
> You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
> 
> -Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Mental health does not have to be mysterious, and better metal health does not have to be complicated. Here is an analogy that may be of use to demystify things, and make society more kind and understanding.

Most people walk through life with invisible limps, due to mental health issues that they are not aware of, or do not want to share, or that are improperly diagnosed and poorly treated. There are at least three major consequences of that.

First, other people might get frustrated at them, or ask them to hurry up or perform tasks where the limp is holding them back or slowing them down. You would not push somebody to move faster and perform better in a certain circumstance if you saw their limp, you would help them and make accommodations for them.

Second, people cannot run the race of life as fast and as far as they could, and become all they can be, if the limps are not corrected.

Third, there are ready treatments for most of these limps, and new treatments are constantly being developed. You need to match the person to the right physical therapy, corrective prosthesis, or orthopedic surgery.

Ourselves and others have developed science- based products that are in essence goggles permitting to visualize these invisible limps and take targeted corrective action. Our digital products and blood tests are science-based, confidential, and most importantly provide actionable information for genuine improvement in your life and your mind.

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

Live. Happier. Longer.


The Invisible Limps


> Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the road to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.
> 
> -Margaret Thatcher

Raising your standards leads to happiness. Believing in your abilities to get things done lead to hope. And having strategies to be successful, modeled on people who have already done it and whom you admire, leads to meaning.  Tracking happiness, hope and meaning, and the activities that influence them, through journaling or apps, permits you to increase your life success.

Sometimes, a biological kickstart is necessary before the cognitive-behavioral processes described above can be implemented. Getting on the right nutrition and exercise program, supplemented with nutraceuticals and medications that match your biological needs in a personalized fashion, are effective ways to get that necessary kickstart.

Our digital products and blood tests are science-based, confidential, and most importantly provide actionable information for genuine improvement in your life and your mind.

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

Live. Happier. Longer.


(Self-) Persuasion to Improve your Life


> The mind is everything. What you think, you become.
> 
> -Buddha

If your mind works well, everything else in your life works better. And if your mind does not work well, other blessings and opportunities in your life cannot help you. Your health, productivity, and longevity will suffer.

The most important New Year resolution you can make is to take and active role in preserving and improving your mental health, and that of those around you.

Give yourself and loved ones the gifts of a better present and future with the tools that we have developed. Our digital products and blood tests are science-based, confidential, and most importantly provide actionable information for genuine improvement in your life and your mind. There is no better time than the beginning of a New Year to get on the right track with your life.

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

Live. Happier. Longer.


Thoughts at the start of a New Year: Everything is Downstream of Mental Health


> The world needs hope like it needs light
> 
> -Dimitrie Bolintineanu

Do people really want to know the truth about their health in general, and mental health in particular? Do they want to know about their addictions, the obvious ones as well as the more insidious ones, such as the stories they tell themselves, and others, and that others tell them?

The answer is: only if the knowledge is connected with easily actionable hope for improvement. Otherwise people do not really want to know.

Give yourself and loved ones the gifts of a better present and future with the tools that we have developed. Our digital products and blood tests are science-based, confidential, and most importantly provide actionable information for genuine improvement in your life and your mind. There is no better time than Christmas and the New Year to get on the right track with your life. 

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

Live. Happier. Longer.


To Know or Not to Know, That is the Question


> Only one ambition is legitimate: to become better people
> 
> -Vladimir Ghika

Being grateful is the best way to be happy. You do that by focusing on things that you have that you did not have in the past, or that other less fortunate do not have.

Knowledge of what your true life goals are, of how you feel and think, what life activities you do, and how they impact that, is the best way to develop meaning in your life. You do that by using a digital or paper journal.

Improvements every day in your body, mind, and environment are the best way to develop hope for the future. You do that by getting on the right nutrition and medications, developing better mental habits, clearing your environment of addictions.
 
Give yourself and loved ones the gifts of a better present and future with the tools that we and other have developed. There is no better time than the Holidays and the New Year to get on the right track with your life.

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

Live. Happier. Longer.


The Gifts of Gratitude, Knowledge and Improvement


> Yes, know thyself: in great concerns or small, be this thy care, for this, my friend, is all.
> 
> -Juvenal

## Outside-In to Know


To truly know somebody’s mental functioning, you have to obtain:

 - Social measures, such as a checklist of life activities and success in them, or lack thereof;
 - Psychological measures, such as how they feel and think; and
 - Biological measures, such as molecular biomarkers. 
 - 
At MindX Sciences, we have programmatically developed precision medicine tools to do all three. That is symbolized by our logo of three concentric circles.

For social, we have the SX Prevent digital test. For psychological, we have the Life x Mind app. And for biological, we have MindX Blood Tests.

For comprehensive understanding, first, you have to see how somebody is functioning in life, then dig deeper.
 
