It’s time for a broader perspective on mental health.
Mental illness can pose unique challenges to personal and professional development.
Life coaching with a focus on mental health can provide solutions, direction, and accountability unique to those with mental health challenges.
I support adults and teens living with depression — many of whom present with coexisting anxiety and/or ADHD.
The reason I’m so passionate about helping people navigate these particular mental health challenges is because I’ve been there. Having lived with these conditions for most of my life, I wish the mental health conversation was half of what it is today, when I was a teenager.
For years I’ve struggled to make sense of the traditional medical model for treatment.
While I am a huge proponent of psychotherapy and coaching models,
I’m not sold on the idea that pharmaceuticals are a viable or sustainable solution for everyone.
It is widely believed that depression is caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain. But did you know that there’s little real evidence to support this theory?
A recent study which found there was no support for this idea that low serotonin causes depression, sent shockwaves across the internet.
The scale of the public reaction was so enormous that they had to publish a response…
“For decades, people, including doctors, have been misled by false claims about what antidepressants are doing. The marketing line that antidepressants correct an underlying chemical imbalance has influenced people’s choices about their treatment, their self-perception, and their outlook on recovery. We should acknowledge that people were misled and take stock of how corporate interests and marketing have affected medical discussions, otherwise we will be condemned to repeat these mistakes with new pharmaceutical products.”
Read the full study, here, and some of the subsequent articles, here.
The Chemical Imbalance Theory of depression has long been debunked. While there are very real biological contributions to mental illness, most of the factors that have been proven to cause depression are not genetic. Rather, they’re environmental and psychological factors. Once you understand them it opens up a very different and empowering set of solutions — ones that should be offered to people alongside the strategy of chemical antidepressants.
We need to talk less about chemical imbalances and more about the imbalances in the way we live.
This modern approach focuses on the fact that your depression is a signal — it’s trying to tell you something.
In the same way that we have natural physical needs that our survival depends on (like food, water, shelter, clean air), we also have natural psychological needs. These include the need to belong, the need for love and connection, the need to feel like your life has meaning, the need to feel free, the need for recognition, and more.
When these needs aren’t being met, depression acts as a signal that you need to make some changes.
When we truly listen to and honour these signals, we begin to see the liberating, nourishing, deeper solutions that are all around us.
If you’re depressed or anxious, you’re not weak or crazy — you are a human being with unmet needs.
Mental Health Coaching is for you, if:
You feel overwhelmed, lost, stuck, lonely, confused
You don't know how to help yourself
You know what to do but you aren't doing it
You're actively working on your mental wellness but nothing seems to help