COVID-19 Mental Health Crises

COVID-19 Mental Health Crises

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I interview Dr. Ron Parks in a discussion about COVID-19 and the mental health crises. Dr. Parks has written a new book “COVID-19 and Mental Health Crises” which we discuss as well as a variety of other topics that can help those afflicted by this pandemic.

The mental health aspects of COVID-19 are often overlooked with more of a focus on the physical aspects of the illness, medications, vaccines etc. As usual in the United States, mental health is pushed to the back of the bus with little to no dialogue or support for those who need psychological support. Dr. Parks provides a voice for those in need with his excellent new book.

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How to Overcome Trauma with EMDR

How to Overcome Trauma with EMDR

In this episode of Functional Medicine Research, I speak with therapist Martina Barnes about how EMDR can help people overcome trauma.  I have personally used EMDR with great success in overcoming trauma and I routinely refer for EMDR to help patients get well.  One of the most important aspects of practicing functional medicine is understanding how much trauma can be connected to chronic illness.  Many patients won’t get well until they address their past and how it is affecting their current health issues.  All the healthy diets, supplements, exercise, sleep, exposure to nature, community etc. won’t be enough if there is underlying trauma history wearing you down.

 

Mental health professionals are severely underutilized yet they should be the first line of therapy for the majority of patients with chronic illness.  Unfortunately, they usually end up being the last.  This interview should help shed some light on the benefits of EMDR and how it can help you heal and get well for lasting health and well-being.

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Healing Adverse Childhood Experiences with Niki Gratrix

Healing Adverse Childhood Experiences with Niki Gratrix

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interview Niki Gratrix in a discussion about adverse childhood experiences, overcoming trauma, PTSD, EMDR, somatic experiencing, relational trauma, anxiety, depression, emotional freedom technique, ADHD, chronic fatigue, and psychedelics.  Niki speaks with great passion about her work which is why I wanted to interview her.

Dr. Hedberg: Well, welcome everyone to the Dr. Hedberg show, this is Dr. Hedberg. I’m very excited today to have Niki Gratrix on the show. I heard her on the 15-Minute Matrix with Andrea Nakayama and just really enjoyed that interview. So, I wanted to have her around today. So, Niki, she’s actually an award-winning nutritional therapist, bioenergetic practitioner, and transformational coach. She helps people to optimize energy. And in 2005, she co-founded one of the largest mind-body clinics in integrative medicine in the UK. The results with patients at the clinic were published as a preliminary study in 2012 in the British Medical Journal open. In August 2015, she hosted the largest ever online health summit on overcoming fatigue, interviewing 29 world leading experts on optimizing energy with over 30,000 attendees. So, Niki, welcome to the show.

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Hashimoto's Disease

Inositol and Selenium Improve Hashimoto’s Disease

One of the main priorities in my practice is to stay on top of the latest cutting-edge research in Hashimoto’s disease and thyroid disorders. My latest round of research reviews involved six clinical studies that examined inositol and selenium and how they conferred major benefits in those with Hashimoto’s disease and subclinical hypothyroidism. The highlights of each study are summarized in a table at the end of this article for ease of reference.

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Sara Lewis Yoga

The Health Benefits of Yoga with Sara Lewis

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interview Sara Lewis in a discussion about the health benefits of yoga.

If you struggle with pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, insomnia, gut issues, or have adverse childhood experiences, this is one episode you should really listen to.

Sara spent 25 years providing program management expertise to international public health projects in South America, Eastern Europe, Africa and South Asia.  The work included directing, managing and planning projects in maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition.  After her career in public health, Sara began a second career as a Holistic Health Coach and Yoga Instructor.  As a Health Coach, she helps clients discover the benefits of using food as medicine and making small lifestyle changes that have big impacts.  She has been practicing yoga for over 15 years and teaching since 2014.  Her passion for cooking and food led her to yoga when she began studying the connection between mindfulness and stress eating.  Sara teaches both vinyasa flow and yin/restorative classes.  Her yin classes include pranayama (breath work) and deep relaxation.  When she’s not on the mat or working with clients, Sara can be found in the kitchen fermenting foods, experimenting with locally sourced ingredients from the farmers market or out exploring the hills of Western NC on a bicycle.

