A Holistic Approach to Our Children’s Mental Health
The current epidemic of mental distress in children and teens is shedding light on how poorly we address mental health in this country. My hope is that a more holistic approach to our emotional wellbeing becomes the standard of care as a result of this crisis but in the meantime there are many options for taking an integrative approach to mental health.
The CDC defines mental health disorders as “critical changes in the way children behave, learn, or deal with their emotions which can lead to distress and affect their cognitive functioning and behaviors” (Okwori, 2022).
Reading this definition makes it obvious why the pandemic has increased rates of mental health concerns, but the number of kids and teens who were dealing with mental health disorders was already rising before the dawn of COVID-19. “ In 2019, 13 percent of adolescents reporting having a major depressive episode, a 60 percent increase from 2007”
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Determining the Cause of Depression
Rates of of depression, anxiety and suicide are at an all time high. While it might be easy to blame worldly events such as the pandemic and all its fall out, other causative theories are worth considering. Since naturopathic medicine aims to identify the cause of disease, taking a holistic approach to possible etiologies is important.
One theory, called the cytokine theory of depression, posits that depression may be linked to inflammation.
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Gratitude as the Antidote to Anxiety
If I asked you what you were thankful for today, what comes to mind? Some may think of family members while for others, those same relationships elicit feelings of stress and tension. Some may call to mind the people with whom they share their home while for others, who live alone, their sources of gratitude may be beyond the walls of their residence. And this, really, is why incorporating gratitude into your day is a practice. At the start of a routine of contemplating what you’re grateful for you may question whether you can list something as insignificant as a cup of tea or as vast as the sunshine.
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Navigating Multivitamin Madness
Fortifying Your Immune System This Fall
Trying to Focus at Home….School
How’s homeschooling going? How successful have you felt in your efforts to work from home? Does your child have attention issues that are making online schoolwork challenging? Have you also found yourself staring at your computer screen or re-reading the same sentence three times wondering how any of us are supposed to stay focused at a time like this? This working and schooling from home phenomenon is new to most of us and the experience may be highlighting focus issues in you or your family members. Even those of us without an official diagnosis of an attention disorder may feel similarly given that our body’s stress response can make it challenging to have the focus we have may have pre-pandemic.
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Last Minute Gift Ideas for the Health Nuts in Your Life
If you’ve left some of your holiday shopping to the last minute, here are some health inspired ideas!
One of my favorite healthy gifts is tea. There are so many different herbal combinations that can support a calm mind, a restful night of sleep or any other health concern for which your friend or family member might appreciate some botanical support. When choosing a medicinal tea, it is important to choose ones that are responsibly sourced. I recommend checking out Mountain Rose Herbs and, for a more local option, Harney and Sons. If you’re looking for a tea tasting outing, a trip to Harney and Sons’
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Treating PCOS Naturally ~ a naturopathic approach to a hormonal syndrome
I see a lot of women with a diagnosis of PCOS in my practice. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is an interesting diagnosis in that, because it’s a syndrome, there are multiple ways that a woman can end up with this diagnosis. Symptoms, lab tests, imaging or a variety of these can be what leads this diagnosis which one in ten women have been given. Women must have two of three of the following conditions to be considered for this diagnosis:
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The Top 5 Supplements You May Not Know You Need
As we prepare for a new school year, you may be looking at your family’s supplement regimen and wondering if it needs a re-boot. This can be a great time to see your local naturopathic doctor since NDs are experts at optimizing your neutraceutical and lifestyle routines to help you prevent and treat diseases you are most at risk for. But, until you take the most personalized approach, here are some supplements you may want to consider.
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