Veterans Issues Archives - Mindshift Care

Episode 26: My medical opinion won the first-ever VA Service Connection for Agent Orange Dementia.

This is a big win for the entire cause of the Vietnam-era homefront. My previously published Independent Medical Opinion letter won a veteran 100% Service-Connection. This means the veteran will receive a pension and access to VA-covered healthcare. Download and Share the Historic IMO Letter for Agent Orange Dementia.

https://vimeo.com/1135271851

Download & share the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT.

Historic VA Rating Decision:

Translation: Agent Orange causes Dementia, which causes Depression.

First VA Service-Connection for Agent Orange DementiaDownload

Episode 23: The marijuana plant's THC and CBD mimics the human proteins Anandamide and 2-AG, namely endocannabinoid system (ECS).

The Best Kept Secret in Medicine

The human body makes proteins just like those found in the marijuana plant. Endocannabinoids are made within the body, while phytocannabiniods are found in the plant. Nevermind the inconsistencies with naming convention here; these people do handle a lot of pot. The ECS is directly involved with the feedback loop on cell recovery and injury. This means that if you become deficient in endocannabinoids or their receptors, exogenous (outside) phytocannabinoids may help.

Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, & Migraines

Dr. Ethan Russo announced in 1985 that Endocannabinoid Deficiency Syndrome may replace all three of these diagnoses. Once our internal endocannabinoid system is out of balance, then all homeostatic balance is lost. All three of these conditions are fundamentally neurological, which supports the concept that neurotrophic factors depend on endocannabinoids elsewhere throughout the body and not just in the brain.

Adopting a Naturalist Lifestyle

Seriously, I use terpenes and endocannabinoids on a regular basis in my custom topical remedy for pain. I tell my story because it's illegal for a physician to prescribe marijuana still. You can get a medical marijuana card in legal states, but they usually restrict your rights to buy guns when you do that. Idiots. When I lived in Colorado I tried CBN gummies and they worked for REM sleep even with nightmares, elevation sickness and sleep apnea - all at the same time. When I lived in Missouri, I got certified as a Master Gardner and a Master Grower - then started the Teaching Garden filming for a How to Grow Medicine & Food class. See the video for details and sign up while prices are ridiculously low.

Join the Healing Revolution

https://vimeo.com/1133396384?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Download and share the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT.

Support for Medical Marijuana Patients

Marijuana consumption has been lumped into the illicit drugs and not taken seriously as a medicine in the recovery space. There are lots of socially constructed reasons that patients of medical marijuana lack access to solid, supportive community:

Outlawing the import of marijuana in 1937. It used to be legal to import marijuana into the United States.

Government misinformation campaign since the War on Cannabis started by President Nixon June 1971.

Many VA psychologists are still very much against the use of marijuana. I have seen long essays written in response to veteran disability requests with tons of references about how harmful it is. To be fair, psychologists are not trained in such a way as to grasp how the Endocannabinoid System handles the homeostatic balance over every biochemical process in the body.

Available marijuana has lots of pesticides and users of legal cannabis in the US have elevated levels of lead and cadmium in their blood. Clean Green Certification is sparsely available. Doing it yourself is totally available in a growing number of states.

Support Group for Medical Marijuana Patients

This would be a great Mastermind Group to get started. If you are interested, please read this article on Dopamine Dysregulation Disorder - all addiction chemistry is the same. I've already put together a sample flyer for a similar Mastermind Group so we can easily adapt and start this up for you when you're ready.

There are several pitfalls when starting with cannabis products, in my experience. Recall, I've had no alcohol for over 30 years and have been the Medical Director for two world-class substance abuse programs. I have taken care of patients who have gone insane from marijuana, K2 spice, kratom, methamphetamine, and even a dirty Lavender essential oil product. So if you can get through the pitfalls and not have headaches, dizziness, syncope or an upset stomach from eating too much, then we can start talking about how marijuana can be medical. But first, you have to make sure the cannabis is pure and clean - something absent from the literature entirely from my estimation.

A Support Group for Medical Marijuana Patient, in my opinion, should include a few holistic principles. In my experience as a psychiatrist, I've never seen marijuana become a problem for a patient when these principles are in place:

Support Group Principles

Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Emotional health is a priority.

