Many may be aware that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears, even obsessions, that lead you to do repetitive and rigid behaviors. It's a compulsive behavior that interferes with daily activities, causing significant distress. Despite efforts to ignore or get rid of bothersome thoughts or urges, they remain, so these behaviors then become like rituals. Many people with OCD know or suspect their obsessional thoughts are not reali

Easily one of the more common diagnosis I am finding in my primary care practice more recently is ADD in adults, and admittedly, these individuals aren't well. They are overwhelmed. Maxed out. Frozen. Broken. Addicted. Angry and fearful. They are mad at themselves for not being in better control of their lives, for missing appointments, for pushing deadlines, or maybe even behaving somewhat inappropriately, blurting out their thoughts, maybe even being rude and insulting at t

Although nursing school was more than twenty years ago now... woah, no, almost thirty years ago, I can't say that I remember learning about Oppositional Defiant Disorder in my undergraduate training. I am not even sure that I remember this particular psychiatric, or conduct disorder being discussed in any of my graduate programs, but today in clinical practice, it's quite common that my pediatric clientele present already having been identified as ODD. Oppositional defiant di

When I work with midwifery clients, I typically offer them a stack of cards which lists a variety of options they may have during their childbearing experience and I ask them to prioritize them. Among these options are the desire to eat and drink when they desire, to wear whatever they desire, to hold their baby immediately after birth or to not be separated, to have support through breastfeeding, or to birth in water. What I found most intriguing in the first few years, was

Since ancient times, yoga has been continuously adapted to suit the needs of individuals from different times, cultures, and traditions. The young have come to explore and develop their potential. The sick and aged have come for healing and a fresh perspective. Spiritual seekers have come to find freedom from the burdens of the material world or to find peace at the feet of their God. All who come to #yoga are welcome. In the hands of the wise teacher, yoga meets the individu

No joke, this may be the toughest task. The last pose in #yoga is savasana or the corpse pose and it is easily the hardest for most people, because you simply lay still, relax, and try not to engage in thoughts for twelve to fifteen minutes. Torture for many, particularly those who live rather stressful lives or have demanding careers. I secretly see this as a perfect way to identify those who have overstimulated nervous systems, those whose adrenals are a bit maxed out, and

While growing in popularity, functional medicine remains an unfamiliar area of medicine for most. Interestingly, while I could argue that it is the future of healthcare, or as Dr. Hymen, the father of functional medicine claims, "functional medicine is the future of conventional medicine," however, it is in fact, ancient medicine. Functional medicine seeks to identify and address the root cause of disease and views the body as one integrated system, rather than a collection o

My mother was really into #astrology when I was a kid, so this mindset has been somewhat familiar to me. Since I can remember, I've been well aware that I am a Sagittarius with a Leo moon and a Leo rising (yes, in total, I actually have six fire signs in my house), but when I began digging into the Christian faith, I abandoned those thoughts with the understanding that astrology was about fortune reading and therefore, of the occult. Astrology is based upon the use of stars a

This may be challenging for many of you, particularly those who live a very busy life, the Type A personality. I hate to admit this to you, but in effort to get really real with you, I'll confess that I am two driving tickets away from a felony: Habitual Offender. My third decade was filled with career achievements, improving benchmark #statistics, earning graduate degrees, and raising children as I raced from birth to birth wearing my midwifery hat. I picked up a few speedin

I've shared a bit before about functional medicine, it's approach, and why I favor this mindset for approaching management of dis-comfort and dis-ease in my practice. I also believe sparing kids from unnecessary medication and medical procedures is very important. Educating clients in natural approaches so they feel empowered to address minor issues at home has always been a passion of mine, and then certainly as children and their parents seek care within the practice, we wo

One of the more passionate areas of #wellness I find my self drawn with this new practice, Eden, is the desire to help people reach their optimal weight. I never struggled with my weight, in spite of birthing six children, until my stress escalated beyond my coping skills. For a functional medicine practitioner, it took me way longer to recognize my own health issues than quite frankly it should have but that's part of not prioritizing yourself. That's part of #stress. That's

I believe I've shared this before, but for many years while I was aware that I was uneducated about #meditation and had on my list to explore further, I really was under the impression that prayer was more the "Christian-way" and meditation was more for those outside the faith. Having spent some time educating myself these last several months and now being somewhat more than a novice, I've come to appreciate that prayer is more speaking to #God and meditation is more listenin

I know #selfcare and #selflove are the new catch phrases or even the new fad, particularly among mothers and women in their forties and fifties, but I could not be more serious about how very important this is for health and well-being. It is quite literally the top priority of my new practice. I want to help bring people back into both physical and emotional physiologic balance. I would argue that most haven't fully realized how much their own needs go neglected and how detr