Full Transcript Introduction and Client Testimony 0:01 I was ready for, immediately I bracing for impact. 0:05 I immediately thought like, okay, I'm opening my pills and like measuring out how much I would be tapering off while adding on amino acids. 0:14 But I, was expecting like the downward drop of a roller coaster. 0:19 Because I so open and transparent with you about this is what I am feeling and this what is I feeling it. 0:24 What does this mean? 0:25 What should I take? 0:26 And trusting you implicitly, I think that allowed me to trust within the amino acids of, okay, no, Lori's got me, so I can trust that this and if I'm feeling 0:37 this way, i can take that or if i'm really overwhelmed or my ADHD really kicks up and I am feeling another type of way. 0:44 What can I do? 0:45 Welcome to Take Back My Brain with Lori Hammer, where real healing starts in the brain. 0:52 I'm Lori, a functional nutritionist and mom who's walked the path from anxiety and burnout to clarity and calm. 1:01 Each week, we're going to dive into brain-based tools like amino acid therapy, gut health, fasting and faith to help you reclaim your energy, 1:10 emotions and sense of self. 1:19 Hey, everyone. 1:20 Welcome back to Take Back My Brain. 1:21 I'm your host, Laurie Hammer, and I am really excited today because I have with me a client and you're going to hear her testimony. 1:28 And she is an amazingly beautiful woman. 1:31 Her name is Lauren and she has had quite the journey. 1:35 So I will let Lauren introduce herself and Lauren, welcome to the podcast. 1:40 Hi, thank you. 1:41 Excited to be here. 1:43 I'm Lauren. 1:43 I am based in LA. 1:44 And I found you a year ago and I can't imagine my life without you now.
Life Before Tapering Off SSRIs 1:57 I know, I can't imagine my life without you. 1:58 It's been a crazy year together, but it's so fun. 2:01 Yeah, it really has been. 2:05 Can you tell us where you've been, where were before you came to see me, like mentally, emotionally, physically, what was your life like? 2:14 Yeah. 2:14 So I, wow, we're gonna start. 2:19 I was I think just on a hamster wheel of life for maybe my whole life. 2:28 I think the backstory adds some color and context. 2:32 Had a pretty traumatic, abusive, neglectful childhood, very much a latchkey kid. 2:45 And as a result, found myself very anxious and depressed and was put on SSRIs when I was maybe 19 or 20. So I was on them for 15 plus years and have been 3:00 in therapy for ages, well over 20 years, and found myself at this juncture where I had an opportunity to go experience some ceremonial plant medicine, 3:14 which you cannot be taking SSRIs to experience because she's a very jealous plan. 3:21 So was recommended through a friend of a friends of somebody who knew you, lots of different referrals. 3:29 There were a couple other individuals as well that were recommended to me to have a consultation call with of how do I taper off these SSRIs in a safe 3:41 way because Western medicine culture doesn't help you do that, which is wild to And I, even as an adult, my brain hadn't fully developed while I was taking 3:54 these medicines. 3:55 And so that was really scary to me. 3:57 I were so determined and dedicated to go on this journey of plant medicine, but found myself terrified of what it was going to be like coming off of Lexapro 4:10 and Effexor and Can I do it? 4:13 Am I going to feel safe? 4:15 am I gonna lose my shit and want to do something drastic? 4:20 I'm gonna wanna kill myself? 4:22 Like what are the on that scale where am i gonna fall and am gonna be okay? 4:28 i hadn't known anybody who has ever tapered off meds before so that was also really scary. 4:33 I didn't have somebody that I could chat to about it. 4:36 i had a few consultation calls where the suggestion was like, well, just, you know, like anything else, here's the math, 4:45 taper off the dosage. 4:46 But it didn't feel supportive. 4:48 It was just like good luck. 4:51 My doctor that I also told him straight up like hey, I'm coming off these meds. 4:58 He was also concerned and said like you can go back on them if you need to. 5:05 So everywhere across the board was giving mixed signals and I didn't really feel supportive.