Healing sexuality, trauma, intimacy blockages are done in emotional safety.

Brene Brown's viewpoint on a shame-free environment will be upheld.

Helping others is everybody's group goal.

Leadership Opportunities

Are you needing a hobby? What about a letter of recommendation or mentorship opportunity? Leading a support group is one way that you and I could get to know each other over a long period of time and I could support your career here and there as appropriate. That's what Mastermind Groups are all about.

Join the Healing Revolution for integrative training on healing research, how to grow organic medicine and food, Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning, real nutrition, real detoxification, healing intimate relations how to Mindshift your life.

Episode 14: Download the first Independent Medical Opinion letter that got a Vietnam Veteran VA Service-Connection for Agent Orange causing Dementia.

UPDATE 11/10/2025: We were successful! The VA Awarded 100% Service-Connection for Agent Orange Causing Dementia for the first time in history.

Make a VA Disability Claim

Application Tracker (one-page)

I recently had the experience of doing an evaluation on a Vietnam veteran who had been exposed to Agent Orange. Since 1993, the VA Secretary has declared that there is no link between Agent Orange and the subsequent development of dementia. In the past two years, all that has changed.

https://vimeo.com/1128135250?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Download and Share the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT.

I just have to say, Thank a Vietnam Veteran TODAY

The entire world owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to our Vietnam Veterans, not only for suffering the way the did and continue to, but for advancing mental health care with the advent of the PTSD diagnosis in 1980. My family got involved because my father brought Vietnam home with him too. I like to say my little brother and I were Sons of Rambo, but my life experience led me to a completely different way to look at the whole problem. Flashbacks are electromagnetic waves in the body. Dozens of ancient, and several modern, techniques address the EMF wave without talking about trauma or pain at all. I believe energy healing returns us to our ancestral roots and God, in His infinite grace and lovingkindness, has provided a way for all peoples to find relief through different forms of medicine and healing. That's why Mindshift Care blends modern PTSD care with the much more effective ancient techniques that are Complementary and Alternative Medicine options for self-care. So, now I can help you, pray for you, and watch you release the residue from the body that is the real problem-magnifier. // MAJ (fmr) Daniel M. Williams, M.D., P.A.

The toxic shame-culture still abounds at every step and every layer of the Matrix.

So when you do VA Disability Evaluations, sometimes you get push-back on your reports. It's usually a previously written rebuttal paragraph, like this one. Notice how they address a board-certified psychiatrist of 10 years that believes neurotoxins kill brain cells - they said my report had "deficiencies". What I really wanted to say, instead of this IMO letter below, is "You're copy/pasting a 'deficiency' reply into the official VA disability claim from a veteran who was drafted, had nerve agent dumped on top of him from American aircraft, and was spit upon when he returned home to a country with several cities burning in protest fires. No, my report did not have deficiencies. You're part of a corrupt system that has been denying these claims since Agent Orange's first test spray in Vietnam on August 10, 1961. Signed, MAJ (fmr) Daniel. M. Williams, M.D., P.A., former 36th Infantry Division Psychiatrist."

Here's what the VA said when I concluded Agent Orange caused Dementia

"Please have the previous examiner address the deficiencies with the examination he or she conducted on the Veteran. Neurobehavioral disorders (cognitive and neuropsychiatric) have been determined by the Secretary, based on cumulative scientific data reported by the National Academies of Science since 1993, to have no positive association with herbicide exposure. Dementia is classified as a neurobehavioral disorder, encompassing both cognitive and neuropsychiatric components. You indicated that "the rationale is the veteran was exposed to Herbicide Agent TCDD while the Veteran served in Vietnam. This has been associated with the subsequent development of dementia." However, this rationale is not sufficient in this case. The rationale must: 1. Cite any general medical principles used to support the opinion. 2. Identify pertinent medical evidence and case-specific information relied on to support the opinion. 3. Demonstrate how the opinion was formulated. 4. Include supportive arguments for any opinions rendered or conclusions reached, with an analysis that can be considered when weighing contradictory or conflicting opinions. 5. Provide clear conclusions based upon supporting data and analysis, including a reasoned medical explanation connecting the two. Please clarify how, as a specific and individual matter, the Veteran’s dementia is associated with herbicide exposure, given that the National Academies of Science since 1993 have found no positive association involving neurobehavioral disorders with herbicide exposure as a general matter. Provide a specific, individualized rationale consistent with the five points above, to substantiate and support the opinion rendered."

