Category: Depression

Vitamin D

Posted on by Dr. Lynn Mikel

Vitamin D

There is much information out recently regarding need for more vitamin D. The importance of vitamin D has been recognized by naturopathic doctors for some time. It is an important vitamin that works like a hormone in the body to direct bone growth, remodeling, and mineralization. It has many other roles in the body including regulating the immune system and inflammation. It plays a role in regulating cell growth, differentiation, and removal of abnormal cells. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with osteoporosis and various autoimmune diseases as well as prostate, breast, and colon cancer. Very few foods contain vitamin D in high amounts.

Foods containing Vitamin D
iu per serving

Cod liver oil, 1 tablespoon 1,360iu
Salmon, cooked, 3.5 ounces 360iu
Mackerel, cooked, 3.5 ounces 345iu
Tuna fish, canned in oil, 3 ounces 200iu
Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 1.75 ounces 250iu
Milk vitamin D-fortified, 1 cup 98iu
Margarine, fortified, 1 tablespoon 60iu (not recommended)
Ready-to-eat cereal, fortified with 10% of the DV for vitamin D, 0.75-1 cup (more heavily fortified cereals might provide more of the DV) 40iu
Egg, 1 whole (vitamin D is found in yolk) 20iu
Liver, beef, cooked, 3.5 ounces 15iu
Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce 12iu

Foods do not adequately supply this important vitamin need. Most people meet this need through sunlight exposure. UVB light waves convert a cholesterol molecule in the skin to a pre-vitamin D3 which then gets modified once in the liver and again in the kidney. Sun exposure to skin is limited in our area by many gray days. It is also limited by our northern latitude where we are further from the sun. Other factors that limit sun exposure are use of sunscreen, smog, and skin pigment.

The best way to test for adequate vitamin D levels is through blood work analysis. The form of Vitamin D to test for is 25(OH)D which is the best reflection of total D vitamin from food, sun, and supplements. Optimal levels are 50-55 ng/mL. I frequently include this when I perform lab work. Most frequent levels found are between 15 and 28. This indicates most people here in Seattle need some additional vitamin D.

The body stores the vitamin in fat cells therefore, if supplementing, could potentially achieve toxic levels. However, patients taking fish oil regularly and even those supplementing 400 to 1000iu for several months or years are still far below optimal levels. My recommendation is to get your levels tested and use a quality supplement of Vitamin D3 not the synthetic Vitamin D2. Current recommendations of 200iu to 600iu are generally much too low. New recommendations of 2000iu to 5000iu may be needed according to some studies. Once supplementation has been started for a few months retesting is recommended to assess levels. Toxicity is possible for an adult at levels over 200 ng/mL. Symptoms of toxicity are nonspecific such as nausea, vomiting, loss appetite, constipation, weakness, weight loss, confusion, and heart rhythm abnormalities.

Dr. Mikel would be happy to test your levels and provide safe recommendations and supervision in your use of vitamin D. Many people who are deficient and start supplementation of D3 report improvement in mood, decrease musculoskeletal pain, improved energy and outlook!

Related Articles / Links

Study: Vitamin D Leads to Longer Life

Doctors checking patients more for vitamin D levels

 

Flower Remedies

Posted on by Dr. Lynn Mikel

Flower Remedies

Flower essences are the blossoms of plants prepared from a sun infusion in a bowl of water, further diluted, then preserved with brandy. These preparations embody the distinct imprint, or energetic pattern, of each flower species.

Each flower has the potential to help by treating a specific negative emotional state.

The man who developed the Bach Flower Remedies, Dr. Edward Bach “studied medicine at the University College Hospital, London, and was a House Surgeon there. He worked in general practice, having a set of consulting rooms in Harley Street, and as a bacteriologist and later a pathologist he worked on vaccines and a set of homoeopathic nosodes still known as the seven Bach nosodes.

Despite the success of his work with orthodox medicine he felt dissatisfied with the way doctors were expected to concentrate on diseases and ignore the people who were suffering them. He was inspired by his work with homoeopathy but wanted to find remedies that would be purer and less reliant on the products of disease. So in 1930 he gave up his lucrative Harley Street practice and left London, determined to devote the rest of his life to the new system of medicine that he was sure could be found in nature.