## Inside-Out to Improve

To truly help improve somebody’s mental functioning, you have to use:

 - Biological means such as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals;
 - Psychological means, such as counselling; and
 - Social means, such as life improvements.

Our tools can pivot from Knowing to Improving in a personalized fashion.

The MindX Blood Tests can match people to nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals in a personalized fashion. The Life x Mind app can provide insights and feedback in a personalized fashion. And SX Prevent digital test provides a personalized life improvement plan, that helps mitigate suicidality, but in reality does much more than that. It gives you a life worth living.

For long-lasting improvement, first, you have to stabilize somebody’s biology, then work your way outwards.

Live. Happier. Longer.


Social-Psycho-Bio to Know, Bio-Psycho-Social to Improve


> How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!
> 
> ―W. Shakespeare, Hamlet

“Treatment-Resistant” depression (TRD), in our clinical and research experience of two decades, is in the vast majority of cases an undiagnosed/underdiagnosed bipolar disorder. These individuals do poorly long term on antidepressants, which can make them be in mixed states, agitated, and suicidal.

TRD can be safely and effectively treated if viewed as a bipolar spectrum disorder. In our experience most patients do very well long-term on a mood stabilizer. In particular, low dose lithium.

This is not a new concept, one of my mentors from my time at UCSD, the late great Hagop Akiskal and his followers first proposed this decades ago based on clinical experience. Nowadays, we are rediscovering this truth with cutting edge digital and molecular biomarkers. We like to say in-house that there is no treatment-resistant depression, just science-resistant psychiatry.

Bipolar patients are very susceptible to hope, hence strong placebo effects for any new treatment, but that is not sustained long term and then they plunge again into the abyss of despair. So the key is to document with biomarkers and demonstrate a sustained effect for any new compound being developed.

Festina lente. Or as the Navy Seals like to say, “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast”.

Live. Happier. Longer.


“Treatment-Resistant” Depression


> What gets measured gets managed.
> 
> ―Peter Drucker

## A Formula for Longevity

`Longevity = Passive Longevity x Active Longevity`

`Passive Longevity = (Prevention x Repair) / (Wear x Tear)`

`Active Longevity = (Life Success x Life Satisfaction) / (Suicidality Risk x Suicidality Ideation)`


## Active Longevity: Measure to Manage

Life Success is composed of Health, Wealth, and  Influence. For self, progeny, extended kin, and the world at large. 

Life Satisfaction is composed of  Happiness, Hope and Meaning.

On the dark side, Suicidality Risk can be quantified as a sum of risk factors. And Suicidality Ideation can be quantified on a scale of 0 to 4.
All these are now measured in the latest release of our Life x Mind App, version 9.0.

[![Download it on the App Store](/AppStoreBadgeBlack.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lifemax-by-mindx-sciences/id1513210383) 
[![Get it on Google Play)](/google-play-badge.svg)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindx.lifemax)

Live. Happier. Longer.


Longevity-Measure to Manage


> Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.
> 
> ―Theodosius Dobzhansky

Taking an evolutionary perspective permits a deeper appreciation of mental health and of psychiatric disorders. Are anxiety, mood swings and psychosis ever useful? If yes, when and why?  It depends on timing, quantity, and fit.

## TIMING (BG vs AG):

Anxiety: BG (before genes are transmitted, i.e. before reproduction) keeps organism safe from harm; AG (after genes are transmitted, i.e. after reproduction) over-reacts to threats.
Mood Swings: BG permit organism to strongly react short-term to abundance and penury; AG get organism into trouble long-term.
Psychosis:  BG permits organism to be creative; AG misfit in society.

## QUANTITY (Genetic load):

Families with sub-normative (clinically ill members) also have supra-normative (highly successful members), which have fewer of the mutations, in different combinations, or with different environmental exposures. A little bit of mutations involved in disease (supra-normative) is better than nothing (“normal”), and better than too much (clinically ill). Family of high achievers in society contain psychiatric cases. The fortunate individuals should be grateful to, and not ashamed of, those less fortunate. They can give back by investing in and supporting prevention and mitigation strategies (see below).

## FIT (Environmental fit):

A good fit with the environment maximizes organismal success. To ensure good fit with an environment, an organism can be flexible and adaptable; or it can move to a different environment that is a better fit; or the organism can actively change the environment around it to fit its needs. Usually it is a combination of the three strategies that leads to success. Understanding the characteristics and strengths of people with mental health  risk factors (see above), and helping them maximize their environmental fit,  is a win-win strategy for that individual and for society.  

Live. Happier. Longer.


Mental Health: Timing, Quantity, Fit


> Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.
> 
> ―Lao Tzu

Accurate knowledge and understanding of a person (assessment, risk prediction) precede and lay the foundation for improvement and targeted intervention (prevention and treatment). Objective testing could reveal earlier and better (more precisely) a person’s state (how a person is doing), and trait (what mental health abnormalities a person is at low risk or high risk for).

