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A Balanced Perspective Weekly 
on Health and Wellness
July 27, 2006

1. Depression, Anxiety, and Eating Disorders
2. Website Highlight Of The Week - Workshops for Companies
3. Cooking Classes 
4. Improve Your Relationship with Food and Your Body
5. Nutrition and Weight Loss Workshop - Sign-up Now!
6. Bi-weekly Healthy Body, Healthy Life Group Starting

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1. Depression, Anxiety, and Eating Disorders

Hey there...  Wow!  The nights have been beautiful
this week here in New York.  It is a hot one today, but
hopefully it will cool down this evening again.

I had my final exam on Monday in the psychology
course I was taking this summer.  I AAA-ced the class
with flying colors!  I'm feeling quite proud of that!  I love
being in school.  It was particularly interesting taking this
course after being a coach for 3 1/2 years.  There are
so many overlaps.

To Strong To Get Help?

One thing I wanted to talk about today is the issue of
antidepressants.  All of my life I have been so hard core
about doing things the natural way.  (Although I admit
I'll be the first one to take an ibuprofen when pain hits,
I am such a wimp when comes to that kind of stuff!)  I
come from a family that is strong-minded, hard-headed,
and independent.  I have always thought you should
work through your problems to overcome them, and not
rely on medication for psychological issues.  I believed
there were some people that truly needed medical help,
but for the most part, I thought issues should be dealt
with through counseling.

I still do believe very much in counseling.  In fact,
studies have shown that with depression, talk therapy
changes brain chemistry the same as antidepressants
do, and the long-term success of treatment is higher
with cognitive therapy than with antidepressants.

Problems Can Be Overwhelming

However, I have also learned how anxiety, depression,
insomnia, and eating disorders can all go together.  I
have seen how symptoms like these can wreak havoc
on a person's health and daily enjoyment of living.  In
my lifetime I have watched countless women try to
gain control over their anxiety and eating habits only
to fall back into old habits within weeks.

In my classes I gained a greater understanding of how
brain chemistry and neurotransmitters work.  If things
can go wrong with our physical bodies in tangible
ways that we can see and feel, it is certainly possible,
especially in today's polluted and stress-induced
environment, to have deficiencies or imbalances
chemically.  Women definitely know how this can
happen so easily with their hormones.

How This Affects Eating

Anxiety and depression are often contributors to the
compulsive need to eat, or the obsessive thinking
about food, i.e. "I can't wait till my next meal."  This
is why when I am doing coaching with people, we
often work on techniques to handle stress, improve
relationships, and increase levels of hope by
determining what goals you are really passionate
about in life and how you're going to get there.

But sometimes the anxiety and/or depression cloud
motivation, or the hope only lasts a few days until
something else negative happens.  Sometimes this
could be related to a chemical imbalance that may
not be in your favor.  Taking medication does not
have to be something you do for the rest of your
life.  Often, deciding to take an antidepressant
gives you what you need to make therapy more
successful.  It gives you time to feel normal and see
what issues it may be that are bringing you down or
causing the anxiety.  Things just seem clearer and
less overwhelming.  Once you've developed better
coping skills, you can work with your doctor to come
off the medication and see how you do.

Free From Obesession

So I tell you all of this because I know there are a
lot of people out there struggling, and it may not
have to be as hard as you think.  Deciding to take
medication for a psychological issue can be scary
because there are so many myths and stigmas that
we relate to it.  It's okay though.  Antidepressants
won't change your personality, but someone who
struggles with bulimia for instance, can often times
become free of obsessing over food.  This is probably
hard for them to imagine, but it is very exciting to
know about this hope! That may be healthier in the
long run, even if it's not the most natural method for
dealing with the disorder.

I strongly recommend that you seek the care of a
psychiatrist rather than a family physician if you
decide to take this route.  I also recommend that you
are in therapy so you can work through the issues
and hopefully only need the medication short term.

We can also work together to develop healthier
eating options and work on life goals.

Lots of love to you!

Enjoy the weekend.

Melissa

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"Counseling with Melissa was so much more than what I'd
expected.  I started out thinking I was just going to be
coached through a diet, but she helped with many other
aspects of my life.  She really took the time to get to know me
and respected my values.  We worked on my self-image and I
have learned to be kinder and more accepting to myself.  She
helped me to develop a budget that was livable, ultimately
leading to less stress in my life.  We worked on how I deal with
personal relationships as well.  I am so much more aware of my
needs and how to express them to those in my life.  I also lost
about 20 pounds during our six months of sessions and have still
maintained that weight loss.  I miss my telephone meetings with
Melissa, but it's still very helpful to get her weekly newsletters.
I would recommend her services to anyone!  She is very
balanced in her approach."