Depression & Anxiety
The latest research into mood disorders suggest there is a link between poor metabolic health and inflammation for some people. This means that conditions such as Type-2 diabetes and obesity can be associated with low mood and anxiety. Interventions to improve metabolic health and reduce inflammation can improve mood in some cases.
We can take a holistic approach to your mood and address some of the root causes through assessing your lifestyle, nutrition, weight and hormone health. We will discuss some of the non-medication treatments you may wish to try. These include hot-cold therapies, photobiomodulation (light therapies - blue and red light for example) as well as targeted supplements where needed (including help to ensure you use tried and tested supplements).
Some people may wish to be supported to gradually wean off anti-depressants. We will follow guidance from the Royal College of Psychiatrists when down-titrating SSRI medicines (sertraline, fluoxetine etc) and will keep in touch with your own GP about your plans.
Your appointment for depression or anxiety
We will take a whole-person approach to address drivers of low mood/anxiety and explore all your options for better mental health including whether you would like to start, reduce or stop anti-depressants.
For those struggling with low motivation which can make lifestyle change challenging, we will explore the low-effort options which can return motivation and energy levels faster.
Assessment
We will explore drivers of low mood including work and life stress, traumatic past events, poor metabolic health, sleep difficulties, chronic pain as well as hormone issues. We can do blood tests if needed - particularly to assess hormone status, B12 and vitamin D which can impact mood.
Treatment options
We can explore intensive nutritional interventions such as a ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting or fasting mimicking diets if these are safe for you and you wish to try these. We can discuss which supplements have been shown to improve mood, where to obtain these safely and whether they are right for you. We can discuss non-medication options as well as hormone treatments that might help with mood.
Down-titration of anti-depressants can be supported, particularly with the super low doses some people may require if you experience withdrawal effects.