Let me tell you a quick story. A couple weeks ago, I hit one of those “why am I spiraling over something so small?” moments. A tiny inconvenience (one that wouldn’t have bothered me ten years ago) sent me into a full-body stress response. My thoughts got loud. My chest got tight. And I started … Continue reading How Hormonal Changes Affect Stress Responses
Twenty-five and a half years ago I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I’ve been living symptom-free for over a decade. I consider myself to be in "remission" from my mental illness, because I no longer have symptoms that plague me, so I no longer fit the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder comes with … Continue reading Keeping Bipolar Disorder in Remission
As a mental health advocate, functional medicine practitioner, and someone who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 18, there is a frequently used phrase about bipolar that makes me crazy. When someone says, “he is bipolar” or “she is bipolar” or “she’s acting bipolar,” I’ll likely get pretty defensive pretty fast. Bipolar disorder is NOT … Continue reading You Are Not Your Diagnosis
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has designated October 6-12 as Mental Illness Awareness Week. I was diagnosed with PTSD, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder by the time I was 18. Here's what I want people to know about mental illness, based on my personal journey: There is no blood test for a mental illness … Continue reading Mental Illness Awareness Week: What I Want You to Know
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Here's my controversial opinion: we don’t need more mental health awareness. We need more tools to get well and stay well. We need practitioners willing to think outside the box, beyond the checklists and low-efficacy treatments. At 18, I met the criteria for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. When … Continue reading Do We Need More Mental Health Awareness?
The BMJ just published the world’s largest scientific review of its kind, involving almost 10 million people from 45 meta-analyses, stating that diets high in processed food are linked to 32 harmful health effects. This includes cancer, asthma, mental illness, heart disease, and more. The review defined ultra processed foods as “ready to eat products, … Continue reading Yep, Ultra Processed Foods Are Really That Bad
Do you relate to any of the following symptoms? Cravings for sugar and overly processed foods. Asthma and allergies. Recurring illness and overuse of antibiotics. Frequent yeast infections. Debilitating depression. Racing thoughts and anxiety. Headaches and foggy thinking. Nasty PMS. Low immune tolerance. IBS symptoms and gastrointestinal upset. I experienced all of these... once upon … Continue reading How to Get to the Root, Once and For All
It is physiologically impossible to intuitively eat food that has been designed to hijack your brain chemicals. It's not your fault that you can’t stop eating processed foods like chips, gummy candy, cereal, cookies, and frozen treats. These foods have been chemically altered to have the perfect combination of sugar, salt, and fat to tease … Continue reading Why I No Longer Subscribe to the Culture of Intuitive Eating (especially from a mental health perspective)
Time to share some big news! I just signed a two-book contract with Tyndale Publishing! It has been my dream since I was a very young girl to be a writer. Before I even dreamed of marrying and having kids, I wanted to write words. Lots of words. I wanted to open people up to … Continue reading Big News: Book Contract and Website Makeover Coming Soon!
Last fall, after trying out a new mind-body therapy, my body was triggered into complex PTSD symptoms. These symptoms included: hypervigilance, disturbing flashbacks and nightmares, irrational fear, irritability, disconnect and distrust in my personal relationships, low self-worth and hopelessness, and an overall sense of waiting for the worst thing to happen. Due to years of … Continue reading PTSD Awareness Month Part Two: How I Supported My Body with CPTSD Symptoms
