anxiety
PMS – A Naturopathic approach to this common (but not normal!) syndrome.
January 18, 2012 | 
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If you are like most women (80%) you recognize that your period is coming by the changes you feel, emotionally and physically. Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) refers to more than 150 symptoms that occur in the 2nd half of your cycle, after ovulation. Most women report increasing symptoms in their 30′s and 40′s, which makes sense given that most women are estrogen dominant as they approach menopause. There are 4 categories of PMS:
PMS – A: Anxiety (65-75%of PMS sufferers)
- Anxiety, tension, feeling “on edge”
- Irritability, anger
- Mood swings, Insomnia, Depression
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Sensitive to Criticism
PMS – C: Cravings (30% of PMS sufferers)
- Cravings for sweets and carbohydrates
- Increased appetite
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Heart Palpitations
PMS – D: Depression (25-35% of PMS sufferers)
- Depression
- Forgetfulness, confusion
- Lethargy
- Withdrawal and disinterest in usual activities
- Insomnia
PMS – H: Hyperhydration/Water Retention (50% of PMS sufferers)
- Breast swelling and tenderness
- Abdominal bloating
- Weight gain of over 3 lbs
- Swelling of the face, hands, fingers and ankles.
Other symptoms common to all types of PMS can include: bowel changes (constipation, diarrhea), cramping, changes in libido, backache, headache, acne and other skin changes, night sweats, insomnia and nausea.
Most women fall into one or more categories, but find that one of the above categories best matches their symptoms. This is useful as it helps us to identify underlying causes, as well as manage symptoms until we get to the root cause.
What is the root cause?
As I said earlier, most women know their period is on its way based on how they are feeling. That part is normal. What isn’t normal is for symptoms to begin more than 1-2 days before the period starts, begin immediately after ovulation, cause major disruptions in life, or cause enough discomfort to require pain medication.
Finding the root cause can be tricky, but most of the time estrogen dominance is to blame. Estrogen dominance is when estrogen is high relative to progesterone. This can be a “true” dominance (estrogen is high, progesterone is normal) or a relative dominance (estrogen is normal, progesterone is low). Women who have been on hormonal birth control for many years, or have known exposure to xenoestrogens (ie, plastics, pesticides) often have a “true” dominance picture. In that case, we support the liver’s detoxification of estrogens and use foods to influence the balance of estrogen and progesterone (ie phytoestrogens). In cases of “relative” dominance, which is most common in peri-menopause when progesterone levels start to decline, we use herbs like Vitex to support the production of progesterone. Treating estrogen dominance usually takes 3-6 months, but most women begin to feel better after just 4-6 weeks.
Treating the “branches”
While the “root” cause is often estrogen dominance, the “branches” aka symptoms, can also be treated while we wait for the root to heal. The most common symptoms I see related to PMS are:
- Anxiety/Irritability/Mood Changes
- Insomnia/Sleep changes (especially during peri-menopause)
- Fatigue
There are a number of therapies that can be used to successfully manage the “branches”, including melatonin, 5-HTP, l-theanine, inositol and/or herbs that support adrenal health such as licorice, eleuthrococcus and ashwaganda. Many patients feel very discouraged by the time they seek out naturopathic care, having suffered for many years. Many women are also concerned that their symptoms are becoming more severe as they get older. In most cases, my patients report a 75% improvement in symptoms by 3 months, with many reporting significant improvement in just 1 month!
Correcting the imbalance
- Include phytoestrogens in your diet: beans, lentils, flax (2 tbsp/day). Some women also benefit from including soy foods (soy milk, soy beans, soy nuts, tofu).
- Reduce red meat consumption to less than 2x/month
- Reduce caffeine, sugar and alcohol
- Manage stress levels. Cortisol and progesterone come from the same precursor – your body will make cortisol at the expense of progesterone when under stress (physical/mental/emotional), making estrogen dominance worse.
- Choose organic foods most often, especially the “Dirty Dozen“.
- Avoid using plastics.
- See an ND to ensure a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
PMS may be common, but it isn’t normal! It’s just a symptom of an underlying hormone imbalance that can easily be corrected with the right kind of treatment.
Posted in PMS, Premenstrual Syndrome, Uncategorized, Wellness, anxiety, depression, hormone health | 
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Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE)
Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) helps individuals release stress or tension as a result of immediate or prolonged stressful situations and traumatic life experiences. TRE is a set of six simple exercises that evoke a natural muscular shaking process in the body. This shaking, also known as neurogenic tremors, releases deeply held physical tension, calming the mind and restoring balance to the system. As the body releases held tension and traumatic events, healing occurs on many different levels, both physical and emotional. Benefits include reduced muscle tension and pain, reduced anxiety, improved sleep, improved energy, and healing of old injuries.
Dr. Taryn Deering, ND completed her TRE Certification in May 2011 and is now offering this treatment to patients. To learn more about TRE, please visit TRE founder, Dr. David Berceli’s website traumaprevention.com.
Posted in Naturopathic Medicine, TRE - Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises, Wellness, anxiety | 
Tags: Anxiety, naturopathic medicine, Wellness | Comments Closed
The Naturopathic approach to treating anxiety and depression
Most of us have been affected by anxiety or depression (in some form) at some point in our lives. Stress, worry and sadness are all normal ranges of human emotion, but they sometimes take on greater importance when they start to interfere with our ability to cope with daily life. If you’ve been diagnosed with anxiety or depression, you may take medication, seek counseling, or both as part of your treatment plan. Many patients come to us seeking alternatives to medication, as they are concerned about side effects. As I always say, everything has its place, and some people need a combination of therapies to achieve wellness.