Just as he had abandoned his old home, office and work, so now he abandoned the scientific methods he had used up until now. Instead he chose to rely on his natural gifts as a healer, and use his intuition to guide him. One by one he found the remedies he wanted, each aimed at a particular mental state or emotion. His life followed a seasonal pattern: the spring and summer spent looking for and preparing the remedies, the winter spent giving help and advice to all who came looking for them. He found that when he treated the personalities and feelings of his patients their unhappiness and physical distress would be alleviated as the natural healing potential in their bodies was unblocked and allowed to work once more.

In 1934 Dr Bach moved to Mount Vernon in Oxfordshire. In the lanes and fields round about he found the remaining remedies that he needed to complete the series. He would suffer the emotional state that he needed to cure and then try various plants and flowers until he found the one single plant that could help him. In this way, through great personal suffering and sacrifice, he completed his life’s work.

Dr Bach passed away peacefully on the evening of November 27th, 1936. He was only 50 years old, but he had left behind him several lifetime’s experience and effort, and a system of medicine that is now used all over the world.”

I use the flower remedies from Bach Flowers as well as the North American flower essences from Fes Flowers. Most often the remedies are made in combinations of three to five flower essences to assist with the emotional state or cause of anxiety a person is having during a specific period. They work at a similar vibrational level as homeopathy, meaning some energetic resonance is felt and affected to bring a person to better balance.

One of the most well known Bach Flower remedies is called Rescue Remedy. It is a combination of Cherry Plum, Clematis, Impatiens, Rock Rose and Star of Bethlehem which together help one deal with any emergency or stressful event. This remedy has helped me with nerves before exams in medical school, with grief during the loss of my first husband, and with anxiety giving presentations! Children and animals are very sensitive to the effects of flower remedies as they are often more open to energetic influences. They have fewer ego defenses to judge and less intellectual challenge as to how things work. For example, one night my beloved dog, Cubbsy, an 8 pound poodle, had a seizure. His poor little body was wracked with spasms and his eyes were rolled back in his head. It went on for some time and did not look good as blood started coming from his mouth. I ran downstairs and looked in my cupboard for supplements or something that might help. The Rescue Remedy bottle caught my eye so I poured it over my hands and ran back upstairs. Cubbsy was still seizing. I began stroking the remedy over his poor little head and within 5 seconds the seizure stopped. He was taken to the vet that night but by the time we arrived, he was back to normal. I am convinced the remedy helped him out of the seizure and contributed to his good recovery.

Flower essence remedies are taken as drops under the tongue three times per day or as needed. If sensitive to the small amount of alcohol they contain, they can be used topically over the wrist or dropped into boiling water to evaporate the alcohol. Flower remedies are not addictive or dangerous and can easily be taken in conjunction with other types of treatments. They are especially helpful for treating mental and emotional problems and are suitable and safe for all ages including children, pregnant women, and animals.

During these times of change and uncertainty emotional and spiritual support is important to keep our perspective on what we want, not what we fear! Flower remedies are a nice adjunct to our self care. I would be happy to formulate a personalized remedy for you.

Depression and Naturopathic Treatment

Posted on by Dr. Lynn Mikel

 

Depression and Naturopathic Treatment

I am currently reading a great book called The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. It describes the biochemistry disruption of various moods and their link to nutritional deficiencies. As Summer approaches and we are getting a little more sun, I notice many people’s mood pick up as well as my own! However, depression is still quite a problem for many people and it can be quite common to blame yourself which only compounds the problem. I would like to share some information and approaches to consider for treating depression. Please call for a visit if you are struggling with your mood and we can explore what is appropriate for you!

Depression is one of the most common medical problems in the U.S. affecting some 17 million people. It affects the whole body, nervous system, mood, thoughts, behavior, appetite, and sleep. People can be chronically angry and irritable, feel sad, or feel very little emotion at all.

Causes of depression: stress or a traumatic event, imbalances in the brain, untreated low thyroid conditions, nutritional deficiencies, poor diet, high sugar diet, lack of exercise, allergies (including food allergies), hypoglycemia, and other medical conditions.

Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers in the brain that regulate mood. The most important ones related to mood and depression are serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

Low serotonin levels can cause depression, along with anxiety and sleep problems. Antidepressants like Prozac work by keeping levels of serotonin more available within the nerve area of communication called a synapse. Tryptophan is the amino acid that is the foundation molecule to make serotonin. Foods that support serotonin production are carbohydrates but the nutrients that are specifically needed to make serotonin come from tryptophan, B6, vitamin C, and the B complex. Tryptophan is an amino acid or protein building block and it is plentiful in milk and turkey. Tryptophan, in a supplement form of 5HTP, is often prescribed by naturopaths for depression. Again, it supplies the body with the foundation molecule to make serotonin if it needs it. If people’s depression is a result of low serotonin they usually respond quickly to this modified form of the amino acid tryptophan.
This should not be taken if a person is using a serotonin enhancing anti-depressant as a side effect of excess serotonin may occur causing the same symptoms as the one needing to be improved.

Norepinephrine deficiency can cause depressions especially with associated fatigue and low energy. Norepinephrine is supported by improving the availability of the amino acid tyrosine. We find tyrosine in foods like meats and cheese. In order for tyrosine to make norepinephrine we also need adequate amounts of B6 and Vitamin C.

St. John’s Wort works by inhibiting serotonin reuptake. This results in keeping serotonin around longer and there by simulating an effect of higher levels. This should not be taken when on an SSRI anti-depressant medication.

Some people have a metabolic deficiency in their ability to produce the essential fatty acid GLA. They are typically depressed since youth, and find that alcohol helps. Risk for this deficiency is greatest in those of Celtic Irish, Scandinavian, Native American, Welsh, and Scottish backgrounds. Borage/ Evening primrose oil and cofactors B6, zinc, magnesium, niacin and Vitamin C will provide the needed building blocks to produce the needed essential fatty acid and resulting prostaglandins to support mood.

Other supports for depression include:

Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, rice, legumes and whole grains with exception of wheat (wheat gluten is linked to depression and is a common food allergy). Complex carbs promote serotonin production. If you are depressed and anxious concentrate on complex carbs such as fresh fruits and vegetables or whole grain rice for feeling more relaxed.

Include quality proteins from egg whites, turkey, salmon, white fish, and spirullina that are high in the amino acid tyrosine if your depression is associated with fatigue and lethargy.

Avoid all artificial sweeteners but especially aspartame or NutraSweet, this may interfere with serotonin production and can disrupt brain chemistry associated with insomnia and headaches.

Avoid all concentrated sugars and the quick rise in blood sugar which is often followed by a feeling of fatigue and depression. Try stevia as an herbal alternative or agave, a low glycemic sweetener made from fruit.

Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and processed foods as these quickly deplete the minerals and cofactors to synthesize amino acids into neurotransmitters. They also spike blood sugar and deplete the adrenals both leading to fatigue.

Keep your mind active and get plenty of rest and regular exercise.

Work with your conscious and unconscious thoughts and ideologies. Even our brain chemistry is affected by our thoughts which are creating our perception of our life and experiences. If most of our responses to the world are unconscious then get help and learn ways to change patterns that are not bringing you happiness or peace. A skilled therapist, a group, books, spiritual teachings, and a multitude of techniques are available to work on attitude and thinking.

Light therapy is helpful in the production of serotonin and melatonin, another biochemical that supports a positive mood. Full spectrum light is needed for at least half an hour a day to improve mood.

Treating low thyroid, blood sugar problems, and other medical conditions often results in a better sense of well-being and mood.

As a naturopath, I use an array of nutrients, herbs, and homeopathy to help people with depression. The examples I have listed are only a few and should be tried under the supervision of a naturopath. There are many alternative treatments for other emotional and mental conditions as well, such as anxiety, attention disorders, fear, and grief.

Using food, specific nutrients, and herbs can be done from several perspectives. The scientific tradition uses intellect, knowledge, and results to form a rationale for treatment. As a Naturopath, I am inclined to combine the scientific tradition with a more healing perspective. The mentioned medicines may be prescribed as outlined previously but hopefully there is also attention to the soul through which the symptom of depression is expressing some challenge. Each physical and emotional challenge that I see is an opportunity to take time and attention to the individual and their life. We all need and desire to be heard and understood. The unconscious wants our attention and to explore it is to have more insight into the thoughts and perspective from which we react and act out our life. Nourishing with medicine can go beyond physical substances and may also include words, touch, environment, consciousness, prayer, and intention. All these have as dramatic effect on biochemistry as do specific substances. These are often neglected or discounted by the scientific world because they are harder to measure and quantify. Who hasn’t felt uplifted by a walk in a garden, the sound of a baby’s laugh, an inspired sermon, a hug, or someone taking the time to listen to our life story?

