Open the gate

A philosophy I live by in practice is Circumstances Can’t Be Medicated. At least, there is no effective medication to treat dysfunctional life circumstances.

Often people want a medication to treat their symptoms or, as I like to call them, branches of the tree, when the root cause or roots of the tree, is/are not being identified or addressed. We can medicate all we want, but if the roots of the tree are not identified and effectively treated, the branches, or symptoms, will continue to blow in the wind and may even grow or worsen as in the case of symptoms. It takes looking for the roots and with that, the provider must take the time to dig down and investigate.

Sleep apnea is a perfect example of a root cause. Sleep apnea can cause so many branches to grow from insomnia, daytime fatigue, headaches, poor concentration, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, irritability, mood dysregulation, and so on. I think you get the picture. So we can prescribe a medication and continue to add onto the medication regimen with maybe some bandaid relief, but no real overall symptom improvement/fix. Sometimes, the medication can even worsen the sleep apnea condition by causing sedation.

I often see people that tell me they have anxiety. I immediately begin gathering their story to start digging to the tree roots. Generally, one can identify multiple causative roots such as a poor/unhealthy diet, inadequate quantity/quality sleep, sedentary lifestyle, life stress, low Vitamin D, etc. While I will often prescribe medication if the client so chooses or I believe it necessary, the client and I begin working on the tree roots. We don’t want to just medicate, but truly treat and hopefully resolve the condition.

This brings me to life circumstances and Circumstances Can’t Be Medicated. Many of our clinical anxiety and depressive conditions we see in clinic are due to life circumstances. That is why it is SO important to partake in psychotherapy and NOT just medication(s). Without addressing and dealing with the root of the tree or life circumstance(s), the condition, or symptoms, will not truly have the opportunity to resolve and life improve. Such is true for hypertension (high blood pressure) as well. One must adopt a lifestyle of healthy practices, a healthy, low sodium diet, exercise, adequate quantity/quality sleep, avoiding alcohol, etc. to aid in truly lowering blood pressure. Again, I think you are seeing the picture.

If you are experiencing symptoms or a health condition (mental or physical) in your life, start digging to the roots of your tree. What are the causes and what are the circumstances you can change to positively impact your health and get on the road to living a healthy life.

Open The Gate and Open Your Mind!