Ross McKenzie, Co-founder of Mental Wellness Summit, Filmmaker of Bipolarized : Journey Beyond Meds, is interviewed by Dr. John Dempster on The Mental Wellness Summit. Here are a few snippets from the compelling interview “Journey Beyond Meds”:
- I was playing soccer. Our soccer team in college, we were number one in the country. And then 6 months later, I’m at this seminar. I’m having this huge euphoric bliss. And then I’m in a straightjacket in a white-padded room. I’m like okay, what on Earth just happened to my life?
- I’m just watching my life pass me by. And the expression I think of how it felt for so many years is I felt like the walking dead without the actual benefits of being dead. It was a nightmare. It was like being trapped in my body. And it was brutal.
- So I had this big wake up call. One of the things with lithium is that you have to get your kidneys tested. It’s very hard on your organs. And you have to get blood work done just to make sure that you’re not in toxic levels. My first year of taking it, I actually almost died of lithium toxicity. It was so bad. I actually felt my body shutting down from that, which was terrifying.
Ross also talks about detoxing from prescription lithium and how he was then able to start filming his story and making the movie Bipolarized; and how there is this grassroots awakening happening right now [in integrative mental health]. His message is very clear and inspiring:
- become your own best doctor. Become an informed consumer, do your research
- we can actually address root cause symptoms, heal these symptoms. These diseases are not for life.
- So there’s a place for all of it… an integrated mental health holistic model. And to have that be the norm on the planet. What an incredible thing that would be
Ross also says:
I know I can speak from experience now, too, having gone through the [heavy metal] chelation process. There are studies now saying it’s affecting the central nervous system. It can cause anxiety. It can actually lead to psychosis.
During the summit, Ross McKenzie also interviews Dr. John Dempster, who is his doctor and helped him address his high levels of heavy metals – both mercury and lead. Here are some snippets from this interview: “Heavy Metal Detoxification and Functional Medicine”:
- Heavy metals are a neurotoxin. And they’re an endocrine disruptor. And in English, that means that they are going to break a lot of the chemicals, such as your neurotransmitters, which make you feel great. They make you sad. They make you sleep. They make you feel energized. They make you focused. This is your dopamine, your serotonin, your GABAs.
- there’s a difference between what we call a toxic metal burden, which means much in your body’s tissues, versus a heavy metal toxicity, which is a bit more in the acute state of where it circulating your blood.
- And if we aren’t being careful and we’re mobilizing these toxic agents and they get stuck in these organs, we’re going to have some kidney function issues that can affect all sorts of other aspects of our health. So this is where it does have to be done with somebody who is been trained properly in the proper detoxification programs and processes.
Dr. Dempster goes on to talk about functional testing, food, and the importance of healing the gut, sleep, nature and much more – for anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and ADHD.
On The Mental Wellness Summit you will also hear both these interviews:
- Ross McKenzie Co-founder of Mental Wellness Summit, Filmmaker of Bipolarized: Journey Beyond Meds
- John Dempster, ND, Co-founder of Mental Wellness Summit: Heavy Metal Detoxification and Functional Medicine
And you can listen to all the other amazing interviews that address functional and integrative approaches to root cause resolution of anxiety and depression.
Please leave your comments, questions and feedback below.
Hi! Is there a way to obtain CE credits for this event or for purchasing the transcripts? I have taken your Food and Mood course in the past and was so appreciative of the information for my clients and my family.
Thank you,
Coleman
Hi Mary
I’m afraid they are not offering CE credits for this event/material but I think it’s a great idea and will look into it for my future summits – and will let the hosts of this summit know too
Hello,
i have received the link for the upcoming Mental Health summit. Will it include any episodes on ADD?
Thanks
Deanne
These speakers will cover ADHD and should be useful for ADD information too:
Scott Clack, ND Naturopathic Doctor and Founder of The Touchstone Naturopathic Centre: “Naturopathic Approach to Healing ADHD”
and
Julie Daniluk Public Speaker, Holistic Nutritionist, TV host of Healthy Gourmet, Bestselling Author of Meals that Heal: “Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Reducing Depression and ADHD”
Of course, many more general interviews could apply too: gut/microbiome, methylation, gluten and so on
Enjoy!
Hi!
I just discovered your site and I am loving it!
I have found your info on public speaking anxiety and pyroluria the most interesting.
Is there any way I could maybe do a phone consultation with you about how to fix this problem I have, this sudden anxiety (social), fear, and awkwardness?
Thank you so much!
M
Hi there
Wonderful! I’d love to see if I can help! You can find information here https://www.everywomanover29.com/services.html
Thanks! I’ll definetly look into it!
I have one more question: I think I read somewhere on your site that low levels of zinc cause stretch marks. In your opinion, does addressing this deficiency in Zinc get rid of stretch marks? Are stretch marks really as unavoidable and as
uneraseable as people like to make them seem?
Low zinc levels affect the skin and all connective tissue and will sufficient levels you can get rid of them
Thanks Trudy, I went ahead and bought the set of these before it started so now just have to listen to it. 🙂
I wanted to say, not sure if you remember me. (I’m the lady with the 3 boys with autism, ocd, house fire in july 2013 and mom with hearing loss/tinnitus) haha surely that triggers a memory no matter how many you serve!!! LOL
I finally got that Depression Free book and started my mom on the pyrolyria protocol, but had no control over her diet etc. than as luck would have it she landed in the hospital (long story) but she is now LIVING with us! We just moved her in here last night. So now not only do I not have to drive so much for her, I can know see she has all she needs PLUS control her diet and such. yay!
