5 Contributors to Anxiety and Depression + What To Do About It
About half of the clients I see come to me for help with anxiety and depression.
While I wish helping them was as easy as giving them a nervine or anxiolytic herb and sending them on their way, addressing chronic mental health concerns requires a whole body approach that includes diet and lifestyle adaptations. Anxiety and depression are multifaceted and connected to the health of the rest of the body. I have had clients who came to me for help with anxiety or depression, to whom I didn’t give any of the traditional herbs for anxiety or depressed mood. There were deeper issues at play that anxiolytic herbs alone would not have addressed. If you want to get serious about your mental health, or any health issue you’re experiencing, you’ve got to take a step back and consider the health of your entire physical and emotional body. To get started, you may consider the following contributors to anxiety/depression and how these play out in your life.
Nutrient Deficiencies
When you don’t have all of the nutrients necessary for healthy nervous system and/or adrenal function, anxiety or depression can result. Even worse, you may experience anxiety that leaves you with no appetite, leading to even more nutrient deficits. Ugh. Starting with supplements and nutrient rich, easy-to-digest broths are a good place to start if you’re in this position. Here are some of the nutrients you should keep in mind in order to make sure your nervous system to well nourished:
Healthy Fats – Your brain is about 60% fat and essential fatty acids are crucial to brain functioning and hormone production. Make sure you’re getting healthy fats in your diet, cooking with appropriate oils, and supplementing when necessary (i.e. algae/fish oil omega-3 supplements, walnuts, flax seeds, high quality olive and coconut oils, and wild caught fatty fish).
Essential Vitamins and Minerals
Basically, you need to be well nourished! Deficiencies in any vitamin or mineral can lead to a myriad of issues, neurological or otherwise. If you’re struggling with anxiety or depression, pay close attention to your levels of Vitamin D, B Vitamins, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, and Iron.
Gut Dysbiosis
You’re probably aware of the importance of probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that live in your gut and throughout your body. Those literal pounds of friendly microbes that live within you perform so many functions in your body that science is just beginning to understand. They help you digest food, regulate your immune system, and, you guessed it, play a role in regulating your mood.
The gut is often called “the second brain,” because of how crucial/connected it is to nervous system function. The gut produces the majority of mood regulating neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Some studies estimate that 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut! Certain microbes control how much of these neurotransmitters your gut is making. What’s more – there are specific strains of bacteria that have been linked to lowering anxiety and depression.
Making sure you have a diverse, plentiful, and well-fed community of bacteria living in your gut starts with good diet. Avoid food intolerances, make sure you’re getting enough fiber (prebiotics), use gut healing herbs, and add in fermented foods and probiotics as necessary.
Food Intolerances
Ever get bloated or constipated after you eat something that your body doesn’t like? Consider yourself lucky! You’re able to make a tangible correlation between your food and its effects on your body. For some people, food intolerances aren’t immediately noticeable in the gut. Instead, they show up as inflammation in other areas of the body like the joints…or the nervous system in the form of mood disorders. Constantly ingesting foods you can’t tolerate can lead to systemic inflammation, which can lead to chronic anxiety and depression. Avoiding your food intolerances is crucial to maintaining good health. If you’re not sure what these foods are, an elimination diet, when done properly, can tell you pretty unequivocally what foods should remain in your diet and which ones you should avoid.
Toxins
I will never stop talking about how important it is to avoid, and mitigate the effects of, toxins. The fact is we live in a highly toxic world these days, and detox needs to be a lifestyle, not just something you do every spring. Pesticides and chemicals in our food, phthalates in our cosmetics and hygiene products, EMFs, heavy metals…our bodies have a lot to deal with these days. This isn’t meant to scare you or give you even more anxiety – getting anxious thinking about the very thing that’s contributing to your anxiety is not a rabbit hole you want to go down. Rather, I want you equipped with the knowledge to begin to live a more toxic free life.
The first thing you can do is slowly begin to remove these offenders from your home and replace them with non-toxic alternatives. Ditch Febreze and make your own room spray or burn some aromatic herbs. Replace your plastic Tupperware with glass containers (and for the love of Gaia, never microwave your food in plastic!). Get rid of synthetically fragranced beauty products and look for brands that make unscented or naturally scented products. And so on and so forth.
The next thing you can do is use herbs and supplements that help with detoxification. If you’d like to make detox a part of your daily regimen, come see me for an herbal consultation and we can come up with a customized plan for you.
Trauma
There is no doubt that trauma, whether recent or early in life, can lead to debilitating mood imbalances like PTSD, anxiety, and depression. On a physical level, several physiological pathways are implicated in the development of chronic anxiety and depression (i.e. the HPA axis, serotonin production, the cannabinoid system, etc.). On a spiritual level, finding a way to address and work through trauma in whatever way makes sense for you is crucial for your emotional/spiritual wellbeing. Find support in whatever way speaks to you, whether it’s CBT/seeing a therapist, receiving energy or body work, practicing meditation, or working with entheogens. Doing this work isn’t easy and it takes time – feel free to reach out if you need support or resources.
Life in General…
Life is hard, and 2020 has been…even harder. It’s ok if you’re experiencing waves of anxiety or depression. It’s ok if things look really bleak right now. It’s ok if you need to rest, to disengage, or to say “no”. Nothing I say can really undermine the magnitude of this year – the only advice I have to offer here is that mindfulness practice goes a long way.
The Importance of Mindfulness
I see mindfulness being to mental health what Vitamin D is to the immune system. We take herbs and supplements and eat a healthy diet in order to build immunity and increase our resistance to pathogens. In the same way, we can practice mindfulness in order to build mental + emotional resilience in the face of everything that life throws our way. When we feel ourselves getting sick, we might reach for elderflower instead of Dayquil. When we feel ourselves getting overwhelmed or anxious, we might take a moment for some deep, belly breaths instead of that extra glass of wine.
And of Course…Herbs!
Now that we’ve talked about the foundational pieces of managing anxiety and depression, I’m sure you’re ready to learn about some herbs! Here’s a good place to start:
If you’d like personalized support in managing your anxiety or depression, schedule an herbal consultation or energy work session with me.