Pharmacist’s Focused on Mental Health Pharmacy Podcast Network

Dr. Lisa Zielbauer, PharmD, helps to build the next chapter in the 'Pharmacists Focused on Mental Health' podcast series. Dr. Z shares her personal story as she struggles with depression and talks about her background with mental health and family connections to other mental health conditions. 

Scientists are exploring evidence that major depression may in part be a gut feeling, orchestrated by the microbiome—trillions of microorganisms living in and around our bodies, which influence our health and well-being.

Researchers have discovered that the microbial menagerie living in our digestive tract may help regulate brain function, including mental health. Recent findings by scientists in the U.S., Europe and China are linking our feelings of stress, anxiety and severe depression to disturbances among hundreds of microbe species living in our gut that some researchers have started calling the psychobiome.

Conversely, other bacteria in the gut appear to produce some of the same substances used by doctors to treat depression and may naturally play a role in maintaining our emotional balance.

Guest: Lisa Zielbauer, PharmD | Functional Medicine Pharmacist
Founder & CEO, Root Cause Rx
Connect with me on: Instagram 

References: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/health/microbiome-brain-behavior-dementia.html 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/depression-bacteria-in-your-gut-may-have-caused-itor-made-you-healthier-11608565953

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31913980/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33268363/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30322864/

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Mental Health has hit its highest peak and yet there is such a stigma. We are dealing with the greatest mental health crisis ever and it’s so important to keep spreading awareness and education.

Today we invite Dr. Bela Patel, PharmD and Dr. Deepti Gandhi, MD to talk about Mental Health on our series. Both of these health care providers have over 20 years of excellence in their fields.

Dr. Bela Patel, PharmD is a Pharmacist and a Holistic Health Coach who uses her medical background and her passion for wellness to help her clients with simple yet powerful tools to address both mental and physical health conditions. 

Dr. Deepti Gandhi, MD is a Family Medicine Physician who has a interest in lifestyle medicine. She believes that mental health is integral to an overall sense of well-being. Dr. Gandhi is passionate about empowering her patients to take control of their own health and wellness.

Please follow them on Instagram:

@wholisticpharmacist

@drg_lifestylemd 

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Q: What might parents and teachers expect to see regarding children’s mental health as they begin school this fall?

A: Worry or anxiety during this period would be expected and is a normal response. Children’s adjustment to the new school format, whether it’s remote or hybrid, would vary a lot based on age and a child’s individual personality or temperament, as well as the family’s overall experience of the pandemic. Both the disease aspects of the pandemic and also the economic stressors—if a parent or caregiver has lost a job, if there has been income or residential instability—are all part of the child’s experience and will play a role in the child’s adjustment. Some children could be experiencing the pandemic as a traumatic event—for instance if they’ve lost a grandparent or a loved one to COVID complications.

In younger kids, psychological distress might manifest as new or worsening behavioral problems, difficulty separating from parents or caregivers, or somatic symptoms such as aches and pains or changes in sleep or appetite. Older kids can also experience somatic symptoms, as well as fear, nervousness, stress, irritability, and hypervigilance. In the academic context, symptoms could include difficulty concentrating, difficulty with motivation, or school refusal.

A recent study in the U.S. that surveyed parents suggests that about 27% of parents and roughly 14% of children are experiencing worsening mental health problems during the pandemic. Rates of distress were highest among families with young children, who may have lost access to child care, and among single-parent families. We also know that some communities or subgroups have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, including underresourced or minority communities, and children in these communities may be at higher risk for mental health concerns. Also, children with preexisting mental health concerns, children who have learning disabilities or any other challenges that have required individualized learning plans, and children with medical vulnerabilities may experience greater adjustment issues or mental health concerns at this time. 

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Our 2nd part of the "Pharmacists focused on Mental Health" podcast series featured David Dent, Doctorate of Pharmacy Candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University class of 2022. David is a fellow podcaster and we encourage you to take a listen to his show: 

OVERxDOSE: A Pharmacy Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overxdose-a-pharmacy-podcast/id1447073305 

Part One: 

Pharmacists Focused on Mental Health | Monica Krishnan PharmD 

https://omny.fm/shows/pharmacy-podcast-network/pharmacists-focused-on-mental-health-monica-krishn 

David writes:

Exploring anything and everything Pharmacy and drugs from the perspective of a slightly sarcastic, extremely professional, and, hopefully, witty third year Pharmacy student (P3). I'll be diving into harder to discuss topics that will hopefully bring insight into the unknown world of Pharmacy.

I take an interdisciplinary approach to all healthcare topics and professions through candid interviews with students, practicing professionals, and discussing new innovations in healthcare I get exposed to as I continue to earn my Pharm. D.. All while hopefully making you laugh a little and learn something along the way. My goal for this podcast is to help promote the profession as a whole, and help all people and healthcare professionals stay #AWARxE🥼of the many important roles Pharmacists play in healthcare.

Furthermore, I hope to make this podcast something future pharmacists, patients, and friends of mine will enjoy and benefit from. Maybe even inspire others wanting to move into a career in the medical field to consider pursuing an exciting, and totally not boring, career in Pharmacy. 

Follow David Dent on TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@overx.dose?lang=en 

Follow David on Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/overx.dose/?hl=ur 

Introduction from: CBS News from September 4, 2020

Concern grows over impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health 

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Pharmacists Focus on Mental Health | Podcast Series

Special Guest Dr Monica Krishnan

At the young age of 36, Dr Monica Krishnan lost her husband to brain cancer. She was abruptly faced with the responsibility of raising her two babies without a spouse. In 2012 she went through many stages of grief, including depression. As a clinical pharmacist, Monica was hesitant to start taking antidepressants, until one day she decided she needed the help.

Almost 10 years later, Monica has become a huge advocate for mental health . She has personally experienced the horrible stigma against patients. As a clinical PharmD working for Walmart Health and Wellness she loves to spend time with patients and educating them on therapeutic and non therapeutic ways to help. Dr Monica feels so strongly in educating the world that Mental health is a real illness just like Diabetes or Cardiovascular disease. 

Let’s start the conversation on mental health and smash the stigma- especially now as we are facing the largest mental health crisis due to COVID-19.

Connect with Monica:

@drmonicapharmd on IG & email mpatelpharm@yahoo.com

References:

Extreme marginalization: addiction and other mental health disorders, stigma, and imprisonment

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716375/

How Missing Information in Diagnosis Can Lead to Disparities in the Clinical Encounter

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677445/

The Public Stigma of Mental Illness: What Do We Think; What Do We Know; What Can We Prove?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4437625/

INTRODUCTION sourced from CBS New York: 

Pediatric Doctors Seek To Remove Stigma On Mental Health Issues 

https://youtu.be/vWAiMt6d2FE 

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