Tara Mackey - Overcoming Anxiety & Depression Naturally

Tara Mackey – Overcoming Anxiety & Depression Naturally

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Randy Alvarez, host of The Wellness Hour, interviews bestselling author of “Cured By Nature” Tara Mackey about Overcoming Anxiety & Depression Naturally.

You're watching the Wellness Hour, news that makes you healthier. I'm Randy Alvarez. Today's topic is how to overcome anxiety, depression, how how to even wean off medications. My first guest was on 14 uh prescription medications. She turned it all around. She's best-selling author of Cured by Nature, Tara Mackey. Tara, welcome to the program. Thank you so much for having me. So, you're a local right here in Initas. Yeah. Pleasure to meet you. And you have quite a story. Yeah. In in your book. Uh for people that don't know your book, what's it about and who should read it? Um anyone who's on medication, anybody who's been diagnosed with a chronic illness, anybody who wants to uh start natural alternatives rather than the medications that they're on, anyone who wants to wean off, who feels stuck, who feels depressed, who feels anxious, who feels like life's just a little bit too much for them could definitely benefit from reading this book. And you have a lot of people that I I said have people because you put cured by nature. Do you have people that this book has helped them get off medications or was the inspiration? We've had hundreds of testimonials, yes, from people. Um, the book came out a little over a year ago and in the last uh 12 months, we've had, you know, dozens and dozens and dozens of people tell us that not only has the book helped them, but it's saved their life. It's changed their life. It's propelled them in a completely positive new upward direction that they did not know was possible. So, um, not only did it help me and my stories in there, but what I share in the book has helped so many other people. And so, that's why I'm extra passionate about getting the word out there. Okay, good. Now, let's start with your story. Uh, early on, your parents, they were they were drug addicts, alcoholics. Um, they were never they didn't even marry each other. My dad was my mom's drug dealer. Um, by the time I was five, my mother was addicted to heroin and I had seen her overdose countless times. So, you knew she was on drugs? I knew she was on drugs. Yeah. And I knew she was drinking alcohol and I knew it wasn't normal. I think uh children of alcoholics, we kind of know, but it's not until, you know, the more you grow up, the more you realize other people's parents don't do this. This isn't normal. Um, and so when I was six, I she overdosed in front of me and I couldn't wake her up. So, I called my grandparents. Um they came and rescued me and um How old were you? That's I was six. Six years old. Okay. Uh she actually ended up dying for 2 minutes that time. Um but they the ambulance actually came like just in time to save her life and my grandparents ended up getting custody of me within that year. So they applied for custody, went to court, fought um and then they raised me. So, by the time I was uh 12, my grandparents, you know, wanted me to have a relationship with my mother, but she was kind of still pulling drug induced stunts and was in and out of rehab. And um I watched her actually relapse again when I was 13. And a few months later, I was put on my first medication, a heavy duty mood stabilizer called lithium. Okay. You were on lithium at 13? I was on lithium at 13. An adult dosage of lithium at 13. Yeah. You know, let me tell you what it means to be on lithium at 13. You're in high school. I wasn't even in high school yet. It was the the month before I started, you know, month before I started high school. So, um in the summer and I was numb, you know, I was a zombie. It It really turns your brain off. It's meant to turn your brain off, right? Um it's designed that way to interrupt your neurons to um to change your brain chemistry. And sometimes if you don't need the drugs, it can do that, you know, in a way that really negatively impacts your life like it did with mine. Um, it it wasn't, you know, I had been to talk therapy since I was a kid and that had actually really helped me. I don't I think therapy is really really important and everybody should go, especially if you're having a hard time, but as far as being put on drugs and then not going to talk therapy, which was kind of the new regiment that I was on, um, that just ended up making the problem a lot worse. So, okay. So you're on lithium at 13, then you continue to move on to other medications to help stabilize your mood. Um, so lithium at 13. Then at uh 15 I was diagnosed with ADD because I got 1 C plus on one test. I was a straight A student up until then. So they felt that that was enough reasoning, I guess. Um, and the second I got put on an ADD medication uh called methodate, which they now prescribe for children as young as five, by the way. I mean, I thought I was young when I was on it. Um, it really ruined my life. So I I was a singer and I was constantly auditioning and um going and doing plays and uh competitions and any time that I had to do anything important I would start shaking. I had like crazy anxiety. I couldn't um finish rehearsing. I couldn't finish auditioning. It was I mean it was literally ruining my life. Like the one thing that I love to do I couldn't do anymore. And my grades started rapidly declining. So, not only did the drug not address the problem, but it actually made the problem worse and gave me brand new problems that I never had before. So, when I asked to come off that drug, they switched me from lithium to another mood stabilizer called Likal, which I was then on for eight and a half years. Okay. Yeah. And then just the snowball happens. Just the snowball. So, at what point were you at 14 medications? So, 14 medications was at 24 years old. Um it went from, you know, two at 16 to, you know, four at 2,8 at 23. And then, um, my best friend actually committed suicide January of 2011, right after I turned 24. And, um, I went on Valium and Xanax on top of the 12 medications I was already on for pain, birth control, anxiety, um, arthritis, you name it, I was taking it. Fibromyalgia, I