Starting Amino Acid Therapy 5:10 And then I had a call with you and you were like, no problem. 5:15 This is, this is light work for me. 5:21 this very supported nurturing connection with you where I was like, okay, I don't know much about amino acids. 5:27 I do not pretend to know a lot about homeopathic medicine, although living in LA, it's thrusted upon me and I'm very much sipping the Kool-Aid on a daily 5:40 basis about it, but did not know enough to figure out where do I start, what do And I think it was all really scary and created a plan with you. 5:53 You made amino acid therapy simple enough for me to understand what it is and for to explain thereafter to other individuals that I know who were struggling 6:06 with the same thing, how that works and what that looks like. 6:09 And, I now that it's different for everybody who wants to come off their meds or figure out transitioning med, For me, this was the only way to do it. 6:19 And it's been almost a year now. 6:21 I think it'll be a years in early December. 6:24 We'll all be SSRI free and still taking my amino acids and prepping for another plant medicine journey in January. 6:35 So really excited to still be here and experience life in a different way off SSRIS. 6:44 Right. 6:45 I would love for you to kind of dive into that Lauren, because you said your brain had not truly developed on the meds, you've been on med for so long. 6:54 Yeah. 6:56 Watching you go through the process of actually feeling the feels without medication has been an interesting journey. 7:03 It's blessed me. 7:04 You know, I prayed for you a lot on this whole journey because when you haven't felt the, you know like the real feels in 25 years, 7:14 it feels really foreign. 7:15 So what's that been like for? 7:16 Yeah, a lots. 7:20 I do think that there I think I got on the meds maybe when I was 19 or 20. I in college getting ready to travel abroad and I felt really scared about going 7:32 and living in another country and not having support. 7:38 And most of my family was already medicated. 7:42 And I think it was my stepmom who was like, oh, yeah, when you go to see Dr. 7:46 So-and-so, like just say this, that, and the third. 7:48 I was, okay, sure, I'll try it. 7:50 This is, my sister's on it, this was never something, being depressed and anxious was something that was negative in our household. 8:00 It just kind of was. 8:03 But as a 20-year-old, I was already so unconscious and living in this state of survival because that's what I learned growing up in an abusive household 8:13 with lots of neglect. 8:14 And then as you're 25 and the three parts of your brain come together and you figure out all the things that you want and like and don't like, 8:23 at that point I already overworked and underpaid living and in New York. 8:27 So I had no time to just pause and just be in my brain and be itself. 8:33 And I think it took coming to LA and having it get worse before it got better and found a therapist after. 8:45 got 20 years of therapy, where I felt like, okay, now I'm digging deep, I am getting to the deeper stuff.
Emotional Healing After Medication 8:51 And I think that makes a huge difference. 8:54 You can never go as deep as your – you can't go deep unless your therapist is going even deeper, right? 9:01 And that was a big thing for me. 9:03 So even just being on the meds, able to access more of myself. 9:08 But then coming off Lexapro in particular that I had been on forever and then, coming of FXR, it was like this veil was lifted and I was able to really... 9:20 It's not like the world became more colorful, but I able see feelings and experience them in different ways and wasn't pushing them down. 9:28 And I think there was a lot of repressed feelings, especially even just hearing myself speak about some of the things that was feeling. 9:36 made it real and hearing it made me emotional. 9:40 And I was always like a weeper, like, a good birthday card, great film. 9:44 I'm weeping, but it was never to a point where I could access and touch certain things. 9:55 Even going back East and visiting my family on this past summer felt very different not being medicated for the first time and seeing and experiencing 10:06 my Family, which is this is where all my wounding came from and Seeing how my parents interact and my sisters and My friends and it was really beautiful. 10:15 I was able to kind of take a step back and see it almost like the ghosts of Christmas past, like I was there, but I could see from a different lens, 10:25 from real grown-up mind versus my child mind state. 10:31 But I don't think I would I don't think I could have predicted the level of feeling that I was able to access once I came off the meds and through amino 10:43 acids for sure. 10:43 Hey friend, just a quick break to remind you if calming your brain is the missing piece in your practice or in you home, 10:50 my Mind Thrive certification course teaches you exactly how to do that with targeted amino acid therapy. 10:56 So it's real science, real results, no band-aids. 11:00 Enrollment is now open. 11:01 Link is in the show notes. 11:05 That's amazing. 