Lauren Kennedy West | From Schizophrenia to Symptom-Free - Metabolic Therapies for Mental Health

What if the way we think about mental health is due for a revolution? Maybe we don’t need to suffer and to 'try to' live well with the big challenges that mental illness can bring - maybe we can actually...live well. In this deeply personal and groundbreaking conversation, Lauren Kennedy-West shares her experience of living with schizoaffective disorder - and historical diagnoses that included depression, bipolar disorder with psychotic features, and an eating disorder - to living symptom-free and off psychiatric medications. What she did? After years of psychotic episodes, anti-depressants, and anti-psychotics, Lauren made a decision not centred on treating the symptoms but on improving her underlying metabolic health. Lauren adopted a strict medical ketogenic diet and metabolic therapies that healed her brain and transformed her life. What if we removed the dogma on how we currently understand mental health - for just a moment - and were to ask 'what if we are wrong?' - what might we be able to see? Heads you win big, tails you don’t lose much. And in Lauren's case, she won big We hope this episode serves as a safe space to explore ideas that may challenge the status quo and offer immense hope for anyone thinking "there must be something more I can do". There is. Lauren's story provides powerful insights into what is possible when we address the root causes of mental illness, serving as a beacon of hope and inspiration as to what is possible for a better tomorrow. Find Lauren: Website - livingwellafterschizophrenia.com YouTube -    / @livingwellafterschizophrenia   Patreon - patreon.com/livingwellwithschizophrenia Peer Support - schizophreniapeersupport.com Instagram - instagram.com/livingwellafterschizophrenia Online peer support communities: Metabolic Therapies for Mental Disorder - https://www.metabolictherapysupport.com Schizophrenia Peer Support Community - https://www.schizophreniapeersupport.com Additional resource for Metabolic Therapies for Mental Health: Metabolic Mind website: www.metabolicmind.org Metabolic Mind YouTube channel:    / @metabolicmind   Mentioned in this episode: Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride https://amzn.to/4fMYmfZ Brain Energy by Chris Palmer - https://amzn.to/3V9cFTG Chronometer App - https://cronometer.com/ Dr. Guido Frank - https://clinicaltrials.ucsd.edu/ketog... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🤝 Join the community - by subscribing, you are self selecting as a health nerd. We like you. We applaud you. You are shaping in real time the future of health information. As a thank you, we pledge to bring you the best we can, where we are, with the tools we have. 🎧 Listen to us on-the-go! Available wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. New episode every Wednesday! Disclaimer - https://www.canva.com/design/DAF6uea0... 00:00 Introduction to Lauren's Journey 05:05 Exploring Treatment Options 10:38 Misconceptions About Mental Illness 17:32 Implementing Medical Keto 24:21 Current Medication Status 29:42 Measuring Ketones and Glucose 39:34 The Role of Exercise in Metabolic Health 52:22 Challenging Traditional Views on Mental Illness 01:00:18 Finding Growth Through Suffering