## Genetics

Biomarkers (biological markers) such as gene expression RNA levels (or protein or metabolite levels) are a sweet spot between accuracy and early detection (assessing state severity and predicting future risk). The interaction of genes and environment leads to gene expression, and underlies the subsequent ultimate manifestation of the symptomatic clinical illness. Thus, gene expression (RNA) is orders of magnitude more powerful and informative than genetics (DNA). As such, with biomarkers, one could detect things fairly precisely and specifically in terms of relationship to phenotype, and fairly early (allowing for early intervention or prevention efforts). Panels of gene expression biomarkers are more precise and specific than individual biomarkers. They can also inform what medications somebody is likely to respond to, based on biology (pharmacodynamics).

Single time-point testing of biomarkers for an individual can provide primarily information related to state and clinical severity levels. Repeated measures over time of biomarkers can provide better information related to trait and response to treatment. Watermark extreme states of a person, i.e.  maximum levels, are particularly informative- if a river is prone to flooding, it will flood again in the future unless re-engineering and building occur. The past trajectory of a person coming into the present, and specifically the slope of change between time points, are informative as well: the most recent slope, and the maximum slope ever.

## A practical solution

We propose the use of blood biomarker tests as part of routine annual exams, and whenever medications are changed. Comprehensive approaches, integrating biomarker testing as well as tracking feelings, thoughts and behaviors with apps,   show the highest yield in terms of combining earlier detection with better precision of assessments. Most importantly, the blood biomarker tests can match patients to nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals that fit their biology, in a precise and personalized fashion.

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


Precise, Personalized and Preventive Mental Health with Genomics and Apps


> I am the captain of my ship, I am the master of my soul.
> 
> ―William E. Henley


## What drives behaviors?

Behaviors are actions over time that aim to make life better, for self, progeny, extended kin, and everybody else (in that order). They are the result of the discrepancy between your goals and your present life, and are influenced by past exposures and learning. The current state and past trajectory of your body, mind, environmental circumstances, culture, and addictions all come into play.

## Changing Behaviors

The fastest way to increase your life success is to give up on addictions (A), which are distracting you from achieving your life goals. Next is culture (C)-adopt a new/better self-identity. Then environment (E)-access resources and remove inhibitions. Then mind (M)-improve how you feel, think, and your knowledge. Then body (B)-improve your health, energy and abilities. Then life itself (L)-preserve, multiply and improve your genes (progeny).
 
Increasing Life Success fast = A > C > E > M > B > L
 
## Tools

There are many tools out there that help you improve your life. Whole industries. The important thing is to take stock of where you are, do something about it, and track your progress. We have developed a simple but comprehensive app called [Life x Mind](/products#lifexmind), that helps people do that. It can be profitably be used by anybody, but coaches, therapists and clinicians find it useful with their clients/patients.

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


Changing Behaviors Fast


> Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
> 
> ―Mark Twain

`LS x LS = L/S`

`Life Success x Life Satisfaction = Life Switch (Longevity / Suicidality)`

Our SX Prevent app helps improve Life Success.

Our Life x Mind app helps improve Life Satisfaction.

Our MindX Blood Tests help match people with nutraceuticals and medications that improve the Life Switch.
 
Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


A Formula for Life


> To keep our body in good health is a duty. Otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.
> 
> ―Buddha
 
Are there bi-directional effects between the brain and the rest of the body, or do similar mind-like mechanisms occur in other parts of the body, at different levels, especially in response to the environment? The answer is both. While there is clear cross-talk (vagus nerve, hormones, cytokines) between the brain and the rest of the body, there is emerging evidence that genes and biological pathways (groups of interacting molecules) involved in body disorders and brain disorders overlap, and that peripheral blood biomarkers can provide a window into brain functioning, enabling precision medicine. While the biomarkers create opportunities for diagnostics, the overlap creates both opportunities and challenges for therapeutics, due to the potential pleiotropic positive and negative effects of medications. When medications work, they are performance enhancing drugs, from correcting deficits to better than normal functioning. Matching people to the right nutraceuticals and medications is a key function of our MindX Blood Tests.

https://mindxsciences.com/
 
Live. Happier. Longer.
 
Bob


Mind-Body Medicine


> Our prayers should be for a sound mind in a healthy body.
> 
> ―Juvenal

Everybody should have an annual mental health exam, as is the case for annual physical exams. With preventive blood testing as part of your annual exam, which can help personalize nutraceutical and pharmaceutical treatments if needed, and with apps to track things at home in between. MindX Sciences is working hard to make such tools available widely, as part of routine healthcare and well-being approaches (https://mindxsciences.com/products/).