I have to admit that when I first saw this reply, it was news to me. I had the feeling I made a mistake, but I had to fight this one. If you've read about my personal struggle with detoxing from the PFAS Forever Chemicals, you'd know I'm intimately familiar with how neurotoxins kill brain cells. I decided to dig my feet in and write an essay on how Agent Orange causes dementia. Besides, I had to because there was no way to resubmit the document I had already filled out. I didn't know the research when I made that decision.

Make a VA Disability Claim

Application Tracker (one-page)

2026 Nominee for the Mindshift Care Every Day Hero Award

I invited Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, MD MPH to appear on the Gluten-Free Psychiatry Podcast. She is the researcher that provided both missing links between Agent Orange and dementia. Contact me to submit questions you'd like me to ask prior to that podcast. My plan is to emphasize her as a role model for future researchers' footsteps to follow.

Download and share the full IMO letter with citation at the bottom of this page. Be sure to leave the PDF unchanged and cite properly.

My Proof That Agent Orange Causes Dementia: Response to the VA

[The most current version of the letter will be at the bottom of the page.]

"Recent evidence suggests that Agent Orange exposures may predispose to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s Disease.1 There are now biological breakthroughs in science demonstrating what has been missing since in establishing causality of Agent Orange leading to neurocognitive decline and dementia. This contradicts the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs long held position that there is no causality (see Appendix A). It is well accepted that amyloid plaque collects in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.2  More recent evidence suggest that medications with anti-histamine properties, like over-the-counter sleep aids and allergy pills, shut down the glymphatic system’s nightly brain wash-out of these amyloid plaques. Higher plasma Aβ oligomer levels were found in the blood of Alzheimer’s Disease patients that had been exposed to Agent Orange than those who had not.3 This landmark finding is a missing biological link to elevated amyloid plaques that build up (See Figure 1).

Figure 1. Peer-reviewed, scientific studies now demonstrate causality of Agent Orange and neurocognitive damage, including the mechanism of action of dementia.

The Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008 publication was written by the Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Seventh Biennial Update) at the Institutes of Medicine.4 In the 2008 Update, they write “Neurologic disorders due to toxicant exposure may result in either immediate or delayed dysfunction of any component of the nervous system; immediate effects of toxicants may involve all aspects of the nervous system, whereas delayed effects are likely to produce more focal problems.” They ruled against Agent Orange causing neurobehavioral effects, while simultaneously writing that Alzheimer’s Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Spinocerebellar degeneration, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis “all may be triggered by aspects of the environment, including toxicant exposure.” I opine that the reason there is not enough data to show causality is because it would be unethical to arrange a research study to prove it. The closest we can come is to recreate the conditions in a lab. Fortunately, researchers at Rhode Island Hospital, Lifespan Academic Institutions, and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island have made progress demonstrating the mechanism of action in cell cultures and in rat models.

In 2023, Suzanne de la Monte et al. published their landmark finding under laboratory conditions, citing “Exposures to Agent Orange herbicidal chemicals rapidly damage CNS neurons, initiating a path toward AD-type neurodegeneration. Additional research is needed to understand the permanency of these neuropathologic processes and the added risks of developing AD in Agent Orange-exposed aging Vietnam Veterans.5 This study supports previously denied claims that the two main constituents in Agent Orange, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), which independently and synergistically damage the central nervous system.5 Both compounds impair mitochondrial function and reduce cell viability in neuronal models, with 2,4,5-T demonstrating greater potency in causing cell death and mitochondrial dysfunction.”5         

In 2024, Suzanne de la Monte and Ming Tong published their findings in live rat models.6 The rats were injected with Agent Orange and developed brain damage that clearly mimics dementia in humans.6 They concluded “Exposures to AO herbicidal chemicals damage frontal lobe brain tissue with molecular and biochemical abnormalities that mimic pathologies associated with early-stage AD-type neurodegeneration.”6

Translating this laboratory research into an attribution claim for a Vietnam veteran that was soaking wet in Agent Orange is difficult....

