You don’t have to feel anxious and depressed. Start with a cleanse.
If you want to get from one side to the other, start with a cleanse!
If you are suffering with anxiety, panic, depression, rumination, racing thoughts, fatigue, concentration or attention deficits, or any physical illness or other issues with mental, physical, or spiritual health… Start with a cleanse! (those of you who know me already know I am thinking that all of those symptoms are big part of why many of us self-sabotage).
A properly guided detox or cleanse is the perfect place to start. When our bodies are overburdened with toxins, candida, parasites, etc., The symptom list can grow very long. A cleanse gives you a chance to clear out toxins and other matter and see what is left. It gives you a better idea of what you are dealing with. The way your body’s systems are working (or not working) greatly affect your mood. This will help to create the space to look at what else needs to change in your life. What do you want to add in, and what do you want to clear away in order to meet your needs.
Before I really understood how the body works, especially the liver and gut I took a lot of medication. If anything went wrong, I found a pill for it. I bought in hook, line, and sinker to allopathic medicine. While allopathic (traditional western medicine) is amazing in an emergency, it is very damaging in terms of chronic issues. It is a system of managing symptoms rather than solving problems (and the symptom management actually creates more problems). It is a system of medicate or operate. Most of the issues people are suffering with today are lifestyle issues and can be completely turned around. Yes, both physical and mental health.
Even with education and degrees in biology, chemistry, and mental health counseling, I did not truly understand the connection. There are numerous studies about how the brain and gut communicate, how stress chemicals and hormones are released, how processed foods, dyes, animal products, and environmental toxins affect physical and mental health. How stress and our reaction/response to stress plays a huge part in determining our physical and mental health. (A big thank you to @healthmasteryinstitue !)
Before cleansing, cleaning up my diet and working on my holistic health (body, mind, spirit) I used to have a drawer full of prescription medications for physical and emotional issues (PTSD, depression, panic, chronic anxiety). The pills I felt most dependent on to go out into the world were anti-anxiety and antidepressants. I had myself convinced that I could not function in the world without Xanax. The antidepressants were the hardest physically to come off of. I would get dizzy, headaches, nausea, feel faint, and feel weird jolts in my brain. There were times before I left it all behind that I wanted to end the use and could not stand the side effects of stopping, and continued. This may have been surviving, but surely not thriving.
Working both in community mental health and private practice I have seen the damage that many of these medications can cause. One example I have noticed recently is that in commercials now they are calling Tardive Dyskinesia, TD, and glossing over it or advertising new ways to treat it as if it is not a big deal. It is caused by many different psychotropics/psychiatric drugs and it does not go away. This is a big deal. It affects the nervous system. It is uncontrolled body movements which can affect your lips, tongue, jaws, eyes, as well as legs, feet, arms, hands torso… your whole body.
So, talk to your doctor, talk to an HMI health coach (me or any HMI health coach) learn how to educate yourself, advocate for yourself, and find the best solutions for you. And in the meantime… Start with a cleanse!