Deteriorating Mental Health with Dr. Elena Villanueva| Episode 19

This week on the Health Made Simple Show, we are joined by a special guest, Dr. Elena Villanueva! Dr. Villanueva is an internationally acclaimed crusader for ending the mental health crisis and has been featured on countless global media outlets and has recently developed a MasterClass!

Dr. Bart and Dr. Villanueva discuss the leading causes of deteriorating mental health, what the signs might be, and how to overcome them!

Lastly, they respond to the audience’s questions and give their top tips to ensure that you prioritize your brain health on your journey to becoming superhuman!

Dr. Villanueva’s Story

Dr. Villanueva begins by sharing with us the intricacies of her journey, especially that surrounding mental health. 

As a single mother, Dr. Villanueva regularly dealt with anxiety and depression; however, she assumed they were “normal” and part of everyday life. As issues continued to arise in her life, her mental health took a downfall.

It was not until her father passed away that her mental health collapsed. This was the final straw that debilitated her mental health, causing her to begin losing her memory, suffer serious physical health complications, and ultimately lose her house as well as her medical practices.

However, Dr. Villanueva did not give up and now helps thousands of individuals take control of their mental health and cultivate the best lives possible for them.

Mental Health vs. Brain Health

The stigma behind mental health is often that you are broken, and you cannot be fixed, which leads many not to be open about their struggle. 

Your body and brain are designed to work. They understand how many chemicals to make and break down. If we are consistently having mental health struggles, that means something is preventing the brain from healing.

We should throw away the term mental health and focus on brain health!

What are the precursors to a brain health struggle?

Before anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, etc. show up, there are often signs that your brain health is lacking.

Some of the signs could be restlessness, difficulty sleeping, and issues with gut health. It is essential to recognize these symptoms as early as possible!

Your brain health can also be impacted by how close you live to farms using pesticides, if you eat predominantly organic, your history with medication, and the types of food you are consuming.

A combination of many factors typically impacts our brain health! That is why it is important to consider all of the stimuli you are providing your brain and take a holistic approach to wellness.

How does Medication Impact our Brain Health?

The typical response of doctors, when presented with a mental health struggle, is to prescribe medication. 

Mental health medicine is one of the only non-data-driven fields. Doctors often do not consider preventative care but only reactive care.

Medications can be lifesavers; however, they should be used for a short time, not as a long-term solution. 

How Does Nutrition Impact Brain Health?

Poor nutrition is one of the top causes of poor mental health!

Many foods cause negative responses in individuals due to intolerances or sensitivities. This can cause antibody responses leading to anxiety, depression, and even panic attacks.

The food choices we make are either healing us or slowly killing us!

There are even gluten intolerance cases leading individuals to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, ADD, and bipolar disorder. What we eat is important!

How Does Marijuana Impact Brain Health?

Marijuana has become a popular plant medicine, and while it does not fry your brain, there are aspects to be considered before using it in a medicinal capacity. 

Marijuana is not going to fix the underlying issue. It calms the nervous system, for the time being. However, when it wears off, you will still have your underlying mental health problems!

However, marijuana is not addictive, like Xanax or many other prescriptions! This is important to consider as addictive substances can lead to long term abuse.

If you consume marijuana, you must consider if it has been sprayed with chemicals or pesticides as they harm our brain health!

Audience Questions!

How should we go about stopping medications?

It is important to taper off your medications; however, you should not do this until you are confident that you are ready to stop the treatment! This would be like taking your cast off and throwing your crutches away before your leg is healed! You are going to cause more damage!

How can we help our children through the mental health struggle of limited social interaction and online schooling during COIVD?

We need to consider how our children’s lives were before COVID began and attempt to understand if it is genuinely the change in daily life that is causing the issue. If so, we should focus on the stability of things at home and, if possible, aim to ensure our children have experiences that they value.

Our children could also be impacted by the family’s general mental health, parasites, media consumption, food sensitivities, or even food coloring! Many things can affect our kid’s brain health!

The rules have changed, so we need to change how we play the game! Have fun with your children, helping them to learn about health. We can start small if we are moving in the right direction.

How can you best support someone who is having a mental health struggle?

A great way to support someone struggling with mental health is by sharing Dr. Villanueva’s MasterClass with them!! It is a five-part series filled with hope inducing case studies!!

Check out her masterclass to learn more!

Making Health Simple

Dr. Villanueva’s one action item on our journey to becoming superhuman is to set realistic expectations on your health journey! What your body needs now is not what it will need down the road. Be patient!!!

What’s Next?

We have put together a dashboard of all of Dr. Bart’s videos, based on health topics, in our Level-Up Health Membership.

This library of health content is low cost, so we can help you on your journey to becoming superhuman! 

Not only is it extensive, but it will continue to expand with new videos each month. Also, you will have the opportunity to share these videos with your friends and family!

Dr. Bart Precourt

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