Episode 012: Download and Share the one-page VA Disability Tracker at MindshiftCare.com/veterans.

Physical and mental ailments follow veterans throughout their lives. Some things that start out relatively small turn out to be disabling as we age. Eventually the struggle causes a veteran to apply for benefits when they really, really need it. In that condition, it is difficult to stay organized when you're not sleeping enough to have memory issues caused by chronic high levels of cortisol. Well, I've created a one-page VA checklist tracker for you to keep up with the steps of the VA application process for disability compensation. Download and share with the world the VA Disability Tracker (below). This tracker is used to train new psychiatrists to do VA Disability Evaluations like an efficiency expert (see video below).

Hello, I'm Dr. Daniel Williams, former Major in the Texas Army National Guard. I served as 36th Infantry Division Psychiatrist, Behavioral Health Officer and Veterinary Food Inspector Sergeant in my 16-year career.

I've been doing veteran disability evaluations and wanted to discuss my lessons learned healing veterans and getting the disability compensation right.

Tinnitus | Hearing Loss | Chronic Pain | Chronic Fatigue | Anger and Irritability | Social Isolation | Losing Jobs and Relationships | Night Sweats | Depression | Panic Attacks | Addictions of All Types

When you first book an appointment with me, I'll go through my full psychiatric evaluation. Then, I'll spend time analyzing your Capacity/Opportunities/Motivation experiences throughout your life. Next, I'll cross-reference that information with your Physical/Mental/Spiritual/Emotional domains to come up with a customized Mindshift Plan for you.

Steps to VA Disability Evaluations

One-Stop-Shop in under 1 hour - listen to full video due to Semper fi - heal your comrades

https://vimeo.com/1124693712?fl=pl&fe=sh

Download the best Ambassador Slides HANDOUT yet.

Step 1. Contact Us for an Independent Medical Opinion and Compensation and Pension. Your approval email will come with instructions to access the HIPAA-secure portal at Mindshift Care. This will allow you to upload secure PDF copies of your medical records and paperwork needed PRIOR to the appointment. Please allow at least 2-3 weeks to gather all of the documents below.

Step 2. Request a copy of medical records from healthcare agencies you visited.

Disability Packet

Your DD214. If you don't have a copy, you can request one from the National Archives.

Your NGB-22 if you were in the National Guard or Air Guard. The method of getting a copy depends on several factors and each state may have a different process. The National Guard Associations hosts a database with the contact information for all of the state's National Guard Headquarters where you can directly request a copy of your NGB-22.

Your military medical record.

All previous VA Rating Decision letters are available for download online.

VA medical records online (recommended) or request a physical copy. If all of your paperwork is in PDF files, you can upload it quickly both here at Mindshift Care for your disability evaluation and to submit for your VA claim to be date-stamped faster. The first payment for VA service connections will be back-dated to the initial date of filing of your active claim, therefore I recommend doing it online so you don't waste time or risk your sensitive information in the mail. (But overnight, certified, return receipt mail should do the trick.)

Civilian medical records from each clinic or hospital you've visited. Each place will have it's own forms. Be sure to request the copy to go to yourself and always keep a copy of everything organized. Any medical evidence related to your illness or injury (like doctors’ reports, X-rays, and medical test results).

Step 3. Fill out the appropriate forms for your disability case.

Statement in Support of Claim (VA Form 21-4138). Tell the VA what you are claiming, your story, symptoms you've had and how your life is doing in every area now. Alternatively, you can write the VA a letter directly. Simply write what you want to say onto a blank piece of paper. Keep in mind that PTSD is now accepted based upon circumstantial evidence and these forms are an important part of that, as is behavior change after trauma (addiction, self-abuse, divorce, etc.)

Lay Witness Statement. Try to get a military buddy or family member to fill out a Buddy Lay Witness Statement (VA Form 21-101-10) describing what they have witnessed. Behavior change, mood swings, arguments, family dysfunction, social isolation and nightmares are helpful to psychiatrists because people frequently lack clarity when they're experiencing these things. They can write the statement on the official form or write a basic letter on a blank sheet of paper. Be sure to include the current date, relationship of the writer to the veteran and the veteran's name in the letter. (I recommend pre-fill out the form with your personal information for your buddies to speed them up in getting it done.)

