Dr. Doni Wilson (naturopathic physician) describes her philosophy and clinical approach to helping people remain healthy while stressed. She recounts growing up in a pharmacy, studying science and nutrition, earning a doctorate at Bastyr University, and practicing for 18 years. Her three-step framework is: (1) remove identifiable stressors (toxins, metals, infections, foods), (2) restore physiological balance using nutrients, herbs, lifestyle, exercise and meditation, and (3) build resilience to maintain recovery.
Questions this video answers
Bastyr University.
18 years.
Chapters
Hi, I'm Dr. Donni Wilson, and I believe that it's possible to be healthy even while stressed. I grew up basically in a pharmacy. My father is a pharmacist. And so I grew up watching people come in and out of the pharmacy to pick up medications. And one might think that I would be leaning toward using medications more throughout my life. And actually, it's quite the opposite. What I heard more was my father talk about ways to prevent the need for medications using nutrients and dietary choices. When I got a cold when I was a kid, I didn't take medications. We used cold packs for a headache and drank tea for a cough. So I grew up learning that there were ways to support our bodies to heal themselves. And so when I went to college, I studied science, but I also studied nutrition. And I learned that food can be medicine. And that led me to go to naturopathic medical school and get a doctorate degree at Bastyr University. So I've been seeing patients ever since then, for 18 years. And I've helped thousands of people recover from various health conditions by improving their resilience to stress. Through that process and reviewing all the research, I've developed what I consider to be my approach to helping people recover by addressing their unique stress response and their unique stress exposure. It involves three main steps. The first is to remove the stresses that we can. So if that person has stresses that include toxins, metals, infections, or certain foods, then we're going to want to identify those and remove them so that their body can heal. Step two is to restore balance, because stress, that's what it does. It throws off the balance of our hormones, the balance of our digestion, the balance of our blood sugar, and our neurotransmitters. So we need to recalibrate and rebalance all of those systems using nutrients, herbs, and lifestyle and movement activities, including exercise and even meditation. And the final, the third step, is to build resilience once a person has recovered. Now we want to maintain that and help you build your bounce back from stress so that you always know what you need to do to give your body the support it needs to stay healthy. So I'm very excited for you to be here and to share more of this wisdom with you.
