Light Bulbs and Roots

Anxiety: one of my most frightening symptoms. I had my first ‘panic attack’ in 2004 and it’s been a very rough road trying to manage it ever since. I stayed home whenever possible. I avoided crowded places - movie theaters, restaurants, concerts - because I felt trapped. I isolated myself because I was afraid and ashamed. Have you been there, too?

One day a couple years ago I was sitting in an exam room with my gastroenterologist for the umpteenth time, reviewing my symptoms again, and I realized (based on her questions) that she thought I was feeling anxious and flipped out all of the time. I told her I wasn't feeling this way all of the time, just when I came to see her, which happened to be around the same time of the month... every month... for many months.... Light bulb moment. That's when I realized that my symptoms became unmanageable only when I was premenstrual. My anxiety level and intestinal pain were through the roof and it was definitely related to my period. Thankfully my doctor asked the right questions. I saw the pattern. I linked another piece of my puzzle that day.

In my experience, though, once you have 'anxiety/panic disorder' recorded in your chart it's all over. Doctors do not try to uncover the emotional and/or physiological root causes, which, by the way, are often blood sugar imbalances, and a sensitivity to foods and stress hormones like adrenaline. Eliminating sugar from your diet is the most important first step!

The body systems are all connected; we cannot look at each part separately and this is where allopathic medicine falls behind. However, the functional medicine approach takes into account all aspects of you, from pre-conception to present day, including your genes and environment and all the experiences you've ever had. The human body is a miraculous machine and states of dis-ease don't happen in a vacuum or occur overnight.

Sometimes it takes the help of a knowledgeable practitioner to sort through all of the puzzle pieces in order to begin linking them together to find long-term symptom resolution. To uncover your root cause, submit a Discovery Session Application today so you can reduce or eliminate painful symptoms, heal from the inside out, and begin living the life that you deserve.