Live Beyond Your Label: A Holistic Guide to Mental Health

My new book, Live Beyond Your Label: A Holistic Approach to Breaking Old Patterns and Discovering a Healthier You in Mind, Body, and Spirit, is now available for preorder at most retailers, including Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Christianbook, Books-a-Million, and more. The official release date is September 16, but you can preorder here.

This is the book I wish I had when I was struggling with my mental health as a young adult, stuffing down feelings and burying trauma in order to survive.

This book blends psychology, science, scripture, and my own personal experience living with the labels of PTSD, depression, and bipolar disorder. I hope this book helps readers see that they are so much more than a cluster of symptoms on a DSM checklist. I hope they feel seen, heard, and validated in these pages. Every chapter is packed with helpful tools and ends with mind-body activity to tune into our body’s unique needs.

But guess what? You don’t have to wait for September 16 to add new tools to your toolkit! You can grab my preorder gift, a Nourishing Habits Guide, now!

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Mental Illness Awareness Week: What I Want You to Know

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 diagnosis. I was diagnosed based on symptoms presenting during a stressful life stage, when I was very ill physically.

I tried numerous medications to suppress the symptoms. Some helped a little. Some made my symptoms worse.

I felt completely disconnected from my body and life for years. I didn’t trust my feelings. I hated my brain.

I allowed my label to become my identity, resigning myself to a life of brokenness and mental instability.

After the birth of my daughter twenty years ago, I started making small changes to my lifestyle, seeing improvements in my mental health as a result.

I never realized how sleep, movement, relaxation, and nutrition practices played a huge role in my mental health. This was a game-changer.

When I discovered the gut-brain connection over ten years ago, everything fell into place. My symptoms were no longer compartmentalized. I felt validated.

I share my story in hope that we can grow in awareness that recovery is possible. Putting a severe mental illness into remission is possible. I’m living proof of this.

I hope that one day, practitioners will place as much of an emphasis on getting to the root of symptoms as they do in diagnosing from a checklist and suppressing them. We can’t have awareness without solutions. But until then, I’ll keep sharing my story—and all the tools I’ve picked up along the way.

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Nutritional Psychiatry and How Your Diet Affects Your Brain

I am living proof that you can put a mental illness into remission, but researchers like Dr. Georgia Ede have the studies to back it up! If you’re interested in supporting your mental health with nutrition, you can’t miss this episode!

Dr. Georgia Ede is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist specializing in nutrition science and brain metabolism. Her twenty-five years of clinical experience include twelve years as a college psychiatrist and nutrition consultant at Smith College and Harvard University Health Services, where she was the first to offer students nutrition-based approaches as an alternative to psychiatric medications. She speaks internationally about dietary approaches to psychiatric disorders. She co-authored the first inpatient study of the ketogenic diet for treatment-resistant mental illnesses, developed the first medically accredited course in ketogenic diets for mental health practitioners, and was honored to be named a recipient of the Baszucki Brain Research Fund’s first annual Metabolic Mind Award.

Her new book Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind was published in January 2024.

Download and listen here or find wherever you get podcasts.

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What Every Parent Needs to Know About Neuroinflammation

Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge is a mental health innovator and founder of The Global Institute of Children’s Mental Health and Dr. Roseann, LLC, dedicated to reshaping mental health perceptions and treatments. Through her Neurotastic™ Brain Formulas and trademarked BrainBehaviorReset® method, she provides science-backed holistic therapies to tackle conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, OCD and PANS/PANDAS. Author of three books including “It’s Gonna be OK!™”, and podcast host of It’s Gonna be OK!™: Science-Backed Solutions for Children’s Behavior and Mental Health.

In this episode, Dr. Roseann details what is often missed in the mental illness diagnosis journey (and what was missed in my own journey): the connection between brain and immune system. Download and listen here or find wherever you get podcasts.

