welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

mindfulness beats out anxiety depression pill

MINDFULNESS BEATS OUT ANXIETY DEPRESSION PILL

this article linked here answers that question

the answer
yes mindfulness meditation works just as well as lexapro or escitalopram 20 mg in the treatment of the most common mental health diagnosis in the world
its anxiety

i think we all know what that means
most of us have experienced anxiety in some form or another

some folks have it so bad its debilitating

now ive treated anxiety with celexa or citalopram a cousin to escitalopram or lexapro
for some it works 
when it does like it does for depression 
its life changing

now in the last 3 years i have take several different meds for my debilitating stomach issues i had 3 years ago when i lost almost 50 lbs and got to where i could hardly eat much
i felt like i almost starved to death

i took cousins to lexapro or escitalopram 
it helped
but
the side effects i couldnt tolerate 

wouldnt it be nice if you have anxiety that you could control it without medicines and its side effects
i took 3 different meds and couldnt tolerate the side effects

i thought man im sorry if you got these meds from me and had these side effects

the effect i was after was not anxiety or depression it was their effects on the vagus nerve which controls how the stomach works

im not sure mindfulness would have worked for me

but for folks with anxiety or depression mindfulness mediation in this study seemed to work at least for anxiety as well as the medication did

there is no side effect to mindfulness except for it takes time each day
even if it doesnt totally control your anxiety or depression you will feel better for doing it

there are local mindfulness folks no matter where you live

i will link this one since i personally know this person
she is a radiation oncologist who developed this program for her cancer patients going through cancer treatments  and dealing with their diagnosis
she also has meditations for young moms working moms etc
she is one herself
it is available online

now i dont have cancer but my alzheimers diagnosis puts me sort of in that category 
i have a terminal diagnosis that will slowly win out
i have some of the same feelings a cancer patient does sometimes

i realize i personally use some mindfulness techniques its just not in an organized way

each morning i take a few minutes when the sun arises to pause what i am doing to watch the sun bursts over the condos across our courtyard
it is a sudden burst of light into our living room where i sit facing the sun feeling its warm just sitting there to let my mind wander

im sure my wife she sees me doing this and wanders if i had a stroke or something since im not moving and im deep down in my thought center in my brain

i commonly go to the garden early in the morning most days
im usually the only one there even on volunteer days for over an hour

i dont listen to music or podcasts while im in the garden
i just let my mind wander and soak up the sounds smells and scenery
i even read where getting your hands in the dirt absorbs things from the soil that also helps

thats my mindfulness i practice
its not organized but it works for me
i feel it if i dont do it every day

if you cant do your own version of mindfulness
find a local one
or
search out this one

she rotated through an honors class while in high school that would rotate through my clinic to follow me around for an hour or two
i was always looking for a student to work for me a few hours a week
someone who was interested in medicine

her senior year she worked for me 
we have kept in contact since she graduated from high school then college then medical school then residency and now in private practice

her website is called circle of hope and is linked here

if you have anxiety you might try mindfulness even if you are on medication
it may help you

even if you dont have anxiety or depression mindfulness mediation may help you also

mindfulness mediation is also something thats recommended you do all your life

it sure beats taking a pill

the organicgreen doctor

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