Now, my question is more; how can we find a functional medicine doc? (i’m on Ontario, Canada)
And she has mild dementia (that I think was aggravated by her severe hearing loss/tinnitus and living so isolated. So, what would you suggest for stabalizing her dementia and hopefully even reversing some? I’m giving her the Pyroloria, D3, (she’s low in folic acid, what does that show us?), magnesium, MSM, Advanced BComplex. Wonder if you have had any research on this? Thank you for all you do and so excited to hear about your box! 🙂
Much love
Rita 🙂
Hi Rita
Yes I remember you! So pleased to hear your mom is now living with you (sorry to hear she was in hospital). I love that she now gets to eat well with you! Here is a blog I did – it’s about benzos but lists nutrients that can help with dementia https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/nutrients-for-dementia-benzodiazepine-withdrawal/
Hi Trudy!!!
Oh you are SOOOO sweet for remembering us! Thank you so much for this post. I can’t wait to devour it.
my mother has NEVER had any prescriptions all her life. (pretty healthy) no diabetes or anything at 74 yrs.
But hearing loss and tinnitus really took their toll on her.
In the hospital all she had was a UTI but they immediately gave her the full dose of Trazodole 25mg (before they told me days later) I noticed she had tremors that I never seen before and realized it was from trazadole. then after she got aggressive they started her on risperidone twice a day.
She was calm at first, but by day 4, she got aggressive and they blamed it on her dementia. I was like what drugs are you giving her?! they only had her on 0.25mg 2x per day, but was for her aggression so I missed her dose yesterday and today.
She was never aggressive before being there. Anyhow she is calm now that she is with us. Good appetite, so hopefully with good interaction with us, she will improve.
She seems a bit more distracted right now and not sure if that’s from detoxing from the drugs?
Thanks so much for that post going to read it soon and will let you know.
xxo Rita 🙂
I know this is 8 years later, I don’t know if it would help you any longer. but they’re finding out now one thing that affect your cognitive abilities a lot more than you would realize is dehydration, if you’re not being properly hydrated you can develop dementia symptoms. I was watching a video of Barbara O’Neill speaking about water and salt and the body’s need for water. and she told about a doctor who had did research and wrote several books regarding your health and water. this is linked to the books available on amazon. and I sorry if it can’t help you but at least maybe someone else can benefit from running across this post.
I’m wondering who Ross received his Somatic Experiencing therapy from? I live in the Toronto area and would like a good recommendation.
Sheryl
I’m afraid I don’t know. I suggest contacting Ross or the hosts of the Mental Wellness Summit.
Hi Trudy–
I am a huge fan of yours, and have read and participated in discussions on your Facebook page here for about 7 months now. I so much appreciate the work that you are doing!
Some time back, in a reply to one of my comments on your Facebook page, you referred to a negative study that was done on lithium orotate in recent past. I never followed up to find out what that was, but am very interested to find out now, if it’s convenient for you.
I would love to know about any sources/studies you may be aware of providing any evidence—positive or negative–for lithium orotate’s efficacy in treating mental illness. (My daughter seems to have developed hypercalcemia, a serious side-effect of her long-term lithium use to treat her bipolar disorder. I would like to propose to her doctor—who is relatively open to nonconventional therapies—that we try switching her over from lithium carbonate to lithium orotate, to see if we can get the same good effects at much smaller dosages of lithium. I would like to be “armed” with all of the available studies and good information on lithium orotate as I discuss this possibility with her doctor!)
I know that you are very busy right now with your move, and I appreciate any info at all that you might be able to send back!
Thanks again.
All the best,
Cheryl
Cheryl
I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s hypercalcemia. I’m not sure what negative study that was done on lithium orotate in the recent past – perhaps you heard this from someone else? I can share a great resource on lithium orotate for you and your doctor (how wonderful that they are open to this). It’s a wonderful book written by integrative psychiatrist Dr. James Greenblatt about lithium orotate – http://www.jamesgreenblattmd.com/books/preserving-memory-and-restoring-brain-health/ I’ve heard him present on the topic twice now and highly recommend this book. He shared that he routinely switches bipolar patients from high lithium carbonate to low dose lithium orotate (or at least lowers the lithium carbonate)
Trudy,
Thank you so very much for this information! You are, once again, a lifesaver for the work that you do.
As it turns out, what we suspected was hypercalcemia was not–the blood tests came back negative. This is good news and bad news–bad because we haven’t yet been able to pinpoint what is causing my daughter’s recent symptoms. But, we are looking in many different directions now, guided in part by the wonderful information that I’ve learned through your blog and Facebook page.
I am very excited to get a copy of Dr. Greenblatt’s book that you recommended. It has always been (and still is) my long-term goal to have my daughter eventually come down off of the very high dose of lithium carbonate (1500mg/day) that she’s on–and possibly transition to lithium orotate, which I’d heard very good things about. I’m so excited to learn that this M.D. has put together this work with clinical evidence showing lithium orotate’s effectiveness. This is wonderful news for all lithium patients. (My daughter, for example, currently suffers from lithium-induced hypothyroidism, which has to be treated with daily Levoxyl. It’s likely, I believe, that she wouldn’t have this damaging side-effect if she were taking the low-dose lithium orotate.)
Thank you so much, again, for your generosity with your knowledge and wisdom. You are, quite literally, saving lives.
All the best,
Cheryl