Natural Healing Center

Managing Mental Illness through Natural Remedies

24 October 2017 // comments: 0

For untold centuries, humans have relied on the food supply as a source of energy, health, and connection. However, in the last six or seven decades, changes in the food supply (and in how we use it) have contributed strongly to the growing epidemic of chronic disease. Hippocrates stated, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” Even Thomas Edison in 1902 stated, “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.”

The current method of treatment today in addressing mental health issues involves, psychotherapy and psychotropic drugs. This is regarded as the highest and best possible course of action. This is what I call, “treating parts of a person”, and not the “whole person.” In this methodology, the individual is prescribed medicines that address the symptoms, and creating a new form of addiction. These medicines are producing disturbances in our biochemistry that are harmful to our overall health. According to the CDC, 1 in 7 women taking prescription antidepressants was likely to experience birth defects in pregnancy. Furthermore, Harvard medical school explored how coming off your antidepressant medication can cause disturbing symptoms and set you up for a relapse of depression.

There exists evidence of a physical cause and effect relationship between food and mood. “Nutrition is one of the most obvious, yet under-recognized factors in the development of major trends in mental health,” says Dr. Antonis Kousoulis, deputy director at the Mental Health Foundation. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and fish oil, have been shown to prevent psychosis – in which sufferers experience hallucinations or delusions – in high-risk people between the ages of 13 and 25. As a bonus, “they also improve cognitive function, improve learning and prevent heart disease”. The UK’s Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends at least two portions of fish a week. Vitamin D has also been found to help prevent and contribute to improvements in mental illness. Though found in milk, yogurt, orange juice, salmon, tuna and mackerel, the body’s natural production of vitamin D is most important and generated through exposure to sunlight. Furthermore, psychiatrists can’t predict what adverse side-effects you might experience because not one of them knows how their drugs work. It’s an uneasy thought that the doctors prescribing the drugs don’t even know the mechanism of action of the prescription they’re asking us to take.

As a Psychotherapist, I worked first-hand with a Psychiatrist, in both hospital settings, and outpatient clinics. I witnessed as my clients were being treated with medicines that did little to address the underlying issues. Often, my clients suffered from issues that were merely bandaged by the medical profession. I don’t want to fault the Psychiatrist as this is what they were taught in Medical School. I became tired of seeing this revolving door of everyone getting sick, and no one ever really getting any better.

In as far back as the 1900’s medical professionals understood the relationship between the gut and the brain, and some have called our gut, “the second brain.” The treatment methods that existed in the past, are looked at as “odd,” or non-conventional today. What occurred that made that shift? The rise of the pharmaceutical company exploded in the airwaves. Not only did the pharmaceutical company have an opportunity to promote their drugs through public domain (tv. radio, websites), they also made their way into medical schools where they controlled the education of future doctors. This didn’t happen by coincidence. The Nielson Co. estimates that there’s an average of 80 drug ads every hour of every day on American television.

I want to help you get “un-stuck,” introduce you to treatment methods that address the “whole client” vs. the medical model, which is a form of compartmentalizing the client.  The current medical model in treating mental health issues is doing you a disservice as they only treat the symptoms. Your local holistic practitioner shouldn’t go unnoticed. They are your Registered Nurse, your Naturopath, your Nutritionist or Chiropractor. Seek them out because they believe in treating “the whole person.” They work to address underlying issues and causes to help prevent, or even reverse disease. Professionally your holistic health care practitioner will not tell you that they treat disease or can prevent or reverse conditions, but their methodology of treatment does exactly this.  We don’t want to discount the benefits that Allopathic doctors offer, but I do want you to know your options. We can reverse disease by having good quality nutrition, and Type 2 Diabetes is an example of that. I’ll explain how prescription drugs deplete the body of necessary nutrients that the brain needs to prevent mental health issues.  Let’s break away from the stigma, the current and expected method of treatment, and help you find long-lasting optimal wellness. I don’t want you to merely survive your condition, I want you to overcome it. Like anything, there are no guarantees, however what I can assure is that when you try something new, you will always get a different result.

For more information on how natural healing can help you or your loved ones,  please contact Natural Healing Center at 877.95.DETOX or  contact

 October 23, 2017

Article written by, Karin Awad LMFT

Karin Awad is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist, and specializes in addiction treatment. She began her work with children and families, and has spent time working with the severely mentally ill in psychiatric clinics, private practice, and eventually spent most of her time working in addiction treatment. Karin has held different roles, from Admissions Counselor, Therapist, to Program Director, and Patient Advocate. She has been an educator and advocate of drug-prevention.

 For the last year and a half, Karin has gained education on clinical nutrition through Standard Process. During this time, Karin has learned that treating mental health must include nutrition, and to separate the two would be a disservice to her clients.

 Karin is not a nutritionist. She is a psychotherapist with education on nutrition, and wants to educate the public on their options in addressing their mental health issues. Karin has a passion for helping others get well. Valuing both traditional and holistic medicine, she is a passionate believer in and teacher of the power of personal responsibility in health and wellness.