The future of healthcare is prevention. Mental health and physical health are one. They are intimately and bi-directionally connected , at a biological, psychological, and social level. There is a great opportunity to transform your clinical practice and your patients’ lives. MindX Sciences can help you do that. (https://mindxsciences.com/).

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


MindX Newsletter Special Edition on World Mental Health Day.


> The single most important distinction in life is to distinguish between an opportunity to be seized and a temptation to be resisted.
> 
> ―Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.

Addictions broadly speaking are activities and behaviors that may provide transient, facile, and illusory happiness, hope,  and/or meaning. They do not achieve or make progress towards your real-life goals,  and in fact have detrimental consequences in the long term. For example, opioids give an illusory feeling of happiness, stimulants of hope, and psychedelics of meaning. Addictions provide some  immediate gratification, with little effort, fitting an illusion of short-term gain. In essence, addictions  are doing the wrong thing, more and more, and being unable to quit doing it. In the long term they destroy your health, wealth, and social standing. Addictions are the opposite of discipline, and can waste your life. They are stories that we tell ourselves, and others tell us, that are disconnected from reality and take us down a wrong path in life.  

You can customize and keep track of your addictions, including digital addictions, in our Life x Mind app.

Visit our new product page: https://mindxsciences.com/products/

For clinicians: https://mindxsciences.com/clinicians/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


Addictions


> ...and that has remained an important mental landscape for me, a reference point. It teaches me something — or tries to. People need things like that to go on living — mental landscapes that have meaning for then, even if they can't explain them in words. Part of why we live is to come up with explanations for these things. That's what I think.
> 
> ―Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

Most psychiatric patients end up on too many and/or the wrong medications. That is a problem for patients, doctors, and payors. It is called irrational polypharmacy. 

We have a solution.

A tri-dimensional mental landscape (Mindscape)  can be created modeling the major domains/dimensions of the mind: anxiety, mood and cognition. At each moment in time, a person is represented by a point with (x,y,z) coordinates in this 3D space. The sum of points over time is distributed as a cloud, unique to each individual[^1].

A Mindscape rational psychopharmacology approach[^2] would be  the  combination of 3 or more medications, each acting primarily on one dimension (anxiety, mood, or cognition). Depending on where the major pathology is, indicated by where somebody is in their Mindscape, one or another of the medications is used at higher doses and the others at lower doses. With currently available drugs, psychiatric patients should be on various doses of a combination of an anxiolytic, an antidepressant or mood stabilizer, and an antipsychotic, with the higher dose generally in the primary affected dimension. For example, in depression, the  antidepressant or mood stabilizer medication would be of primary use, at higher doses, with the anxiolytic and  antipsychotic medications of secondary use, at lower doses. 

We have released this past week a Mindscape feature as part of our [Life x Mind App](https://mindxsciences.com/products/). It can be used for prescribing medications more rationally by doctors, and for self-discovery by individuals.

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

[^1]: Niculescu AB, Schork NJ, Salomon DR. Mindscape: A convergent perspective on life, mind, consciousness and happiness. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2010 Jun;123(1-3):1-8.
[^2]: Niculescu AB, Hulvershorn L. Toward Early, Personalized, Rational Polypharmacy In Psychiatry: A Tri-Dimensional Approach. Psychopharm Review; 2010; 45(2): 9-16


Mindscape Psychopharmacology


> Let him that would move the world first move himself.
> 
> ―Socrates

Most people know, deep inside,  what the right thing to do is, at any moment in time. The problem is doing it. They do not  do it because of fear/anxiety, or  low energy/depression,  or distractions/addictions to something else easier to do.  By improving anxiety, mood, cognition, and freedom from addictions, people can lead much more successful lives. Our Life x Mind app can help individuals and their therapists/clinicians/coaches  to take control of these issues, and lead happier, more hopeful, and more meaningful lives.

[![Download it on the App Store](/AppStoreBadgeBlack.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lifemax-by-mindx-sciences/id1513210383) 
[![Get it on Google Play)](/google-play-badge.svg)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindx.lifemax)

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob



Doing the right thing


> Knowledge about life is one thing; effective occupation of a place in life, with its dynamic currents passing through your being, is another.
>
> ―William James

Behaviors are ways to achieve or advance towards your perceived life objectives. A checklist of factors that influence a behavior includes contributions from six domains: genes, body, mind, environment, culture, and addictions. This checklist  can provide a score that reflects the likelihood of an individual doing that behavior in the future. The items that are positive on the checklist have different weights of importance. The items that are related to culture are in general more specific for a behavior, while items related to other domains, such as mind and body, may be more sensitive.  They also vary from individual to individual. As such there is an individualized profile that can be affected by targeted interventions to facilitate that behavior, if it is a constructive one for the individual’s  life, or prevent that behavior, if it is a destructive one.

