F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “I’m a slave to my emotions, to my likes, to my hatred of boredom, to most of my desires.” Have you ever felt like you were held emotionally hostage to your thoughts and feelings and then acted out with dysfunctional behaviors that ended with negative consequences? We all have. It’s part… Read more »
Mental Health
Let’s say you’ve been feeling really down lately and can’t seem to shake it. You go to your primary care physician and he recommends a prescription for an anti-depressant, or referral to a psychiatrist for further evaluation. It’s what you’d expect. Now imagine walking away with a prescription for an over-the-counter herb coupled with yoga… Read more »
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) affects approximately 1-2 percent of Americans. It’s a chronic disorder that can render those suffering with it helpless to do anything about unwanted and repetitive behaviors and thoughts that won’t go away. Symptoms, which can begin gradually in childhood, and vary in severity throughout one’s life, include an uncontrollable thought or… Read more »
Wouldn’t it be great if you had a tool you could count on to instantly relax you and lift you up? A mantra is a sound tool that with repetition can shift the charge on your nervous system, and all you need is your own voice and a little guidance. What you hear has a… Read more »
So, you walk into your doctor’s office to find that it is filled with patients. They’re particularly busy, so you wonder if it’s a common cold or flu going around and whether you’re going to catch it. But the surprising truth is, the majority of patients seen in an outpatient clinic are coming in for… Read more »
Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) is the main calming neurotransmitter released to keep our brain relaxed and balanced when we need it. GABA controls the actions of the excitatory neurotransmitters, so understandably, a person with low GABA may have anxiety, racing thoughts, insomnia, addictions, or even weight gain. Deficiency of GABA levels can be genetic, but more… Read more »
“Music gives soul to the Universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” –Plato Wow! Plato said this circa 500 BC, well before Mozart, Edith Piaf, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Sam Cooke, Don Ho, The Beatles, Billie Holiday, Lady Gaga, Mp3 players, unlimited streaming…and… Read more »
Depression is a disease that has plagued humankind for centuries and which unfortunately remains prevalent today, affecting 1 out of 5 individuals at some point in their lives. Up to 50% of the population may be seasonally affected, experiencing a mild form of depression due to fewer daylight hours during the winter. Moderate to severe… Read more »
Have you experienced a “pregnant pause moment” lately? You know, when you’re talking with someone who makes a comment about the state of our country that you might not agree with, and you’re at a loss for how to respond. Or, if not the pregnant pause, maybe you’ve felt like a stranger in a strange… Read more »
I recently returned from the 9th annual Integrative Medicine for Mental Health Conference in Dallas, Texas. This conference offers health care providers from many different disciplines a holistic approach to successfully diagnose and treat underlying issues contributing to neurological, behavioral, and psychiatric disorders. Research has revealed that many conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety,… Read more »
In a nutshell, disordered eating is when an individual’s relationship with food causes problems in their life or that of their loved ones. People are often surprised to find out that what they consider to be a lack of self-control or poor discipline is really “disordered eating,” driven by a part of our brain over… Read more »
Is there a mental health crisis developing in America, or just a popular topic in the media? National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) 2017 statistics document a nearly 13% rate of depression affliction in teenagers, and nearly 7% in adults; hardly an epidemic, but concerning, nonetheless. Every day, we all are faced with issues that… Read more »
We’ve all had days we don’t feel like doing much. Sometimes, we consciously know that lack of motivation is due to a feeling of sadness or some other depressed emotion. But what about those times when we can’t identify a reason or aren’t performing up to par and can’t figure out why? Is it possible… Read more »
I recently attended the 8th annual Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference in Orange County. Health care practitioners from many disciplines converged to learn about new and integrative approaches to treating mental health disorders such as ADD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar, dementia, pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANDAS), autistic spectrum disorders and Alzheimer’s. The general theme… Read more »
Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, often about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. It is a nervous disorder that affects literally millions of people and is characterized by a state of distress and apprehension. Anxiety can present itself in many different ways from mild worry to physical manifestations… Read more »
You may be one of the millions of Americans who has longstanding problems with mood, sleep, concentration or weight. Or you may have a medical condition that seems difficult to diagnose or treat, such as brain fog, fibromyalgia or panic attacks. If any of the preceding applies to you, consider testing your neurotransmitters to determine… Read more »
Postpartum depression (PPD) is defined as a variable mood, anxiety, and feelings of despair and deep sadness that occur in a new mother from several days to several months after childbirth. PPD can last for months, or longer, and if untreated can affect the way a mother is able to function in her daily life,… Read more »
Individuals suffering from chronic pain assume that the pain symptoms are purely physical. There are many times though that clinicians scratch their heads to identify painful symptoms when nothing structural presents itself in an effort to prove a mechanical problem as the pain culprit. Dr. John Sarno, author of Mind Over Back Pain and Healing… Read more »
As a registered nurse, I have been with Eisenhower Medical Center and the Betty Ford Center for 29 years. I became an acupuncturist 15 years ago and have had impressive results treating patients with auricular (ear) acupuncture for chemical dependency, alcohol withdrawal, anxiety and pain. The ear is innervated (has nerve supply) from three major… Read more »
Oxytocin is commonly known as the “snuggle hormone” or the “love hormone.” Various types of positive sensory stimulations such as warmth, touch, or even eating food release it. Nature wired men and women to experience surges of oxytocin when bonding. It helps create the feeling of falling in love and naturally enhances a sense of… Read more »
