Anxiety and Depression: When it's NOT "in your head"

If you’ve been dealing with anxiety and/or depression symptoms and you’re doing all the “right things”… but you still don’t feel like yourself, you’re not alone.

And here’s the part that most people never get told:

Sometimes, what looks like a “mental health issue” is actually your body waving a giant flag that something is off physically.

Not because you’re broken. Not because you’re weak. Not because you’re “too sensitive.”

One of the most frustrating experiences is getting test after test… only to be told everything is “fine.”

When I was dealing with severe symptoms, I saw doctor after doctor, and kept being told nothing was wrong because my labs were normal—and I should consider antidepressants.

That’s a common pattern: if something doesn’t show up clearly on standard testing, the system often defaults to a label and a prescription.

But “normal labs” doesn’t mean “nothing is going on.” It often just means the thing driving your symptoms isn’t being measured—or it’s happening earlier in the chain before it shows up on paper.

Why So Many Doctors Go Straight to Psych Meds

This isn’t about bashing doctors. Most are good people trying to help. But the conventional system is set up in a way that makes root-cause work hard to do.

Here’s why the “psych med first” path is so common:

1) They’re trained to treat what they can measure

Standard medicine is built around diagnosing based on labs, imaging, and clearly defined categories. When the data doesn’t point to an obvious medical diagnosis, many doctors don’t have tools (or time) to go deeper.

2) Appointments are short

Root-cause work takes longer than 7–15 minutes. It takes asking better questions, looking at patterns, and understanding how the body got there.

3) The medical model focuses on symptom management

If anxiety is the symptom, a medication can sometimes reduce that symptom. That can be useful for some people, especially in severe situations. But it doesn’t automatically answer the bigger question: Why is the body producing the symptom in the first place?

4) Many underlying drivers don’t show up on routine testing

A person can be dealing with functional imbalances, inflammation, or hidden stressors and still have “normal” bloodwork.

So the system often ends up saying: “If we can’t find it in your labs, it must be emotional.”
But many times, it’s not.

Common Physical Imbalances That Can Drive Anxiety and Depression Symptoms

Here are some big ones we see over and over:

• Mineral malabsorption
• Gut imbalance (candida / leaky gut patterns)
• Heavy metals / toxicity load
• Hormone imbalance
• Food and stimulants that push the nervous system
• Old sports injuries or “minor” concussions can matter more than people realize.
• EMFs and constant tech exposure
• Side effects from medications

Sometimes the very thing you were given for one issue can create mood-related symptoms for another 

A Different Way to Look at It: The Symptom Is Information

Symptoms are the body communicating that something is interfering with normal function—and that interference can often be found and addressed. (Not guessed. Not assumed. Tested and confirmed.)

Instead of asking, “How do we shut this feeling down?” we ask:
“What is the underlying reason for this?”

Because if anxiety and depression symptoms are coming from a fixable physiological imbalance, then the goal isn’t to manage it forever and squash symptoms with meds that were meant for short term use!

The goal is to correct what’s underneath it so your system can steady again.

What to Do If This Feels Like You

If you’ve been told it’s depression or anxiety… then it’s worth considering that your mood symptoms may be connected to a body imbalance that hasn’t been identified yet.

One important note: if you’re currently on psychiatric meds, don’t stop them suddenly. The smarter move is to treat this like a two-lane road: support stability and look for the physical imbalance at the same time, with the right guidance.

Because you deserve better than being dismissed.
And you deserve better than “this is just how you are now.”

Sometimes, you don’t need a new label.
You need the missing reason.

Next step: If you are local to the Phoenix, AZ area, go to this link to find out more about holistic solutions to address the underlying cause of your symptoms and how to remove what's "in the way" of your body working the way it's supposed to. Meds might squash some symptoms—but they don’t fix WHY this is happening. Isn’t it time to finally resolve it instead of managing it? 

If you are not local to the Phoenix, AZ area, then click here to check out all of your options! You’ll get the exact steps you need to take, plus support from me to guide you every step of the way! 

xo Monica 🦋 Treat the Source: where we reveal all of the hidden causes of your mystery symptoms!

Educational content only. This is not medical advice and isn’t meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any condition.