Anxiety is the most common mental health condition with one in three women and one in five men affected throughout their lives.

Anxiety is a normal physiological response due to a particular situation or event and will pass once the situation or trigger is removed. If symptoms of excessive and anxiety do not go away they can become uncontrollable and cause distress and impaired functioning which has a detrimental impact on an individual’s health and wellbeing.

Depression is a characterised by depressed or low mood with a loss of interest and pleasure in everyday activities.

Symptoms of depression interfere with an individual’s day to day life including work and relationships.
Diagnoses of major depressive disorder is classified as symptoms of depressive (low) mood which lasts longer than 2 weeks that is not related to grief, substance abuse or a medical condition. There are several different types of depressive disorders with each varying in the types and severity of symptoms which can present as mild, moderate or severe.

In depression and anxiety, treatment is aimed at treating both symptomatically and systematically (biological processes). The initial aim in treating anxiety is to reduce anxiety, worry and associated symptoms and in depression it is to improve mood and reduce depressive symptoms, both as quickly as possible. Assessing the underlying drivers is crucial for long term management in clinical treatment thus assessing and understanding genetics, biochemical processes, environmental factors/triggers and social connections is key to a balanced and integrative approach.

Combining evidence based functional nutrition, herbal medicine with dietary and lifestyle interventions gives the best outcome for achieving a reduction in symptoms and maintaining optimal long-term management.