Expert: Jurriaan Plesman, Nutritional Psychotherapist - 2/21/2011

Question
Dear Mr Plesmann

I am writing with information about my daughter and seeking your advice please.

She is 45 yrs with two school age children.

She has years of mood swings, mania, depression, drinking excessively, overspending.

The overspending has become a problem, and she has no other option than to file for bankruptcy.

Unfortunately the children have been neglected nutritionally, because her money has gone on paying the debts.  They get sick a lot and their medical needs are also being neglected.  She gives them panadol and sends them to bed, instead of taking them to the doctor.

My wife and I are very worried what the future holds for her and the children.  

I can see that the best thing is if she and the grandchildren move in with my wife and I, so we can supervise their nutrition and health needs.  The youngest has some poor health symptoms, we have asked her to take her to the doctor, but she still hasn't done it.  This is not the first time this has happened, last time we threatened to call dept of child safety, and only then did she take the child to the doctor.

I will have to suggest she attend to her own nutritional needs for her mental health, but not sure how to do an intervention, because at the moment she likes her independence, and won't listen to what we have to suggest.

She is living in an expensive rented unit a few doors down from us, and a few of the neighbours and a few of our friends are also helping her.  One of my friends suggested she seek nutritional therapy for her mental health, but my daughter failed to follow up because she didn't have the money.  Every one seems to know there is a problem, except her.

This situation is becoming very serious, but she insists on living in the expensive flat that she can't afford on her single parents pension, scraping every week to make ends meet.  We buy food for her when we can, but we are both on a pension and have to look after our needs also, because of our health issues and  nutritional supplements.

We don't want her to go on medication, as she has before and it hasn't helped.

Seeking your advices.
Regards
Ernest

Answer
Hi Ernest,

I is not unusual for an emotionally unstable person to land herself into such as situation you describe, with dire consequences for the children and other members of the family. There may come a time that a government department may have to take over the management of your daughter and her children.  The root cause seems to be the mental health condition of your daughter, which ironically can be changed in most cases by a change in diet. Your daughter's mental condition can be improved if she would take the time to study the relationship between mental illness and nutrition.

Most people with emotional unstable problems are hypoglycemic, which affects the person's ability to produce feel good neurotransmitter. I suggest that your daughter test herself with

The Nutrition-Behavior Inventory Questionnaire at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/nutrition-behavior_inventory.html

and the

The Hypo Quizz at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.org/hypo_test.asp

If she scores high it may be positive for hypoglycemia, which could be responsible for the symptoms. This can be treated by going on a hypoglycemic diet (Search our web site for this). Please discuss with a Nutritional Doctor, Clinical Nutritionist or a Nutritional Psychotreapist, if self-help therapy fails. Try to avoid drug therapy as much possible. Please search our web site for more information at  our web site at http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au

_______________________________________________
Jurriaan Plesman, Nutritional Psychotherapist.
Hon. Editor of
The Hypoglycemic Health Association of Australia.
www.hypoglycemia.asn.au
Author of "Getting off the Hook"
Freely available at Google Book Search
Skype: jurplesman