The MindHealth360 Show
Sep 19, 2020
9: Prof. Stephen Porges - How safe do you feel? Revolutionising mental health with the Polyvagal Theory
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Professor Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory shows how the state of our nervous system determines our mental (and physical) health.
He proposes a new paradigm in which mental illness is the result of our bodies’ reaction to a prolonged experience of threat, provoking a biochemical cascade which reduces our capacity for health, growth and repair.
He urges us to listen to our bodies as much as we listen to our minds, and to build more nervous-system informed relationships and institutions, for better mental health.
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May 24, 2023
50: Dr. Richard Schwartz - Finding your “Self”: how IFS is revolutionising psychotherapy and promoting healing for addiction, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm and suicidality
Dr. Richard Schwartz is the Founder of IFS (Internal Family Systems), an evidence-based therapy which is revolutionising traditional psychotherapy. IFS has shown to be remarkably successful where other therapies have proven to be ineffective or unsustainable in helping patients resolve issues with addictions, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, suicidality, and other mental health problems. Its strength lies in its simple and intuitive premise that we each have parts (the fearful part, the caregiver, the perfectionist, the overachiever, the grieving part, the addict, etc, usually formed in childhood) which are often at odds with each other and can cause us to act in ways which are destructive to ourselves and others (while in fact, they are actually trying to protect us). Uniquely combining cognitive and somatic approaches, IFS teaches us to pay attention to our different parts and their relationships in order to successfully heal trauma and poor mental health.
In this fascinating interview, Dr. Schwartz explains why damaged or conflicting parts can lead to emotional pain, physical illness and mental crisis. He helps us discover why there are no “bad” parts, and how when our parts are allowed to feel safe and heard, feelings of compassion, curiosity, calm and confidence flourish. He identifies these qualities as forming our “Self”, and has found them to be fully present (though often repressed) in even his most traumatised patients. As such, IFS is one of the therapies most aligned with spiritual traditions in that it recognizes that we all have a healthy and intact “Self”, separate from our parts. He shows that by listening to these wounded parts with compassion and courage from a place of “Self”, and then speaking and acting with “Self Leadership”, speaking for our parts, rather than from our parts, we can substantially improve our professional and personal relationships, our lives, mental and physical health and happiness.
Dr. Schwartz has a PhD in family therapy, has taught at a number of institutions including University of Illinois, Northwestern and Harvard University, and has authored many best-selling books including No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model and You Are The One You've Been Waiting For: Bringing Courageous Love To Intimate Relationships.
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Apr 26, 2023
49: Dr. Mario Martinez - Centenarians who break the rules: how our cultural beliefs negatively impact our health and longevity, and ways to live longer, happier and healthier lives
Clinical neuropsychologist Dr. Mario Martinez has spent years interviewing healthy centenarians around the world, and studying the effects of culture, beliefs, thoughts and feelings on our biochemistry, longevity and health. He is the best selling author of The MindBody Code: How to Change the Beliefs That Limit Your Health, Longevity, and Success. In this thought-provoking interview, he outlines the profound influence cultural contexts have on the immune system, the endocrine system and the regulation of the nervous system, and how our culture influences our mental health and life expectancy. Backed by scientific evidence, he reveals that longevity is learned rather than inherited. Discussing top tips on how to defy falling rates of life expectancy in the West, he explains how our minds and bodies are heavily influenced by our cultural attitudes towards health and ageing, and why feelings of shame, disempowerment and hopelessness are worse for our mental and physical health than stress. The pioneering founder of Biocognitive Science, Dr. Martinez shows why self-worth is key to living beyond 100 and explains how we can remodel our physiology through our thoughts and actions to promote health, happiness and longevity.
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Mar 23, 2023
48: Dr. Datis Kharrazian - Why isn't your brain working? The devastating effects of neuroinflammation and how to fix them with functional neurology
Dr. Datis Kharrazian is an award winning clinical research scientist, Harvard trained academic professor and world renowned Functional Medicine expert. He is at the forefront of developing evidence-based treatments for mood disorders as well as autoimmune and chronic neurological diseases, which are used by academic institutions as well as by thousands of health care providers. A Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, Diplomate of the Board of Nutrition Specialists, member of the American Association of Immunologists, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, he is also the bestselling author of Why do I Still have Thyroid Problems?, and Why Isn’t My Brain Working?
In this very complex and captivating interview, Dr. Datis Kharrazian explains why conventional medical approaches to brain health are ineffective, and why neuroinflammation – rather than neurochemical imbalance such as low serotonin – is the true cause of poor mental health. With a focus on psychoimmunology, he sheds light on cutting edge research into glial cells (which are responsible for ‘cleaning’ the brain), and explains how they dictate all aspects of health. Revealing the concrete link between primed glial cells and chronic neuroinflammation, he outlines why immune activation is the most common cause of poor mental health (anxiety, depression, insomnia, OCD, etc), neurodegeneration (autism, ADHD, Parkinson’s, etc) and autoimmune diseases (MS, diabetes, IBD, etc). He explains that our brains, thoughts and emotions can all cause neuroinflammation and in turn poor mental health, and shows how anxiety, depression, autoimmunity, and other chronic health symptoms can be treated successfully through functional neurology models that address and treat neuroinflammation. He also offers real hope that although identifying the causes of glial cell activation and neuroinflammation can seem complex and overwhelming (and can include a vast array of biochemical, environmental and psychological stressors, mould, toxins, viruses, leaky gut, trauma, injury, stress, etc), wellness can be achieved through relatively simple lifestyle and dietary treatments.
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