HTW Podcast with Zoe and Erica
Episode #43: Dr. Ellen Vora with a New Approach to Mental Health
Is Birth Control Affecting Your Mood?
Evidence now corroborates what millions of women have felt for decades: birth control affects your mood.
Sugar Is As Addictive As Cocaine–And The Withdrawal Is Just As Real. A Doctor Explains Exactly How To Deal With It
Originally published in mindbodygreen
As you know, for tens of thousands of years of human evolution, the hard part was getting enough to survive. These days, in many parts of the world, the hard part is resisting the tray of cookies in the break room, or the second half of the pint of ice cream after you just mindlessly ate the first half. The availability of calories and the challenges to our survival have been flipped upside down. That’s the context you need to realize why your brain loooooves sugar. If you’re on the savannah and barely scraping together enough calories to survive, sugar is like: jackpot.
3 Holistic Techniques You Can Do Now To Feel Less Anxious
Originally published in mindbodygreen
1. Stabilize your blood sugar.
Problem: Anxiety occurs when the body is tripped into the “fight-or-flight mode” or “stress response.” Sometimes the stress response is out of your control, like during a big presentation at work or traffic on your commute, but other times it’s completely preventable. One very common and preventable cause of stress response is low blood sugar. Many of you are already familiar with the experience of feeling “hangry” (hungry/angry). For some people, blood sugar dips cause anxiety. And most of the time these folks aren’t even aware of this connection. If this is you, you can make yourself significantly less anxious by maintaining stable blood sugar.
Are Video Games Making You Depressed, Anxious and ADD?
In a word… probably.
A Holistic Prescription For Wellness
Original article published in The Temper
Image by Miachel Breton
I’m a holistic psychiatrist, and a question I often get is: What does that even mean?
It’s basically a term a few rebellious psychiatrists use to describe the way we practice, which is to take the whole person into consideration—including what you eat, how you sleep, your relationships, your connection with nature, creativity, and spirituality. We don’t merely diagnose and medicate; we think globally about what gets out of balance in every corner of your life, so we can gently shift things back into balance to support your wellness.
What You Need to Know Before Starting Psych Meds
Today we discuss some things I think you should know before taking that first pill.
How To Be Your Own Shrink
If you feel out of balance, you’re not in crisis, and you haven’t started psychiatric medications, give yourself a month or two to heal yourself the old-fashioned way, with food, sleep, exercise, sunshine, nature, pleasure and fulfillment.
The Medicated Generation
I’m deeply disturbed when I reflect on the population-wide experiment of medicating a generation of Americans.
Feeling Anxious? These 12 Vitamins, Minerals & Herbs May Help
Image by Megan Doty x Luke Mattson / mbg Creative x StocksyDecember 20, 2018 — 8:00 AM
Originally appeared on mindbodygreen.com.
When anxiety reaches a fever pitch, many people want to reach for something that will help soothe their nerves and bring them back to calm—STAT. That’s understandable; anxiety and stress can be unbearable and hugely interfere with your life—including your health, your job, and your relationships. We have a lot of pharmaceutical options to choose from, many of which provide extremely quick and effective relief. It’s important to remember, however, that these pharmaceutical options are not without side effects, which range from weight gain to muscle weakness to decreased libido.
The good news is that there are actually plenty of safe and effective supplements for anxiety.