Seeing what’s beneath the surface.
Generally, psychiatry focuses its treatments almost exclusively on manipulating cell membranes receptors (neurotransmitter, muscarinic, adrenergic, GABA, and histamine etc.) through synthetic, xenobiotic chemicals. After ten years of medical training, my toolbox contained a variety of medications and some rudimentary skills in psychotherapy. Never in my training did any attending psychiatrist suggest natural or nutritional approaches for treating mental illness. The idea was anathema.
In 2002, however, I learned that holistic and integrative medicine thinks very differently about mental illness. From a holistic perspective, mental illness with its diagnostic labels has different underlying causes. Natural and alternative approaches have been used to treat mental illness with positive outcomes.
I want to share some insights and empirical experiences on how I treat and heal mental illness by addressing these underlying causes, as well as some of the challenges I face in doing so.
Treating Underlying Causes of Mental Illness
Genetics, nutrition, stressors, toxicity, infection, and medication/withdrawal
A 12-year-old girl with a two-year history of depression came to see me one day with her mother. She had been feeling suicidal (without intent to act on it) and was struggling academically and socially in school. The typical response by a psychiatrist, when faced with treating depression, would be to prescribe an antidepressant (typically an SSRI). But she happened to see me after I became a holistic psychiatrist, so I recommended some supplements.
I didn't even start her on any 5-HTP, which would have helped her build serotonin more quickly (following the SSRI model of depression which tries to strengthen serotonin function). I recommended a greens formula, some minerals, a probiotic, and some detoxification support. Her regimen wasn't elaborate or complex--simply a start to nutritional repletion. It took two sessions, and she reported feeling well. We stretched it out to four sessions, just to make sure that her recovery could be maintained. I have not seen her since, and it's been years.
Given my experiences as a holistic psychiatrist over the past 17 years, I have come to think of mental illness less as a "mental" problem and more as a metabolic one (at least from a functional/orthomolecular perspective). At the physical level, I consider the underlying causes of mental illness as often arising from the following combination of causes:
genetic problems
nutritional deficiencies and imbalances
social stressors or traumas
toxicity/detoxification problems
medication side effects
medication withdrawal problems
infections: viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic
inflammation: food sensitivities, xenobiotics, or allergens
I will generally advise my patients to take a smoothie daily (8 oz., for living enzymes and lower digestive stress) while I simultaneously recommend supplements in the following areas:
vitamins
minerals
essential fatty acids
amino acids
Gastrointestinal support
antioxidants
detoxification
anti-inflammatories
Supplements help to mitigate genetic vulnerabilities through an epigenetic approach. For example, patients with genetic difficulty methylating will benefit from methylated folate or additional detoxification support. Since there are so many possible genetic problems that can undermine mental health, I typically provide the above list of nutritional support using highly absorbable supplements (liquid, powder, or liposomal forms are the most easily absorbed) from brands that are reliable and trustworthy (Quicksilver, Deseret Biologicals, Restore4Life, Perque, Douglas Laboratories, Ecological Formulas, Pure Encapsulations, Standard Process/Mediherb, and Biotics Research are some companies that I have used with consistently good results).
Lately, I have been learning a lot about treating infections that cause mental illness. I have been using Deseret Biologicals' homeopathic series to treat patients with Epstein Barr Virus, H. Pylori, Hepatitis, and C. Difficile. These infections sometimes create enough inflammation and stress to cause symptoms of mental illness, but not enough to create the classic symptoms of infection. Unfortunately, more often than not, a Herxheimer or die-off reaction occurs in response to treatment. The dying infectious source causes inflammation because it isn't cleared out of the body quickly enough. I've had to back down on the rate of treatment in order to reduce unpleasant symptoms that arise from die-off.
Surprisingly, I found that monolaurin, a powerful antiviral and antiseptic (600 mg caps) given once per day, can create a die-off reaction. I know this since, by stopping the monolaurin, the patient feels better the next week. Given my desire to avoid die-off reactions, I have been trying other approaches that could be gentler on my patients.
One method that I just started trying and seems helpful without creating a significant die-off reaction is to mix a couple of drops of Thieves Essential Oil (by Young Living Essential Oil) with some body oil (e.g. jojoba oil) and rubbing the mixture over the abdominal area. Thieves essential oil is a strong antiseptic, but like most essential oils, it is also a strong antioxidant. The patient reported improved mental well-being and a decrease in the white coating on her tongue, which suggests a lower level of candida. She did, however, remove all wheat, dairy, and white refined sugar from her diet as well, so that added to her recovery. She did not report a die-off reaction and has been feeling better after being ill most of her 25 years of life, despite spending decades on the psychopharmaceutical carousel.
As I help patients reduce inflammation, improve detoxification, and heal underlying infections, I also use Energy Medicine to help them heal from past traumas and immediate stressors, usually using Logosynthesis or EET. Lately, I have been teaching patients how to shift positive energy into water. It sounds hard to do, but it is actually very easy to learn.
Most of my patients are trying to get off their medications. When I can reduce stress by supporting the body's overall ability to heal, I am more likely to succeed with withdrawal. BUT, in order to deal with withdrawal, I have to know the medications' effects on receptors and use supplements to support these receptors during withdrawal. Medications' effects on receptors are listed in Wikipedia in tables that list its Ki (nM) values in the pharmacology section. The corresponding supplements that help mitigate the withdrawal effects on these receptors are already listed in the article on medication withdrawal on my website. I also use my "Minimizing Withdrawal Problems" track to help reduce withdrawal difficulties through a guided visualization/meditation approach.
So in a nutshell, that's how I treat underlying causes for mental illness. And that's how patients get off their medications without "protracted withdrawal" or relapses three months down the road (if all goes well).
There's a "content" and a "process" to everything, of course. So far, I have shared just the content of treatment. The process involves knowing the when, how, and how much regarding the treatment process for each unique patient. My method for navigating the healing process relies on a combination of clinical experience, intuition, and my unique approach to muscle testing.
When I started in 2002 with my first supplement, I thought that was all I needed to resolve mental illness. That fantasy was the carrot that led me down the path of holistic medicine. Over time, I came to understand that the holistic approach is both simple and difficult.
It is simple if you consider that, within a few months, a holistic approach can successfully heal a supposedly incurable mental illness that failed to improve under decades of pharmaceutical interventions.
It is difficult, however, if you consider that the process requires a different mindset, paradigm, and openness to creativity that few physicians have the courage or curiosity to master. In addition, the whole muscle testing technique requires the clinician to be a finely calibrated instrument for detecting true/false information, and that can be a hard thing to be, not just do.
What I find most refreshing about the holistic approach is knowing that there are physical underlying causes for mental illness. This truth leads to powerful, lasting, healing outcomes and destigmatizes patients who fail to improve because conventional psychiatry keeps barking up the wrong tree.