Mental Health

How do naturopathic doctors approach brain & mental health?

Naturopathic doctors consider the whole person. They identify the root cause of your symptoms and create a wellness plan that addresses all the facets of your life contributing to your brain symptoms and mental health. Evidence now shows that your brain & mental health is closely interrelated to your gastrointestinal health & microbiome. The good microbes in your gut function to create neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin is involved in feeling happy, focused & calm, while dopamine is associated with motivation & being productive. The old hypothesis that mental health symptoms are related to imbalanced biochemicals in the brain has been debunked. We now know that healing the gut is the first step in healing the brain.

This holistic approach is essential for helping you heal because your mental and physical health are directly connected. The environment, lifestyle habits, and biochemical imbalances most commonly due to an imbalanced microbiome influence your brain function and mental health, including:

• Chronic stress
• Sleep disorders
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Hormone imbalances
• Chronic infections
• Chronic inflammation
• Immunodeficiency
• Gut dysbiosis (imbalanced microorganisms)

Many physical illnesses and diseases significantly increase your risk of developing a mental health condition. As Dr. Noosha heals your body, your mental health improves.

What mental health conditions do naturopathic providers manage?

Dr. Noosha works with clients facing nearly any type of emotional or behavioral challenge, by getting to the root cause of mental/emotional manifestations:

• • Anxiety – Dr. Noosha typically sees blood sugar imbalance, nutritional deficiencies caused by parasites, and gut dysfunction as the root cause of anxiety.
  • Depression – Dr. Noosha typically sees low thyroid & adrenal function as a common root cause of depression. We also address inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction, which play a role in depression of cell function.
  • Mood disorders  – Dr. Noosha typically sees an imbalanced gut and overgrowth of pathogens as a root cause of mood disorders, especially parasites & candida.

• Postpartum depression

• Trauma-related disorders – which can result in joint aches and pains as well as serious gut dysfunction.
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – Dr. Noosha typically sees an overburdened liver, dysfunctional gut, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction as the root cause of ASDs.
• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD & ADHD) – similar root causes to all the above, especially parasites and gut dysfunction.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) – similar root causes to all the above.

By starting with the basics & addressing lifestyle factors and the foundations of health (diet/nutrient therapy; balancing blood sugar; mealtime hygiene; hydration/mineral status; stress reduction; sleep; targeted exercise & movement), Dr. Noosha sees many symptoms of brain dysfunction and mental health issues disappear in a matter of months.

Dr. Noosha also specializes in optimizing general brain wellness. Though your brain changes with age, it’s also resilient. Individualized therapies and brain activities help your brain create new nerve pathways and slow down age-related changes, including addressing inflammation and mitochondrial damage are the way to keeping a healthy and happy brain as you age

What should I expect during my mental health consultation?

Your mental health evaluation with Dr. Noosha differs from the basic psychiatric evaluation. She digs deep to uncover the physical, mental/emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental factors contributing to your symptoms. For example, according to her studies & experience, most people suffering from a mental health diagnosis have an undiagnosed parasite infection. Parasites feed on your gut microbiome, specifically depleting you of your dopamine & serotonin.

While Dr. Noosha may use conventional mental health questionnaires, she also looks closely at your individual biochemistry and your family medical histories, learns about your lifestyle habits, evaluates stress levels, and explores your work and home environment to rule out environmental causes like Mold Toxicity.

You may also need traditional blood work, and most likely functional lab tests to identify and analyze your gut microbiome, nutrient deficiencies, environmental toxins, infections, and neurotransmitter levels.

After Dr. Noosha understands your mental and physical health and the root causes for any issues, she works with you to create a wellness plan. These are a few examples of therapies you may receive on top of the foundational lifestyle plan:

• Nutritional therapy
• Dietary & Natural Neuro-Hormone Supplements
• Mind-body exercises (yoga, tai chi)
• Detoxification-focused therapies
• Hormone balancing
• Mindfulness techniques
• Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF)
• Cannabidiol (CBD) therapy
• Counseling & Emotional Release
• Herbal medicine to replace traditional SSRI therapy

If you need help overcoming a mental health challenge, call ANS Healing or request an appointment online today.