In the light of mental health week, I thought I would share this heartfelt open patient story, looking at the possibilities of supportive experiences of complementary therapies for mental health issues. What do you think? Do you know any other success stories? Let’s share and get inspired. Please comment and let us know.
An issue of great complexity lurks behind your mind, one that is under study all the time. There are all kinds of people in this world, including those struggling with mental health, people of so-called “normal mind”, geniuses, and so forth. Many of which have not had experiences in complementary medicine or experiences in complementary therapies. Instead, they either suffer or go the conventional route using drug therapy. The mind has a nasty habit of taking us by surprise, letting us down, preventing us from achieving our goals, etc. In essence, our mind creates lots of suffering for us to work through in life.
It may seem that whenever there is a battle with self and the brain there is no winning ticket, which is why experiences in complementary medicine and experiences in complementary therapies can be so helpful.. The truth is the mind holds the key to all areas of your body, but the central nervous system is the channel to the brain. Most of the time, when the brain is affected, it is a direct result of the central nervous system and spinal column. If the spinal column is injured or out of alignment, then the nervous system will be affected, which works its way to the brain. Trouble starts once the brain is hit, and often does not end until the source of the problem is found.
Thousands of individuals suffer from head injuries, neurological disorders, cognitive disorders, mental health issues and other diseases. As time goes by, the problems intensify.
I discovered in some research, studies, case studies, and so forth, that people who visited chiropractors tended to have better health than those who did not. In many cases, a patient’s condition improves based on experiences in complementary medicine and experiences in complementary therapies when their doctor focuses on their spine, which is in direct contact with their brain. This is just one modality that allows access to healing.
Scientists are often looking for ways to understand the causes of mental illness, disease, and physical disabilities. It’s common for them to run in every direction, but sometimes the answer is right in front of them. There is never one root cause of why a person is off balance. Root causes range from genetic to environmental to dietary, nutritional, etc.
Everybody has an opinion, a theory, and a guess, and many ignore the voices that call out with expertise and experience.
Naturopathic Doctors have sometimes faced some controversy regarding their services, just like osteopaths, chiropractors, and homeopathic doctors. However, the experiences in complementary medicine and the experiences in complementary therapies are valid even if traditional western medical culture demonizes it. Many of these modalities predate our standard western allopathic care.
Despite the widespread belief that Naturopathic Doctors only work with the body, experts realize that they are constantly dealing with the mind as well.
Let’s look at ADHD/ADD patients. Most of the time, symptoms of this diagnosis are caused by a part of the nervous system, the gut, and the brain. Most mental health professionals prescribe patients drugs, which only treat the symptoms, and are often causing other problems such as side effects, lethargy, or a flat line feeling.
Imagine if the MIND were treated without drugs, and natural herbs and mind-body techniques were used. This could assist the person in feeling better faster and could allow for the person to get well without harming other organs of their body such as their liver.
Let’s take a look at a case with Bipolar Disorder.
Chemical imbalances inevitably cause patients to suffer, so mental health professionals usually treat them with antidepressants, which may cause strokes, heart problems, early-onset changes in life and so forth.
What would happen if a specialist who knows the gut-brain connection, the nervous system, and brain treated the patient? In my personal experience, I know a woman with Bipolar disorder who has sought Naturopathic healthcare and is doing well overall, with the exception of her bad habits which she has exhibited for more than 20 years. We continue to work on these habits, teach her new tools, techniques, and slowly she is learning to take better care of herself where medication only made her feel numb and shut down emotionally.
However, I also know another bipolar patient who refused Naturopathic Healthcare. She called me 18 times per day, was very anxious, fearful, and chose to blame me for not being able to assist her when I had to set a boundary with her care- BUT she did not participate in her experiences in complementary medicine. Instead, she was seeking someone to do the work for her instead of participating in experiences in complementary therapies.That is not what true healthcare is- true healthcare is serving as a conduit to assist the person in their own healing.
Patients often visit a psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, and doctor complaining of mental health symptoms. They are looking for answers, support, and guidance to help them heal.
Often, the first thing you hear from medical doctors is a diagnosis; this can be short sided, especially when the person is not factoring in numerous factors such as gut health, mindset, emotional health, trauma, etc.
It is not uncommon for professionals to change diagnoses once they see their diagnosis is off. Sadly, this cycle goes on and on, putting the patient at great risk as more and more medications are prescribed.
Maybe it would be nice if we considered other alternative, safer, therapies such as experiences in complementary medicine and experiences in complementary therapies before just jumping into the medicines and preconceptions of others. I would like to think that we all have freedom to choose. I am grateful to be able to share so many experiences with people who have been able to take full responsibility to heal themselves. It takes hard work and dedication but it truly is possible.
If a person is struggling with mental health it can be very helpful to look at various options, whether that be conventional, allopathic ones or alternative, complementary, integrative, functional, naturopathic etc. There is now considerable evidence that mind-body medicine techniques can be used in conjunction with allopathic practices and sometimes as an alternative depending on the case.
We have seen the use of many mind- body therapies such as yoga, meditation, etc has grown over recent years. And these experiences in complementary medicine and experiences in complementary therapies have shown to be effective in reducing symptoms, quality of life, as well as continued research on the impact of biological processes such as inflammation in people.
Either way mental health must not be overlooked, and I am sure if therapies are deemed safe then having options and extra support systems can only be good.
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26116436/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12665179/
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