Mental Health
The Mind and Body Connection
There was a time when you were not anxious, stressed or depressed. The question can be, how did you get here? And equally important, the question must be, how do you get back to the happy and balanced person, who wants to be in the world?
While the answer isn’t as easy as taking a pill, life style changes have been proven to be one of the most effective solutions for long term health and happiness. In addition, research shows life style as a root cause of less severe mental health symptoms that can be fully reversed. No matter the cause, small or big, starting on a balanced mind body approach is essential.
Symptoms
- Fatigue
- Lack of motivation
- Overthinking
- Negative thoughts
- Trouble sleeping
- Brain fog
- Social isolation
- Hearth Palpitions
- Abdominal pain
- Headaches
Lifestyle Choices
- Daily exercise
- Whole food diet
- Mindfulness practice
- Life and daily goals(purpose)
- Social community
- Sleep hygiene
- Support team
Support Team
- Acupuncturist
- Movement therapist
- Mental Health therapist
- Nutritionist
- Friends and family
Stress
Stress is often the cause of illness and the deterioration of health. Finding a release valve for your stress is essential for your health. If left unchecked, mental and physical stress compound and effects your bodies ability to recover and overtime can create serious from heart disease to autoimmune disease.
Anxiety
If you suffer from anxiety you’re very familiar with the symptoms:
- mental clarity
- heart palpitations or the sensation of a racing heart
- chest tightness
- numbness and tingling in your hands and feet
- feeling lightheaded
- shortness of breath
- the general feeling of fear, or that you might die right now
- heightened emotions such as agitation, anger or fear
For some people, it seems to come out of nowhere and creep up at unexpected moments. For others, anxiety is predictable and associated with certain events, fears, or situations. Experiences such as driving on the highway, eating in restaurants, or seeing spiders have the potential to create anxiety.
Unfortunately, many people experience anxiety symptoms and don’t know why, which only makes the anxiety worse. However, it’s important to know that anxiety can be caused by physical imbalances derived from food sensitivities, hormonal imbalances, digestion, or drug side effects.
We will not only ask you questions about exactly how anxiety affects you, but also about your diet, digestion, your quality of sleep, energy levels and muscle pains. While many of these questions may seem unrelated, they are not. It is the interaction of the mind and body together, their communication, which leads to overall treatment of any mental health ailment.
Depression
Depression, when diagnosed by a physician, can be more complex to treat than stress or anxiety due to factors such as long term brain hormone and brain wave imbalances. The complexity for our practitioners is narrowed down by being able to clearly define symptoms and patterns which are then treated through acupuncture, herbs, functional medicine, biofeedback and movement.
If you are currently on a mediation prescribed by your primary western doctor or psychiatrist, we will work with you to enhance your experience, as these medication are at times very necessary.
Treatment
We take an integrated approach to treatment, using a variety of methods to help get you back to your best.
Acupuncture
Numerous studies have demonstrated the substantial benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of stress, anxiety and depression. Acupuncture improves circulation of blood throughout the body, which oxygenates the tissues and cycles out stress hormones and other waste chemicals. The calming nature of acupuncture also decreases the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and relaxes the muscles.
Acupuncture has also been shown to stimulate neurotransmitters in the brain thereby increasing serotonin and norepinephrine levels, to decrease depression and anxiety.
Movement
Moving your body is an essential part of our mental health. Movement speeds up blood flow, which increases oxygen to the brain, allowing you to think better. Movement also balances the nervous system, which in turn balances your thoughts and want to move more. Moving also leads to better eating habits, allowing whole foods to nourish your brain. Most of all, movement helps you to be present. If you are involved in a task such as stretching or tai qi, it allows your mind to be in the moment and not think about the stressors or depressors of life. The more you do this, the more the brain feels good doing it, rewiring the brain to be in a state of feeling good.
Functional medicine
Is an interdisciplinary field that uses established quantitative analysis methods to assess relationships between nutritional status, neurotransmitters, endocrine and immune function, and psychological symptoms. Functional tests used to evaluate mental health problems include urinary assays of neurotransmitters and their metabolites and serum assays of cholesterol, triglycerides, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and their metabolites, hormones, fatty acids, molecules that cause inflammation and immunologic factors.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a technique used to heighten awareness and learn control your body’s response to stimuli, such as stress. This feedback helps you make subtle changes in your body, such as relaxing certain muscles, to achieve the results you want, such as reducing pain or stress. In essence, biofeedback gives you the ability to practice new ways to control your body, often to improve a health condition or physical performance. During biofeedback, you’re connected to electrical sensors that help you receive information about your body such as a heart rate and respiration monitor.
