Mood Disorders
Anxiety, low mood and cognitive slowing have measurable physiology behind them, assessed alongside psychiatric care rather than instead of it.
Anxiety, depression, ADHD, insomnia and brain fog are usually treated as separate problems needing something to keep them quiet. The research points elsewhere — to how you make neurotransmitters, your hormone signaling, your gut, and how much inflammation you are carrying. We assess those together and treat what is contributing. None of it replaces psychiatric care.
The gut–brain axis: most of your serotonin is made in the gut, so disruption there affects mood directly. Cortisol dysregulation through the HPA axis — the stress circuit between brain and adrenal gland — and thyroid disease, frequently mistaken for depression. Inflammation, which tracks closely with low mood and brain fog. Low magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin D, omega-3s and zinc. And broken sleep.
Repletion of whatever is genuinely low, to target and confirmed by retesting. Food that lowers inflammation and steadies your blood sugar through the day. Hormone correction where your thyroid or sex hormones are contributing. Sleep, stress and structured movement, all of which have measurable effects on mood. Your prescriber receives everything we find.
Correcting a deficiency will not cure depression, and no lab result replaces a psychiatric diagnosis. What this does is clear the physical obstacles making every other treatment work harder — and if you are on stable medication, sleep is usually the first thing you notice. Neither provider here is a psychiatrist. If you are in crisis, do not wait for results — call or text 988, staffed around the clock.
This work runs inside Functional Health, alongside your psychiatrist or therapist rather than in place of them. Start with the free fifteen-minute consultation.
What this covers
Mood Disorders spans several presentations. Each one has its own workup.
Burnout
Burnout is an occupational syndrome and a physiological one, with measurable changes in cortisol, sleep, thyroid and nutrient status underneath it.
Insomnia
Chronic insomnia has a first-line treatment and it is CBT-I rather than medication, with cortisol, glucose, hormones and ferritin deciding whether it holds.
Common questions
The ones we are asked most about mood disorders.
Yes, and that is the usual arrangement. Nothing here asks you to stop an SSRI, an ADHD medication or a sleep aid. We correct the nutrient, hormone and inflammatory problems underneath, and your prescriber gets everything we find.
They are not imaginary and not purely psychological. They track closely with neurotransmitter production, hormones, gut health and inflammation. Finding which applies to you gives you something to treat besides the symptom — and often explains why medication alone only got you partway.
Anxiety, depression, ADHD, chronic stress, insomnia and brain fog, for patients in Kansas and Missouri. This is designed to sit alongside psychiatric care, and it works best when it does.
Ready to start with a clear clinical picture?
Start with the fifteen-minute consultation. No cost, and a straight answer on whether this model fits your case.