mean, like everything that they could diagnose you with in your 20s. cold turkey got off these things. Cold turkey just decided I was going to stop taking them which was not a good idea. You must have been miserable getting off these drugs must be tough. Oh my god, it was really tough. So I had seen my mom actually. So this by the way, sorry to interrupt, but this strategy that you're sharing is in your book. It's in my book to get off. Yes. And I don't recommend it this one. I mean because I tried to see doctors. What I had been diagnosed with though, if you see a doctor for it, basically the doctor will say you wanting to come off your drugs is a symptom of your illness. here's different or more drugs, which is all I got when I went to go see a doctor was, I don't want to be on this. Well, that's a symptom of your illness. You should be going on actually more drugs, heavier drugs. You know, clearly you're having a mental breakdown. I wasn't having a mental breakdown. I mean, I kind of was because I was on 14 different medications, but I wasn't having, you know, I was having what I believe to be really a revelation. Um, it was the first time I saw the rest of my life without there being chronic illness or death. Like when I really pictured the rest of my life if I stayed on all these drugs, I was dead. I mean, there was no way. I was already in the hospital every 3 months from like chronic kidney infections and my organs shutting down. My brain didn't work. I had no future. I couldn't concentrate. I was in abusive relationships. Like, you know, it was over for me if I didn't do something completely drastic. So coming off my medications was what I decided to do. I had seen my mother come off heroin at home. She actually kicked it at home eventually. Nice. Um yeah, really good for her. She's actually been off for a really long time. Um but what I went through coming off of these drugs for 2 years and my mother herself will tell you was more difficult than what she went through coming off of heroin. And I don't mean to like Yeah. Yeah. You know, toot my own horn saying that. That's not really a badge of honor that I wear. It's just the truth. It's like, did you have to bottom out to do this? Yeah, I did. Yeah. You think everybody has to bottom out to do this? Yes. Yeah. I tried to take my own life before I decided to come off the 14 pharmaceuticals. I still have the scars to show for it, you know, but luckily that's all I have. Um, I realized at that point that that wasn't going to solve my problems, right? I just been to my best friend's funeral and her death didn't solve anything for anybody. So, why was my death going to solve anything for anybody? Um, so it was like that week that I decided to just Hey. So the book the book is strategies and inspiration for people that are either close to that bottomed out. Yeah. And how to turn around. Now you give like herbal remedies, what to eat. I It's also like a like a nutrition book. It's like a nutrition book. I mean that's why I say it is kind of a book for everybody, but it's definitely for people who are having a difficult time. I mean that's who it'll resonate with the most. people who had a difficult upbringing, you know, because when you come from an some kind of environment when you're younger that people that's not the norm, people assume certain things about you, right? And these create these limiting beliefs that we then kind of start to live by. Like when I was diagnosed with a mental illness at 13 years old, I carried that into everything I did. So your belief about yourself was I'm this way, right? And I need medication forever and I won't be able to live without it. and and that's, you know, the number one treatment in the western world today. So, every time we're diagnosing somebody with something, we're teaching them two things. One, you're broken, and two, you need to take pills because you're broken. And pills are there to solve your problems. And they're not. There's so many other ways. So, true nutrition, would you would you give nutrition the nutrition's up there? Oh, yes. Yeah. That was one of the first things I did was really change what I was eating. Well, I couldn't eat anymore, right? So, um I went through really horrible withdrawal symptoms. I mean like nausea, dizziness, excruciating pain, brain zaps, brain fog, like everything you can name. But the nausea was actually the worst. I was throwing up every like 15 minutes. I couldn't eat anything. So I literally had to start from the beginning. Like I could only eat smoothies and stuff that I like mashed up um like a baby, you know what I mean? And and in a weird symbolic way, it was kind of like raising myself all over again, you know, cuz I kind of raised myself when I was little anyway. So, it felt like kind of getting a second chance, you know, of like, okay, you got to start from the from the beginning and maybe you don't know exactly what's going to work. Like, when I came off all my drugs, Randy, I was not trying to quit all my drugs forever. I wanted to know what I needed and what I didn't need. And it was only through food and through supplements and through um researching herbal remedies that I found that there were things out there that worked so much better than any pill I had ever taken to raise your serotonin, to raise your serotonin. Yeah. To raise your dopamine, to cure pain, to help your inflammation, to help with fertility issues. So, your anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, all gone now. All gone. And not just me. I mean, so many people who've read this book and who've reached out to me and let me know how what's in the book has helped them and helped them make a positive change in their life. I mean, it's not just me. What I went through was extreme because I was on 14 different drugs and I was on them for 11 years. But you don't have to do that. I mean, people don't have to do what I did, not only being on drugs for such a long period of time, but detoxing in such an extreme way. And so, I feel like that's why what's in there is so important because it can really, really, really help you to start small. I mean, like that's actually my number one advice is to start small. Like, I had to start small. I was forced. But there's so many other people. I