Imagine nearly half a million Americans getting a tick bite this year that leads to depression, anxiety, or even psychosis – but instead of getting treated for the infection, they’re prescribed antidepressants. This shocking reality affects 40% or more of patients with Lyme disease, yet most doctors and patients have no idea these “psychiatric” symptoms could actually be caused by hidden infections attacking the brain.
Join Dr. Zendi Moldenhauer to explore how tickborne infections and neuro-immune dysregulation can manifest as anxiety, OCD, depression, and emotional dysregulation—particularly in pediatric and adolescent populations—and how a functional framework can guide targeted, effective interventions.
Cutting-edge research reveals that Lyme disease and its notorious co-conspirators – Bartonella, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Mycoplasma, and Rickettsia – don’t just cause joint pain and fatigue. These stealth pathogens cross the blood-brain barrier, trigger massive neuroinflammation, and hijack neurotransmitter production, creating psychiatric symptoms that are virtually indistinguishable from primary mental health disorders.
The result? Patients bounce between psychiatrists and therapists for years while the real culprit – brain inflammation from chronic infection – goes undiagnosed and untreated.
This presentation reveals how a functional medicine or functional psychiatric approach can transform outcomes by: – Recognizing pathogen-specific psychiatric “fingerprints” – Testing with advanced laboratories that detect hidden co-infections – Treating the root cause with targeted antimicrobials plus comprehensive anti-inflammatory protocols – Restoring brain health through detoxification, immune support, and neurotransmitter repair
When psychiatric medications fail, when symptoms appear suddenly, when multiple family members are affected – think infection. This presentation provides the clinical tools to recognize, diagnose, and successfully treat one of medicine’s most overlooked root causes of psychiatric disease. The paradigm shift is simple: Stop asking “What psychiatric medication should we try next?” and start asking “What infection might be causing these psychiatric symptoms?”
Any healthcare provider treating Tickborne Infections OR treating depression, anxiety, ADHD, or behavioral disorders – especially when patients aren’t responding to standard treatments. Parents watching children with sudden personality changes. Adults struggling with treatment-resistant psychiatric symptoms. Anyone working in areas where Lyme disease is endemic.
