It’s a bi-directional relationship where our mind can affect the way that our body is feeling, and the way our body is feeling or operating can affect the way that our mind works. Often, our naturopathic treatments will encompass both a mind and a body component, but sometimes we need to pay special attention to our mental health.
There are lots of things that you can do to train that muscle to improve its performance, especially for those times when you’re under stress or pressure. Just like an athlete, having a good level of mental fitness is crucial for getting through those challenging times.
Could it be adrenal fatigue?
The more scientific way that we now refer to ‘adrenal fatigue’ is adrenal insufficiency. This is normally the result of high stress that is sustained for long periods of time and can result in our body no longer being able to do what it should do. This stress may be physical (e.g. an injury, sickness or excessive/high intensity exercise over long periods of time) or emotional/mental (e.g. a crazy-busy period at work, a bad break up, moving house or the death of someone close to you). The ongoing demand creates imbalances with our stress and relaxation hormones and can leave our body getting mixed messages, unable to properly perform.
- Feeling tired but wired or a generalised feeling of fatigue that is not relieved by rest.
- Reliance on stimulants to get you through the day (you need coffee or sugar!)
- Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning or feeling like you need to snooze until the last possible second.
- Stubborn weight gain or finding it hard to lose weight.
- Hormonal imbalances or low libido.
- Cravings for salty, sweet or fatty foods.
- Fuzzy thinking, brain fog or an inability to concentrate or stay on task.
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even though you’re so tired!
Customise a strategy
The symptoms of adrenal insufficiency may look very much like depression or burn out, but the way that we treat and managed these is vastly different.
Your naturopath will work with you to identify if adrenal insufficiency is part of your mood or mental health concerns and work with you to customise a strategy and action plan to help you start feeling better.
Our naturopaths will work with you to take a truly holistic approach to your mental health and wellbeing. Research shows us that mental health support goes far beyond just supporting your thoughts and the way that you think about and connect with things/people. Supporting other areas like your nutrition and food choices, possible nutrient deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, blood sugar irregularities and gut microbiome imbalances can all go a long way in helping you feel balanced, centred, calm and happy.
Currently in Australia, 1 in 5 people (aged 16 – 85) will experience some form of mental health imbalance, with many of these people experiencing anxiety, depression or substance abuse.
So even though it can feel like you’re all alone, believe us when we say you’re not. Our naturopaths often work alongside GPs, psychologists and psychiatrists to add an extra level of support to your mental health care. This may include:
- Supporting you with additional nutrients or herbal medicine before, while on or when trying to come off anti-depressant medication (alongside the supervision of your medical team).
- Functional pathology investigations looking into how your body produces and clears neurotransmitters (the chemical messengers that ‘do the talking’ in your brain).
- Holistic support to help get you get back on track especially when you’re feeling flat or overwhelmed. investigations looking into how your body produces and clears neurotransmitters (the chemical messengers that ‘do the talking’ in your brain).
- A deeper dive into why you haven’t been feeling yourself.