Step 4. We can meet individually or even initially in the Mindshift Method Course. Alternatively, you've done 90% of the work by now!

Step 5. Immediately afterwards, upload my report and all of the records you provided me to the VA for a new or updated application here. The clock starts now for increases in service connection percentages.

Steps 6-10. Go celebrate! It may take a few months to get the VA Rating Decision letter back. If you are owed back-pay, veterans tell me that they typically notice the money hit the bank prior to seeing the letter itself. So take it easy and celebrate the fact that you got some government documentation however you celebrate safely!

Implied Tasks

To get all of this done, you'll need just a few items to make it smooth:

A computer with file folders set up to save copies of all of these documents.

A 3-Ring Binder with copies of all relevant medical records (helpful for taking to doctor appointments).

Divider tabs to organize all of the forms and records you collect.

Basic office supplies: three-hole punch for your binder, stapler, staple remover, pens, pencils and whatever else makes you feel happy when you do a project "right".

Access to the Internet so you can download forms and files.

Keep digital files backed up so that all of your work is not lost on accident. Dropbox or cloud storage options are viable and handy because you can access files from your phone for easier sharing.

Healing Veterans and Growing Your Own Medicine

In the last 10 minutes of my disability appointments, I like to mention any resources that I know about that might help veterans. Most of the time, I break into a discussion that goes very much like this...

Flashbacks are electromagnetic waves moving around in the body. When you have an unpleasant feeling that lingers and reappears, you have dozens of things you can do about it now to help relieve the intensity down to 10-20% of what it is now. I recommend the Mindshift Method Course, watching date night documentaries and animal therapy to get people Mindshifting absolutely as fast as possible. When you add-in complimentary and alternative self-care strategies, mainstream treatment does its finest work.

There are principles in this world that will give us the best possible results. These success principles are true throughout time and apply to gardening as well. Patient, persistence, loving intention, precise nutrition, removal of toxins, etc. My earliest attempts at Mainstream Psychology Classes at Mindshift Care were holistic, teaching a universal perspective that teaches truths about life that cross-over into lots of other areas. The Mindshift Method Course is the next evolution of DIY Mental Health. Know that there is a LOT of hope for healing in this world.

Recruiting VA Evaluators

https://vimeo.com/1127268588?share=copy

Download & Share the VA Application Tracker

Don't get overwhelmed, just glance at this one page sheet on the fridge and enjoy life one day at a time! You deserve it. In case no body thanked you for taking care of yourself, thank you. It means a lot to me - I can promise you that.

VA Disability TrackerDownload

This is the first book I wrote when I was a senior at Baylor Scott & White Psychiatry Residency. It's all the mainstream facts and figures, a quick read. Notice the subtitle, Combat PTSD in America: Toward a Permanent Solution, 2016. A Mindshift is the permanent solution.

I believe energy healing returns us to our ancestral roots and God has provided a way for all peoples to find relief through different forms of medicine and healing. When it works for you, now that's when you see the path forward and start feeling it.

Browse other Book Titles

Episode 8: How childhood neurodevelopment turns into road rage, or becomes rewired completely. You decide. (This one will save loss, pain, and lives.)

Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) is an official diagnosis for an anger control problem. It is characterized by impulsive, unexpected anger and aggression that is disproportionate to the situation. The diagnosis code is F63.81 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision. From the outside, the world sees an angry person, but they are often riddled with guilt about their behavior. If unable to modify the personality and self-care to accommodate for IED, these people burn all their bridges and wind up totally alone. They need to Mindshift.

https://vimeo.com/1054709890

Download the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT to share.

Trileptal and My 2-Minute Speech

"When a threat is perceived, adrenaline triggers an uncontrollable reaction.

Intermittent explosive disorder is a hard-wired anger reaction, almost always originating from PTSD. This is why traditional cognitive approaches to anger management are often inadequate.

It is exactly the opposite of a trained operator or martial artist. However, if the brain is exposed to enough toxicity, a veteran will slowly lose their brain's ability to inhibit.

