these
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neural pathways
that don't do well,
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it's sort of like we... have
a hard drive and a soft drive,
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and if we don't put good,
new programs in our soft drive,
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things just don't work well.
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And sooner or later, guess what?
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Things begin to malfunction,
we even have bad ways
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of thinking that we perpetuate.
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Some people might have guilt
and fear and things like that
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that just dominate their
lives and they don't know
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how to handle it and our world
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sometimes doesn't have
good coping mechanisms...
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And it used to, we used to
have lots of relationships,
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we used to be able to talk
out problems. That's right!
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People just don't talk as much.
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I just don't think texting
does the same job as talking.
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When you can hear somebody,
you can see their face,
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you can listen, you
can empathize with them,
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it's a little bit
different than texting,
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but our world is
changing, and then as our world
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is changing, we see more
and more brain problems develop,
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and yet, we aren't
getting real solutions.
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So one of the real
solutions I want to leave with
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everyone today,
I think, you know,
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to understand that
everything we put in our body
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affects our brains and
we want to put in our brains
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the things that God
made to put in our brains...
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and part of that, we found
out that having a relationship
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with God - worship,
that's a great place to start.
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If you remember that text...
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"Come unto me all ye that
labor and are heavy-laden,
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I will give you rest."
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"Create in me a new
heart," a new brain...
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God has promised to
do these things for them.
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And, Dr. Newberg, at the
University of Pennsylvania,
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has done studies that
show when people do worship,
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the chemical composition
of their brain changes.
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That's fantastic!
The stress of the body
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goes down, new neurons
form, the chemistry of the brain
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changes totally, so there is
great truth in those Scriptures,
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and God is the One that can
change the way thoughts are...
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give us the power to
make changes to do things
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for our brain.
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So, if nothing else today, I
think the key to mental health
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is to continue to
improve our relationship
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and worship with God and I
just wanted to start there.
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I know we've got a lot of
questions that we have come in.
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Do you have something
you want to add, Nick?
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I was just thinking
of the Bible verse...
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"Whatever is pure
and whatever is right,
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think on these things." And
there's a lot of truth in that.
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We hear a lot of
other things in the media,
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but, you know, if we
focus on what the Bible says
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and God's love for us,
that really can help our brains.
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Yeah, and it
concerns me, you know,
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remember, our brains weren't
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designed to see people
kill each other. That's right
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And you know, now on
TV, we weren't designed
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to know what is
going on in every country
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of the world every second.
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Well all of these
inputs, they add up,
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and our brain is
so very complicated...
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I don't think we can
really understand how it works,
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but the general
principles that God gave us
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can give us some
places to start...
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And that's why when I
see a lot of people taking
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medicines that change
the chemistry of the brain,
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I wonder - does that make sense?
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Does changing
one chemical pathway
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going to fix the problem? Right
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And that's why, there's
probably a place for medicines,
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but hopefully, it's only
as a bridge until they can do
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things to put
healthy things in their mind,
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and get their brain on right.
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I was talking to a
counselor not too long ago
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and, you know, people
change the brain chemistry by
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something called,
"cognitive therapy,"
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that's thinking therapy.
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They actually
re-train the brain to think.
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And, the way I think of
it is, when someone sins,
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God just says, "Well
let's throw it in the sea
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and forget about
it." That's right
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Unfortunately, we can't
forget about it sometimes,
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and our brain has to be
taught how to do things,
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but I didn't realize
that there are many different
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types of counselors.
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You know, there are secular
counselors that come from
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secular basis - "What can
I do to make myself better?"
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"The answers are within me,"
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that's sort of
secular counseling.
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And then there's
Christian counseling where they
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talk about Christianity,
but don't focus on it.
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And then there's biblical
counseling where counselors
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are trained to use the Bible
to help people think differently
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and change the
chemistry of the brain.