My favorite quote from the past week was, “Practice is progress but perfection is prison”! The other one, from a physicist was, “My parents taught me there is always an answer”. Keep looking for your answers and “expect a miracle”!

Take care and call for an appointment or bring it up at your next appointment if depression or some other mood just seems to persist!

Dr. Mikel

The Nature of Suffering

Posted on by Dr. Lynn Mikel

The Nature of Suffering

Michael Jackson’s surprising death reminded me, as death does, that life is short so we need to make the most of it. He certainly did! Wasn’t it amazing to see all those clips of his life and to see his spirit infused into his work and his art with as much of his heart as talent? Yes, Michael had some things that haunted him. We all do. In this newsletter I will share a paper I wrote a year after the death of my husband in 1998. He died from lung cancer. It was a very difficult and painful time but also a time that brought the meaning of my life into greater focus.

The Nature of Suffering

I have experienced suffering as have most people, so it is only from my experience and nature that I can describe and relate to it. When I talk about it with my daughter or friends, I am even more aware how personal and unique it is. There are aspects of it, though, that are trans personal, like archetypes, a common human experience. Coming upon the completion of the first year of my husband’s death seems a time to reflect on this quality of humanness with some hope that there is purpose and meaning to it as there is to most emotion.

In our Christmas letter this year I reflected that it seemed pain and suffering did prepare us and allowed us to be willing to let go of Chuck, even though our hearts were still hanging on. Suffering can be on so many levels but mostly it means to me that I am disconnected from the nature of my soul. My first thoughts about it were that it meant losing someone you love . . . like my true love . . . or losing a special friend, or job, or thing that can’t be replaced. It seemed to be about what we are attached to. Then, I thought about suffering with Chuck and my daughter at times . . . hurting with their hurts physically and emotionally. I thought about my physical pains and health challenges that require attention at times and suffering. Suffering with loneliness, worry, defeat, sadness, and weariness. Suffering from an emptiness at times that could seemingly engulf me and then suffering because it doesn’t and I am still here to face this life that brings suffering.

I have worked with my dreams for over ten years and this past year my Jungian therapist said something that especially caught my attention. He reflected that the dream life often connects with the numinous. It is that glimpse into our soul that provides the perspective of what we are cut off from. I think that is what brings suffering . . . being cut off consciously from our soul. The other side of that is union with our soul is where we find meaning and joy. Union with our soul is what love seems to reflect. Relationships often allow us to experience a connection to the Self or our soul. We may project it on to the person of our affection and say they bring us love but really it is the relationship that awakens love in us. The dreams and goals we pursue, I have come to believe, are our soul calling us deeper and more intimately into our whole Self. These dreams and goals bring us into roles that foster our contact with more sides of our self and realization of our soul’s expression. A good example is my mother-daughter relationship. It brings me into the mother archetype and the capacity to experience love that only Mothers can know. But, it also touches a place in the numinous that reflects the nature of creation. I have experienced it through my body during pregnancy and in bringing forth of life. I continue to experience more aspects of motherhood as my nurturing supports my child’s growth and development. I appreciate that this archetypal role serves to heighten an awareness of a mystery and wonder that is greater and more meaningful than myself.

Suffering is not being one with this mystery and feeling the absence and loss of its presence and potential. I have felt this mystery in my relationships but have suffered when I have lost them. I have felt suffering with my body, with physical pain, with loss of vitality and disease. For me, however, it is the suffering that continues to motivate me to search for the meaning that exists even in the pain. My soul is not satisfied with the state of suffering, I must seek meaning or greater purpose in the feelings and somehow I know and have experienced the transformation that comes through the not denying and even accepting the state of suffering. As this capacity for acceptance grows there is room for forgiveness, compassion, humility, and a growing ability to receive from others and from God. It seems a paradox that with acknowledgement, experience and acceptance of most feelings there is then the release from their hold and an ability to move on in the process we call Life.

I have extensive professional and personal experience in death and dying so feel free to contact me if you need support in this area. Michael Jackson’s death, like the death of a loved one, may trigger feelings of past losses. Support is available so reach out.

Childs Art
A picture my daughter drew of herself at 6 years old, one year after her father’s death.

