The Truth About Depression with Dr. Kelly Brogan

Today my guest guest is holistic psychiatrist Dr. Kelly Brogan, and we’re covering The Truth about Depression. Dr. Brogan is an author of the new book “A Mind of Your Own” and co-editor of the landmark textbook “Integrative Therapies for Depression”.

She completed her psychiatric training and fellowship at NYU Medical Center after graduating from Cornell University Medical College and has a B.S. from MIT in Systems Neuroscience.

She is board certified in psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, and integrative holistic medicine. She has specialized in a root-cause resolution approach to psychiatric syndromes and symptoms. She is also a mother of two children.

Dr. Brogan covers some pretty shocking information about the conventional approach to depression. She explains what the root cause of depression is  which is very different from what other psychiatrists are saying. And she discusses a more a holistic approach that is surprisingly similar to what I talk about with addressing skin issues.

Topics discussed today include:

• Dr. Brogan had a very traditional medical background and started specializing in women’s psychiatry
• While working with pregnant women, she realized she wouldn’t be comfortable taking some of the medications these women were prescribed
• After she had her own baby, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and she realized there had to be a better way to deal with it
• She consulted a naturopath, and started supplementation and dietary changes
• Within six months, these changes helped her numbers go to a normal range
• The fact that these lifestyle changes put what would normally be a lifelong disease into remission raised some flags with Dr.Brogan
• She began diving into literature about nutrition and pharmaceutical products and psychiatric medications
• Long term use of antidepressants result in worse outcomes than never taking it
• Depression is the number one worldwide cause of disability
• Shouldn’t more treatment mean less disability?
• Dr. Brogan started wondering about the effectiveness of these treatments and started asking patients if they would like to wean off of the medication
• That is when she noticed how habit forming these medications are
• She believes people should have all of the information before they go on these drugs, if at all
• A Mind of Your Own is 10 years of Dr. Brogan’s research curated into one book
• We discuss SSRI’s, who takes them, and what they are supposed to do
• Depression as an inflammatory disorder, symptoms may be there for a reason
• Lifestyle interventions that can help with these issues
• Eliminate processed foods
• Eat organic produce and pastured meat products
• Cut out grains, legumes, and soy, especially at the beginning
• Meditation - Kundalini Yoga
• High Intensity Low Volume Exercise - Once a week
• Detox your environment, coffee enemas, skin brushing
• Coming off medicine needs to be done slow and strategically

Key Takeaways:

Our bodies are interconnected as a whole. Healthy lifestyle choices can as effective or more effective in treating an array of health issues including depression and inflammation. Dr. Brogan has curated information and evidence supporting this in her new book, A Mind of Your Own.

Mentioned on today’s show:

• A Mind of Your Own
• Integrative Therapies for Depression
• Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America
• SSRI Stories
• Antidepressants and the Placebo Effect by Irving Kirsch

Additional links to check out:

• TheSkinQuiz.com - Get your customized skin profile. It’s free, and based upon your answers, it will give you great tips for glowing skin and vibrant health.

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