Biomarkers underlying propensity to behaviors can also be identified, like we did for suicide (Niculescu et al. 2017). They can be viewed as a checklist of biological measures, primarily related to body responses. Genes, body and environmental effects lead to gene expression changes, that can be detected, for example, as blood gene expression biomarkers.  These biomarkers can vary from individual to individual. There is an individualized profile that can be affected by targeted interventions, such as matched medications.
      
Our research over the years has translated into practical applications and tools, available now from MindX Sciences. The SX Prevent prescription web app provides a suicidality risk score integrating  all the risk factors listed above and more, and generates a personalized risk reduction and life improvement plan. The prescription MindX Blood Test-Suicidality provides matching with nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals that can reduce risk.

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


Understanding, Predicting and Improving Behaviors


> What gets measured gets managed.
>
> ―Peter Drucker

What are the drivers of suicide, besides having an overt or covert mental health condition?  Adverse events and/or the difference between expectations and what a person is experiencing in their life are a driver of unhappiness. Being unhappy, lacking hope, and lacking meaning may make individuals vulnerable to negative ideas and  negative behaviors, such as suicide, addictions, violence. These are nihilistic and/or misguided shortcuts to attempt to relieve suffering, feel better, and gain a sense of importance. They lead to reduced life expectancy, being called “deaths of despair”.

Vulnerability to suicide may be due to an individual’s perception of being suffering or being damaged (lack of happiness about one’s past life and current life), with no future (lack of hope for success in the future), unimportant (lack of importance and meaning to one’s life, not being needed), or all of the above (Niculescu et al. 2015) (“Life is Bad”). This corresponds to the types of suicidality my group has identified: anxious type, depressed type, psychotic type, and mixed type (Niculescu et al. 2017). Suicide may be perceived as:

 1. escaping the pain of a bad life (anxious type), 
 2. eliminating a burden to others and freeing resources for progeny and extended kin,  or for a larger cause (low mood type), or 
 3. as a way of making people who have harmed you suffer/feel guilty (psychotic type). 

The other components are the idea that it is an acceptable solution (“It is OK to do it”), and the environment is opportune to do it (“I can do it”).

Our research over the years has translated into practical applications and tools, available now from MindX Sciences. The  Life x Mind consumer phone app measures suicidal ideation, as well as anxiety, mood and psychosis, permitting individuals and their clinicians to gain insight and track feelings and thoughts. The SX Prevent prescription web app provides a suicidality risk score integrating  all the risk factors listed above and more, and generates a personalized risk reduction plan. The prescription MindX Blood Test-Suicidality provides matching with nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals that can reduce risk.

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

In the end, suicides are preventable tragedies. Reach out and talk to somebody lonely today, you may save a life.

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


Suicidality


> The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.
>
> ―E.E. Cummings

This week MindX Sciences released a new version of our Life x Mind app, that has science-based Mind Types. The user can see what their Mind Type of the day is, and what their average dominant Mind Type is over time. They can also use the app to take control of their Mind Types, and be, or become, who they want to be. We foresee this to be a useful feature for individuals, and for employers. Clinicians/therapists can use this feature to work with their patients. Coaches can use this feature with their athletes. 

[![Download it on the App Store](/AppStoreBadgeBlack.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lifemax-by-mindx-sciences/id1513210383) 
[![Get it on Google Play)](/google-play-badge.svg)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindx.lifemax)

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


Mind Types


> Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.
> 
> ―Benjamin Franklin

Time is life. For an organism, internal time is experiencing of things or doing of things to advance preservation, multiplication and improvement of self, progeny, and extended kin. External time is change, environmental and cultural. 

If outside events register in consciousness at an increased rate, external time seems to be moving more slowly than internal time. Internal time is related to consciousness. This could be positive, such as paying attention to things, being mindful, being in the zone. If an organism is experiencing or does new, many/massive and/or important things that come to its conscious awareness, external time seems to be moving more slowly than internal time. A minute feels like an hour. This is a form of active longevity, of living more life. Or it can be negative, such as being in a painful, excruciating situation.  If an experience or activity is not rewarding, the organism wants to escape it and do something else, and external time seems to be moving more slowly than internal time. Discipline can be uncomfortable, but it compounds into life success.

If outside events register in consciousness at a decreased rate, external time seems to be moving faster than internal time. External time is related to unconsciousness. This can be negative, such as leading a monotonous, restricted life, where nothing new happens. If an organism does not experience or do new, many/massive and/or important things, that do not come to its conscious awareness, and/or if there are a lot of external changes, external time seems to be moving faster than internal time. An hour feels like a minute. This is a form of passive aging, of living less life.  Or this can be positive, if an activity so captivates the attention that outside events are ignored.  If an experience or activity is rewarding, the organism wants to persists in it and not do something else, and external time moves faster than internal time. Time flies when you are having fun. Addictions can be fun, but waste your life away.

