Maybe the increases in these diagnoses began with the COVID pandemic but more likely we just weren’t paying attention. We’ll not really know until a few years from now when statisticians look over the data, compare notes with each other, and can finally say, “Wow! Look at these numbers! More mood disorders, more anti-depressants and […]
Tag: depression
Not One Nibble More Than 25 Grams Of Sugar A Day
Of course, everyone reading this already knows that sugar is “bad” for you. It’ll make you fat, you can get addicted to it, and it causes all sorts of health problems, like early heart disease, diabetes, depression, cancer susceptibility. But recently, a massive study out of China was able to determine how much sugar taken […]
A New Treatment For Chronic Anxiety
Far and away, the most common mental illness troubling the human animal is Generalized Anxiety Disorder, which can make life really miserable for almost 25% of women and 15% of men. When it’s not “chronic”, i.e., with you all the time, a little anxiety is actually useful. You feel a little anxious when you’re deciding […]
Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue, Part 8: Prescription Drugs
When new or even long-established patients arrive at WholeHealth Chicago (in person or via telemedicine), our practitioners walk them through what we call the medication ritual. We ask, “What are you taking, both prescription meds and supplements?” These days, people often see a range of health care providers and take many supplements, so it’s important […]
Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue, Part 6: Low Magnesium
George Lundberg, MD, former editor of JAMA and now editor-at-large of Medscape, refers to low levels of magnesium as “the emperor of all maladies.” Magnesium is largely ignored by doctors, despite the fact that having an insufficient amount of this mineral has been linked to: Heart arrhythmias and heart attacks High blood pressure Attention deficit […]
Peripheral Neuropathies
Most neurologists and primary care doctors will tell you that one of the most frustrating groups of conditions to treat are the peripheral neuropathies. It’s estimated that somewhere on the order of 20 million people suffer from peripheral neuropathy and while diagnosis is fairly straightforward, treatment is definitely problematic. The available medications are generally given […]
WELCOME TO WHOLEHEALTH CHICAGO! ANNGELA LEONE, LAc.
Anngela Leone, LAc. Is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist and herbalist in the state of Illinois. Anngela offers minimally invasive healing modalities that allow your body to heal itself. Chinese Medicine looks at each person through a broader lens where we see you as a whole person, not just a set of symptoms. As […]
Michelle Obama: Thanks for Reminding Us We’re Not Alone
You probably read last week that Michelle Obama acknowledged she’d been experiencing what she described as low-grade depression. You may have wondered aloud, as I did, how anyone who sees what’s going on in the world could avoid it. Many of us are feeling hopeless or anxious, ruminating about where this is all going, eating […]
Winter Wellbeing
It’s hard to overstate the degree (minus 11 F tomorrow here in Chicago) to which the Midwest has settled into the dead of winter. With the rush of the holidays behind us, two dark, cold months lie ahead. Snowstorms, sub-zero temps, and icy pavement prompt many of us to stay indoors when we’d rather be […]
Preparing for Less Daylight and Seasonal Depression (SAD)
My staff and I brace ourselves for the autumn day when clocks are set back an hour and the already dwindling sun-filled days diminish to darkness at 5 p.m. Add the overcast skies of winter and the “I’m NOT going outside” bitter cold, and we all may wonder why we’re not living in Santa Barbara. […]
Tired All The Time? Useful Info and Two Supplements
As you might expect, fatigue is a fairly common reason people visit doctors. Feeling tired is vague symptom and can be linked to dozens of possible diagnoses, plus there’s a need to differentiate between physical fatigue and mental fatigue (brain fog) or consider both. When your doctor or nurse practitioner starts to ask questions, she’s […]
The Benefits of Mindfulness
More than ever before, researchers and scientists are studying the health benefits of mindfulness practices for a wide variety of conditions. And they’re discovering overwhelmingly similar results: mindfulness decreases mood disturbances, enhances coping skills, and promotes wellbeing. Enter “benefits of mindfulness meditation” into your search engine and you’ll find dozens of articles and studies published […]
A Baffling Mystery: Treating Pain and Depression
We definitely treat a lot of patients with chronic pain and chronic depression at WholeHealth Chicago. I could list the potential sources of all this pain, all this depression, but why bother? If pain or depression melt away your joie de vivre, we try to help. Depending on personal preferences, we offer a variety of […]
Depression, Anxiety, Probiotics, and Camel’s Milk
Most thoughtful people who take medication for depression, anxiety, or both do so with mixed emotions. The symptoms of these conditions can be pretty horrible, and when you’re tossed a life preserver in the form of an effective prescription med, you’re thankful to be living at a time when they’re are available. Of course, good […]
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression
If you’re troubled by chronic anxiety, panic attacks, or depression, you may be put off by pill-popping treatments. Maybe you had a bad experience in the past or you’re concerned about side effects. All in all, you’d rather not feel nostalgic about your libido or gain a single ounce. You know that psychotherapy makes the […]
Winter Without Depression: A Workshop
As the clocks roll back and the first snow falls, you pull out winter gear right along with your annual dread of the bone chilling, windy darkness of a typical Chicago winter. Walking and other outdoor activities are challenging if not impossible. Driving, parking, and waiting for public transportation are a real annoyance, and many […]
Depression, Inflammation, and You
Posted 11/03/2014 You might not immediately think conditions as apparently disparate as depression and inflammation could be linked. Right up front, let me say if you’ve got a history of depression or anxiety, you’re not alone. With 11% of Americans over age ten taking antidepressants daily, we can probably triple that percentage to estimate the […]
Depression, Anxiety, and Acupuncture: A Major Breakthrough
Posted 04/07/2014 The statistics are simply staggering. The National Institutes of Health estimates that more than 20 million people in the US, roughly 10% of the population, have depression, defined as a recurring major depressive disorder, a constant state of depression (dysthymia), or bipolar disorder. Officially, these three are called mood disorders, considered separate from […]
Reversing the Potbelly of Male Menopause
This health tip begins with a mildly off-color story. If you’re offended by such things, please skip to paragraph three. During the 1920s and 30s the epicenter of New York City’s intellect and wit was the café at the Algonquin Hotel, with the famed Algonquin Round Table hosting luminaries Dorothy Parker, Alexander Woollcott, and Robert […]