What To Do With All That Advice

What To Do With All That Advice

Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND

Dr. Teray offers natural and integrative programs for healing anxiety & depression, chronic fatigue, and digestive conditions. She is a licensed naturopathic doctor, wellness coach, author, and creator of the Deeply Happy Expert Series. She serves clients globally via phone and video consultation.
Get in touch at http://www.deeplyhappy.com/contact/

Latest posts by Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND (see all)

There’s no shortage of advice in the world. Everywhere you turn, someone is telling you the absolute best way to do live your life. Someone says, “Antidepressants are dangerous!” Another piece tells you, “Stop shaming people for taking meds for depression.” Then you read, “People take drugs for diabetes, why shouldn’t you take it for depression? They are both diseases.” “Vegetarians are less depressed.” “Paleo cured my depression.” And something inside you freaks out. I fall into this trap when it comes to baby-raising advice. When one popular baby sleep book stated that “by twelve weeks, your baby should be able sleep up to 10 hours straight”, I could almost feel my blood pressure rising. I’m lucky if baby K does five!!!  I thought frantically. Ever get that feeling? You’re gripped with the fear that you’re doing it wrong. This literally raises cortisol (your stress hormone), because of the sense of urgency created. Interestingly, elevated cortisol is commonly found in depressed and anxious people. Here’s what I do to stay sane and happy amidst the deluge: I hold it all very lightly. Holding it lightly means to take it in…and then pull back and remember that you are figuring out things as best you can. Naturally, even as I write this, the mean voice in my head snarks, “Well, if you didn’t hold it all so lightly, you’d probably be farther along by now!” What does your inner mean voice say? Pull back and hold that lightly as well. In practical terms, it means snapping that baby sleep book shut, setting it aside, and observing where my baby is...

Drug – Centric Psychiatry is Out

Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND

Dr. Teray offers natural and integrative programs for healing anxiety & depression, chronic fatigue, and digestive conditions. She is a licensed naturopathic doctor, wellness coach, author, and creator of the Deeply Happy Expert Series. She serves clients globally via phone and video consultation.
Get in touch at http://www.deeplyhappy.com/contact/

Latest posts by Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND (see all)

Nutritional psychiatry (food as mood medicine) is rightfully taking its place in the mainstream. I have seen incredible results from using nutrition to treat anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. My patients know firsthand how the right nutrients can totally change someone’s mood, energy and mental clarity. We’re not the only ones. The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals, recently confirmed the link between the food you eat and your mood. According to their recent article, dietary treatments have been found to be helpful in treating: Depression Psychosis Suicidal tendencies Childhood mental health issues Schizophrenia Bipolar disorder Compulsive behavior PTSD In particular, the Lancet article discusses the promising results of the Mediterranean diet, with nuts, in preventing the onset of depression. Nutritional psychiatry goes beyond the essential foundation of using food as medicine. It includes using targeted supplements to act as mood modulators by themselves, and to increase the efficacy of medication. Individualized supplementation – using vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fatty acids – is helpful in the following ways: Correcting deficiencies due to poor nutrition Compensating for poor absorption or genetic errors in metabolism Reducing inflammation Improving the action of neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline) Enhancing cell-membrane function Growth and repair of nerve cells Protecting cells from damage The Lancet article identifies key nutrients that are particularly helpful in improving mood and brain function. These include: B vitamins (with active forms like methylfolate, please!) Zinc Magnesium Sam – E Vitamin D So does this mean that you should run out and buy these supplements? Maybe, maybe not. Remember, individualized medicine works better than any one-size fits...