Gut-Health links to Anxiety & Depression
There's a reason we intuitively "trust our gut" instincts, and now we understand that the gut is actually the second brain. Gut-Health is finally a topic we're discussing and becoming increasingly important.
Neural cells like those found in the brain are also found in the heart and also in the gut.
We don't just use our mind as the control centre. Our bodies that are also wired to 'think' and communicate in ways we haven't previously understood through science.
It's exciting that science has finally caught up, because new more effective treatments, previously touted as 'woo woo' or 'alternative', are now being 'validated' through scientific research.
Modalities used in traditional mental health have until recently, been totally lacking in any mention of physical treatment other than pharmaceuticals that effect serotonin and dopamine chemical signals. CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) or talk therapy has been the standard, however, I've personally been told by quite a number of psychologists that they know it doesn't work.
CBT/talk therapy makes people feel better for a while, and psycho-education can provide healthier coping strategies, yet it's up to the client to figure out they need to move their bodies to resolve the subconscious trauma and memories held in the body. 'The body keeps the score' by Bessel VanDeKaulk is probably the best known book in trauma treatment circles. There is also 'The body keeps the score' workbook if you're interested in working through it. However there are many others, and newer modalities and ways to overcome mental health issues that are more effective long term.
Understanding is power!
In the past we've been told that mental health is the purely the rhelm of the mind, and it has been disconnected from physical conditions or treatments, because a lack of understanding by science in how connected health conditions are.
Integrative and holistic health is the way of the future and collaboration across disciplines is needed.
Perspectives differ of course, and it really is a case of individualised treatment that works for the client that is needed. Finding a practitioner or therapist that empowers & supports you to heal yourself is always advisable. Some people can develop a dependency on their therapist and some therapists don't actively discourage this.
I don't want to sound cynical, yet the business of health is huge, and keeping us dependent on pharmaceuticals is profitable for some, and in the end it's those companies that influence and fund much of the scientific research.
So I encourage you to "trust your gut" when trying to find guidance and the best way to heal for you.
I've found many articles that discuss the science of the gut-brain link and I've linked a few below.
Treatment modalities are a much bigger topic that I'll link posts to this one in future. However they aren't all for everyone, and some may seem more effective than others, although I believe them all to be accumulative and complimentary. Sometimes I've stopped a practice or suppliment that wasn't seemingly helpful, only to discover it was assisting in subtle ways that improved the effects of others.
Personally, I've healed from debilitating gut-health and fatigue, and the mental health impacts of these. The journey has been a long one with little professional support, while learning through trial & error, and being misguided more than a few times by well meaning specialists and dieticians. Stress in everyday life and from past traumas add's up, unless we invest in and value our health.
Understanding how the subconscious mind works and assisting clients with Rapid Transformation Therapy, along with discovering many somatic therapies and heightening my intuitive understanding in the process has been life changing... and very empowering!
RC