Today I sat down with a friend and colleague, Dr. John Dempster, ND. Over the last several years, Dr. Dempster has developed a real passion for addressing mental health, both within his patient population and in the broader entrepreneurial world through some of his online summits.
We got into some of the things that we both feel are missing in the lives of our patients that set them up to be more at risk for inability to manage anxiety and depression on a daily basis. John goes on to talk more about how he evaluates new patients that come into his practice looking to find more stability in respect to their mental health. What we discovered as we delved deeper into our conversation is that there are significant and consistent tenets that actually set up for success when it comes to our mental health, and there are certain habits and social norms that tend to pull us down.
This interview was insightful because it was personal. There’s not a single person listening who isn’t touched by mental health problems through their patients, clients, friends or family. This is something that we can all relate to and information that we can all use.
Key Takeaways:
[3:24] Dr. Dempster lost two of his uncles to chronic disease when he was very young and watching them go through conventional treatments that failed really affected him.
[4:47] Dr. Dempster realized the importance of nutrition and root cause resolution.
[6:36] What is functional medicine and how does it differ from naturopathic medicine?
[7:55] How did Dr. Dempster become passionate about mental health?
[11:42] Almost a quarter of Dr. Meghan’s patients are on antidepressants.
[13:47] Mental health is related to gut health.
[16:02] Healing doesn’t happen instantly. We need to reevaluate our environments and relationships.
[17:46] Dr. Dempster’s priorities shifted when he became a parent.
[21:02] How does Dr. Dempster manage anxiety?
[24:40] How does busyness contribute to adrenal fatigue?
[28:14] Naturopathic physicians have more tools at their disposal than MDs.
[31:05] A sense of community is really important to health.
[32:21] We need “Vitamin N.”
[33:23] Dr. Dempster hopes that he will be known as someone who really cared and who listened to his patients.
[34:28] What is health?
[35:40] Take this month’s quiz at meghanwalker.com/entrepologyquiz.
[36:08] Let’s look at Dr. Dempster’s key performance indicators!
[41:55] If you enjoyed our conversation and would like to hear more, please subscribe to The Entrepology Podcast on Stitcher or iTunes. We would also appreciate a review.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Tweetables:
“Exercise daily is really a must.”
“We have this thing in our society right now where we pride ourselves on being busy.”
“What are you doing that you love?”
MORE ABOUT DR. JOHN DEMPSTER
Dr. John Dempster is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor and is the medical director/founder of The Dempster Clinic – Center for Functional Medicine, located in Toronto, Canada. He focuses on a functional medicine model to treat a variety of patients ranging from high performance individuals to those with, or wanting to prevent chronic illness. In addition he has a strong passion for helping patients embrace an Optimal Aging philosophy to help them achieve a long, healthy, vibrant and fulfilling life.
As an avid seeker in integrative and evidence based medicine, he has furthered his studies by completing an advanced fellowship in Functional, Regenerative, and Anti-aging medicine. In addition to his busy practice, he writes regularly for a number of publications and speaks to corporations on a variety of health & wellness topics. In addition, he is also featured frequently on national television, radio, newspapers and magazines.
Aside from treating patients and teaching those how to improve their health and lifestyle, Dr. Dempster prioritizes living a balanced life. He is extremely passionate about the outdoors and is an avid downhill skier, fly fisherman, and white water canoeist paddling throughout Canada’s arctic. Dr. Dempster and his wife, recently welcomed the birth of their daughter, of whom he enjoys spending all of his free time with.
For more information on Dr. Dempster you can visit his website www.thedempsterclinic.com.
CONNECT WITH MY GUEST
Website: www.thedempsterclinic.com and www.mentalwellnesssummit2.com
CALL TO ACTION
This week's call to action is all about self care. It's time to ditch the badge of busyness and take some time for yourself. How do you plan on taking care of your number one asset (aka- YOU)? Share your commitment on the Entrepology Facebook Page. Because when you are accountable, you are helpable.