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Depression and Anxiety

How to Heal Adverse Childhood Experiences

If you’re reading this then you’ve probably taken the ACE Survey but if you haven’t then you can download it here. If you even just scored a 1 on the ACE Survey then this article is definitely for you. The higher your ACE score the more likely you are to have health problems as an adult due to what you went through as a child. Additionally, if you feel like you’ve been doing everything right with your diet, exercise, sleep, managing stress levels etc. but you just can’t get well, then you probably haven’t addressed your ACE’s.  This article will give you the tools you need and cover how to heal adverse childhood experiences.

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Hashimoto's Disease

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Hashimoto’s Disease

Recently I have been researching the fascinating field of childhood trauma and uncovered an interesting link between adverse childhood experiences and Hashimoto’s disease.

One of the studies I discovered came out of a large, important public health study, The ACE Study, but it focused specifically on cumulative childhood stress and autoimmune disease in adults.

What are adverse childhood experiences?

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are experiences that expose individuals under the age of 18 to childhood traumatic stress. These experiences include physical, emotional or sexual abuse; witnessing domestic violence; growing up with household substance abuse, mental illness, parental divorce, and/or the incarceration of a household member.

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Healing Trauma and Finding Joy with Dr. Shannon South

Healing Trauma and Finding Joy with Dr. Shannon South

In this episode of The Dr. Hedberg Show, I interviewed Dr. Shannon South to discuss healing trauma and finding joy in our lives.   Dr. Shannon D. South, aka the “Joy Doctor”, is an award-winning therapist, an Amazon best-selling author, and a professional speaker. As an expert in the field of spirituality and healing trauma for over 20 years, she knows how to assist people in finding wholeness and joy naturally. In 1994, during graduate school, Shannon had a spiritual experience during meditation that healed her debilitating anxiety and depression permanently. Since this transformative experience, she has helped thousands of clients connect to their most loving and joy-filled selves. Shannon also leads workshops and retreats for counselors, chaplains and coaches on how to integrate Spirit and Soul into their practice. Her most upcoming book, Ignite! Turn off the Chaos and Turn on the Joy is a roadmap to this unique, healing process. Shannon loves dancing, being in nature, teaching spiritual psychology and enjoying the beautiful mountains of NC where she resides with her family and friends. She can be found at www.whatsyourjoyiq.com or www.drshannonsouth.com

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Can Stress Override a Healthy Diet?

A fair number of the patients I see are already eating a healthy diet but they’re still not feeling well. Once we delve deep into their history and their lives, it becomes very clear that stress is at the bedrock of their illness. It’s extremely frustrating to be eating well all the time but still experiencing symptoms.

We know that stress shuts down digestion including suppression of stomach acid, bile flow, and pancreatic function. All of these are necessary for healthy digestion but if we’re stressed while we are eating, that healthy food we’re putting into our bodies won’t get digested properly and it may have some more interesting effects on the body.

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Depression and Anxiety

Meditation for Anxiety and Depression

Meditation for anxiety and depression is something I highly recommend for everyone suffering from these symptoms.  Sometimes some of the most powerful tools to improve your health are built right into your own body and are absolutely free.  Most of you are probably in a state of information overload with your mind racing at night, feeling stressed, out of control and you just can’t seem to calm down your mind to a state of happiness, clarity, and well-being.  I’ve been meditating almost every day for the last 14 years with many benefits.

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools you can use to reduce anxiety and depression, sleep better, manage stress, eliminate pain, and get clear on what you love to do on a daily basis.  And it doesn’t require any fancy or expensive tools to learn how.

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Depression and Anxiety

Is Facebook Making You Sick?

Is Facebook making you sick?  Many have the false belief that Facebook was created for the benefit of people to stay in touch and see what their “friends” are up to.  In actuality, Facebook was created strictly to gather as much data as possible about its users for the single purpose of making a profit.

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Depression and Anxiety

Anxiety and Depression Webinar: Holistic Options

In this webinar I discuss holistic options for anxiety and depression.

Well, welcome everyone. This is Dr. Nik Hedberg, and tonight we’re going to be talking about holistic options for depression and anxiety, a huge topic in the United States today. Millions and millions of Americans on antidepressants and medications for anxiety. And tonight we’re going to talk about some alternative options, some supplementation, some herbal medicine, and some other things to think about if you do suffer from depression and anxiety.

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