Since 1949, Mental Health America and affiliates across the country have led the observance of May is Mental Health Month by reaching millions of people both online and locally. They share this:
This year’s theme for Mental Health Month is – Life with a Mental Illness – and calls on individuals to share what life with a mental illness feels like for them in words, pictures and video by tagging their social media posts with #mentalillnessfeelslike (or submitting to MHA anonymously). Posts are being collected and displayed at mentalhealthamerica.net/feelslike.
I love that they say that spreading the word that mental health issues like anxiety, depression, bipolar and other disorders is something everyone should care about.
I’d love to educate and inspire many of those individuals who have already posted on social media using #mentalillnessfeelslike and have yet to find a solution. There are so many of them and it’s heart-breaking. You can go to mentalhealthamerica.net/feelslike now and see what is being said.
Here are a few examples:
Severe anxiety feels like you are lost in a big city where no one else can speak your language and you are trying to get home.. #mentalillnessfeelslike
#anxietyfeelslike #mentalillnessfeelslike a never ending battle to keep worry from creeping in to your every thought. Trying to be present
Anxiety Attack #mentalillnessfeelslike: I’m swirling in a cyclone while also being constructed by a Boa
#MentalIllnessFeelsLike Worrying About Passing This Semester Causing Your Anxiety To Mess Up More Although Your Anxiety Put You Here
And this profound quote by MentallyAbnormallyNormal (you can find her here on Facebook)
I encourage you to participate if it feels ok to you. I’d especially love you to share how nutrition and nutrients like GABA, tryptophan, zinc, vitamin B12, and/or vitamin D have helped you. You can also respond directly to the posts others have made.
Here are some links to my prior blog posts on some of the many nutritional (and biomedical) approaches so feel free to also share some of this information and use it if you’re still on your healing journey to overcome anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, insomnia and other mood problems:
- Nutritional medicine in modern psychiatry: position statement by ISNPR
- Integrative Medicine Approach to Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety
- GABA, the calming amino acid: products and results
- Tryptophan for anxiety, sleep and mood: in Put Anxiety Behind You
- Sleep promoting effects of combined GABA and 5-HTP: new research
- Neuropsychiatric Lyme Disease by Dr. Suruchi Chandra
- 60+ Nutritional & Biochemical Causes of Anxiety
I’ll be adding to this last blog during season 4 of The Anxiety Summit which runs June 6th – 16th. As I continue to interview experts I learn more about the myriad of possible underlying causes of anxiety:
- Mike Mutzel will be covering how leptin resistance affects the HPA axis contributing to cortisol imbalances and how we handle stress, inflammation, immune imbalances and obesity – all playing a role in anxiety, schizophrenia and depression, and OCD and even PTSD.
- Lisa Bloomquist will be covering fluoroquinolone related neuropsychiatric toxicity and how to recover from fluoroquinolone toxicity. Fluoroquinolones are commonly prescribed antibiotics (ciprofoxacin, levofoxacin, and moxifoxacin) and can be a major factor in anxiety and depression. She shares how this toxicity can be as bad for some individuals as benzodiazepine tolerance and withdrawal.
For some of my clients, eliminating anxiety (and other mood disorders) can be as simple as switching to a real whole foods diet, eating to balance blood sugar, quitting sugar/gluten/caffeine and adding some key nutrients like zinc and vitamin D. Many benefit immensely when using targeted individual amino acids like GABA and tryptophan. And some need to dig deeper to find the root cause of the anxiety.
But let’s always keep looking for that root cause or causes – find YOUR root cause/s – and address it/them.
My heart goes out to you if you are still suffering and still seeking a solution (and to everyone tagging themselves with #mentalillnessfeelslike and #anxietyfeelslike).
I say let’s aims to change this to the past tense so instead of #mentalillnessfeelslike let’s get to #mentalillnessfeltlike. Or how about #anxietyfeltlike or even #nutritionfixedmyanxiety ?
It truly is possible with food and nutrients! Do you agree? What has worked for you? Feel free to share in the comments and tag yourself on social media.
And do join us on The Anxiety Summit next month and share this during the Mental Health Month of May.