Episode Details

This month on The GoodLife in Health and Wellness, we are focusing on Brain Health & Cognitive Clarity, including brain fog, mental clarity, mood, anxiety, and depression.

In today's episode, Dr. Kate Duncan discusses Anxiety & Depression: More Than a Chemical Imbalance. For years, many people were told that anxiety and depression were simply caused by a chemical imbalance. While brain chemistry does matter, research shows the story is much bigger. Mood is influenced by the nervous system, stress hormones, inflammation, sleep, blood sugar, chronic pain, gut health, trauma, social connection, and life circumstances.

In this episode, we explore what anxiety and depression can really look like, why the chemical imbalance explanation is incomplete, how chronic stress can keep the brain and body in a state of alarm, and why supporting the nervous system is so important for mental clarity and emotional resilience.

You'll also learn practical ways to support brain health, including improving sleep, stabilizing blood sugar, moving your body, reducing stress load, addressing pain, and creating repeatable signals of safety for the brain and nervous system.

This episode is for education and encouragement and is not meant to diagnose, treat, or replace care from your medical or mental health provider. If you are in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, please call or text 988 in the United States or seek emergency care right away.

Next week, Dr. Kate will be discussing Inflammation in the Brain: The Silent Disruptor.

Thank you for joining us on The GoodLife in Health and Wellness. Until then, take care and keep living the good life!