The Hemp Connection:
isolation

I haven’t double-checked with my mother, but I’m pretty sure I was already standing on my soapbox the second I could walk. I was pretty clear as a child that I wanted to be a doctor, a writer, and the President of the United States. I had a lot of knowledge and opinions to share! One of those opinions, that we should use our capacities for connection and change, is closely related to my favorite theoretical orientation, Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT). In the 1970s, many feminist writers and scholars were theorizing about how women’s growth and relational needs differed from those of men, and what that might mean in terms of their psychological developing, suffering, and disorders. More meaningfully, how might that change the approach to treating women’s psychological distress? What if we not only acknowledged our differences, but treated women accordingly? Because PCOS exclusively exists in women, and RCT is woman-specific (although it also applies to men), I like the way it fits into an integrated treatment approach for the mood disorders associated with PCOS – anxiety, depression, etc. It is also clear to me that an isolated approach to wellness almost never works, and working on and within a holistic continuum that involves an expansion of support, leads to a minimization of suffering – and I like that outcome! RCT offers some interesting thoughts and guidelines that are applicable to the treatment I provide my PCOS clients. The theory is actually quite accessible. What it says, in ultra-brief form (note that I’ve tailored it a bit to make sense in the context of PCOS), is that: · Growth-fostering relationships that support the well-being of all parties should be the goal of treatment and life itself. · Isolation is a source of suffering; by moving into growth-fostering relationships, we will decrease isolation, which is a common component of depression.
· Emotional availability, openness, and mutual respect are hallmarks of the growth-enhancing relationship.

· Free-flowing empathy, concern, and affirmation of one’s experiences assist in transcending the self and decreasing isolation. The therapist and client both exist fully, in the relationship.

· The relationship that takes place in the therapy room is a model for our relationships in the rest of our lives.

· What we do and how we live CAN change the world (this is the social activism part). RCT impacts the community as a whole, not just the client. RCT expects its practitioners to be social activists in many ways, including serving as the voice for women who have not yet developed the strength to speak out for themselves.

This blog is a form of social activism. By speaking my truth as a health psychologist, woman with PCOS, and member of the community, I hope to effect change in the mental health of individuals and the community. Knowing that I CAN effect change, and join with other women in doing so, is empowering for me and the community. It decreases isolation. I’ve found that the more empowered a woman feels to confront her condition head-on and do something meaningful about it, the less likely she is to be affected by depression. And that, in a nutshell, is how social activism might be good for your health.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.
References/Further Reading:

Jean Baker Miller Training Instititute, www.jbmti.org
The Healing Connection. Jean Baker Miller and Irene Stiver. 1997.
The Stone Center at Wellesley, www.wellesley.edu/counseling

Given the fact that so many people initially find this site when looking for dietary measures to increase their progesterone, I am always on the lookout for information on the topic.

This particular piece caught my eye because yesterday I included a reference in a presentation on eating disorders and PCOS, reporting that social phobias are more common in women with PCOS than they are in other women. It can be tempting to isolate if you feel your appearance is not acceptable. Paying more attention to your menstrual cycle and your lab tests than your spouse can so easily become what your PCOS is all about.

DON'T LET THIS DISEASE STEAL AWAY WHAT COULD BE ONE OF YOUR MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF AMMUNITION!

Make time for friends, family, spouses…and on bad days, if all it can be is your dog…so be it.

Isolation is not the answer and it may be part of the problem.

Feeling Close To A Friend Increases Progesterone, Boosts Well-being And Reduces Anxiety And Stress

ScienceDaily (June 3, 2009) — Why does dishing with a girlfriend do wonders for a woman's mood?

A University of Michigan study has identified a likely reason: feeling emotionally close to a friend increases levels of the hormone progesterone, helping to boost well-being and reduce anxiety and stress.

"This study establishes progesterone as a likely part of the neuroendocrine basis of social bonding in humans," said U-M researcher Stephanie Brown, lead author of an article reporting the study findings, published in the current (June 2009) issue of the peer-reviewed journal Hormones and Behavior.

A sex hormone that fluctuates with the menstrual cycle, progesterone is also present in low levels in post-menopausal women and in men. Earlier research has shown that higher levels of progesterone increase the desire to bond with others, but the current study is the first to show that bonding with others increases levels of progesterone. The study also links these increases to a greater willingness to help other people, even at our own expense.

"It's important to find the links between biological mechanisms and human social behavior," said Brown, is a faculty associate at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) and an assistant professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School. She is also affiliated with the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Hospital."These links may help us understand why people in close relationships are happier, healthier, and live longer than those who are socially isolated."

Progesterone is much easier to measure than oxytocin, a hormone linked to trust, pair-bonding and maternal responsiveness in humans and other mammals. Oxytocin can only be measured through an invasive spinal tap or through expensive and complex brain imaging methods, such as positron emission tomography scans. Progesterone can be measured through simple saliva samples and may be related to oxytocin.

In the current study, Brown and colleagues examined the link between interpersonal closeness and salivary progesterone in 160 female college students.

At the start of the study, the researchers measured the levels of progesterone and of the stress hormone cortisol in the women's saliva, and obtained information about their menstrual cycles and whether they were using hormonal contraceptives or other hormonally active medications.

To control for daily variations in hormone levels, all the sessions were held between noon and 7 p.m.

The women were randomly assigned to partners and asked to perform either a task designed to elicit feelings of emotional closeness or a task that was emotionally neutral.

In the emotionally neutral task, the women proofread a botany manuscript together.

After completing the 20-minute tasks, the women played a computerized cooperative card game with their partners, and then had their progesterone and cortisol sampled again.

The progesterone levels of women who had engaged in the emotionally neutral tasks tended to decline, while the progesterone levels of women who engaged in the task designed to elicit closeness either remained the same or increased. The participants' cortisol levels did not change in a similar way.

Participants returned a week later, and played the computerized card game with their original partners again. Then researchers measured their progesterone and cortisol. Researchers also examined links between progesterone levels and how likely participants said they would be to risk their life for their partner.

"During the first phase of the study, we found no evidence of a relationship between progesterone and willingness to sacrifice," Brown said."But a week later, increased progesterone predicted an increased willingness to say you would risk your life to help your partner."

According to Brown, the findings are consistent with a new evolutionary theory of altruism which argues that the hormonal basis of social bonds enables people to suppress self-interest when necessary in order to promote the well-being of another person, as when taking care of children or helping ailing family members or friends.

The results also help explain why social contact has well-documented health benefits---a relationship first identified nearly 20 years ago by U-M sociologist James House.

"Many of the hormones involved in bonding and helping behavior lead to reductions in stress and anxiety in both humans and other animals. Now we see that higher levels of progesterone may be part of the underlying physiological basis for these effects," Brown said.

University of Michigan (2009, June 3). Feeling Close To A Friend Increases Progesterone, Boosts Well-being And Reduces Anxiety And Stress. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 5, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/06/090602171941.htm