11:06 I don't think people really understand what can happen when you remove the medication for sure. 11:12 What surprised you most about the amino acid therapy? 11:16 I was ready for, immediately I bracing for impact. 11:22 Yeah. 11:25 I felt like I was in a meth lab opening my pills and like measuring out how much I would be tapering off while adding on amino acids. 11:33 But I, I wasn't expecting like the downward drop of a roller coaster. 11:41 because I was so open and transparent with you about, this is what I'm feeling and this what is feeling it. 11:47 What does this mean? 11:48 What should I take? 11:49 And trusting you implicitly, I think that allowed me to trust within the amino acids of, okay, no, Laurie's got me, so I can trust that this endorphin 11:59 is also going to have my back too. 12:01 And if I'm feeling this way, I can take that. 12:04 Or if i'm really overwhelmed or if my ADHD really kicks up and I am feeling another type of way. 12:10 What can I do? 12:12 And I think that surprised me the most where there wasn't any impact. 12:15 There wasn' a big drop at any point on this journey.
Body-Based Trauma Release and Recovery 12:19 It just, it was a smooth sailing. 12:21 They were waves of, i am not ready for these emotions. 12:27 Yup. 12:28 But it was supportive. 12:31 And I think that was my biggest shock, because I wasn't prepared for that level of support. 12:39 That's good. 12:40 I mean, I loved working with you every step of the way. 12:43 So I never want anyone to feel alone, so I'm glad that that comes through. 12:47 As you went through this last year, What do you feel like has been the biggest shift since? 12:53 Because we've done a lot, we have done amino acid therapy. 12:56 We've got healing, some detox. 12:58 I mean, We have a done lot. 13:00 Some testing. 13:01 What are some of the big things that you have healed from in the past year? 13:06 Oh God! 13:07 I think I was storing a LOT of trauma and stress within my body. 13:12 As soon as we started this journey, I want to say like a couple months in. 13:20 I think I was like very freshly coming off my meds. 13:24 I had just a little bit left that I taking, and I have a weight lifting accident. 13:31 And it was not because I lifting incorrectly or improper form or it too heavy, but I holding so much stress and tension in my back and in body and had 13:43 no idea. 13:43 and think that, I couldn't walk for a couple months and was in the hospital, had extreme That was crazy. 13:52 Physical therapy. 13:54 I didn't think that was possible, and I've heard that your body really does keep the score, but never experienced it. 14:00 And I think, that taught me the patience and the power of how important it is to ask for help and to be open to receiving that. 14:10 That kind of set the tone and theme for what this journey was going to like. 14:17 It's made me be more comfortable with being vulnerable and allowed me to really speak up and that it's okay to not be okay. 14:25 You can't be OK all the time. 14:28 And now when people ask me, like, oh, hey, hi, how are you? 14:31 I don't care if it's the Trader Joe's cashier or a colleague or friend. 14:36 Like, I'm never just, good, How are You? 14:38 Because like I am not good. 14:40 Nobody is good at the level to be honest and vulnerable is I think important to share. 14:46 So I've always given like a four out of 10, you know, and if they can meet me and engage with that, Like I'll tell you I have a 4 out 10. I think the ability 15:00 to not project and to stay honest and true to self is the biggest takeaway, I thing. 15:07 Yeah, that's one of the things I've noticed in you over this last year. 15:11 Not that you were always super reserved in the beginning, but you very tentative to really express everything past the years going on. 15:20 You're like, hey, this is just the way it is. 15:22 This is what's going, on this how I feel. 15:25 You know, and then really learning how to, you know adjust the amino acids or adjust your lifestyle or things to talk about in therapy or to. 15:34 Talk with somebody who, You need to have those tough talks with, right? 15:39 A year ago, I don't know that Lauren would have. 15:43 been able to do all of that I mean I think I told you that a couple months ago I'm like you just look stunning like she does I wish I had a porn after 15:55 like right now because you were super cute before but now you're just like I means you can tell that your body has done so much healing and you are still healing. 16:03 It's not a one and done thing it's definitely a journey. 16:08 It really is. 16:11 I think my people-pleasing nature was so strong. 16:16 Like, I learned how to pretend everything is fine growing up, so that was just my go-to mode. 16:23 And I shed that through this experience, and I just don't have an interest to do that anymore. 16:31 If it makes somebody else uncomfortable, those are their feelings. 16:36 But yeah, I think this whole journey has changed me through having tough conversations, through relationships, friendships, 16:45 like going through breakups. 16:49 There's been so, so much. 16:50 And I feel so better. 16:52 My skin is clearer.
