Vitamin D and Your Mental Health

I am not a medical doctor, but the truth is that when I treat anyone experiencing depression or anxiety, I do send him or her to his or her primary care physician to check on a few basic things.

I request some tests to check: thyroid, blood sugar (glucose),  and Vitamin D and a few other things.

If you live in the northwest, or if you eat a vegan diet, you should check your Vitamin D level.

Research has shown people living in the northwest are not getting enough sunlight on their skin and are often very low on Vitamin D.

Insufficient levels of Vitamin D can affect your mental health.

Will more Vitamin D cure your depression?

It could make a very big difference, but anyone experiencing depression will need a more comprehensive strategy.  Vitamin D will absolutely need to be part of the strategy if your Vitamin D level is low.

I have seen low Vitamin D levels in several people coming to me to get relief from depression. Enough to make me check everyone.

You don’t need to be depressed to check your Vitamin D level, go ahead and take a proactive step. Check your Vitamin D level.

Let me know if you make a discovery.

See the documentary FED UP

Why am I writing about this?

Weight is an issue that people often want to work on in therapy. 

How does therapy impact weight?

It doesn’t.  No one ever lost a pound in my office from talking.

However, therapy can help you make a plan, work on motivation issues, reduce stress, reduce overworking, increase self care and develop skills needed to make decisions and follow through with your plan, and other issues that may be impacting your food choices.

 Working with a therapist can help you customize a plan for you.  Sometimes a therapist will help you build a team and use a holistic approach with psychotherapy to address specific issues in your life and maybe involve a nutritionist, healthcare provider, trainer, physical therapist, books to read, movies to watch, etc.

Sometimes there are issues to address around how you support yourself to face such a big challenge.

Most people suffer from weight issues for 4 reasons:

a)    Addiction to sugar 

b)   Eating too much 

c)    Needing exercise to use food more efficiently.

      d)   You may also have a health issue, or be impacted by a medication you are taking.  Alcohol may be a factor.

But is your weight problem really YOUR problem?  I highly recommend the movie FED UP to learn the many ways your supermarket and lunchroom has been hijacked to create a mega-system that makes eating healthy difficult.

The movie FED UP has made me mad and expanded my perspective. I am angry that our government has given out lies. I am angry that our schools and stores are filled with vast amounts of horrible food. The movie is worth watching because it helps you understand how hard the food industry and government and now our schools are working against you regarding this issue.

When people come into my office suffering from weight issues I will say:

 The odds are totally stacked against all of us. I will acknowledge that you are fighting back against something that has become a powerful machine. I say people suffer from weight issues for 5 reasons.

Mostly as a therapist, I work with the mind-body-spirit connection. The mind body and spirit are completely impacted by food, exercise, rest, relaxation, relationships, etc.  I work with these issues all the time, even though no one has a lost a pound from talking.

People lose weight because they work very hard to fight against the insane food industry.

To learn more or see the movie visit  FEDUPMOVIE.com