One of the most challenging aspects of mental health is the overwhelming sense of loss that you feel.
You may feel like you have no idea what to do or who you can go to for help. This sense of loss probably leaves you feeling frozen and stuck.
Following a traditional method of treating depression and anxiety may work for you for a while.
But for some, it might not work at all.
The tricky, and unfortunate, part is that conventional medicine doesn’t properly address the root causes of illnesses, only the symptoms.
Many people have successfully approached both of these conditions using a method called Functional Medicine.
The Functional Medicine approaches to Mental Health and in fact, the Functional Medicine approach to any chronic condition is to identify and address the root cause of the problem.
That means treatment is focused on fixing the reason for your mood symptoms whether that’s gut dysbiosis, chronic stress, infection, blood sugar dysregulation and obesity, environmental factors, genetics, sleep deprivation, sedentary lifestyle or diet.
There are as many as 10 physical causes of depression ( this is true for most mental health conditions including anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADD and most others).
Meaning that different underlying physical problems can cause the same presenting symptoms.
For example, one person’s symptoms of depression may be a result of gluten intolerance, another person’s symptoms may be caused by low levels of serotonin, a natural brain chemical essential for stable moods and a third individual, a yeast infection called Candida.
All three cases may all look the same to a therapist or doctor and feel the same to the patient but the treatment needed to fix the problem may be completely different.
Patients may experience similar mental health problems but the fundamental cause of the problem may be diverse.
What this points to, is that a one-size fits all approach will only help some people and simply means that standard treatment will only ever address the symptoms and not the actual cause of the imbalance.
Once the patient stops taking the medicinal treatment the symptoms may return.
A personalised treatment plan is required for every individual patient.
This is where Functional medicine can help. After all, we are all unique.
Functional medicine explores a wide array of interventions and changes that are customized according to the needs of each individual patient.
Alongside pharmaceutical interventions, Functional medicine incorporates detoxification programs, therapeutic diet, counselling, stress management, lifestyle changes and nutritional supplementation as part of the treatment.
The aim of this treatment is not only just to relieve the symptoms but to finally cure the illness whilst improving the overall health of the patient.
Functional medicine is based on the concept that everything is connected.
The mind is affected by the health and function of the various organs within the body and vice versa.
The holistic approach that Functional medicine offers involves the assessment of clinical imbalances, in depth examination of the patient’s medical history, a physical examination and laboratory testing.
Functional medicine also investigates the genetic makeup of each individual and the impact of environmental factors, such as physical activities, diet, previous traumatic experiences and exposure to toxic substances.
Along with this Functional medicine practitioners also consider the spiritual, psychological and social element that all influence a patient’s health.
With the ever increasing epidemic of psychological disorders adversely affecting the lives of millions of people, especially since the outbreak of Covid 19,
Functional medicine allows for a more holistic, natural and effective treatment to mental health issues.
If you feel, you would benefit from a more comprehensive approach to get to the bottom of any mood imbalances you think you may be suffering from, then do get in touch with us today for an initial consultation and to arrange the suitable testing if required.