Sleep, Rest, and New Habits 17:00 like the blood test analysis that we did, the hormone analysis. 17:05 I was so curious and a lot of those results, I needed you to translate the gibberish for me because I made no sense, but it was fascinating. 17:15 And I've lost weight without trying. 17:18 Like I think my distress and anxiety and depression just kept everything so locked in my body that I wasn't able to ever get rid of, 17:30 in a sense. 17:31 And now I just feel- Yeah, people need to understand that. 17:35 For sure. 17:36 When your neurology is so wrapped and wound, and people are trying to lose weight and they're not losing weight, or they are, 17:43 you know, trying go through therapy, they can't go though therapy. 17:46 Well, if your body can unwind, it just doesn't release anything. 17:50 People go to detox therapy for years and years. 17:54 But if you're body is still wound up, your still stuck in overdrive. 17:57 Like, no wonder you're not, right? 17:59 I mean, I have another client and she was just on the amino acids and, she'd already had a great diet. 18:04 She's a fellow practitioner. 18:06 Put her on amino acid and lost 35 pounds in the last six months without trying. 18:10 Like she didn't do anything other than her body is finally more relaxed. 18:15 Yeah. 18:16 And I think I felt that too. 18:17 Not, losing 35 lbs, that'd be a little drastic for me. 18:23 I'll take it. 18:26 But I remember at one point I felt guilty because I was just laying on the couch and I remembered you telling me like, well, 18:34 yeah, your body feels safe enough to relax now. 18:36 And I had never really felt that. 18:38 I've always been like go, go do, do and distract yourself so you don't feel stuff. 18:44 So leaning into that, even post-injury felt really nice to just allow my body to be. 18:52 And I think that was game changer. 18:55 So now if I'm just doing nothing, like I know that's also healing and I can remind myself of that and let go of the guilt that I feel that comes up. 19:03 Yeah, we weren't created to be driven all the time. 19:06 I mean, God created us for rest. 19:08 He rested on the seventh day. 19:09 Like, clearly He likes rest, We need to allow our bodies to have that rest so that we can heal. 19:15 And you've learned how to sleep. 19:17 You know, that's been a huge thing. 19:18 Oh my God. 19:19 Yes. 19:20 My sleep score this morning was 84. I'm like dying to hit 90 one day. 19:27 It's so hard. 19:28 Just I am constantly getting up to pee in the middle of the night, but sleep is like huge now and I don't need many amino acids. 19:37 before bedtime to achieve that now. 19:40 So I've now have like healthier routines and habits leading up to going to bed at night and even waking up in the morning. 19:47 And that feels nice. 19:49 Like being an adult is so hard and nobody prepares you for it. 19:52 I feel like now at 37, I have mastered how to have a good bedtime routine. 19:59 Sometimes I'll mess it up and it's not as perfect as I want it to be, but I can try again the next day and just remind myself of that. 20:08 Yeah, and I love the fact you're like, well, I get up and pee during the night still.