Dreams and Metaphors

Posted on by Dr. Lynn Mikel

Dreams and Metaphors

For those of you already working with Dr. Mikel you may have had her ask you about your dreams. In this newsletter, I would like to explain a bit about what I have learned and experienced with dream analysis. My master’s degree was focused in Transpersonal Psychology which is reflected loosely in my synopsis. As my experience and education are reflected in this writing it is also subjective in regards to my belief system. So take what is of value for yourself and leave that which in not congruent with your belief system. I do believe there is a universal experience of yearning for wholeness and we are designed to experience and unfold into that perfection. My own dream work has transformed my life and I love to share what has helped me with others!

The famous psychologist Carl Jung’s theory is that the personality is always growing and the Soul in its entirety is made up of the conscious self and the unconscious. The unconscious are those parts of us yet to be developed and integrated into the personality. As a child we come whole but not necessarily conscious. The child’s job is to build through experience an ego from which to interpret and function within the world. Many things shape this. With good parenting or luck or personality we keep our soul’s light intact and are encouraged to open up and discover our nature and gifts. On the other hand intentionally or not often many parts of the child’s souls expression do not get nurtured ane are often discouraged. Defenses are created by the ego to protect us from getting hurt based on those experience from the past.

Jung said in the adult life the opportunity for us to become conscious and claim back or integrate parts of our soul that were messed up, lost or never developed is the path of individuation. Individuation is the integration of the unconscious into the conscious personalitywhich allows one the capacity to know their true nature … that reflection of the Holy Spirit, Christ consciousness, wholeness, unity, etc… Man’s search for that connection to Spirit is found within himself. The work to experience that is dependent on that experience of unconditional self love that one must have to claim the shadow and realize individuation.

Those conscious and unconscious aspects of the self were what Carl Jung called the archetypes. Archetypes are symbols of the human nature common to all cultures and peoples. He saw these symbols represented in myths, stories, art, cultural ceremonies and rituals. These powerful symbols of human nature were what he saw expressed in dreams and became the foundation for his dream interpretation. He found in his analysis process with patients that the dream images contained these universal symbols and that the meanings and challenges they represented were themes of common psychological development. The unconscious contained the shadow elements or archetypal challenges in the person that he or she rejected. When they were emotionally caught up in a conflict or situation it was often because there was a part of their nature that they had yet to understand or integrate. They would project this rejection onto people and situations most often in a negative way or judgment, not realizing that what there was to learn was really something about their own nature they had not yet claimed.

For example it’s easier to give than to receive. Sometimes I give too much! In analysis if one explores where and why that is a sensitive area one might find out that there were only positive messages given to the child for being a “big girl” and helping out. Maybe neediness was an inconvenience, irritated those around her so she was scolded when she expressed needs. Going back to why that interpretation was made allows for some compassion then around being needy. Integration involves awareness of the rejected parts but also some healing from the past to bring that aspect more fully into realization within the conscious personality. The shift happens when one acknowledges where they are needy, how that is healthy and a very human experience; perhaps grieve for missing the care they needed as a child. This shift could allow one to receive care as well as have better boundaries in how they give their time and energy away. There is a feeling of wholeness within both.

My dream analysis has been an amazing process. The dreams repeatedly would bring information to me that seemed to open up more of who I wanted to be in the world. Overcoming fears and insecurities…. the dreams would repeatedly help bring light to some misperception from my past. I was repeatedly amazed that what I would interpret as a scary or a “bad” dream was really a dramatic symbol representing my ability to see more of who I was with compassion and understanding. Self acceptance and self regard, unconditional love for myself began and continues to be a foundation of emotional and spiritual wellbeing from which I go out into my life… The repeated authority from which the dreams have given me information and guidance has transformed my life and has become a validation to me that there is a God, Higher Power or Healing Power of Nature from which we come and are a part of… calling us into wholeness.

Even without interpreting dreams, they are a sign of our soul’s yearning for wholeness. The work with others in using dreams taps into this inner world and power in such a dramatic way. Just asking about the dream connects the patient to their inner world, inner authority and spiritual nature. Even without interpretation. Adding some skilled work with the dream, that conscious dialog can be opened and facilitated. Once a person has contact with their soul through this process there is an empowerment for that person to face those hidden shadows, which include their gifts, that lie dormant. Work with the unconscious teaches us we are creating our reality through our thoughts and unconscious projections. To change our life we must change our projections and that requires work with the unconscious. When I did this it gave me the life and emotional freedom I always wanted and never had, especially from my anxieties and fears. I have worked hard for every good day I’ve had and the difficult ones are still now opportunity for more meaning to surface!