Improve Your Family’s Mental Health … Naturay!

FEW PEOPLE TALK about the incredible toll that mental health issues—which brain imaging studies show are actually “brain health” issues—take on the entire family. Bipolar disorder, ADD/ ADHD, depression, schizophrenia, and other conditions are all brain disorders. And it only takes one individual with a troubled brain for there to be family dysfunction.

First, it’s important to discuss brain lobes and how they impact our lives. ere is the prefrontal cortex which is the command center, and it is involved in planning, impulse/emotional control, and followthrough. Another important area is the temporal lobes, which are found on both sides of the brain over the ears. ey play a role in our mood and memory, and abnormal activity here is associated with temper problems and forgetfulness.

In one family seeking care, the father had low activity in the prefrontal cortex and the temporal lobes. He was disorganized, impulsive, inattentive, distractible, and forgetful. Not only did he lack follow-through with promises to his family, but these behaviors carried over into his business. Subsequently, he struggled at work and was moody at home. Unfortunately, when he trialed ADD/ADHD medications, he didn’t have a positive response. e meds made him moodier and more irritable.

Similarly, his wife had overactivity in the anterior cingulate gyrus. is area is known as the brain’s gear shifter; it’s what allows us to go from one thought to another. When there is too much activity in this region, people tend to get stuck on thoughts and behaviors, and they are more likely to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. eir son had a combination of brain issues that were consistent with ADD/ADHD and oppositional de ant disorder (ODD), a behavioral problem in which children are uncooperative, argumentative, and de ant.

In order to get this family on the right track and quite literally retrain their brains, we started them on these brainhealing strategies:

Dietary Overhaul

Most diets are filled with pro-inflammatory, allergenic foods laced with artificial chemicals. The diet is hard on the brain and can increase anxiousness, depressed moods, inattention, and memory. Choose whole foods, limit sugars, and drink ample water— while there is no set formula, the 8x8 rule (eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day) is a good goal and an easy reminder.

Exercise Overhaul

Exercise is good for our body, mind, and soul. It can be low impact but ideally you should engage in a minimum of 30 minutes, four days a week. Regular exercise provides brain cell growth and blood flow to the lobes that need it.

Sleep Overhaul

Dr. Ti any Brown-Bush is trained as an Integrative Mental Health erapist, Traditional Naturopathic Doctor, and Brain Health Practitioner. Her specialty areas are ADHD, Eating Disorders, Nervous System Rewiring, and Post Concussive Recovery. Connect with her at 704.491.2216 or visit www.docbrownbush.com.

e parents’ brain functions did not allow them to have the much-needed exibility to roll with the natural ups and downs of life. ese two brains found themselves in family therapy, unable to heal because they were getting blocked. w

Work with your brain’s innate circadian rhythm. You can do this by prioritizing bedtimes and waking up at roughly the same time daily. This allows the brain to successfully detox itself overnight.