Investment, Support, and Final Takeaways 20:11 Like, we're still in the healing process, right? 20:13 So there's still things that are still human. 20:15 Still human, still thing that we are working on. 20:18 But such a difference in last year. 20:20 Yeah. 20:21 Huge. 20:22 Yeah. 20:23 So everyone listening, what would you like to, if there was like one or two things you'd want them to know the most, What would he say? 20:31 I think the first thing, this was a true reaction for me. 20:35 Yes, it is expensive. 20:37 It's expensive And nothing makes me want to roll my eyes more than when people say, I just, for financially I can't afford that. 20:48 Sure you can. 20:49 It's an investment into your health. 20:52 You have one life, you have body and one purpose. 20:56 Like this is your one shot to do this and you're not getting any younger and your not any healthier. 21:02 And I've been guilty of doing that too for a lot of things. 21:07 And then we'll quickly drop loads of money on food that I don't need to buy or an experience or clothes. 21:16 And I think it's so much easier to spend things that you really want to have instead of investing in something that maybe you can't tangibly hold in your hands, 21:28 but it is worth it. 21:32 I can't say that enough, and I think when I've recommended you to friends before, kind of opened the gate after explaining my experience and then giving 21:44 them your contact info, said like, pause. 21:48 I know that you will have sticker shock, I did too, but this is an investment into your health and something that will feel lifelong. 21:54 Nothing that buy or experience you'll have for that long. 22:01 And I think that is the biggest takeaway for me and something that I should really be shared because what you think something should be priced as simply 22:13 because it's not what want to pay is not real life, that's a reality. 22:17 And yeah, your level of expertise and the way that you give yourself to your clients I thinks is space volumes beyond just the working with the amino acids 22:28 and I that needs to be said upfront. 22:34 Aside from that, I will say that yeah, it's hard, but you can do it and you're not... 22:41 There's accountability in this and there's support in it, and I think it is worth it. 22:48 I still can't explain to somebody on the street what an amino acid is in a simplistic form, A year later I'm still taking my amino acids seven times a 23:00 day and sometimes I'll mess up and I will skip the afternoon doses and think like, shit, I messed up. 23:06 But I am still human and still figuring it out and this is a journey and nothing is perfect, but it's so, so worth it. 23:16 I love it, Lauren. 23:17 It has been such a pleasure working with you and love your story. 23:21 Love the outcome we have so far. 23:22 You've come so and so proud of you. 23:25 Thank you so much. 23:27 I thank you for sharing this with everybody. 23:30 Can't tell you how much I appreciate it. 23:31 And I know there's going to be so many people listening that can relate to your story, and you're going be such a blessing to so people. 23:38 So thank get the word out for you, because I think you are incredible and have changed my life in such an incredible way, 23:48 but the people that are like, oh my God, what would I do? 23:53 I could never be off this. 23:56 What if I'm on an abandoned island or there's a natural disaster and I don't have my meds? 24:01 You'll be okay because of this." Yeah, which is such a drastic way to put it. 24:06 But I've always thought that like, what if I want to desert an island and I don't have my Lexapro or like my asthma medicine? 24:14 Like, well, there's a solution for that. 24:17 Yeah. 24:18 That's very real. 24:19 It's huge. 24:20 There's so many nuances to all of it, so if any of you like to chat with me, I'm on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. 24:28 Message me at Take Back My Brain. 24:30 Visit my website, LaurieHammer.com. 24:33 Thank you, Lauren, again. 24:34 I love you so much. 24:35 Appreciate you. 24:35 Always. 24:36 Love you! 24:36 Love You! 24:37 Thank You, everyone, for listening. 24:38 God Bless! 24:38 See you in the next episode. 24:40 Thanks for Listening to TakeBackMyBrain. 24:43 If today's episode helped you connect with hope or direction, I want you to follow the show, leave us a review and share it with someone who needs it. 24:52 And if you're ready to start your own healing journey, explore our courses and our coaching programs at lorihammer.com backslash store. 25:01 So until next time, remember you cannot medicate away a nutrient deficiency and healing your brain isn't just possible, it's powerful.
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