A person can create more time for herself/himself by new, good and important things registering into consciousness at an increased rate.  Experiencing new things, doing more, achieving more. Keeping track of feelings, activities, and how they interact is one way to achieve that. Our Life x Mind app  enables people to do that. 

https://mindxsciences.com/products/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob


Time


> If you find ways to repair the memory damaged by Alzheimer’s disease or dementia and so forth, it is very likely that the same methods could be used to upgrade the memory of completely healthy people.
> 
> ―Yuval Noah Harari

Protracted severe stress can affect health and decrease longevity, signaling to the organism that things are bad and it should be unhappy, there is no hope for objectives achievement in the future, and its life has no meaning and importance so might as well give up, turning off a “life switch” [^1]. This results in active aging, all the way to suicide. Repeated cumulative stress is like a form of non-mechanical, molecular, traumatic brain injury (micro TBI), which can lead to memory problems, Alzheimer Disease (AD), and other dementias through passive (wear and tear) and active (apoptosis) aging mechanisms. The compensatory reaction can go awry and lead to brain scarring, which is what tau neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques are(Niculescu et al. 2019)2. AD is sort of a “cirrhosis” of the brain; hard to treat, better to prevent, by minimizing passive and active mechanisms. 

The good news is that we have developed blood biomarker tests for memory abnormalities early in life, that can predict risk for later in life dementias and AD[^2]. Such tests pair people to nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, for early treatment and preventive approaches, and potentially supra-normative improvement of function. You can also keep track of your your stress levels and memory function using our Life x Mind app, and change your lifestyle to improve them!

[![Download it on the App Store](/AppStoreBadgeBlack.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lifemax-by-mindx-sciences/id1513210383) 
[![Get it on Google Play)](/google-play-badge.svg)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindx.lifemax)

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

[^1]: Rangaraju S, Levey DF, Nho K, Jain N, Andrews KD, Le-Niculescu H et al. Mood, stress and longevity: convergence on ANK3. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21(8): 1037-1049.
[^2]: Niculescu AB, Le-Niculescu H, Roseberry K, Wang S, Hart J, Kaur A et al. Blood biomarkers for memory: toward early detection of risk for Alzheimer disease, pharmacogenomics, and repurposed drugs. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25(8): 1651-1672.


Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease


> The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
> 
> ―Ralph Waldo Emerson

Anxiety, mood and cognition make up your mental landscape[^1]. Quantitative scores for each of these can be obtained with existing psychiatric rating scales- or with the more temporal, quantitative and non-overlapping ones we developed[^2], that are now included in our Life x Mind app. 

Different combinations of anxiety, mood and cognition levels can be used to define different mind state types. Based on this, there are at least 8 types, as described below. (Lower case letters denote a low state for anxiety (a), mood (m) and cognition (c), upper case letters denote a high state).

| Level | Mind Type |
| ------- | -------------- |
| a, M, C | “The Boss” |
| a, M, c | “The Optimist” |
| a, m, C | “The Observer” |
| a, m, c | “The Follower” |
| A, M, C | “The Perfectionist” |
| A, M, c | “The Hothead” |
| A, m, C | “The Critic” |
| A, m, c | “The Sufferer” |

The four high-anxiety (A) types are easily recognizable as being the ones that cause the most distress, disruption in social settings and  problems in inter-personal interactions, due to their high reactivity to external events. Excessive anxiety/reactivity needs to be mitigated with mindfulness/meditation, medications, and cognitive-behavioral approaches. On the positive side, the desire that anxiety provides can be used to strive for more and improve things.

Certain mind state types attract success and repel failure (the epitome for that being “The Boss”). Conversely, certain types attract failure (the epitome of that being “The Sufferer”). These types interact with the environment in a positive feedback loop way that reinforces them. The successful become more successful, and the failures fail even more.

The good news is that these  8 paradigmatic mind state types are not fixed. In any single individual they can vary due to their actions, due to environmental effects, and due to treatments, from day to day. Who do you want to be today, who do you want to be consistently, and what do you need to do to achieve that?  

We are building these features into our Life x Mind app.

https://mindxsciences.com/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

[^1]: Niculescu AB, 3rd, Schork NJ, Salomon DR. Mindscape: a convergent perspective on life, mind, consciousness and happiness. J Affect Disord 2010; 123(1-3): 1-8.
[^2]: Niculescu AB, Lulow LL, Ogden CA, Le-Niculescu H, Salomon DR, Schork NJ et al. PhenoChipping of psychotic disorders: a novel approach for deconstructing and quantitating psychiatric phenotypes. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2006; 141B(6): 653-662.


