Mental Health: What Can We Do to Support It?

October is a great time of year to focus on mental health. October 10th is ‘World Mental Health Day’. It is an opportunity to emphasize mental health and discuss strategies to support it during difficult times. We all have unique challenges that we may face with normal day-to-day stresses. In addition, there are often world and nationwide events that occur that can impact our mental health. For these reasons, it is vitally important to make our mental health a priority and ensure that we are doing things that support it.

Statistics on anxiety and depression:

• Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issue in the United States, affecting over 40 million adults, or 19.1% of the population.
• An estimated 31% of all adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. (Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2020).
• According to a 2024 American Psychiatric Association poll, 43% of adults reported feeling more anxious than the previous year.
• The prevalence of all mental disorders increased by 50% worldwide from 416 million to 615 million between 1990 and 2013. (World Health Organization, 2016).
• Major depressive disorder affects approximately 17.3 million American adults, or about 7.1% of the U.S. population age 18 and older, in a given year. (National Institute of Mental Health “Major Depression”, 2017)
• Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. (World Health Organization, 2017).
• The United States reports some of the highest depression rates globally.
• Modern populations are increasingly overfed, malnourished, sedentary, sunlight-deficient, sleep-deprived, and socially-isolated. These lifestyle changes strongly contribute to depression.

What are some strategies for supporting mental health?

1. Nutrition: It is vitally important to ensure that you are eating a healthy diet. What you put in your body can have a profound effect on the state of your mental health. A well-balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, high-quality protein, plenty of good fats, and fiber is essential to supporting mental health. It is also important to avoid drugs and alcohol. These things often seem to help in the short term but will only make things worse in the long run.
2. Adequate rest and sleep: We live in a culture that encourages staying extremely busy. This is good and healthy as long as it is balanced with rest. It’s important to take vacations to unwind from the stresses of work. Also, getting adequate sleep is vital for both physical and mental health. I generally recommend aiming for 8 hours of sleep per night.
3. Spend time in nature: When you spend time in nature you are exposed to sunshine and fresh air. This is healing and rejuvenating for your physical as well as your mental health. In addition, sun exposure (without sunscreen) also increases vitamin D production in your body which helps support your mood.
4. Get your body moving: Exercise regularly. Even if you are not able to run a marathon or do vigorous exercise, it’s important to move your body every day. You can do simple things like take a walk around the block or do chair yoga. These physical activities can greatly improve your mental health.
5. Yoga, meditation and tai chi: These are activities that help to swing your body and mind into the parasympathetic/restful state.
6. Make time for joyful activities: We forget sometimes how important it is to carve out time in our busy schedules for activities that bring us a sense of joy. What creates joy will be different for everyone, but it’s important to find what you truly enjoy and ensure that you make time at least once per week for your favorite activities.
7. Listen to music: We all know the power of music and how it can tap into our emotions and have a tremendous impact on how we feel.
8. Spiritual/Religious practice: This is vitally important for many people. A belief in a higher power can bring a sense of peace and security. A supportive community also often comes with most religious practices, which is vitally important in supporting your overall level of happiness.
9. Take breaks from the news and social media: Living in our current age of information at our fingertips is a gift but can also be a challenge. Spending too much time engaging in these activities can have a detrimental effect on our mental health.
10. Positive mental attitude: Doing daily positive affirmations and thinking positive thoughts can go a long way in supporting our mental health. Despite having a traumatic and difficult childhood, Louise Hay has written many popular books on this topic. One of her best sellers is ‘You Can Heal Your Life’.
11. Counseling/Therapy: This is often an important part of helping people who are struggling with their mental health. Connecting with a counselor that you have a good rapport with is very important.
12. Vagus nerve stimulation: The vagus nerve is the main and largest nerve in the parasympathetic nervous system. Various exercises and devices can be used to stimulate your vagus nerve. This is in addition to things like yoga and meditation that also stimulate the vagus nerve and support a swing toward a more relaxed state.
13. Supplements/medications: There are many natural supplements that are effective in treating anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. Occasionally medications are the best treatment option for people who don’t respond to natural therapies.

In addition to situational causes of mental health challenges, there can be physical reasons for it. Your doctor can help to guide you on which tests may be beneficial in evaluating your mental health. 

1. Basic labs: It’s important to rule out any dysfunction with your thyroid gland, your hormones, and your adrenal glands. An imbalance in any of these areas can affect your mental health.
2. Neurotransmitter test: This is a urine test that can evaluate levels of neurotransmitters that affect your mood. This test includes serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, GABA, and more. Natural therapies can be used to create a better balance with your neurotransmitters according to your individual results.
3. MTHFR genetic mutation: People who have this genetic mutation can have an increased incidence of mental health issues including anxiety and depression. There are treatments available that can help support your body when this genetic mutation is present.
4. Kashi test: This is a very comprehensive genetic panel that includes MTHFR and COMT genetic mutations, which can both have an impact on mental health.
5. Gastrointestinal testing: Studies have shown a very close connection between gut health, levels of beneficial bacteria present in the colon, and mental health status, especially anxiety. Supporting gut health is an important part of treatment in supporting mental health.

Fortunately, naturopathic physicians have a large toolbox of treatment options to help our patients support their mental health.

1. 5-HTP: 5-hydroxytryptophan is made from the amino acid Tryptophan. It is a precursor to serotonin which is the most important neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation, especially depression. Your doctor can determine if this is an appropriate treatment for you. Caution should be used if you are taking other medications that affect serotonin levels, such as SSRIs and migraine medications.
2. L-Theanine: This is an amino acid that is extracted from green tea. It helps a lot with anxiety because it increases levels of GABA, the main calming neurotransmitter in the body.
3. PharmaGABA: This is a chewable tablet that contains a very absorbable form of GABA and helps with anxiety.
4. Glycine: This is an amino acid that is calming and helps with anxiety.
5. L-Tyrosine: This is a building block of some of your neurotransmitters as well as your thyroid hormones.
6. St John’s wort: This is an herb that is well known for helping with depression. It can also have many potential interactions with other herbs and medications due to its influence on the detox pathways in the liver. Therefore, this herb should only be used under the supervision of your doctor.
7. Homeopathic remedies: Ignatia, Sepia, Pulsatilla, Natrum muriaticum, Aurum metallicum, Arsenicum album, Argentum nitricum are homeopathic remedies that can be individually prescribed by your naturopathic doctor for mood support.
8. Acupuncture: This is a wonderful treatment for anxiety and stress management. It is calming and helps to balance and regulate the energy/chi in your body.
9. Counseling and EMDR: Counseling is vitally important for many people struggling with mental health. There is a specific technique called EMDR that stands for ‘Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy’. This method involves moving your eyes a specific way while you process traumatic memories. EMDR’s goal is to help you heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences.

In conclusion, anxiety and depression are very prevalent in the United States and worldwide. Also, the prevalence of anxiety and depression is increasing over time. Fortunately, there are effective tools to evaluate causes of anxiety and depression as well as natural treatments that can help. Naturopathic medicine has a very large toolbox of options to help treat mental health issues. It’s vitally important that you consult with your naturopathic doctor if you are struggling with your mental health so that you can receive the care needed to live a healthy and joyful life.