"The mind is everything. What you think you become."

The short answer is: yes.

What I’ve noticed in my work is that many patients don’t come to a psychiatric appointment expecting to talk about daily habits. Questions about sleep or food can feel easy to dismiss at first—sleep is “fine,” meals are “okay.” When I take the time to ask more carefully, a different story often emerges. And once people begin to see how these patterns affect how they feel, the prospect of changing them can feel overwhelming, especially in already busy lives.

I feel this myself.

In a culture that is fast, demanding, and constantly accelerating, making sustainable changes can feel unrealistic—especially when it seems like you’re expected to figure it all out on your own.

I’ve been caring for pregnant and postpartum women for over a decade, and for the past six years I’ve had the opportunity to follow many of these women well beyond the immediate postpartum period. Over time, some clear patterns have emerged.

Many of my patients:

• Benefit from medication, but still have lingering symptoms
• Gain weight over time and feel unsure what or how to eat
• Struggle to get consistent adequate sleep 
• Have difficulty balancing work, family, and self-care
• Want to exercise but can’t sustain a routine
• Struggle to ask for or receive adequate support
   

These challenges are not unique to my patients. I see them everywhere. It is hard to do the things we know are good for us—especially when we’re anxious, depressed, overwhelmed, or exhausted. 

What has become increasingly clear to me is that factors like sleep, nutrition, movement, self-care, and community are not just “nice additions” to mental health treatment. They are foundational.

Mental health symptoms can make it harder to care for the body—and poor metabolic health can, in turn, worsen mood, anxiety, and cognitive functioning. This creates a reinforcing loop that medication alone doesn’t always break.

As this has become clearer in my clinical work, I’ve felt a responsibility—as a physician—to widen the lens. Medications remain an important tool, and I am not stepping away from them, but I believe many people need more support around the daily habits that shape both physical and mental health.

To that end, I am expanding my work to include structured, supportive interventions focused on improving metabolic health as a way to support mental health. I will start by offering a few classes focused on the Fundamentals of Metabolic Psychiatry.

These classes will not be rigid diets or exercise programs. This is not about extremes or perfection. My dream is for a psychiatrist-led space for women who want to make small, realistic changes—together—in a way that supports their mental health rather than adding pressure.

Are you being treated for anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions, but still don’t feel quite like yourself? Do you know that certain habits might help, yet find it hard to follow through consistently?

Improving metabolic health can meaningfully improve mental health—but mental health symptoms can make those changes feel out of reach.

If you’re interested in learning more about this work, you can join the interest list below.