Are you suffering from Anxiety, Depression, Brain Fog, Memory loss, or lack of focus?

You are not alone; these symptoms affect 1 in 6 children and 1 in 4 adults. Thousands of people take western medications daily in an attempt to deal with these problems, but less than 50% of those taking medications for these symptoms respond positively.  These drugs can only mask the suppress symptoms, rather than restoring normal function—they do nothing to address the underlying imbalances causing the mental and emotional effects.  Furthermore, each of these medicines come with it’s own long list of unpleasant side effects.  Broadly prescribed antidepressants like Celexa, Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac host a list of side effects including sedation, sleep disruption, weight gain, loss of libido and sexual function, inability to achieve orgasm, and anxiety. That is enough to cause depression on it’s own!  Oriental Medicine and Holistic Functional Medicine can diagnose and treat underlying imbalances so that even lifelong symptoms can be greatly improved or reversed.

What are some of the reasons that you may find yourself chronically unhappy, stressed out, panicky, forgetful, or worse?

• Food sensitivities

• Problems with your body’s normal detoxification processes

• Digestive dysfunction and leaky gut

• Immune system disregulation

• Fluctuating hormone levels

• Toxic levels of mercury or lead

• Nutrient level deficiencies such as: zinc, b12, vit d, omega-3 fats, folic acid, or magnesium

• Low thyroid function

• Blood sugar imbalances

• Gluten sensitivity

These types of imbalances are widespread, and when present, impact our everyday lives greatly. For example, one study showed that 25% of New Yorkers have toxic levels of mercury circulating in their bloodstreams (and therefore to their brains) from sushi consumption.  The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a research review article that connected 55 diseases with gluten sensitivity, among them: anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, migraines, dementia, epilepsy, and autism. Often, effected individuals have no other obvious symptoms than their effects on our brains.  Using a specifically detailed health history, and, in certain cases utilizing appropriate saliva, hair, or serum lab panels can help you understand which of these issues may be affecting you.

In Oriental Medicine, the word Shen is most commonly translated to mean “spirit” or “mind”, and indicates the capacity of the human being to have thought, contemplation, and memory.  The stability and proper functioning of the mind is attributed to balance among all of the body’s systems, but especially the Heart (which is said to house the Shen) and how it relates to the Lungs, Liver, Spleen (or digestion), and Kidneys.  If the Heart is strong and calm, the mind will think clearly, one will have good memory, sleep will be sound, and one will have intelligence. Imbalances in the Liver system can lead to difficulty falling or staying asleep, lack of purpose or direction in life, inability to set and achieve goals, a chronic tendency towards frustration or explosive emotional outbursts, and general anxiety.  Dis-regulation in the Lungs can manifest as prolonged grief and sadness, a tendency to weep easily, or emotional stress that affects the skin.   If the Spleen becomes imbalanced, one will worry constantly, have difficulty concentrating and memorizing, and may have slowed thinking or a tendency toward forgetting things during every day life, such as familiar names or where one left the keys.  Finally, if the Kidney system is weakened, it can affect our ability to use our will-power, and also impacts our ability to remember and store data. Our drive and determination will be less strong; this is often an important component in chronic depression.  Often times more than one system is diagnosed as having overlapping affects on mental function.  Your acupuncturist will be able to diagnose these imbalances based on your symptoms, your pulse, abdominal palpation, and the appearance of your tongue, and, using acupuncture and herbs, can help your body balance and strengthen the energies in these organs and meridians to bring you greater mental clarity, a more positive outlook on life, and better ability to deal with stress.

While the importance of psychotherapy and counseling as tools to help with issues such as depression, panic and anxiety must not be understated, it is critical to simultaneously address the biological and energetic causes for the underlying imbalances creating these symptoms, in order for talk therapies to be most effective.  Call now to set up an appointment to discuss how acupuncture, herbs, nutrients, detoxification or other therapies may be able to help you, and to find out more about which may be specifically appropriate to you.