What is Anxiety and Depression?

Anxiety and Depression is a personal interest in my clinical practice, it is important to understand each individual person and how they got to where they are, and I am dedicated to helping people finding peace in their path. We have a significant increase  in diagnosed anxiety and depression in our western society. This issue is very real and significant.

How does it happen?

Anxiety and depression can be complex. The factors that can trigger a period of anxiety and depression are multifactorial. Anxiety is the feeling of intense fear without a known cause that persists and can be debilitating for people at high intensity times. Depression is a complex condition related to low mood that has varying severity. A very low mood an loss of interest in daily life and activities for longer than 2 weeks can be an indication of depression. For more information about anxiety and depression, Lifeline & Beyond Blue  are amazing Australian organisations that are dedicated to raising awareness and helping people identify what is going on and find support and appropriate treatment.

Factors that can affect your mood and ability to cope

• External

Simply put…STRESS! Somewhere in the:

o   Diet

o   Lifestyle

o   Social Network

o   Occupation

o   Situational – For example relationship stress.

o  Environment

But for those times where these there is no external cause, you’re just feeling particularly crappy, stressed and strange, there are biochemical causes that can be at play, these are:

• Internal

o   Methylation status – methylation link

o   Nutritional Deficiencies – B12, folate

o   Genetics – Familial history

o   Microbiome (the gut!) – Dysbiosis

o   Hormonal imbalance – In ladies, it can be related to menopause, PMT and hormones affect men too!

o   Adrenal glands

o   Histamine intolerance

How can a Naturopath help?

A Naturopath will investigate to try and identify the causes behind your symptoms and work to improve the body’s innate ability to regulate itself. Sometimes our bodies need a little extra help along the way! Testing and thorough case taking with you in a consultation is essential to discover what is the potential biochemical cause, it can be different for everyone so we have to ask a series of questions to order the right tests for you. Naturopaths supplement with vitamins, minerals and custom made herbal tonics if indicated to help you onto the path to wellness.

Our aim? To help you find balance and joy.

 Where else can you find help?

It’s always good to get a 2nd and even 3rd opinion when it comes to your health!

1. Lifeline
2. Beyond Blue 
3. Seeing a counsellor – Counsellors are trained to help you manage your low mood and help you implement strategies to build a lifestyle where you feel well and inspired.
4. Your local GP – To organise a counselling session and arrange a mental health plan.
5. Your local Naturopath.
6. Reaching out to family, friends, trusted colleagues at work.

Hoping that this helps 🙂

Reema

xx