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Anxiety and Depression Treatment
Anxiety and Depression May Have a Nutritional, Physiological or Psychosocial Basis
The awareness that mental health has on our overall wellbeing including our physical health has increased significantly over the last few years. Once upon a time it was considered separate to your physical health. Now research is increasingly showing that the link between mental and physical health is inseparable. Most people will experience anxiety and/or depression at some stage in their lives.
People experience these conditions differently. For some, anxiety and depression are triggered by challenging or difficult life circumstances and they eventually return to a sense of normal. For others, anxiety and depression can be chronic state of being that holds them back from living a full life.
Anxiety is a state of worrying about a future which has not yet happened, and depression is a state of worrying or ruminating over the past and not being able to move forward. Both keep people from being fully alive and well in the present. For some people, there are physiological reasons for experiencing anxiety or depression which becomes especially evident with age. A comprehensive review of your overall health condition will provide us the information we need to understand the cause of your anxiety and/or depression. With this in mind, our naturopathic treatments focus the body, mind and spirit as a whole.
Symptoms of Anxiety
Anxiety can range from mild to severe nervousness. Common anxiety symptoms include:
Feeling nervous, restless, or tense
Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
Having an increased heart rate or heart palpitations
Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
Sweating
Trembling
Feeling weak, tired or fatigued
Insomnia
Excessive worry
Dry mouth
Loss of appetite or increased appetite
Long term anxiety can play havoc with bodily systems including the adrenals, thyroid,
heart, brain function, hormonal system, inflammatory pathways and gut microbiome. If
any of these systems are not in balance, they may be the cause of anxiety or depression
symptoms. Other factors which can contribute to anxiety are neurotransmitter imbalances, heavy
metal toxicity, nutrient deficiencies, environmental toxins, genetic predisposition (gene
SNP’s), gut microbial imbalance, pyroluria and psychosocial factors.
Symptoms of Depression:
Symptoms of depression vary between people and you may be depressed if you have felt sad, down or miserable most of the time for more than two weeks. Common symptoms of depression include:
Behaviours
Lost interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed
Not wanting to go out anymore
Not getting things done at work or school
Withdrawing from close family and friends
Relying on alcohol and sedatives
Unable to focus and concentrate
Feelings
Overwhelmed
Guilty, ashamed
Irritable, frustrated
Lacking in confidence
Indecisive
Disappointed
Constantly unhappy, sad or miserable
Thoughts
I’m a failure
It’s my fault
Nothing good ever happens to me
I’m worthless
Life’s not worth living
People would be better off without me
Physical
Tired all the time
Sick and run down
Headaches and muscle pains
Churning gut
Sleep problems
Loss or change of appetite
Significant weight loss or gain
Depression can be outright debilitating and have a huge impact on people’s lives and their
relationships. You don’t have to live with depression, there is a way forward.
After taking a full case history, we will organise the most appropriate testing to find the
cause of anxiety or depression symptoms. This includes obtaining a thorough
understanding of your gut health and its impact on your mental and emotional health.
Our naturopathy treatments use a holistic approach to support
the body back into balance physically, and we address emotional and psychosocial issues
with holistic counselling if we both agree this is a good step. Link to Holistic counselling
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