Written By Glenda Eickmeyer, FNP-BC

"Its a good day to have a good day." 

"Have you had a mental health break today?" 

"You are enough." 

"You're mental!"

These are some phrases commonly spoken today relating to mental health. But what if you’re trying to have a good day and can’t stop crying? or worrying? What if your world is literally on fire and you don’t have time for a break? What if as much as you try to tell yourself you are enough; you don’t feel it? What if you truly feel mental? Real Health Medical is here to help!

Everywhere you look, mental issues are being discussed. However, most Americans consider mental health only when they are faced with mental illness.

According to mentalhealth.gov “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood”.  

The basic stats:

1. Forbes Health found that 21% of all Americans were diagnosed with mental diseases such as depression, anxiety, suicidal ideations, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, restless leg syndrome and more. 
2. Forbes also found that less than 50% of mental illness concerns brought to primary care doctors were properly diagnosed. 
3. Kaiser Family Foundation found that >42% of all Americans aged 13 and up suffer from mental illness. 
4. In the past 3 years, due to the recent pandemic and government forced social isolation, depression and suicide rates increased 12% in the 16-29 yr age group.  

With nearly half of our country DIAGNOSED with mental illness, and many more believed to remain undiagnosed, that leaves very few in the category of mentally healthy.  Mental health truly is a subjective concept. How do YOU feel you are handling life? If we look more closely at the above definition, are we thinking clearly? Thinking is defined as “the ability to use one's mind to consider or reason, or the ability to make a rational judgment, and finally intelligence. 

How are you thinking? 

Remember staying up all night consuming coke, coffee, and pizza (or Waffle House) cramming for a test? That usually didn’t go so well. To reason and think well, one needs proper sleep, nutrition, hydration, etc. But to sleep:

• Your nervous system must be able to relax in parasympathetic mode
• Hormones must be regulated
• Glucose metabolism must be considered
• Lifestyle is essential -  Nutrition should be far from the typical American diet, and includes vitamins, amino acids, salts, fruits, vegetables, protein and the necessary yet taboo category - - fats.
• Hydration is more than just drinking water.  There are times and conditions where the water you drink has more in it than you bargained for, and your cells can’t process it, so despite drinking we remain cellularly dehydrated, depleted, and exhausted and our brain can’t do its job. 

How are you feeling?

 When was the last time you sat down and identified truly what emotions you feel, why you feel them, what is below that emotion, what is feeding that emotion?  According to the Oxford dictionary, emotion means, "instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge”. If you haven’t slept, your cells aren’t nourished or hydrated, you’re functioning in fight or flight mode.  Because your nervous system is a mess from constant overestimation, do your instincts and intuition have a chance of allowing you to properly identify your emotions?  

How are you acting?

Toward yourself, your loved ones, coworkers, your community? Are you calm, collected, serene, responding to situations the way you truly want to respond? At Real Health Medical we listen to concerns of mental illness and address them by ensuring there is no actual disease, dysfunction, or imbalance. But our goal is not to medicate you for life, dull your senses, give you a label and an excuse for how you feel, and keep you in a state of disease. Our goal is to detect the basis of the problem... your cells, your genes, your thoughts, your actions. Are your mitochondria giving you enough energy to greet the day and allow you to have a good day? Are you hydrated, nourished electrolyte balanced, hormonally appropriate. Have you created a habit of negativity?

Beyond the above, Real Health Medical is willing to look below the cell, at your genetic makeup and expression.  Did you know there are genes that make you predisposed to worry, anxiety and depression?  The COMT gene is one gene in a group of genes related to methylation, the ability for healthy cells to replicate. If the COMT or MAO or other genes are broken or signaled inappropriately, you physically cannot overcome these thoughts and feelings without proper support such as lithium, SAMe and others.  We can run a simple genetic test with a cheek swab, completely noninvasive, easy, and fast and get to the source of the issue and provide support beyond “drugs”. 

Once we have supported your physical health and cells with nutrition, hydration, hormones, genes, address inflammation and create a basic physical health and we will discuss your social health.  

• Are you still feeling isolated from the world because of the pandemic? 
• Have you created a habit of negative self-talk, what you are watching, reading, listening to, other poor habits?
• We have amazing health coaches who can help create healthy Habits that lead to improved physical, social and mental health.

Sometimes the physical and social approach still isn’t enough. Neurotransmitters in your brain, like dopamine, epinephrine, nor-epinephrine, serotonin, GABA and more may not be in proper balance. Dopamine is well known in Parkinsons, but less known in restless leg syndrome. If your legs are restless, you can’t sleep.  And if your dopamine isn’t optimal and balanced, your legs can’t rest. Dopamine is also responsible for appetite, feelings of happiness, and more. Real Health Medical can check neurotransmitter levels in blood, saliva and urine and devise a plan to achieve balance. 

Eventually we may need to deal with trauma, life events, and situations that keep us stuck. Cranio- sacral therapy, lasers, fascia release, prayer, and more are available at Real Health. If additional needs are necessary, we have referral partners available. 

What can you do to improve your own mental health?

Everywhere you look on the internet are classes, websites, and more focused on encouraging mental health by doing something,  pottery,  yoga, building a terrarium or herb garden. Health begins with habits! 

• Feed your mind and body with fresh, foods and clean water and add vitamins and electrolytes 
• Sleep:  Remove stimulation to allow your nervous system to relax. 
• Improve your environment with less clutter.
• Add oxygen producing plants
• Get outside for sunshine and fresh air which lifts Vitamin D, and mitochondria
• Move your body daily. 
• Address mold, toxins, endocrine disruptors from your environment and life. 
• Create healthy thinking habits

Philippians 4:8-9 states “Finally, brothers

and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if

anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

• The best way to have healthy thinking habits is to refrain from toxic thinking from social media, news outlets, and doom and gloom messaging. 
• Take time to identify your emotions and deal with them. 
• Practice acting exactly as you want to act, rather than reacting in a moment. 
• Improve your social network and support system. 
• Connect with friends & family. 
• Laugh:  Laughing alone releases endorphins which improve neurotransmitters
• Choose to smile as often as you can

What can Real Health Medical do to help you achieve Mental Health?

• Ensure you are free of disease 
• Examine your genetic make up related to methylation and mental health
• Study blood, urine, saliva neurotransmitters and hormones and create balance and optimize function of these chemicals
• Address water absorption with our AAET specialists
• Calm your nervous system with lasers, fascia release, and emotional support
• Craniosacral Therapy with Dr. Absi
• ANI Therapy sessions with Dr. Absi 
• Health coaching to create healthy thinking, acting, and life habits. 
• Pray with and for you. 

We’re here to help you have physical, mental, social and spiritual health 

I asked my 17-year-old son how he would define mental health. His answer was, “The joy of being yourself.” 

Do you find joy in waking up each day, knowing, appreciating, and being just yourself ? Are you able to act, think, and respond in a manner that reflects your true self?

                                                                                  Are you ready to be yourself again?

I release you from your functional freeze state long enough to go to our website, click on new client intake, and tell us your story. You will be paired with an amazing, specialized practitioner who is ready to equip you to find the joy in healthy thinking, feeling, and acting like yourself again!