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Well I tend to agree that I
think biblical counseling is
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a great way to start and turn
it over to God to help change,
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and there are many other
physicians that think these ways
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but there are also many
physicians that will throw
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all sorts of different things...
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And it gets very hard for people
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that have mental
health problems to get help.
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You know, you hear things like,
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attention deficit
disorder in kids. Right
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And a lot of people
put on depression medicine,
00:08:59.67\00:09:02.00
so we're going to talk
about these things today,
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not that we have all the
answers but I do know that the
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place to go to find the
answers is in our relationship
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with the Ultimate Physician
- where we can turn to Him,
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ask Him, petition Him.
00:09:15.35\00:09:16.82
He wants to be part of our life.
00:09:16.85\00:09:18.62
He wants to help
change our brains.
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You know, David
asked for it to be done.
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He can do these things
and He can direct us to the
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places in our lives
where we find answers.
00:09:25.83\00:09:29.00
So we've got some
questions to answer,
00:09:29.03\00:09:30.77
but we've been on this
series, we've been talking about
00:09:30.80\00:09:34.17
our first aid box, right?
00:09:34.20\00:09:36.91
That's right and I
know I've heard you say
00:09:36.94\00:09:38.27
a number of times
that "serving other people,
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and loving other people - will
help your brain as well," right?
00:09:40.18\00:09:43.01
Absolutely! So let's talk
about first aid - that's how
00:09:43.04\00:09:44.88
we're going to serve other
people maybe if we need to.
00:09:44.91\00:09:46.72
Yeah, today... And so,
how are we doing with our
00:09:46.75\00:09:49.48
first aid kit and what are
we going to put in there today?
00:09:49.52\00:09:50.85
Well, we've added some
different things that people
00:09:50.89\00:09:53.15
can look into to put into
their first aid kit to help
00:09:53.19\00:09:56.52
other people in an
emergency and today
00:09:56.56\00:09:58.46
I have a substance
that I think is very useful.
00:09:58.49\00:10:01.46
This is charcoal and charcoal
comes in many different forms.
00:10:01.50\00:10:06.47
It can come in pills,
it can come in sort of like
00:10:06.50\00:10:09.94
poultices - that's sort of a
cream that you put on things.
00:10:09.97\00:10:12.91
And what charcoal is
good at doing is it's good
00:10:12.94\00:10:16.85
absorbing things. Yeah
00:10:16.88\00:10:18.48
It's good at
absorbing things. Right
00:10:18.51\00:10:20.38
So, for instance, let's say
- when I used to work in the
00:10:20.42\00:10:23.92
emergency room, people
used to do overdoses of drugs...
00:10:23.95\00:10:27.86
Well we used to give
them charcoal in their stomach
00:10:27.89\00:10:30.23
to help absorb some
of the poisons. Okay
00:10:30.26\00:10:33.26
So it pulls it out - so
it would not get absorbed
00:10:33.29\00:10:35.26
into the bloodstream. Sure
00:10:35.30\00:10:36.97
Another thing that charcoal
has been good on is some
00:10:37.00\00:10:39.27
people have bites
and things like that,
00:10:39.30\00:10:41.70
and it has been good sort
of as a poultice or a cream
00:10:41.74\00:10:44.61
that people put on the things
and it helps pull poisons out,
00:10:44.64\00:10:48.18
and I've see it on some
bug bites and things like that
00:10:48.21\00:10:50.85
where people put charcoal and
that sort of pulls things out.
00:10:50.88\00:10:54.02
So I think this would
be very useful to have
00:10:54.05\00:10:57.92
in a first aid kit as charcoal
helps to extract poisons
00:10:57.95\00:11:01.89
especially until they could
do something more definitive.
00:11:01.92\00:11:04.86
And some people have used
it, I've seen it in people that
00:11:04.89\00:11:08.30
get bad food - you know,
food poisoning. Yeah sure
00:11:08.33\00:11:10.90
They take some charcoal
and that might help pull out
00:11:10.93\00:11:13.54
some of the bad poisons
in food so they don't absorb
00:11:13.57\00:11:16.24
it into the
bloodstream and get so sick.
