3 Mental Health Myths

Unlock the secrets of holistic health as Emily, a passionate massage therapist, challenge the myths surrounding mental health. Ever thought mental health issues stop at the brain? Think again. 

Join me to explore how the vagus nerve connects it all—the brain, heart, gut, and beyond—unveiling the powerful impact mental health has on the entire body. Discover how recognizing subtle stress signals like an increased heart rate and muscle tension can put you in control of your emotional well-being. Learn about my unique approach to integrating vagus nerve resets in massage therapy, offering a holistic path to relaxation for those grappling with stress and anxiety.

We'll journey through the interconnected realms of the brain, nervous system, hormones, and gut health, highlighting the gut's crucial role in serotonin production and its influence on mental wellness. Through personal anecdotes, I'll share how simple acts like humming or mindful breathing can stimulate the vagus nerve and soothe anxiety, encouraging you to embrace natural, non-medication strategies for mental peace. I believe that embracing sleep and routine can significantly enhance mental health, and I offer a free Vagus Nerve Reset video as your first step towards calmness. Wellness begins at Vagus, and I'm excited to walk this path with you.

Chapters

• 0:01 Unlocking Mental Health Through Vagus Nerve
• 4:12 Supporting Mental Health Beyond the Brain
• 12:26 Finding Calm Through Vagus Nerve

Transcript

Emily : 0:01

What if I told you that your mental health wasn't just in your head, that anxiety, the chronic stress and even how your gut feels all are deeply connected to your nervous system, specifically the vagus nerve, and today we are going to be busting myths and uncovering the real experiences behind mental health and how you can take control of your emotional well-being from a massage therapist's view, and that's me.

Emily : 0:30

Hi, I'm Emily and I am a massage therapist that works directly with the nervous system. Welcome to. It Starts at Vagus, the podcast where holistic health meets modern living. I'm Emily, your guide to unlocking the power of the vagus nerve, which is your body's ultimate key to calm, connection and overall well-being. Together, we'll explore simple ways to nourish your mind and body with natural remedies, actionable tips and empowering stories. Whether you're here to reduce stress, restore balance or take charge of your health, you're in the right place, because wellness doesn't just happen. It starts at Vagus. Let's dive in.

Emily : 1:12

In this episode, we will explore three myths that I see in relation to mental health. Myth number one is that mental health issues don't affect physical health. Myth number two mental health is only about the brain. And myth number three medication is the only solution. So let's get started. Myth number one mental health issues don't affect physical health, and I do find that many people believe that mental health struggles are all in their head and it has nothing to do with physical health. But the truth is, your body pays attention as a whole and it looks for information to come to a conclusion on how you really feel. So that vagus nerve connects the brain, the heart, the gut, your lungs, your immune system, making an overall emotional health, an entire body process. So it's not just one, it's lots of different things and they are all connected. When one starts going faster, it's going to increase the other. So if you start having a faster heart rate, your breathing is going to go faster and then your muscles are going to tense and it takes on the whole body, not just one section. And so have you ever had that gut feeling about something? Well, that's your gut, brain axis and the vagus nerve communicating together. Like I said, people can get physically tense when their stress doesn't have an outlet. It just keeps building up over time and it needs a place to go when it's not addressed, and what we can do is support it with healthy habits like talking to a friend while you see him and just work through what you're feeling with a trusted friend so that it doesn't stick to you, because if the stress isn't let out or calmed down it will hide somewhere in your body. I see it every day and with some of my massage clients. Sometimes it helps if they talk to me about what's going on in their life to make the most out of the therapy session. Now I'm not a counselor, but I am a considerate person who doesn't mind listening to ease that burden. And if a client tells me that they struggle with stress and anxiety, I make a note of that and do some vagus nerve resets to help them relax easier. So if you want to kind of test that to see I'm not so sure if that's true go ahead and listen to episode number one to test it yourself and you can feel how those two are connected. Test it yourself and you can feel how those two are connected.

Emily : 4:12

Myth number two mental health is only about the brain. Some people feel that mental health is just about brain chemistry, that depression and anxiety stem from a simple chemical imbalance like low serotonin. But as mentioned before, mental health is a full body experience which is regulated by the nervous system, hormones, gut, health and all of these components. They have a role to support one another. They have a role to support one another. And so they communicate and say, hey, how do I react to the situation that we are in? And I've read that. What is it? Over 90% of serotonin, which is your feel-good neurotransmitter? It is produced in the gut, not the brain. So you're thinking, well, if I'm having troubles with my thoughts, it's got to be there. But actually it stems from the gut. It really does impact one another because that's where it's made. So if it's not being made, then it's going to affect the brain and that vagus nerve. That's the connection between the gut brain to say, hey, how's it going, both up and down, and saying, yep, we're doing great or not so much. So one example of a real life experience for the gut and brain talking to each other One of my kiddos we're going to let's just say we're going to name her Alex, because I have two daughters and nobody's named Alex, but this is kind of going to keep their privacy.