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Yep, Ultra Processed Foods Are Really That Bad

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, including packaged snacks, carbonated soft drinks, instant noodles, and ready-made meals.” They are “composed of chemically modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance, and durability, with minimal to no inclusion of whole foods.”

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Big News: Book Contract and Website Makeover Coming Soon!

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 worlds and ideas they hadn’t thought of before (there’s a very large container in my garage filled with spiral-bound evidence of this).

Then life happened. Trauma. Mental health mayhem. Meds. More trauma. A surprise pregnancy.

I thought that I needed to give up my dream, let it go and send it back with my other childhood fantasies (like winning an Oscar or singing The National Anthem at the World Series – ha)!

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Korean Beef Bowls

It’s been a hot minute since I shared a new recipe. Since most of my favorite recipes are included in my newsletter and resources tab, I haven’t felt the need to create more or overshare. But I couldn’t help it with this one.

BRAIN bowls are my obsession. This is the way I can maximize nutrient density while also making sure that my food is tasty and filling. Eating is a sensory experience that bring safety to the nervous system. I want as many of my senses engaged in the process as possible. This recipe is a perfect example. Per usual, there are so many other ways you can adapt this recipe to your own needs.

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PTSD Awareness Month Part Two: How I Supported My Body with CPTSD Symptoms

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 unprocessed, stored trauma, these symptoms were almost debilitating and lasted for close to eight months.

Because I know that trauma is not just in my head, and moving out of trauma involves engaging the whole body, I utilized a handful of tools to find regulation again.

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Five Things You Should Always Consume for Your Mental Health

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and I’m kicking things off with five of my favorite things we should all be consuming for better mental health. A few months ago, I shared five health imposters that harm our health, and I decided to expand on that list with the five things we need in this latest podcast episode. You can listen to the full episode or keep reading below.

Remember, your body needs to feel safe to heal and thrive. That’s true for emotional safety, and it’s absolutely true for physiological safety. Unfortunately, much of our modern lifestyle habits are keeping your body in an unsafe, stressed out state, including the food that is habitually consumed (or not consumed).

So I’ve rounded up a list of the five things that I believe everyone, everywhere should be consuming for improved mental function. There are so many more things I could add to the list, but these are some of the things that tend to be the most beneficial for my clients, as well as my own healing journey.

There is hope! I’m not here to make you more stressed or kill your joy.

Let’s talk about five things everyone everywhere should be consuming for their mental health:

1. Drink mostly water. Anything other than water is a treat. While I know many people, myself included, benefit from coffee or tea in the morning or mid-morning for some added focus and other benefits of caffeine, you should be drinking mostly water, most of the time. Get your body hooked on it. This may surprise you, but I haven’t had a soda in 9 years. Getting the option off the table did wonders for my mental health and my sugar cravings. I just stopped. I do occasionally have adult beverages, but I’m very sensitive to anything overly sweet, especially in mixed cocktails. Water is where it’s at. Hydration helps with focus, decreases anxiety, supports cellular health (which we need for brain communication), and helps with snacking in between meals.

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The Missing Puzzle Piece to Your Mental Health Struggles

More people are struggling with mental health issues than ever before, and more people are looking for lasting solutions by addressing the root cause through multiple modalities. Sanare Today is a revolutionary set of thirteen clinics that combines therapy, natural medicine, nutrition, and coaching to help people thrive.

Rachael Bevilacqua is the Vice President of Sanare Today. She has a master’s degree in clinical counseling from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and is a personal trainer. Her passion for combining revolutionary therapy techniques, food, and movement comes from her experience as an athlete, coach, and clinician.

Dr. Kate Henry is the Director of Functional Medicine at Sanare. Kate’s study of nutrition, botanicals, and lifestyle medicine allows her to offer unique expertise and cutting-edge solutions for mental and physical health conditions including depression, anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, and more. She’s passionate about doing the medical detective work to help people find their root cause and become free of the things that are holding them back.

In this episode, we dive into the world of integrating mind-body methods to improve mental health for good. Download and listen here or find wherever you get podcasts.

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