Ms Mel AbbottCertified NLP Master Practitioner

Empower Therapies

16:30 - 17:25 WS #81: Anxiety and Depression - Alternatives to Medication

17:35 - 18:30 WS #93: Anxiety and Depression - Alternatives to Medication

(Repeated)

Natural alternatives to anxiety and depression

Topics for today• Introducing Mel Abbott

• Components of anxiety and depression

• Calming techniques

• Tasks for clients

• Nutrition

• Case study

• Questions

Mel’s Story

Client Statistics12

Average illness

9.66 years

Age range

8- 78 years

Male/Female

20% / 80%

Physical Health Before and After The Switch

Emotional HealthBefore and After The Switch

Anti-depressants – a solution??

• Between 30% and 50% of individuals treated with a given antidepressant do not show a response.

• In clinical studies, approximately one-third of patients achieve a full remission, one-third experience a response and one-third are nonresponders.

Don’t shoot the messenger!

• Illness is often caused by stress

and trapped emotions

• WHO – 66% of illness caused by

stress

If you only treat the symptoms, they may come back…

Calm STRESSImmunity

Detox

Digestion

Reproduction

Neuro

Hair/Skin

Calming Techniques

• Slow, stop

• 3-2-1

• Balanced breathing

• Gratitude

Rule out current situations first

• Bad relationship

• Messy divorce

• Hate their job

• Upcoming court case

• Cancer diagnosis

• Drug use

• Personality disorders/Psychiatric conditions

Past experiences

• A past history of sexual abuse shows a bigger correlation with suicidality than current difficult situations

• 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 7 boys – among my clients, it would be over half

• Bereavement, physical and emotional abuse, PTSD all factors

The science of wellbeing - Lifestyle

The science of wellbeing - Social

Thinking patterns• Scanning for negatives – body, day, life• Predicting• Worrying – “what’s wrong?”• Catastrophising• I can’t…• I’m helpless. Nothing works• It’s just the way I am• I’m always anxious. I’ve never felt calm• Obsessing over past trauma

Growing new brain

pathways

Body Language

Everyday and often…• Use calming techniques to calm stress response

• Use good body language

• Use stops to interrupt illness thoughts

• Think like a healthy person

• Visualise being healthy

• Write down positives everyday

• Make a focus board

Anxiety techniques

• Use calming techniques a LOT

• Counteract what-ifs

• Talk and move slowly

• Resolve past issues

Depression techniques

• Look up

• Smile

• Watch comedy

• Do exercise

• Recall happy memories

• Switch off stress and bad habits

• Clear deep emotions

• Lifestyle changes

• Update belief system

What can you do?• Ask what started their anxiety or depression• Education about thinking patterns and lifestyle

patterns that exacerbate condition• Education about diet, supplements and lifestyle

factors that contribute• Shared decision making with patient about what

they can do to resolve that issue• Tasking and follow-up are crucial!• Ask what positive changes they have noticed• Refer for further help

Nutrition treatment -Depression• Improve gut health• (90% of serotonin is made and used in the nervous system of the gut.

Gut health will improve with time by cleaning up the diet.

• Testing for gluten intolerance • may be helpful for some (blood test anti-TTG, HLA DQ2, DQ8), if tests are

positive it is wise to eliminate gluten from diet (depression can be the only symptom in some people for gluten intolerance or unrecognized coeliac disease)

• Cut the crap• removing processed refined foods and artificial preservative and

additives, limiting alcohol and caffeine

• Increasing intake of whole foods• fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, proteins

Dietary supplements - Depression

• Improve body’s natural ability to produce serotonin:

• Good protein intake - Serotonin mainly derived from tryptophan (amino acid building block of proteins)

• Iron, Zinc and Magnesium

• B vitamins (B2, B3, B5, B6), folate (natural sources best)

• Vitamin D3

• Omega 3

• St Johns Wort

Other mind-body options

• Body talk

• Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

• The Journey

• Multiple Brain Integration Techniques (mBIT)

Further reading• The biology of belief, Bruce Lipton, PhD.• You can heal your life, Louise Hay• The Journey, Brandon Bays• www.empowertherapies.co.nz• Molecules of Emotion, Dr Candace Pert• Australasian College for Nutritional and

Environmental Medicine

Case Study• Clinical Major Depressive Disorder, anxiety and

obsessive compulsive disorder, fatigue, sleep difficulties, overwhelm

• “I had to leave my job, spend time in a psychiatric hospital and have spent the past 8 years in and out of serious episodes of depression (and having children) and am now dependent on a full-time (40 hours/week) nanny to help me run the home and care for my 3 children whilst my husband works”

• Clomipramine for depression/anxiety

Told by her Psychiatrist

that she was the second

worst case he’d ever seen

and she would never recover!