Lately I have been thinking often about mental health. I believe it is finally time to get some of my thoughts onto paper concerning this topic. Mental health is a very important topic that seems to be far too taboo to speak about. In this article I plan on being very open concerning my own mental health with the hopes of connecting more deeply with some of you. I want to shatter the taboo around mental struggle. I will share my own struggle, how I was successful in overcoming and how I have failed. I will also share some resources that I have benefited from. In no way do I consider myself an expert in mental health, in my office when someone's condition falls outside my scope of practice I refer them out to specialists. I am simply sharing part of my story which is of course intimately intertwined with chiropractic. I now know after much study that chiropractic is about wellness, and wellness is defined as the state of being in good health; especially as a pursued goal. If wellness is the goal of chiropractic then mental health has to be part of the discussion. You cannot be fully well if you dont address all aspects of physical, mental and spiritual health.
For the purpose of this article when I refer to mental health, stress, depression, anxiety, ADD and ADHD are the diagnoses that I am referring to. Mental health covers a much larger spectrum than these labels. These few are some of the most common mental health diagnoses in the United States and can easily go undiagnosed because of the stigma around mental health issues.
Who is struggling with mental health?
In the United States, we are granted life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In our day we have everything we could ever want or need at the click of a Buy It Now button online. Why do we suffer from so much discontentment? What made happiness so hard to pursue? To start, let's run through some numbers surrounding mental health. In 2018 13.2% of Americans over 18 were taking antidepressants. To put it into perspective, here's the number 43,758,000. Forty three million, seven hundred and fifty eight thousand people are clinically depressed and taking a prescription. In a group of 10 people, at least 1 is clinically depressed and taking medication for it. This has only increased with the mandates and lockdowns that have stemmed from the pandemic. Anxiety is even more common with 18% of the population being affected. That's nearly 2 of your group of 10 friends. This is only reported cases as well, these numbers have nothing to do with the men, women, boys, and girls who silently battle among us.
My own experience with mental health issues
When I was young I had a tough time feeling of value. I felt I was a drain on my family and on the world and therefore I didn't want to be around. I remember 2 occasions, The first was on my birthday, My parents gave me a bicycle. I didn't feel like I deserved it which brought me to tears. I didn't think I was valuable enough to be given a gift like that. My parents did a very good job consoling me, helping me understand that I deserved every bit of it. The second occasion I remember feeling that I was of little value and that I should just take my own life because then no one would have to deal with me. I confided in my mother about those thoughts and she did a phenomenal job helping me understand them. I was very young at the time and was taught simply that we just don't do that. As time went on I guess I can say I grew out of those thoughts. I was an incredibly happy high school kid and I absolutely loved college and I never had an issue. During chiropractic college some of those thoughts came back, luckily I had people around me to talk to, and in my case, all I needed was to feel that I was heard.
When I first moved to Juneau Ak I felt something new. I found myself sleeping long into the day, getting up around 11 or 12 to start the day simply because I had no desire to get up and start the day. Looking back I realize I was having a hard time feeling content with what I was doing, except when I was taking care of patients. To pull myself out of this slump I did a few things. First I wrote in my mirror "Be patient with who you've never become". This helped me remember that the goals I had set were goals I had never even attempted before. This helped me be more patient and gentle with myself. I worked on my diet to provide my body with the building blocks it needed to feel content, I made sure to exercise and get adjusted by my chiropractor. Finally, I worked on learning more about my relationship with deity and what I believe my spiritual mission is here on earth. In short I worked on my mental, physical and spiritual systems in a way that helped me align with a feeling of contentment.
The biggest thing I learned through all this is that when I was in a slump I felt helpless. I could not get out of it no matter what I tried. I turned to social media to pass the time but always felt empty after hours wasted looking at a little screen.
Here's what I have done to help get me out of those slumps and why.
The first thing I did was increase my omega 3 fatty acid intake. I get these by taking fish oil capsules and by eating more salmon. I also began taking vitamin D supplements These two micronutrients play critical roles in the serotonin pathway in the brain. Without them the brain would not be able to create serotonin. One of serotonin's jobs in the brain is to help regulate mood, especially the ability to feel content. Without serotonin one simply cannot experience contentment in their world.
I put myself on an intense exercise regimen with a few specific goals in mind; running a marathon and losing 40 lbs. Exercise helps boost mood in a very simple yet dramatic way. Serotonin is made out of tryptophan. In order for tryptophan to be converted to serotonin it has to pass through the blood brain barrier. When an individual exercises the body moves amino acids from the blood to the muscles to help rebuild tissue, the muscles however do not require tryptophan. Suddenly at the amino acid gate tryptophan becomes the most common amino acid and it is able to cross through more easily. The brain can then take that tryptophan convert it to serotonin and the individual feels contentment from the exercise.
I started practicing meditation. This one was tough for me. I have a wildly active mind and have always struggled turning it off and being present in the very moment in which I am living. I started off with a minute of meditation then a few minutes and so forth, slowly increasing the time in which I sat and focused on being present in time.
Working on getting the proper amount of sleep has been tough for me as well. I have found that my perfect amount of sleep is 7-8 hours at night and then a 15-20 minute power nap in the early afternoon. I now take a nap almost every day. It's ok to take naps, don't let corporate america tell you that you can't.
What you eat has a bigger impact than you might think...
I am a huge advocate for diet. The standard American diet (SAD) is so sad. Packaged food is designed to make a profit, it tastes great, is addictive and fills the belly. It however lacks the nutrients necessary to experience life optimally. Food is so magical, we eat it and it becomes us. If we eat the right things the food we eat literally becomes the molecules responsible for our feeling of contentment, sadness, anger, happiness, excitement, aroused or amused.
How can getting adjusted help?
When I am out of alignment and in need of an adjustment I notice that I am quicker to anger. I do have a simple logical theory behind why I feel this way when I am in need of a specific chiropractic adjustment. Life is tough. There are hundreds or maybe thousands of stressors that are thrown at us daily. When the body is in need of a chiropractic adjustment it is at a point in which it is not able to adapt as well as it usually can. There is some new research coming out now that speaks to the positive impact an adjustment to the spinal column has on the brain. You read that right. A chiropractic adjustment delivered to the spine can have a positive impact on the brain. We are facilitating healing in the entire nervous system and therefore creating an epic opportunity for positive change in the body and mind.
Let's drop the taboo around seeing a therapist
It takes a village to raise us, and were never really done growing. I believe, and I hope the stigma around seeing a therapist is changing. When I was growing up I thought all people who went to psychologists or psychiatrists were crazy. Now after having been to a few therapists to help with my own mental health and having disclosed that info with my family we have destroyed that stigma. If you think it might help you improve your wellbeing even a little do it. Go see someone. Go talk to someone about your unique situation.
This article has been a tough one
This article brought me to tears 3 or 4 times, I am not often brought to tears. So many people struggle with mental health and have no idea where to turn to help them sort out their feelings. Too many people suffer because they simply do not know where to go for help. They don't know why they feel the way they do and they can't break free. I hope this article will shake up the taboo, break up the stigma and tear down some walls around talking about mental health.