00:11:16.27\00:11:17.87
It keeps the bad stuff
from getting into the blood,
00:11:17.91\00:11:19.77
and then to the
rest of your body.
00:11:19.81\00:11:21.31
So I think for a first aid kit,
this would be something that
00:11:21.34\00:11:24.15
everyone who would talk
about making a first aid kit,
00:11:24.18\00:11:26.55
this might be
something you would consider
00:11:26.58\00:11:28.08
getting some charcoal
that could absorb some of this.
00:11:28.12\00:11:30.42
Now this is something - I don't
know if everyone would need,
00:11:30.45\00:11:32.55
but this is aromatic ammonia.
00:11:32.59\00:11:35.22
Have you ever
seen smelling salts?
00:11:35.26\00:11:37.89
I've seen a few football
games where they might use this.
00:11:37.93\00:11:40.70
This is a smelling salt
and it's sort of a respiratory
00:11:40.73\00:11:43.77
stimulant and you use it for
people that are sort of foggy,
00:11:43.80\00:11:46.97
passing out and
they come back quickly.
00:11:47.04\00:11:51.14
So this is something that I
know I've used it a few times
00:11:51.17\00:11:54.98
in people that are fainting,
that seem to be going out.
00:11:55.04\00:11:58.81
It seems to sort of stimulate
their respiratory system,
00:11:58.85\00:12:01.25
it's sort of "whoa,
get them in the game."
00:12:01.28\00:12:04.52
You know, you see it a
lot in sporting events,
00:12:04.55\00:12:07.16
especially concussions.
00:12:07.19\00:12:09.02
It helps sort of get
things sort of going again,
00:12:09.06\00:12:11.46
but I would still want
to, again, for both of these,
00:12:11.49\00:12:14.06
this is just first aid. Right
00:12:14.10\00:12:16.10
This just treats the symptom
00:12:16.13\00:12:17.67
so you can get at
the cause of healing.
00:12:17.70\00:12:19.90
It buys you a
little bit of time. Yes!
00:12:19.93\00:12:21.27
And Nick, that's so
important in all of these things
00:12:21.30\00:12:24.11
that we've been
talking about, most of modern
00:12:24.14\00:12:26.31
medicine is good
at treating symptoms,
00:12:26.34\00:12:28.68
get you over the
hump so you can find out
00:12:28.71\00:12:31.91
what the cause is.
00:12:31.95\00:12:33.38
And if we can find
out the cause, especially
00:12:33.42\00:12:36.38
do natural things
that can get at the cause,
00:12:36.42\00:12:38.35
that's our best bet to
staying happy and healthy...
00:12:38.39\00:12:42.62
And the same thing
works with our mind...
00:12:42.66\00:12:44.43
If our mind is malfunctioning,
00:12:44.46\00:12:46.29
if we have a
symptom of the mind,
00:12:46.33\00:12:48.43
what can we do to help
the mind get over the hump,
00:12:48.46\00:12:51.07
and then get back
to the original state
00:12:51.10\00:12:53.20
where it's going
to function the best.
00:12:53.23\00:12:55.04
And that's why we're going to
00:12:55.07\00:12:56.40
talk about some
questions a little later on.
00:12:56.44\00:12:57.97
Yep, those are two great items
to have in any first aid kit.
00:12:58.01\00:13:01.61
Now, we'll be back
in just a moment...
00:13:01.64\00:13:03.01
We've got some
questions from our website
00:13:03.04\00:13:04.81
heartwiseministries.org
00:13:04.85\00:13:06.51
and Dr. Marcum is going
to help answer some questions
00:13:06.55\00:13:08.55
on mental health and how to
00:13:08.58\00:13:10.25
better your brain
function, stay with us...
00:13:10.29\00:13:11.75