There are numerous elements that factor into the development and treatment of mood disorders:
The 7 Keys to the Treatment of Mood Disorders
- Optimize nutrition
- Balance hormones
- Cool off inflammation
- Fix digestion
- Enhance detoxification
- Boost energy metabolism
- Calm the mind
Is the Cure for Brain Disorders Outside the Brain?
Could it be that we are looking in the wrong place for the answers to our epidemic of neurological and psychiatric disorders? Could it be that our psychotropic medications attempt to control the smoke while ignoring the fire?
Take a look at this editorial from Dr. Mark Hyman about “thinking and linking rather than naming and blaming.”
In Depth: Depression and Treatment with Functional Medicine
There is an urgent need for an approach to treating depression that goes beyond that of conventional pharmaceutical, psychological, and other types of interventions. There are many other influences on depression that are usually not assessed or are given only passing notice in the conventional model. In this attached reading, examine the scientific research on dysregulation in a variety of areas. In functional medicine, these diverse influences are seen through a prism called the Functional Medicine Matrix Model. Evaluating these core systems helps to uncover a rich collection of underlying antecedents, triggers, and mediators that may be linked to depression. Remediating underlying dysfunction is likely to have a highly beneficial effect on many patients with depressive disorders, resulting in improved outcomes for a greater number of people.
In the majority of individuals, depression is the result of a confluence of multiple predisposing antecedent factors (e.g., genetics, developmental influences and learning, environmental exposures, cultural conditioning, trauma, lifestyle) and more immediate triggers (e.g., divorce, job loss, death of a loved one). There may also be mediating factors that make recovery difficult, such as poverty, chronic pain, or other illness. The depressive process is mediated on the metabolic level by multiple chemical messengers including (but not limited to) neurotransmitters, receptors, second messengers, cytokines, neuropeptides, and hormones. Read more about experiences in assessment and treatment of depression in Chapter 7 below:
Good Sites to Read More
Want to learn more about functional medicine and tips for a healthy lifestyle? Check out the sites below:
- Prevention: Weight loss, beauty, fitness, sex, mind-body and more.
- Institute for Functional Medicine: Learn more about functional medicine, programs and products.
- Dr. Mark Hyman: Author of “Eat your Medicine: Nutrition Basics for Everyone” and “Give Yourself a Biologic Tune-Up.”
- Dr. Mark Hyman speaking at TEDMED: Watch Dr. Hyman discuss functional medicine at the TEDMED 2010 and 2012 conferences
- Dr. Andrew Weil: Founder of the Weil Foundation, learn more about health plans, vitamins and balanced living.