Today is World Mental Health Day, and I thought there was never a better day than to talk about the mental health epidemic around the globe. In the US alone, it is thought that 1 in 4 adults have a diagnosable disorder every single year - and these are just the people that have gone to a Doctor or health care provider and got their condition recorded. Approximately 18% of Americans have an anxiety disorder each year, and it's thought that around 9.5% of American adults will deal with depressive disorder. It's a big, big problem, to put it lightly. There are so many root causes of mental health struggles that get totally overlooked in today's traditional mental healthcare model, like chronic stress, nervous system dysregulation, loneliness, and suppressed emotional trauma, as well as genetics (the MTHFR gene and the (GAD) gene have both been linked to depression) and leaky gut/gut dysbiosis and more. One overlooked root cause is candida overgrowth. No one ever talks about it, and it holds so much power on the brain chemicals released daily. There is thought to be a direct connection between candida overgrowth and the release of serotonin by the body. Serotonin is the body's happy hormone, but if there is candida overgrowth in the gut (where serotonin is also created and released in certain quantities), the fungal overgrowth can actually block the release of serotonin into the blood meaning that the body just cannot get access to the serotonin it needs for the body to be 'happy'. Without this, moods are dysregulated, and short, mid, and long-term mood disorders can develop. Learn more about candida overgrowth and its direct connection to mental health issues on the blog today! Link in bio.