Using amino acid and nutrient therapy transformed my life, and those of my clients (and my STUDENTS) in ways I never before imagined.
My motto is: “It’s our brain’s job to allow us to cope with stress gracefully, but to do that, it needs to be fed optimally “.
Our brain is our master control panel. All of our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, beliefs, and ability to learn and utilize recovery skills are mediated through our brain, and specifically through chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.
When they are in balance and functioning optimally, we are able, as human beings, to effectively step up and cope with life’s challenges. However, if they are depleted, or out of balance, so are we! This imbalance leads to symptoms such as depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, cravings, etc, which can derail us. Many of us then turn to mood-altering chemicals for relief. But over time, they only make things worse. However, science has shown us which basic nutrients are found in whole foods the brain needs to rebuild and regulate itself. By following these scientifically grounded nutritional principles, each of us can quickly rebuild neurotransmitter functioning, most of the time, thus reducing symptoms and restoring resilience.
I know it sounds incredible, but I’m actually downplaying everything my tools and I can help people do. When I first started learning about amino acid therapy from every source I could, I immediately started applying this new knowledge to myself. I was severely depressed, anxious, fatigued, and my ADHD had almost completely derailed my life. The first amino I tried was L-Tyrosine, and once I started actually taking it twice daily (my ADHD interfered with my ability to REMEMBER to take it!) it felt like the SUN had come out! I had a much brighter mood and energy, and my focus was better.
I then used 5HTP for social anxiety, and it allowed me to engage in situations that I would have previously avoided. I also went off gluten, fully cleaned up my diet, and brought in other crucial nutrients such as fish oil. They all work synergistically together.
Finally, when I was 40, my ADHD got diagnosed and I was so pleased because I actually had nutritional tools to address it! I switched from L-Tyrosine by itself to a combination for ADHD, and everything changed! After a while, I didn’t need the aminos anymore, except for spot situations, and I used hypnosis to put most of the ADHD into remission. The leftover ADHD, I now manage with the amino acid L-Theanine, which I take whenever I get overwhelmed.
Then I started using this with my clients (both those with SUDs and those with other mental health issues), as well as in the Kodiak Island treatment program, and they also loved the results they were getting.
Somewhere around 2006, I was working as a relapse prevention counselor at an outpatient IV Amino Acid detox program in Denver, and the DUI counselor there, Portia, needed supervision for her LPC License and CAC 3 certification. During our supervision time, she would talk about how impressed she was by how quickly the IV clients were getting better, compared to the people in her DUI groups. I kept sharing everything I knew about amino acid therapy and this biochemical approach to recovery. She then started integrating it into her DUI groups and was delighted by the positive response. So, she was my very first student! She later went on to take my full training and in 2010, she became a nutritionist at Raleigh House of Hope, a nutritionally oriented treatment program in Denver, setting up and managing their nutrient protocols, and working with the chef to provide food in accordance with pro-recovery food principles. Seeing how this extra training allowed her to expand her career and help so many more people, made me excited about training other therapists as well, and promoting their careers.
Because of this, I realized I had to STOP seeing addiction (and many mental health symptoms) as simply a result of trauma, childhood deficits, or lack of life skills. I realized how important healthy brain functioning is to a healthy life, or even to the healing journey, and therefore, I had to START with the BRAIN! I realized that people need an online brain in order to fully participate in therapy and effectively access and utilize the recovery skills they were putting a lot of time, effort, and money into learning. And so I started asking my clients about what they were eating and drinking if they had PMS, and most valuably, how long had it been prior to a craving or use episode that they had eaten protein. The more I asked these questions, and acted on the answers, the quicker my clients stabilized and got well! The results were mind-blowing, but also depressing!
One client had seen 7 highly trained mental health professionals before I, # 8, was the one who discovered that her twice daily panic attacks were due to low blood sugar! She didn’t need therapy. She didn’t need meds. She needed protein!
So the real reason I do what I do now is so that MORE clients get the right answers sooner!
So that YOU can be the one to uncover and effectively address the biochemical reason for your client’s cravings and relapse, and set them free.
So that YOU can have the same feelings of delight that I have over and over again as my client’s lives turn around, and my waiting list grows longer!
What a journey, right?…
I’d love to hear from you about this.
Are you struggling to find even more effective mental health tools for yourself and/or your clients?
Do you have a burning desire to stop recurrent use in yourself or people in your life, but haven’t been able to figure out how?
Did this message inspire you or help you connect the dots?
I’d love to know!
Blessings,