Emily : 5:51

But Alex came to me late in the evening saying that her anxiety was keeping her from sleeping and that her tummy hurts. Now I know as her mom, this is often her pattern for anxiety. So I took that moment and I kind of figured out what would be the easiest solution right now, because I'm tired, she's tired, what can we do? And so I thought you know what, let's hum. So we hummed together, we hummed. I think it was like Twinkle, twinkle Little Star, and so it was a familiar song. She didn't have to think about the words or the lyrics, we just kind of hummed it and it helped us connect to each other and it worked on toning the vagus nerve to help that.

Emily : 6:42

Humming is an exercise that you can do to help the vagus nerve settle down. And so afterwards she did feel better and she went from having an anxious moment to now connecting with me, feeling like she was supported, and then she kept her mind from those anxious thoughts by, you know, humming that familiar song. So in that moment I not only helped her feel better but taught her how to relax within just minutes. And since then I have caught her a few times humming to herself and I think, okay, she's working through something. So as a mom I can later talk to her or I can just see how she functions. It's just my mental nodes of seeing how well my kids are handling life Now. Without taking the time to do that vagus nerve exercise with her, she would have had a much harder time getting to sleep, staying asleep, which would have had repercussions on the next day like more cranky attitudes or even maybe her tummy would still be upset. She might feel a little nauseous because it's still that gut-wrenching feeling, but it was just alleviated by simple humming and it's such a nice feeling knowing that I can give my kids tools like that to help them through their day.

Emily : 8:14

Now, myth number three medication is the only solution for mental health. And that is the myth that if some people believe that if they're struggling with mental health, the only option is medication and while medication can be helpful and sometimes necessary, it's not the only way to regulate your nervous system we can support it in many, many ways. So, like the vagus nerve stimulation, movement, breath work those are simple things that we can do and that can help you feel that weight of anxiety and stress. Just lift off your shoulders. So when I do movement, a visual, if I'm struggling and I just feel like there's a lot of thoughts in my head, I've got this huge mental load. I think of that artwork where the man is holding the whole world on his shoulders and he's kind of hunched over and you can just visualize like wiggling that off because it feels sometimes that the weight is just so heavy and so by wiggling, increasing that movement, getting some breath work, getting more oxygen, all of a sudden it feels a little lighter and it's helpful.

Emily : 9:29

And the polyvagal theory suggests that engaging the vagus nerve can shift the body from that fight or flight into a more calm and connected state without a prescription needed. I see it all the time, multiple times throughout my week, and so I know it's possible. I know it's possible to help calm the mind down, calm the body down, without medication, just 100% natural, just doing simple little exercises. And that's why I created this podcast to let other people know that these are just simple little things to help you feel better. And that is what my purpose for this podcast is is to show people all the little things that make big impacts, just kind of like that ripple effect, just something small, and then all of a sudden you just feel like yourself and that is just the greatest feeling.

Emily : 10:27

Aside from humming like I did with my kiddo, we can do sunlight grounding. That grounding is probably one of my favorite things. Come spring and summertime which is hopefully around the corner, we can also get proper sleep, which is hopefully around the corner. We can also get proper sleep, and that has been a struggle of mine throughout the years. I usually like to stay awake later at night instead of getting a good night's sleep, and I'll confess that. But I'm getting better, and it's been, oh goodness, a few years where I've really had to hone in on my sleeping habits, to where now it comes so much easier and I crave it. I want to go to bed earlier, which is just mind blowing to me because I used to hate going to bed early, but I feel better when I do, and so I make it a note of that and say, okay, let's make this a priority. A note of that and say, okay, let's make this a priority. And by adding all these little boosts to my life, it'll increase the vagal tone, reduce symptoms of that anxiety and stress, just naturally.

Emily : 11:34

It's easy, it's free, it's lovely, and so now that you know some of the myths associated with mental health, you can create a path to make those positive and easy habits for your mental and physical health, because mental health isn't just about the brain We've discussed it. It's a full body experience. Your vagus nerve is the key to emotional resilience and stress management is the key to emotional resilience and stress management Because that mental health it's not just in your head, it's in your breath, it's in your gut, it's in your nervous system. But you can take those small steps, those powerful steps to support it. You can start today. It's easy, simple and please share this with a friend if you have a friend who is struggling with this.

Emily : 12:26

Also, because this is what the whole podcast point is. It's the whole mission of this is to help others break free from the tension and weight of chronic stress. Remember to breathe and do something that makes you happy. Thanks for listening to. It Starts at Vagus. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you're ready to take the next step toward calm, grab my free Vagus Nerve Reset video in the show notes. It's quick and easy way to start feeling better today and until next time, remember, wellness starts at Vagus.