Passive & Active "Bottom Up" Approaches to Relax, Improve Mood, Focus & Sleep, Decrease Pain & Muscle Tightness, Improve Social Communication, Lower Inflammation & More
The vagus nerve is truly remarkable. It helps us relax, focus, engage socially, and maintain a positive mood. By countering the body’s stress response, it lowers inflammation and communicates with key organs in the digestive, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems. The vagus nerve also plays a crucial role in social interactions, unconsciously assessing the safety of others. Ever feel uncertain about someone you just met, without knowing why? That’s your vagus nerve—your "sixth sense"—sending signals your conscious mind might miss. The best part? We can actively support our vagus nerve. If you’re dealing with stress, mood issues, trouble focusing, sleep problems, or chronic pain, you can tap into the power of the vagus. This also applies to psychiatric conditions, headaches, autoimmune diseases, heart and lung issues, digestive problems, and even cancer. In last week's paid newsletter, I covered how to recognize vagus nerve dysfunction and why it might not be functioning optimally. In this edition, I’ll explore ways to stimulate and "exercise" the vagus nerve, offering immediate calming effects and long-term resilience. Regular practice can raise stress tolerance and help us recover from stress more quickly.
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Understanding Smart Meters and EMF Exposure: Insights from Eric Windheim
Eric Windheim, BA, BBEC, EMRS, RFSO, is a Certified Electromagnetic Radiation Specialist and Building Biology Environmental Consultant. As the founder of Windheim Solutions, he specializes in inspecting, testing, and remediating harmful electromagnetic fields (EMFs). In this episode, we explore the topic of smart meters—digital devices that measure real-time electricity usage and wirelessly transmit this data to utility companies. Smart meters are also sometimes used for gas and water monitoring.
Smart meters primarily emit radio frequencies, one of the four harmful types of electromagnetic fields, alongside electric fields, magnetic fields, and dirty electricity. EMF exposure has been linked to a variety of brain symptoms, such as insomnia, memory issues, irritability, depression, personality changes, inattention, fatigue, confusion, headaches, tinnitus, dizziness, numbness, and tingling.
Problematic EMFs impact the brain in multiple ways, contributing to oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, immune system disruption, hormonal imbalances, microbiome disturbances, and compromising the blood-brain barrier. EMFs can even elevate blood sugar levels. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to reduce exposure. In this newsletter: Eric shares:
We discuss:
By Courtney Snyder, MD
A Conversation About High Copper, Low Zinc, Pyrrole Disorder & Methylation Imbalances - Symptoms, Traits, Testing & Treatment I recently had the pleasure of joining Annika Taylor, a holistic health practitioner, on the Nourished By Nature: Mind Body Wellness Podcast. After sharing my journey into holistic psychiatry and defining what it means, Annika and I explored the following topics:
We also discussed a recent finding by Dr. Walsh that undermethylation is on the rise in the population, while overmethylation appears to be decreasing. Related Resources: Annika Taylor - nourishedbynature.com Walsh Research Institute For links to specific topics address see links in the description above. By Courtney Snyder
One of the challenges of writing blog posts that explore root causes of brain related symptoms is that what we are learning is constantly evolving. There's so much we still and will never know. Another challenge - everything is interconnected. The best I can do is to write about these root causes separately. While some contributing factors can occur in parallel, one condition is often leading to other downstream conditions that themselves contribute to things like depressed mood, anxiety, mood swings, brain fog/inattention and so forth. Mold toxicity is a perfect example. It can contribute to Pyrrole Disorder due the stress it puts on the body. It can lead to elevated copper by overwhelming one of the antioxidants in the body that regulates copper. Because it interferes with the immune system, it can lead to a susceptibility to candida/yeast, Lyme and its co-infections. It also frequently worsens mast cell activation (see last post). I consider it a root of the roots. In my daily work, I find mold toxicity to be very common. Here’s why -
Courtney Snyder, MD
Purpose, Healing and Happiness Whatever language, symbolism or religious framework we use or try not to use, many of us believe there's a reason each of us are here ...at this time, in this place and with these people. Though I think a lot about the details of health, I fall short on the bigger picture of healing if I forget that our wellbeing depends on much more, not the least of which is having a deep sense of purpose in our lives. Purpose can energize us. It is a reason to do the hard work; to get out of bed. It lowers stress and it’s associated physiologic responses. Futility is stressful. So is incongruence - the mismatch between our natural abilities and passions and what we’re actually doing. With purpose comes a clarity about what and with whom we want to spend our time.
Courtney Snyder, MD
Psychiatric medications are a good thing ...for a lot of people....at least at this time in the history of medicine. They save lives and alleviate suffering and pain. Courtney Snyder, MD
Who knew...copper, the essential trace element important in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, respiration, immune function, energy metabolism and growth, could wreak so much havoc on the mind and body? I never gave much thought to copper until it presented itself to me in the most delightful way...a dream of a copper tiled ceiling - the most memorable dream I've had. Copper ... "associated with the goddess Aphrodite/Venus in mythology and alchemy, ...symbolic of love, balance, feminine beauty and artistic creativity." So taken with this dream, I painted a mantel copper. We eventually moved and left that copper mantel and dream behind. Ten years later copper resurfaced at the Walsh Research Institute where Dr. William Walsh was teaching about copper overload - one of the most common biochemical imbalances found in brain related disorders. "In most persons, blood copper levels are kept in a narrow range through the action of metallothionein, ceruloplasmin, as well as other proteins. Unfortunately, many persons have a genetic inability to regulate copper levels and a serious copper overload can result." - William Walsh, PhD. |
Courtney Snyder, MDFor anyone experiencing brain symptoms. This blog (and weekly newsletter) is your guide to demystifying root causes and learning about surprising paths to healing. From a holistic - functional adult and child psychiatrist dedicated to helping people heal and thrive. Categories
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