Mind State Types


> You are as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair; as young as your faith, as old as your doubt.
> 
> ―Samuel Ullman

Longevity in humans is due in part to the need to grow their large brains during adolescence, and to help grow the large brains of their progeny during later years. Reasons that slow aging are having, or planning to have, young progeny (children more so than grandchildren); the need to accumulate resources for them; having behaviors and thoughts that are not yet widely disseminated and taught; improving the environment and world in which yourself, your progeny, and your extended kin live. 

Having reasons to live and hope for success, in a favorable environment,  may promote active longevity and slow aging of an organism. A “life switch”[^1] may be turned up by happiness, hope for progress, and having meaning- being needed in the game of life. 

The key is to balance being needed and active longevity (rebuilding) with the avoidance of wear and tear which leads to passive aging (shielding). Conversely, the perception of not being needed leads to active aging (dismantling), as planned obsolescence to get out of the way of your progeny and extended kin.  Lack of hope for the future can even lead to suicide[^2],[^3].

We have developed tools to make life better, and improve longevity: https://mindxsciences.com/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

[^1]: Rangaraju S, Levey DF, Nho K, Jain N, Andrews KD, Le-Niculescu H et al. Mood, stress and longevity: convergence on ANK3. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21(8): 1037-1049.

[^2]: Niculescu AB, Levey DF, Phalen PL, Le-Niculescu H, Dainton HD, Jain N et al. Understanding and predicting suicidality using a combined genomic and clinical risk assessment approach. Mol Psychiatry 2015; 20(11): 1266-1285.

[^3]: Levey DF, Niculescu EM, Le-Niculescu H, Dainton HL, Phalen PL, Ladd TB et al. Towards understanding and predicting suicidality in women: biomarkers and clinical risk assessment. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21(6): 768-785.


Longevity


> Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.
> 
> ―Ayn Rand

Happiness with the present is due to achieving goals. It is also due to relief from stress, pain, anxiety (something bad has not happened, is not happening, and will not happen to you).

Stress disorders (such as PTSD), pain disorders, and anxiety disorders are related to each other. They are all disorders of increased reactivity. They are based on learning from the past, reacting to the present, and trying to avoid future damage and harm.  Stress disorders are learning about the circumstances of how something bad happens and (over)reacting to those circumstances when encountered again. Pain is (over)reacting to something bad that is happening or has happened to your body. Anxiety is  (over) reacting to something bad possibly happening in the future. Stress disorders and pain are increased reactivity *after* something has happened, and when encountering it again. Anxiety is increased reactivity *before* something has happened.  Not surprisingly, substances that modulate reactivity, such as alcohol, marijuana, opioids, and benzodiazepines, are used, abused, and can be highly addictive.

Individuals  can use our Life x Mind app to privately keep track of their stress, pain, anxiety, and happiness. They can develop insights into how their activities and life events impact them, and how to increase their happiness. They can choose to share that information with trusted family members, friends, coaches, and therapists.

Clinicians can use our MindX Blood Testing to obtain an objective assessment of their patient’s stress[^1] and pain[^2] levels, risk of future worsening, as well as personalized, non-addictive medication and nutraceutical choices.

Visit our product page: https://mindxsciences.com/products/

For clinicians: https://mindxsciences.com/clinicians/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

[^1]: Le-Niculescu H, Roseberry K, Levey DF, Rogers J, Kosary K, Prabha S et al. Towards precision medicine for stress disorders: diagnostic biomarkers and targeted drugs. Mol Psychiatry 2020; 25(5): 918-938.
[^2]: Niculescu AB, Le-Niculescu H, Levey DF, Roseberry K, Soe KC, Rogers J et al. Towards precision medicine for pain: diagnostic biomarkers and repurposed drugs. Mol Psychiatry 2019; 24(4): 501-522.


Happiness


> To be, or not to be, that is the question.
> 
> ―William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Vulnerability to suicide may be due to a person’s perception of suffering or being damaged (lack of satisfaction about one’s past life and current life), with no future (lack of hope for success in the future), unimportant (lack of importance and meaning to one’s life), or all of the above[^1]. This corresponds to the subtypes of suicidality my group has identified[^2]: anxious subtype, depressed subtype, psychotic subtype, and mixed subtype(s). Suicide may be perceived by the person contemplating it as escaping the pain of a bad life (anxious subtype), eliminating a burden to others and freeing resources  for  others (low mood subtype), or as a way of making people who have harmed you suffer/feel guilty (psychotic subtype). The other components are the idea that it is an acceptable solution (“It is OK to do it”), and the environment is opportune to do it (“I can do it”).

Individuals  can privately keep track of their suicidality, and develop insights on how their feelings, thoughts and life events impact it,  using our Life x Mind app. Their clinicians can get an objective assessment about the patient’s risk for suicidality, and pre-emptive, personalized, counselling and lifestyle changes, with our SX Prevent digital test. Clinicians can also get an objective assessment about the patient’s risk for suicidality, and pre-emptive, personalized, medication and nutraceutical choices, with our MindX Blood Testing.

