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Anxiety and Mood Support
Anxiety isn't always caused by a single factor. Alongside life stress and mental health, changes in hormone health, thyroid function, blood sugar and nutrient status may also influence how you feel. We take a comprehensive approach to understanding your symptoms, so your treatment plan reflects the whole picture, not just one piece of it.
Anxiety symptoms: could physical factors be contributing?
Anxiety can look different for everyone. For some, it feels like constant worry or racing thoughts. For others, it shows up as trouble sleeping, heart palpitations, irritability or feeling overwhelmed by everyday tasks.
While therapy and medication are important treatment options for many people, physical health can also influence how the brain and nervous system function. Understanding these factors may help explain patterns in your symptoms and identify additional opportunities for support.
You may benefit from an assessment if you experience:
- Persistent anxiety or excessive worry
- Panic attacks or feelings of overwhelm
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Racing heart or unexplained palpitations
- Brain fog or difficulty concentrating
- Irritability or mood changes
- Anxiety that changes throughout your menstrual cycle
- Anxiety that persists despite previous treatment
What contributes to anxiety and low mood physically?
Hormone Health
Changes in estrogen and progesterone throughout the menstrual cycle, postpartum period and perimenopause may influence mood and anxiety for some women.
Blood Sugar Regulation
When blood sugar drops quickly, your body releases stress hormones to bring it back into balance. This can create symptoms like shakiness, a racing heart and feeling on edge that may feel similar to anxiety.
Thyroid Function
An overactive or underactive thyroid can affect mood, energy, sleep and heart rate.
Nutrient Status
Iron, vitamin B12, vitamin D and other nutrients support healthy brain and nervous system function.
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How is anxiety tested (the physical side)?
Your first appointment focuses on understanding your complete health history, not just your anxiety symptoms. We'll review your medical history, menstrual cycle, sleep, nutrition, stress, previous testing and any treatments you've already tried.
Where appropriate, additional testing may be recommended, including thyroid testing, iron studies, vitamin levels, hormone testing or other investigations based on your symptoms and health history.
How can a Naturopath help with anxiety?
Anxiety is influenced by many factors, including the nervous system, stress load, sleep, nutrition, hormones, and nutrient status. Naturopathic care looks at the bigger picture to identify factors that may be contributing and create a personalized plan. Depending on your needs, this may include nutrition strategies, targeted supplementation, lifestyle support, addressing nutrient deficiencies, and support for hormone or metabolic factors when relevant.
How Somewhere Health helps
Care starts with the bigger picture rather than a single test. If you've already been diagnosed, we build on what you know. If you suspect something deeper but have never had a full workup, we can order the testing that gets you clear answers.
Your first visit is 75 minutes with a licensed naturopathic doctor who has reviewed your full intake. Together you'll create a plan that may include nutrition and lifestyle changes, targeted supplementation, and functional testing where appropriate. Bloodwork happens at any LifeLabs or Dynacare, and specialty panels like the DUTCH test ship to your door.
Appointments are completely virtual, so you can access care from anywhere in Ontario, and visits are covered by most extended health benefits plans.
Our Approach
- Nutrition and dietary guidance
- Lifestyle recommendations
- Stress and sleep support
- Targeted supplementation
- Functional or laboratory testing when appropriate
- Ongoing monitoring and treatment adjustments
- Collaborative care with your broader healthcare team when needed
How it Works
Dr. Courtney Ranieri is a licensed naturopathic doctor with Therapeutic Prescribing authorization, in practice since 2018. She holds a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and an Honours BSc from Western University, and her clinical focus is women's health: hormones, fertility, digestion, pelvic floor and metabolic care. She sees patients across Ontario virtually.
