Dealing with Stress, Violent Tendencies and Depression with Magnesium Supplementation

By Dr. Mark Sircus

In February of 2006 the New York Times[1] reported that, “While violent crime has been at historic lows nationwide and in cities like New York, Miami and Los Angeles, it is rising sharply in many other places across the country. And while such crime in the recent past was characterized by battles over gangs and drug turf, the police say the current rise in homicides has been set off by something more bewildering: petty disputes that hardly seem the stuff of fistfights, much less gunfire or stabbings. Suspects tell the police they killed someone who “disrespected” them or a family member, or someone who was “mean mugging” them, which the police loosely translate as giving a dirty look.”

“Police Chief Nannette H. Hegerty of Milwaukee calls it “the rage thing,” the Times reported, “We’re seeing a very angry population, and they don’t go to fists anymore, they go right to guns,” she said.  “When we ask, ‘Why did you shoot this guy?’ it’s, ‘He bumped into me,’ ‘He looked at my girl the wrong way,’ “said Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson of Philadelphia. “It’s not like they’re riding around doing drive-by shootings. It’s arguments — stupid arguments over stupid things.” While arguments have always made up a large number of homicides, the police say the trigger point now comes faster. In robberies, Milwaukee’s Chief Hegerty said, “Even after the person gives up, the guy with the gun shoots him anyway. We didn’t have as much of that before.”

There is an epidemic of magnesium deficiency in America and in populations around the world.  This is, in part, what is driving such surges in violence? The two most basic requirements for the normal operation of our brain are a sufficient energy supply and an optimal presence of biochemicals involved in transmitting messages. Magnesium is crucial in both the production of energy and neurotransmitters, not to mention the integrity of the blood brain barrier. It is bedrock science that connects magnesium to neurological disorders.[2]

Magnesium deficiency causes serotonin-deficiency
with possible resultant aberrant behaviors,
including depression suicide or irrational violence.
Paul Mason

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It is clear though that magnesium deficiency or imbalance plays a role in the symptoms of mood disorders. Observational and experimental studies have shown an association between magnesium and aggression[3],[4],[5],[6],[7]anxiety[8],[9],[10] ADHD[11],[12],[13],[14] bipolar disorder[15],[16] depression[17],[18],[19],[20] and schizophrenia [21],[22],[23],[24]. Patients who had made suicide attempts (by using either violent or nonviolent means) had significantly lower mean CSF magnesium level irrespective of the diagnosis.[25]

Understanding the risk and protective factors related to mental health problems is important for improving the well-being of populations.  For instance, the way abusive men try to manage stress in their relationships and other parts of their lives may be associated with their violent outbursts. Results showed abusive men were likely to view stressful circumstances as personally threatening, while trying to avoid the situation or repress emotional responses. It is more than helpful for everyone to know and understand that magnesium lowers stress and resets our trigger points toward violence.

The Department of Family Medicine, Pomeranian Medical Academy, states that dietetic factors can play a significant role in the origin of ADHD and that magnesium deficiency can result in disruptive behaviors.[26] Even a mild deficiency of magnesium can cause sensitiveness to noise, nervousness, irritability, mental depression, confusion, twitching, trembling, apprehension, and insomnia.

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Magnesium ions have nutritional and pharmacologic actions that “safely” protects against the neurotoxicity of many agents up to and including stress from environmental noise and physical trauma. Magnesium deficiency, even when mild, increases susceptibility to various types of neurological and psychological stressors in both animals and healthy human subjects.

Dr. Leo Galland says, “Mg deficiency increases susceptibility to the physiologic damage produced by stress. The adrenergic effects of psychological stress induce a shift of Mg from the intracellular to the extracellular space, increasing urinary excretion and eventually depleting body stores.[27]

In 2000, the National Institute of Health (NIH) listed depression as a sign of magnesium deficiency. NIH definedmagnesium deficiency symptoms as having three categories:

Early symptoms include (one or more) irritability, anxiety (including Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome), anorexia, fatigue, insomnia, and muscle twitching. Other symptoms include apathy, confusion, poor memory, poor attention and the reduced ability to learn.

Moderate deficiency symptoms can consist of the above and possibly rapid heartbeat, irregular heartbeat and other cardiovascular changes (some being lethal).

Severe deficiency symptoms can include one or more of the above symptoms; or more severe symptoms including full body tingling, numbness, a sustained contraction of the muscles along with hallucinations and delirium, (including depression) and finally dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease).

Mild magnesium deficiency appears to be common among patients with disorders considered functional or neurotic and appears to contribute to a symptom complex that includes asthenia, sleep disorders, irritability, hyperarousal, spasm of striated and smooth muscle and hyperventilation. Magnesium deficiency in children is especially a serious matter.

Magnesium Supplementation

Magnesium supplementation is actually crucial for everyone today but we have to pay special attention to the method of supplementation because this is critical in terms of effective body utilization. “Magnesium is poorly absorbed orally. That is why I start off with injections. By injecting magnesium I can guarantee 100% to bring the levels up. I cannot guarantee to do this with oral magnesium,” says Dr. Sarah Myhill.

Each spray of Magnesium Oil contains approximately 18 milligrams of elemental magnesium. An ounce would contain just over 3,300 mg. Five sprays in a glass of water would thus be almost 100 milligrams. However, my recommendations is to combine oral administration with transdermal.