Modern psychiatry is often considered the only solution for our current mental health crisis. However, conventional psychiatry relies heavily on prescribing medications for symptoms, and outcomes for patient recovery are poor. Worse yet, medication side effects can be debilitating, and there are no approved medications for many mental health disorders. It’s clear that more prescriptions are not the answer. There’s a better way to do mental health care.
Over the last decade, scientific research has clearly established a relationship between malnutrition and brain function across every major psychiatric illness, from depression, ADHD, and schizophrenia, to eating disorders, anxiety, and dementia. Evidence confirms clear associations between nutritional imbalances in the body, and the prevalence and severity of mental illness and symptoms. Traditional psychiatry treatment for mental illness, however, fails to recognize and address nutritional imbalances as factors in mental illness.
The inadequacies of the conventional psychiatry ultimately inspired me to pursue a more comprehensive paradigm–one that not only acknowledges the role of biology in mental illness, but recognizes the importance of genetics, nutrition, trauma, lifestyle, and spirituality. This search led me to functional psychiatry, an integrated approach to mental health that honors the delicate connections and balance between brain, body, and psyche. Medications can be part of functional psychiatry protocols, but rarely are the sole treatment modality.
Through laboratory testing and analysis, we can now identify the underlying causes of mental illness, including inflammation, dysbiosis, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal dysregulation, toxicities, and genetic differences. These objective measurements provide valid, scientific treatment that has been neglected in past approaches. By recognizing and treating each person’s unique internal imbalances and biochemistry, outcomes can be dramatically improved.
The Moral Imperative to Changing Our Mental Health Care System: A Call-to-Action for All Mental Health Care Providers, Patients, and Politicians (James Greenblatt, MD)