have somebody who reached out to me the other day. She was, she said when she read the book, she was 12 hours away from killing herself. Wow. She had already decided in the morning she was going to do it. She had bought my book and I think one other book and she finally opened it and decided to read it. And she sent me a message the next morning saying, “I was going to kill myself today and I've decided after reading your book that I'm going to sign up for the 5K in nine months and I'm going to just try to do it.” She'd had um she'd been addicted to pain medication for the last five years and was overweight and just ran her first 5K. I mean, the steps in the book, she followed the steps in the book. She lost 50 lbs and she just ran her first 5K. She actually sent me a message yesterday thanking me and she's rereading the book again. Um I have a mother who was had her son on ADD medication. He's 5 years old. Came to me, came to one of my book signings, was crying after I did my little speech. um was signing books, came up to my my booth and was crying and said, “You know, my husband put our kid on medication. I didn't want to do it. He's 5 years old, but he has ADD and he wasn't going to graduate from kindergarten, but he has all these twitches and all these side effects, and I don't know what to do.” And I said to her, “Listen, what are you worried about?” And she said, “We're worried that he's not going to graduate from kindergarten. Like, what if he doesn't graduate?” And I said, “Well, what if he has twitches for the rest of his life? You know, who is he going to blame then really?” you know, like if he graduates from kindergarten or doesn't, he kind of has to blame himself and learn through it and figure it out. Um, and I gave her some herbs and I gave, you know, she had bought the book and um, she emailed me nine months later and said he's off his drugs and he graduated from kindergarten. All right. And she made her husband promise that they would never put any of their other kids on drugs ever again and they're always going to figure it out the natural way before they do it. Um, I had another girl who was extremely anxious, extremely depressed, had just come out of a psych word, met with me for lunch the other day, said that she had read my book um and one of Tony Robbins books. Actually, I talk about him in in my book. and that um through that she'd found through reading my book and uh that together she's working with herself and her parents not only to address her anxiety and depression naturally but that she feels the best that she's ever felt before that she would never ever need to go in the hospital again. So I just feel like even these small wins for people even just waking up in the morning and feeling better than you felt the day before you know it doesn't have to be a 360° change. So, we're short on time. And by the way, the website, if they go to the website, this info is on the website as well. Yes. Yeah. We blog at least once a week about the same kind of information that's in the book. And there's so many resource on there for so many different kinds of health ailments and and beauty and everything. There's So, it's health, skin, beauty. Your skin is nice. You said you used to have a lot of acne. Yes, I had a lot of acne. I cured my cystic acne. um a lot of feminine problems uh addressing things like PCOS and things that women deal with every day that they don't really get natural cures for from their doctors when they go. So there's all different kinds of stuff on there. So talking to because this could be you could be 40, 50, 60, right? A lot of women are taking, you know, 40 plus taking medications. A lot of men are taking medications. I'm guessing more women are going to be drawn to a book like this. Is that true? Yes. But you know, I would say it's actually 50/50. Like so many men have read this book and have really resonated with it and changed their lives because of it. And so parents that are watching this and they have a 13-year-old, 15-year-old, 18-year-old on medications and and and I know you believe in working with medical doctors, but what do you tell them? I tell them, is this something a 13-year-old can read? Yes. Yeah. I tell them to give that book to their kids. Oh, yes. Yeah. And I have moms who have and who have said that it's it's changed their lives and it's changed their children's lives because when we're in that stage, like when I got put on medication at 13, I thought I was broken. And kids are getting put on medication earlier and earlier and earlier. I talked to parents every day whose at least one of their kids is on something and they're not in high school yet, you know. So, it's it's definitely getting more prevalent and we definitely need to, you know, the book has herbs that heal. It has herbs that can help you with anxiety, with depression. It helps you sleep. Um, it helps with your skin. I have an herb in there that literally cured my acne. Um, so if you're interested in that, definitely take a Right. So, you got a lot of secret sauce in there. A lot of secret sauce. And, uh, well, good for you. You know, I've had a lot of medical doctors, alternative uh, functional medicine doctors on the show telling me stories like this. So, you're the first one I'm, you know, that's why I wanted you on the show. You know, got off 14 medications. You did it naturally with meditation. You know, I mean, there's a lot in there. Yeah. uh you know, stress reduction techniques, herbal remedies, nutrition, things like that, anti-inflammatory diet. Uh so, and they could get the book online. Amazon, your website? Yep. Amazon. Barnes & Noble website. Uh Target, Walmart. Really? Well, good. Well, good for you. Yeah. Thank you. And and so do you you lecture on this topic as well? I do. Yeah. I'm speaking a lot this year. If they go to the organiclifeblog.com, there's a tab for speaking. So, if they want to come see me, check out a book, come say hi, get their book signed, they can come see me. Well, good, Terara. Well, thank you for coming on the show. Thank you so much for having me. Great information. You've been watching the Wellness Hour. I'm Randy Alvarez.

#Tara #Mackey #Overcoming #Anxiety #Depression #Naturally

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