Anxiety and Depression Clinic
Ease your mind without the side effects of drugs
Anxiety and depression are the most common forms of mental illness in Canada, affecting over 30% of Canadians. Mental illness impacts all aspects of your life: work, friendships, relationships, and enjoyment of life.
Anxiety and Depression Clinic – The Naturopathic Approach
Naturopathic treatment for mood disorders at our anxiety and depression clinic, starts with diet and lifestyle interventions. Food sensitivities can play a role in negatively affecting your mood, your energy levels and your overall sense of well-being. Dr. Trotter, ND is very experienced in working together with his patients to find a diet plan that helps them firstly, to feel their best and secondly, is manageable for them in the long-term.
Dr. Trotter will discuss stressors in your life with you and how you manage and cope with them. He will strategize with you to determine the best approach to understanding and addressing them. He has a network of mental health professionals to refer you to if you need the additional support.
Herbs and nutrients can also be beneficial to improving your anxiety and depression, with a much improved safety profile as compared to their pharmaceutical counterparts. He can discuss safe and effective treatment options for you to address your physical, emotional and mental health. These will be used in concert with dietary and lifestyle interventions to ensure that he treats the totality of your health in a holistic manner.
The Pharmaceutical Approach to Treating Anxiety and Depression
The conventional approach to treating anxiety and depression uses pharmaceutical interventions, which can help you to function and live a better life.
The flipside to prescription medication may be your tolerance to them. Side effects are common, and may actually outweigh the benefits. Sometimes, medication may help you get through a situational period in your life that triggers anxiety and/or depressive episodes. During these times, pharmaceutical medications can put you in a better place in the short-term while you work with your doctor to address your long-term mental health goals.
Ultimately though, due to the possibility of harmful side effects and the ongoing cost of pharmaceuticals, many people choose to work toward reducing or eliminating their dependence on pharmaceuticals.
This is where a naturopathic doctor can assist you. Dr. Makoto Trotter, ND has helped many of his patients to improve their anxiety and depression through a naturopathic approach, reducing their exposure to pharmaceutical drugs.
Hidden Stimulants and Depressants
A common lifestyle pattern that Dr. Trotter helps to identify in his patients is the cycle of hidden stimulants and depressants. Caffeine and alcohol are the most typical contributors to perpetuate this unhealthy cycle and compound feelings of anxiety and depression.
They are insidious in that they play against each other and end up being a self-medicating regime to deal with stressors in your life. Alcohol and caffeine may drastically impact your energy, moods, sleep and a multitude of other physical health complaints.
How would visits work for natural treatment of my depression and/or anxiety?
- Review your current stress management strategies, lifestyle, diet, medication and supplements
- Discuss past treatments you have tried and their level of success
- Comprehensive intake to discuss your digestion, hormones, emotional and mental well-being, along with other body systems that may be impacting your mental health
- Review previous relevant diagnostic tests and reports that may reveal contributing factors to your physical and mental health
- Discuss more comprehensive test options that could provide more information about your anxiety and depression
- Recommend a diet plan that is designed to reduce inflammation, improve energy and stabilize mood fluctuations
- Recommend nutrients and supplements to support your mental and emotional health
- Discuss herbal medicine options for your anxiety and/or depression
- Potentially incorporate acupuncture to support balancing moods
Dr. Makoto Trotter, ND is experienced in treating patients with mood disorders at our anxiety and depression clinic. He will work with you to optimize your mental, physical and emotional well-being. Book an appointment or contact Zentai Wellness Centre for further inquiries.