A mood-stabilizer is a "10 second fuse". It will let you notice the feeling without impulsively acting on it.

Walk away from the anger-provoking situation the first 5 times you get mad, so you can learn how the medication will help you go calm yourself down. Then, practice talking through your problems knowing you can now walk away if you need to, so eventually you won't have to live in fear of your anger or be made to feel like a doormat."

Trying to overcome IED without help is like dancing stoned on the edge of cliff. By definition, not taking life-threatening behavior seriously is absolutely the most irresponsible decision for mental health. Afterall, mental health equals self-care.

Why won't this work on children?

From the outside, children and adults look the same emotionally with temper tantrums. The adult with IED, however, is overreacting in anger despite a previous decision to keep anger under control. Children haven't yet made decisions on the kind of person they want to be (superego), they are running into a nonstop series of life lessons and reflexively react based upon their hardwired subconscious programming. It's not the kid's fault. By that same logic, it's also technically not the adult's "fault", but it is their responsibility. Adults in the heat-of-the-moment react violently without a conscious choice - the prefrontal cortex is not involved in a decision until after the action has begun. Trying to stop yourself once your anger has progressed to screaming and violence is literally trying to overcome all of your life's pains and griefs that have come to bear, and in the most dangerous and unhealthy way possible. You need to Mindshift.

Notice the division between Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in children and Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED) in Adults in Figure 1: Psychotherapy mirrors neurodevelopment across the lifespan. This means that the different psychotherapies that helps these psychiatric diagnoses as we age support our understanding of brain health and its misuse:There are three overall phases in brain development when viewed from the womb to the tomb.

Initial Programming is broken into two stages: womb to age 6 and from age 6 to age 17. The first stage begins in the womb and involves the direct download of the environment into the unconscious body memory (mind) of the child. Gradually, the child learns how to approach the world through choices but faces an uphill battle to rewire the body-lessons learned in very early development. The subconscious mind is already formed. We never completely undo the early, initial programming.

The Neuroplastic Zone reflects the period of our lives when we can really learn, think for ourselves, and have the capacity to change. This ability to change our mind, form new neurons and connections, is referred to as plasticity. This plasticity is lost in the third and final phase.

Psychotherapy for the Three Neurodevelopment Phases

Initial Programming – Behavioral therapy = Parent training, Nutrition, Alpha Stim, Meditation, Meds > age 6.

Neuroplastic Zone – Psychotherapy with behavioral change sufficient to cause rewiring, Meds

Loss of Plasticity – Behavioral therapy, Meds to slow rate of neuron loss

ADHD: primarily medication

ODD: primarily behavioral therapy on the part of the guardians

IED: the patient can begin to rewrite their neural wiring by repetitive behavioral change and extinguishing unhealthy dopamine-raising behaviors.

Anxiety, panic, depression: all have great research for cognitive behavioral therapy

Clinical dementia: and we're back to behavioral therapy only again. Medications slow the progression of memory loss, at best, but don't restore cognitive function once it's lost. Detox does! Check out the supporting End of Alzheimer's research by Dale Bredesen, M.D.

Both groups, children and elderly with dementia, rely on behavioral therapy because their executive function isn't 100%. Thus, they are even more sensitive to neurotoxins in the water supply.

Figure 1: Psychotherapy mirrors neurodevelopment across the lifespan

For children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, the standard of care treatment is not medications. It is Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, which is essentially a Behavioral Therapy. It seeks to study everything that is being rewarded in the child's life and offer perspective and modeling for how to reward the child differently. It is used in severe neurologic disorders for all ages in which the patients can't reason with you in logical conversation. They do learn by experience, therefore Behavioral Therapy is specialized training in creating experiences for other people. Adults with IED and foster parents of severely traumatized children find out that reactions to maltreatment persist for years even if the environment is truly sound and emotionally healthy, even from electromagnetic waves, toxins in the food and water supply, restriction on the internet, no social media, a healthy support group, good sleep hygiene, access to Brene Brown resources, grounding sheets, bible study - they know it's sometimes not enough. If you have a tough cookie, join me on a live call.

