走出幽暗深谷

曾經至少兩次走出鬱躁 (Manic Depressive Disorder) 的深谷。到今天的香港，同路人越來越多。要避免繼續沉淪下去，請容許我提出四大要點︰

1. 情緒問題剛開始時接受臨床心理學家的認知行為治療 (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)。當年讀書時期是免費，雖然現時輪候情況不太清楚，但相信校方有足夠的資源。一般來說是保密的，違法行為除外。除此之外，友人是表達性藝術治療師 (Expressive Art Therapist)，治療不一定限於繪畫、參與戲劇，音樂亦是重中之重。
2. 如果問題到了嚴重階段，我們要考慮向家庭醫生求助，再問醫生要否轉介。到了今時今日，香港人仍是將精神病污名化 (Stigmatization)，歧視依舊存在。反送中初期，十個香港人便有一個是抑鬱症患者 (HKUMed report, 2019)。 此等疾病會讓人有自殺傾向，治療刻不容緩。
   
3. 個人認為，家人、朋友的支持有時甚至比藥物、專業治療更為重要。此處不是要表達不用治療，而是需要雙管齊下。沒有家人的支持，要走出深谷比登天更難。幸好地，我生長在一個幸福的家庭，真心朋友不多但精。此動亂時勢，我們稱同行的人為手足，香港人要撐香港人，希望有相類作用。
4. 最後一點，是最難理解的一點，而且仍有待更多科學驗證。我們應該多吃洗淨表面的蔬果 (洗生果詳情看袁國勇教授的 You Tube 片) 及儘量避免使用抗生素，例如單純病毒感染根本不需要服用抗生素。益菌死，惡菌生。

Clostridium difficile is the particularly nasty (惡意) bacterium which can cause an awful, life-threatening infection...No doubt, a good diet and the avoidance of unnecessary antibiotics are fundamental to maintaining a healthy microbiota...Tablets and drinks containing probiotics are available in the shops. Adverts declaring amazing results filled medical journals and newspapers...The benefits of prebiotics, whether isolated or in their original delicious packaging (particularly onions, garlic, leeks [韭蔥], asparagus [蘆筍] and bananas, to name a few), might be more wide-ranging than those of probiotics

In fact, gastrointestinal symptoms are surprisingly common in people with mental health and neurological conditions...Diarrhea is often a side effect of antibiotics...Sudo and Chida designed a simple experiment, using mice, that looked at whether the gut microbiota affected the brain's response to stress...in the germ-free (in the gut) mice the (stress) hormone concentrations were twice as high...Many microbes were (soon) linked to mental illness, but it is the Toxoplasma parasite that has proved to be the most compelling suspect for many conditions...

Collen, A. (2015) 10% Human: How Your Body's Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness. London: William Collins.