For many people, anxiety and depression is situational. In these cases, there is a distinct cause or event that has led to these feelings, and in these cases, the feelings are temporary. That’s not to say you don’t need help and support, but once the cause is removed (or situation is resolved), the anxiety and depression lift. Most cases of situational depression respond very well to naturopathic therapies. There are several herbs which can help with both anxiety and depression. When used properly, herbal medicines can be very effective alternatives to medication, with fewer side effects. Additionally, supplements such as vitamin D, the B vitamins and essential fatty acids can be used to help alleviate symptoms.
But, what about people who have suffered with anxiety and depression for many years, despite trying various therapies? In these cases, a more thorough assessment is needed to determine if there is an underlying cause. While the term “chemical imbalance” is often described as the cause of depression, it needs to be taken a step further. What has led to the imbalance? Are there nutrient deficiencies? Drug interactions? Chronic stress? Adrenal fatigue? Estrogen Dominance? These are all examples of conditions that need to be addressed.
So, at the end of the day, there are several alternatives that naturopathic medicine can provide in the treatment of anxiety and depression, including clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, acupuncture and lifestyle counseling. But, what is more important is that you find therapies that work for you. Talk to all of your health care providers, and trust that they are all working towards a common goal – your health.
Posted in Naturopathic Medicine, Wellness, anxiety, depression, womens health | Tags: Anxiety, Depression, naturopathic medicine | Comments Closed
Chinese Medicine and Emotional Health
In this 5000 year old system, we practitioners believe that there are many causes of illness. Injury, poor dietary choices, lack of exercise and organ dysfunction can all contribute to physical problems. However, the Seven Emotions can cause a direct injury to the bodily processes. The Seven Emotions are: anger, fear, fright, grief, joy, worry and pensiveness. Let’s take a look at how these emotions interact with the energy of the body:
1. Anger moves upward. I’m sure we can all confirm this as many of us feel a rush to the head or get a headache when we are angered. Other symptoms that can occur are raised blood pressure, blurry vision, dizziness and/or even stroke.
2. Fear moves downward. We’ve seen in movies where someone gets scared and wets themselves. Fear can also affect other systems reflecting in anxiety and/or confusion.
3. Fright moves in all directions (scatters). This can be seen in depression, confusion, lack of courage and/or can lead to outbursts of anger.
4. Grief makes us weak. When we are sad, we feel weak and vulnerable. This can also cause shortness of breath, excessive crying, frequent colds and/or skin conditions.
5. Joy is not a problem per se. Excessive joy, or over-excitement/mania, surprisingly slows everything down. Symptoms include: palpitations, insomnia, unclear thinking and heart attack.
6. & 7. Worry and pensiveness tie us up in knots. Overthinking, brooding and rumination all lead to a weakening of digestive processes and what they represent. Poor digestion, prolapse of organs and poor sleep are some of the symptoms that can occur.
As we can see, Chinese Medicine closely relates emotions with health and wellbeing. When treating patients, I can’t help, by nature of the acupuncture points, but not treat a person on a physical and emotional level at the same time,
Has worrying taken too much of your joy?
I have yet to meet anyone who is truly stress or worry free. On a personal level the day-to-day stressors of life can at times feel overwhelming. Globally, an awareness of the injustice and inadequacies in the world can be a real stress trigger for many, especially as as we learn more about changes in the environment and natural disasters. Some people possess the amazing gift of resiliency and are able to re-focusing on the positive despite experiencing harrowing life events and/or facing daily challenges such as chronic pain, poverty, and loss. Others, struggle with maintaining perspective when stressors accumulate to the point where free-floating or generalized anxiety attempts to rule their thoughts, mood, and behavior. It is important to recognize the difference between rational or helpful concern as opposed to generalized anxiety disorder. For example, being concerned that all the candles are blown out before going to sleep is helpful if it leads to checking and blowing the candles out once, but when re-occurring what if thoughts about the candles and the house burning down habitually disrupt sleep and create tension – this is problematic.
Anxiety can be such a joy stealer and invites those suffering to spend way too much time thinking about what could go wrong, as opposed to what is really happening and the potential for successful outcomes. You spend time with anyone in the later stages of their life who struggles with anxiety and they will tell you, “I wish I worried less and lived more”. Worrying about things we cannot control, often leads to more worrying and a loss of focus and energy on enjoying the here and now. Have you ever been walking or driving home on a beautiful, sunny day and spending so much time worrying that you don’t even feel the sun on your skin? Have you ever been sharing coffee with a friend or family member and spending the majority of time worrying about them judging you or whether you can pay your bills? For those of you who are parents, how many times has your worry for what might happen to your child agitated you to the point of yelling at them to be safe?
There are some wonderful self-help resources for recognizing and coping with generalized anxiety disorder such as The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook (Martha Davis et al.) and Full Catastrophe Living (Jon Kabat-Zinn). To access a great web resource please refer to http://www.anxietybc.com. Additional web resources for children and teens experiencing anxiety are www.worrywisekids.org and www.teenmentalhealth.org
Sometimes it is the simplest interventions that can make the most difference when anxiety is getting the better of us, such as:
- Cutting down on caffeine, especially later in the day to avoid sleep disruption
- Respecting the need for sleep and avoid unnecessary late nights
- Getting fresh air and exercise even for 15 minutes to unwind and release tension in the mind and body. Anxiety often leads to muscle tension and headaches that can be treated with yoga, massage, acupuncture, naturopathic medicne and homeopathy, rather than ongoing masking with pain medication.
- Talking it out or journaling so that the irrational what if thoughts can be rationalized and put in their place
- Breathing deeply for 5-10 minutes and meditating or focusing on just breathing – not problems.
- Being mindful of tendencies to self-medicate and mask worries which in the long-run create more stress and worry (i.e. emotional eating, avoiding socializing, substance use)