No one wants to feel anxious or depressed, of course. And yet, both of these emotions serve a function. They give us information about our interior landscape.
Something is wrong. The brain and body send signals that the mind interprets: “I am not okay.”
With this, we want to learn how to tune in to our interior landscape, attend and befriend those signals as messages to consider.
This is the part where most people struggle. Attending and befriending signals from inside. Most humans learn how to attend to those around them, but don’t get a lot of teaching of how to go inward. As such, they may ignore the signals early on and then they become bigger and more intense.
So you might start off with some light worry or sadness; but, left unattended those emotions can turn into an anxiety disorder or depression.
From this place, many people turn to medication seeking help to manage the symptoms. I get it. We all deserve peace.
Sadly, however, medications come with potential side effects and there is fierce debate in the field regarding their effectiveness in the long term.
That’s right: while many people take psychotropic medications for years, they often do so with diminishing returns. The truth is these drugs were not meant for long-term use.
When psychotropic medications were made available for public consumption, they were meant to get the nervous system into a more balanced place so that people could effectively use the tools they learn in therapy.
That’s right: drugs for mental health issues were designed to be used short-term.
Thomas Insel, M.D., who served as the director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) from 2002 to 2015, has critically reflected on the outcomes of his tenure, particularly regarding the focus on the biomedical model of mental illness.
In a 2017 interview, Insel remarked:
“I spent 13 years at NIMH really pushing on the neuroscience and genetics of mental disorders, and when I look back on that, I realize that while I think I succeeded at getting lots of really cool papers published by cool scientists at fairly large costs—I think $20 billion—I don’t think we moved the needle in reducing suicide, reducing hospitalizations, improving recovery for the tens of millions of people who have mental illness.”
This statement underscores Insel’s acknowledgment that, despite significant investment in research, there was little impact on practical outcomes for individuals with mental health conditions. Meaning, in part, that medications have not been effective enough.
Furthermore, in his 2022 book, Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, Insel reflects on the broader mental health care system, describing it as a “crisis of care.” He emphasizes that while scientific advancements have been made, they have not translated into improved services or outcomes for those affected by mental illnesses.
Now you know medications for mental health were intended to be short-term. Meaning, go on medications for a few months at most to help you engage in therapy more effectively.
Unfortunately, we all know that most people stay on them indefinitely. The results may vary: side effects, lessening effectiveness, an addition of a second medication to help increase efficacy and/or to manage side effects, and patient frustration. Just to name a few.
With this, I am galvanized to offer my clients natural approaches to anxiety relief that, with consistent practice, can help to balance the nervous system. Let’s explore a few:
Meditation: the plethora of research on the benefits of meditation cannot be denied. What I find, however, is that 99% of my clients say, “I can’t mediate. I can’t turn my brain off.” Turn your brain off? Yikes! Don’t do that: this means you are dead. The truth is we use the distractions that arise during meditation (EVERY TIME YOU DO IT), like weights.
The distraction is the barbell that helps build the muscle in your brain; specifically, the building of new neural pathways.
Expecting to meditate without distraction is like expecting meat without bones or tea without leaves. It isn’t natural.
I recommend 20 minutes per day of SILENT meditation, not guided. Because the benefits found in research come from studying silent meditation, not guided.
Sorry, I know silent isn’t as much fun. You may have to start small, with 5 minutes a day and work your way up. No problem. But now that you know distractions are an important part of the meditation, maybe you just take the leap and jump into the full 20! It’s up to you.
Breathwork: breath is the portal to the nervous system. It’s free, you can do it anywhere, and it is very effective. On this tools page you will find several posts on breathwork.
There are hundreds of pranayamas, or breath practices, available. We will discuss what is right for you. Developing a relationship with your breath brings your nervous system under your command.
Exercise: like meditation, the evidence on the benefits of exercise is irrefutable. There is, however, controversy over how much, how often, and what kind of exercise to choose. Like with breathwork, we will discuss the options for you. As a lifelong athlete, I’ve been exercising for over 40 years almost daily. But for many years I was exercising wrong for my gender and my stage in life.
On this page you will find a post about the research of Dr. Stacy Sims. Guidelines for women which are different than for men. Together, we will discuss your options.
If you felt dread just reading this, consider this quote I first heard from the Surgeon General of the United States Vivek Murthy, “Sitting is the new smoking.”
Meaning, research shows the dangerous of being sedentary can be as detrimental to your health as those from smoking. It’s time to get moving.
Nutrition: this is complicated. Just going to put that out there. This subject needs to be addressed very carefully as to avoid evoking judgment and shame. My view on nutrition has been impacted greatly by Dr. Casey Means’ book Good Energy that you can find on my resources page.
In her book, Dr. Means gives striking examples of how the quality of our food and the chemicals in our environment have led to many of our physical AND mental health problems.
You might be thinking what does nutrition have to do with therapy? For one, you have an enskulled brain, a heart, brain, and a gut brain. Meaning, your nervous system involves these THREE brains, not just the one in your head. The food you eat impacts your gut health. Processed foods lead to a disruption in your microbiome.
It’s believed that you h you will more likely have mental illness issues like anxiety and depression. We will discuss options that might work for you in session.
Mindfulness: meditation scholar Tara Brach describes mindfulness a bird with two wings. One wing is being open and receptive to what “is” in the here and now. Being present. The other wing is doing so with loving-kindness, compassion, and non-judgment…for both your-SELF and others. Not with your inner critic.
No one is fully present 100% of the time, and that is not the goal. The brain needs some behavior to be automated to save resources. It can take a lot of energy to be fully present. And yet, mindfulness can also bring balance, calm, and healing for the nervous system.
Like anything, the key is to be aware of how often you are on autopilot and search for moments to balance that with being fully present.