Tim Culbert, MD

Important Fact: Up to 25% of fathers experience postpartum depression (PPD) and fathers may have different signs/symptoms than women who experience postpartum depression.

For example, men with PPD may not cry,  but often feel more angry, irritable, or impulsive. They may also have trouble finding anything to do that gives them pleasure (anhedonia), experience relationship stress, and have trouble with sleep.

Studies suggest that dads with depression are at increased risk for substance abuse, domestic violence, and are more likely to discourage the child’s mother from breastfeeding. 

Unfortunately, few dads are screened for PPD. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is starting to be used by professionals, but it's not common. It's an important issue that impacts the whole family when fathers with PPD go undiagnosed and therefore untreated.

For example, men with PPD are more likely to spank their kid(s) and less likely to interact with...

Movements and Routines for Better Sleep

Moving your body in certain ways while you're awake can prepare it for better, longer sleep. Specifically, there are two powerful strategies that can help you sleep better: 

1. Exercise During the Day

Exercise during the day will likely help you sleep better. Just remember to try and finish moderate to high intensity exercise at least three hours before you go to bed to keep your stress hormones down and your body cool at bedtime.

Don't have an exercise plan yet? In order to help you find a movement routine that works for you, we have created three resilient movement plans: the Basic Movement Plan, the Even Better Movement Plan, and the Ideal Movement Plan. Learn more and find the plans here.>>>

2. Create Evening and Morning Routines

Incorporating more meaningful movement throughout your day can play a big role in the quality of your sleep. One way to accomplish this is to create morning and...

by Henry Emmons, MD

Recent research has shown a correlation between children and adults who have allergies/asthma and also have anxiety disorders. It’s not known if one problem causes the other, or if perhaps they have a similar underlying cause, or if perhaps simply not feeling well adds to one’s stress level. 

Allergies, Anxiety, and Inflammation

In my clinical practice, I have observed this relationship for a long time. I can’t explain it either, but I do have some theories. What I notice is that when the body over-reacts to things (in this case, one over-reacts to an “allergen” like pollen, dust or pets), the mind is often over-reactive as well. It fits with my belief that mind and body are not really separate things, just different facets of the whole. As to what causes this correlation, I think inflammation is a likely culprit. After all, if the body has inflammation, so does the brain, and recent theories suggest that...

Henry Emmons, MD

Seasonal affective disorder... in the summer?

Most of us in the far north live for summer. After a long winter (and potentially a long quarantine!), we just want to be outdoors, stay up later, be more active—pack in all the things we love that we’ve felt deprived of for nearly half of the year (read about SAD in the winter here.), but for a minority of people it’s the anticipation of summer, not winter, that gives them a feeling of dread.

We tend to associate Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) with winter, when the days are short and so is our energy supply. You’re probably familiar with what it looks and feels like: Lethargy; sluggishness; struggling to get out of bed in the morning; sleeping too much; and usually feeling depressed, emotionally flat, or both. 

SAD involves recurring episodes of major depression that happen at the same time of year for at least two years. For 10% of people with SAD, that time of year is the...

Timothy Culbert, MD, IFMCP

Impulsivity, or acting without thinking, can be a real problem for kids (and yes, for adults too).

What does impulsivity look like? When it happens once in a while, it can look like everyday kid behavior. When it happens a lot, though, it looks like what it actually is: Trouble with self-control. Impulsivity doesn’t appear the same way in every child. And the behaviors can change as kids get older. 

When kids are impulsive, they might:

• Do silly or inappropriate things to get attention.
• Have trouble following rules consistently.
• Be aggressive toward other kids (hitting, kicking, or biting is common in young kids).
• Have trouble waiting their turn in games and conversation.
• Grab things from people or push in line.
• Overreact to frustration, disappointment, mistakes, and criticism.
• Want to have the last word and the first turn.
• Not understand how their words or behavior affect other people.
• Not understand the consequences of their actions....

Henry Emmons, MD

What is Ashwagandha?

In Ayurvedic medicine, Ashwagandha is thought to be one of the most valued remedies for a variety of conditions. It is one of my favorite herbs, and one of the few that I use personally as part of my daily regimen. It is known as an “adaptogen” or a “tonic” herb. That means that it isn’t considered to be a medicinal herb, per se, but is rather a general health tonic, one that is used to improve the body’s ability to adapt to stress.

At Natural Mental Health, we’re most interested in Ashwagandha’s ability to support the body under stress, reduce anxiousness, and help with sleep. It is one of the rare substances that seems to improve mental focus and alertness, while at the same time toning down the stress response and calming anxiousness. It appears to calm the brain when it is overactive, and stimulate it when it is under-active. Not too much, not too little, but helping us to stay in the right...