Mood Stabilizers Can Help with Intermittent Explosive Disorder

Trileptal is in an anticonvulsant, in the anti-seizure (when used for Neurology) and mood-stabilizer (when used for Psychiatry) family of medications. They work by changing the electro-potential gradient across the cell membranes of nerves all over the body through the Na+/K+ Pump by inhibiting the ATPase enzyme. The result is it takes a little stronger stimulus to get the nerve to do anything. This results in slightly slower initiation and less firing, so it can stop seizures in high enough doses. Psychiatrists often use about 1/3 the strength of the same medications to get relief of mental health symptoms, than do Neurologists to get relief for epilepsy.

I typically start Oxcarbazepine at 300 mg by mouth twice per day on a scary, full sized adult - half of that if they're smaller framed with not-so-scary episodes.

I typically double it on the next visit if it's helping only somewhat, or go up by 50% if other risk factors are present, at the follow-up appointment.

Weight-based doses should be calculated for people around 100 pounds or less, including children. I've started 75 mg twice per day before.

Note that a careful history of past violent behavior and recent trends is crucial to determining the appropriate level of psychiatric care. True tele-health is typically not an option if Trileptal and a Two-Minute Speech doesn't work. The patient may need an intensive outpatient program that takes them away from their usual routine for at least six weeks.

I like to think mood stabilizers work by slowing down the nervous system so people with fast-conditions of the nervous system could see benefit: intermittent explosive disorder, attention deficit disorder, anxiety, OCD, panic disorder, etc.

The generic name is oxcarbazepine, which is what I practically always prescribe. I like how "Trileptal and a Two-Minute Speech" rolls off the tongue, even though I don't actually prescribe brand name very often (working in the Army, VA, and prisons won't allow). As a psychiatrist, I'm always noticing simpler ways to make things memorable and meaningful. Other medications I've sometimes used for IED in the same family are Tegretol (carbamazepine), Lamictal (lamotrigine), Lithium, Depakote (has a chance of making it worse). Keppra (levetiracetam) is often used for seizures but can worsen anger or cause secondary IED.

In summary, we have covered synaptic plasticity, treatment of Intermittent Explosive Disorder, and discussed childhood Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Trileptal and a Two-Minute speech may slow the IED brain down enough for the adult to change their behaviors sufficient for rewiring. But does it work?

My absolute favorite story of how good mental health treatment (anger management) can help stabilize vulnerable communities (Rural Alaska, pay attention)

While deployed to the Texas-Mexico border in 2022, I simultaneously pulled civilian duty as a tele-psychiatrist for 4 different private, federally-contracted prisons. During such times of stress, Intermittent Explosive Disorder was commonplace among my patients in prison, and the Soldiers and Airmen I would see on the base. I got real fast at giving the same 2-minute speech to angry Soldiers, Airmen, and prisoners (some of which were veterans). The first emotional support animal I trained to be a PTSD service dog, CPT Tigger,...

Episode 6: Dr. Williams' top 18 documentaries for your date nights.

"When you finally graduate as a psychiatrist and start watching documentaries, you can't help but wonder why universities left out so many vitally important facts...There should be a relationship warning that comes with these because one partner may rapidly outgrow the other - don't watch them alone. Make it a date night." Daniel Williams, MD

The following documentaries are organized the same as our free Core Curriculum class, How to Mindshift video bundle and the 100-Day Mindshift printed book.

https://vimeo.com/1054572807

Download the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT to share.

Mental: Choosing Power

The Science of Resilience: How to Thrive in a World of Chaos

The Earthing Movie: The Remarkable Science of Grounding (also Down to Earth)

Messages From Water: Water Crystals in Motion

Physical: The Body Component

Watch the Water, Stew Peters

The Devil We know

Dark Waters

Erin Brockovich

Root Cause (dental)

Food Inc. (a nice complement to the Wheat Belly book)

Cannabis: A Lost History

Spiritual: Faith, Energy Healing, Purpose

I Am: The Shift is About to Hit the Fan

The Healing Field: Exploring Energy and Consciousness

Heal: The Most Powerful Healer is Within

Emotional: Regulating Emotion

Brene Brown: The Call to Courage

E-Motion and the 6-minute Releasing the Heart Wall episode

Art Therapy: The Movie