'Whole' Psychiatry : Treat mind and body, doctor says
Professional photographer Madelaine Gray takes anti-depressant medication to treat her sometimes acute depression. The lessons have been tough, but she’s learned to live with some of the unpleasant side effects of the medication she currently takes.
Early on with her latest prescription, Gray was overwhelmed by the punch of a significant toxic reaction, more than just the usual fatigue of past drugs. “I had trouble getting up,” recounts Gray. “I could hardly walk, I could hardly talk. My brain was like in a fog.” Her family considered taking her to the emergency room.
While Gray’s doctor adjusted her prescription to a more favorable dosage, the whole episode scared her into learning more about drug toxicity and alternative or supplemental treatments. “When severe depression hits, it can be like a roller coaster.”
After years of suffering the valleys of depression’s sadness, helplessness, and hopelessness, Gray wanted to take greater responsibility for healing herself. “I’ve gotta try some additional things,” Gray recalls thinking after her scare.
That week, she read about an anti-depressant survival program, developed by DC psychiatrist Dr. Robert Hedaya, that aims to improve all aspects of a person’s life, from nutrition and lifestyle, to biochemistry and spirituality.
HIDDEN CAUSES
In the course of treating treatment-resistant depression, Dr. Hedaya, a professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Hospital, learned more and more about the interconnectedness of the mind and body. “Immunology, hormonal research, dietary/nutritional research--these systems of the body are all linked together in a Web and you cannot treat the brain, the mind, effectively without addressing these other systems as well,” Hedaya says.
It’s normal for small percentages of drug takers to suffer various side effects from prescription drugs. Dr. Hedaya says when good drugs turn bad, as they did for Madelaine Gray, pay attention to the body, not just the mind. “Sometimes side effects are not really side effects but are actually a result of other underlying processes,” says Hedaya.
Hedaya compares a patient’s physical and mental health to a bank account. Patients increase their chances of becoming sick if they overdraw their total physical and mental balance. “By not eating the right foods, by being in a stressful situation or being in a job that you don’t like, or a bad relationship, this depletes your reserve,” states Hedaya.
WHOLE PSYCHIATRY
The doctor refers to his mind-body approach to depression treatment as “Whole Psychiatry.” He evaluates his patients with an extensive battery of tests which rate everything from hormone levels to food allergies. Hedaya describes Whole Psychiatry as an integrated broad-based approach to the evaluation and treatment of psychiatric symptoms.”
“There are hidden, undiscovered problems like dietary deficiencies, like hormonal problems, like excessive inflammation in the body, immune system problems, sometimes exposure to toxins,” says the doctor. “[Side effects of] the newer anti-depressants are sexual problems, difficulty with erection or orgasm or sensation or desire. In addition there is frequently a slow gradual weight gain and sometimes loss of energy, contrary to what we would expect.”
Hedaya advises patients, working with their doctors, to balance and heal all aspects of their lives. “Exercise, eat high quality food with adequate protein, make sure you get some form of relaxation and play in your life,” he says.
Collectively the panel of tests that Hedaya uses for a complete evaluation is not cheap, but it is thorough, the Georgetown doctor says. The multiple tests require a large commitment of clinical time and proper preparation.
Hedaya suggests such testing is an investment in good health. “We’ll spend $15,000, $20,000, $30,000 on a car; will you spend $3,000, $4000, $5,000 for your health?”
Madelaine Gray says that she and her husband decided to make the investment because health is such a large priority. “It’s paid off in my happiness, and my husband’s happiness,” she says.
FOOD SENSITIVITIES
Through tests, Gray learned that she has 22 food sensitivities that have contributed in some way to her bad reaction to medication.
With continued psychotherapy, Gray has been able to develop various aspects of her life, including plans to begin backpacking again with her husband, something they previously enjoyed. “We talk about what my goals are as a person, not just what my mood is that day or how my muscles are. We really look at how I am doing as a person nutritionally, exercise-wise, my work, my social relationships, my spiritual practice. To me, they all have to be in harmony, for someone to really be at their optimal self.”
Best of all, Gray feels like she has come back from the depths of depression. “I don’t know when I have felt so good,” she reports. “I’m very happy, enthusiastic, enjoying the present.”
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