Visit our new product page: https://mindxsciences.com/products/

For clinicians: https://mindxsciences.com/clinicians/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

[^1]: Niculescu AB, Levey DF, Phalen PL, Le-Niculescu H, Dainton HD, Jain N et al. Understanding and predicting suicidality using a combined genomic and clinical risk assessment approach. Mol Psychiatry 2015; 20(11): 1266-1285.

[^2]: Niculescu AB, Le-Niculescu H, Levey DF, Phalen PL, Dainton HL, Roseberry K et al. Precision medicine for suicidality: from universality to subtypes and personalization. Mol Psychiatry 2017; 22(9): 1250-1273.



> If you want to know what you were doing in the past, look at your body now. If you want to know what will happen to you in the future, look at what your mind is doing now.
> 
> ―Dalai Lama

Mood is **activity**[^1] [^2] [^3], modulated by how favorable the environment is, mediated through energy metabolism, cellular growth, and cellular circadian clock mechanisms[^4]. A central molecular underpinning of mood is the mTOR pathway[^5]. A favorable, stimulating environment leads to high mood- high motivation, activity, expansion and reproduction/multiplication. An unfavorable, deprived environment leads to low mood- low motivation, inactivity, retraction and apoptosis. Mood is related to time, as underlined by the circadian mechanisms connection. Internal organismal time, at its essence, is experiencing things and/or getting things done. In high mood states you get more things done, thus have more internal time compared to the external passage of time, which seems to pass more slowly. In low mood states, you get less things done, thus you have less internal time compared to the external passage of time, which seems to pass fast. Mood is about  doing things or not, and with how much resources (time, energy, attention, money, etc.) **Hope for the future achievement of goals is reflected in mood levels**, and is related to current slope of things in your life, and to placebo effects.

Individuals can keep track of their mood in our Life x Mind app. Their clinicians can get an objective assessment about the patient’s risk for mood disorder episodes, and pre-emptive medication and nutraceutical choices, with our MindX Blood Testing.

Visit our new product page: https://mindxsciences.com/products/

For clinicians: https://mindxsciences.com/clinicians/

Live. Happier. Longer.

Bob

[^1]: Niculescu AB. Genomic studies of mood disorders -- the brain as a muscle? Genome Biol 2005; 6(4): 215.
[^2]: Le-Niculescu H, Patel SD, Bhat M, Kuczenski R, Faraone SV, Tsuang MT et al. Convergent functional genomics of genome-wide association data for bipolar disorder: comprehensive identification of candidate genes, pathways and mechanisms. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2009; 150B(2): 155-181.
[^3]: Niculescu AB, Le-Niculescu H. Convergent Functional Genomics: what we have learned and can learn about genes, pathways, and mechanisms. Neuropsychopharmacology 2010; 35(1): 355-356.
[^4]: Le-Niculescu H, Roseberry K, Gill SS, Levey DF, Phalen PL, Mullen J et al. Precision medicine for mood disorders: objective assessment, risk prediction, pharmacogenomics, and repurposed drugs. Mol Psychiatry 2021.
[^5]: Saxton RA, Sabatini DM. mTOR Signaling in Growth, Metabolism, and Disease. Cell 2017; 168(6): 960-976.


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Previous Editions

2022-01-15	The Invisible Limps
2022-01-08	(Self-) Persuasion to Improve your Life
2022-01-01	Thoughts at the start of a New Year: Everything is Downstream of Mental Health
2021-12-25	To Know or Not to Know, That is the Question
2021-12-19	The Gifts of Gratitude, Knowledge and Improvement
2021-12-04	Social-Psycho-Bio to Know, Bio-Psycho-Social to Improve
2021-11-27	“Treatment-Resistant” Depression
2021-11-20	Longevity-Measure to Manage
2021-11-13	Mental Health: Timing, Quantity, Fit
2021-11-06	Precise, Personalized and Preventive Mental Health with Genomics and Apps
2021-10-30	Changing Behaviors Fast
2021-10-22	A Formula for Life
2021-10-16	Mind-Body Medicine
2021-10-10	MindX Newsletter Special Edition on World Mental Health Day.
2021-10-07	Addictions
2021-10-02	Mindscape Psychopharmacology
2021-09-24	Doing the right thing
2021-09-18	Understanding, Predicting and Improving Behaviors
2021-09-09	Suicidality
2021-09-04	Mind Types
2021-08-28	Time
2021-08-21	Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease
2021-08-14	Mind State Types
2021-08-07	Longevity
2021-07-31	Happiness
2021-07-24	Suicidality
2021-07-17	Mood