The importance of Holistic medicine in mental health care

Posted by im0me @im0me, Jan 18, 2023

I’ve struggled (and still do) with depression and anxiety all my life but after a failed suicide attempt at the age of 18, I turned to alternative medicine and natural health care. Learning about the mind and body in relation to one’s diet and environment became a passion.
I returned to school in my 30’s and found a new profession as a Holistic Nutritionist and Orthomolecular health care practitioner (CNP,ROHP) with a focus of mental health.
I believe in the use of nutritional supplementation + mind-body therapies in the general support of our mental health and targeted treatment for individual mental health issues. I just want to stress that holistic medicine is based on multifaceted protocols specific to our bio individuality, which takes into account a person’s mental, emotional, physical (especially when past/present Rx meds are involved) and environmental health history.
There are always underlying factors which play a significant role in the overall state of our health.
You cannot fix ‘Z’ if you don’t go back to ‘A’ to figure out what went wrong along the way.

I’m here if anyone wants to talk.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Mental Health Support Group.

Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Jan 19, 2023

@im0me Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm sorry that your mental state at age 18 was so dire to have you thinking you needed to end it all. Depression and anxiety can be big hurdles to get over, and each person has to find the best methods for them, even though sometimes it takes a lot of effort and trial, The answer for me was to never give up trying to find that right combination. And you're right, even now it can be a struggle. We are like a river, always in motion, and different triggers and prompts can send us backwards a few steps.

What methods did you try in the years between 18 and your 30s, to work with your depression and anxiety? For you, what seemed to work the best?
Ginger