I started my website four years ago because I wanted to share my story of surviving mental illness, and I wanted to give hope for healing for those that are continuing to struggle with errors. I wanted to share how it isn’t just chemicals in the brain, how it isn’t just in your head, and how there are very real physical deficiencies and imbalances at play, just as much – if not more than – imbalances at the brain level.
I have never been anti-medication, and I have never recommended anyone go off their medication without consulting their health practitioner. But I have always wanted to be realistic about the risks that come with taking medication. While medication may have served its purpose for me in the short term, there were plenty of unpleasant side effects I experienced when I took the wrong medication, or medication at too high of a dose, or because the medication I was given didn’t fit the disorder that I was experiencing. I never hallucinated or heard voices or saw strange things… until I started taking an antipsychotic.
With that being said, there are plenty of people in the world that do benefit from medication and will need to be on that medication long-term. For other people, there may be different solutions that improve their quality of life more than medication does. There is no one-size-fits-all to mental health.
I started my podcast because I wanted to seek out experts in the field who are doing things differently, who are looking for new solutions to an age-old problem that isn’t being solved with medication and talk therapy alone.
Because of what we know of the gut-brain connection, the HPATG axis, the vagus nerve, and even mitochondrial function, we know that there is so much going on under the surface when it comes to mental and physical health. We know that our body works as a network, one huge spiderweb, and nothing occurs on its own.
We are living in a time when everything is being polarized and divided into either/or categories. If you look at alternatives to medication or vaccines, you must be anti-med or anti-vaccine. If you take medication, you must be anti-natural health. If you are promoting any kind of nutritional support, you must be promoting dieting. These things aren’t true. It isn’t either/or. We can live in a both/and world.
For those of you who struggle because allopathic medicine has failed to get to the root of your symptoms, I see you. I am so sorry that you are still struggling, and that you can’t get the support that you need. For those of you who love taking your medication and you feel that his helped you get out of the pit of depression or the whirlwind of anxiety, I see you, and I’m so glad that you have benefited from modern medication and solutions.
I have experienced the benefits of modern medicine and the “Western way of doing things,” but I have also been injured. It can be both. I know many amazing medical professionals who work tirelessly to support those in need, but I also have encountered medical professionals who are arrogant and unable to think outside the box and stretch their imagination to search for other solutions when the traditional ones fail.
My goal with this website and with my podcast is to open conversation, to open doors of new ways of thinking, to spark ideas… to spark your own intuition.
At the end of the day, you are the only person who can advocate for yourself. You are the only person living in your unique body. You are the only person who can truly tap into your unique needs. I want to provide as many tools as possible to spark you on your journey to healing and wholeness. You don’t have to agree with anything I (or the experts I interview) say; you know your body best.
With all the personal research and training I have done, with all the amazing guests I interview, I am constantly reminded that often times, going back to the basics is the most helpful option. The most underutilized tools for supporting mental health seem simple, but they provide so much. Things like sunshine, movement, stillness, breathing, good rest, hydration, and whole food nutrition.
When we focus on any or all of those, we can start making powerful changes in our life. It doesn’t have to be an either/or. It can be both/and.
As I continue sharing my journey of wholeness and healing, my hope is that you too, will be able to discover and utilize new tools that help you become the person you were always meant to be. In your unique way, in your unique body.
Keep going. Keep growing. Keep learning. And reach out when you feel stuck. I’m here to listen.
Sparking Wholeness with Erin Kerry 