Interview with Michelle Kunselman ND, CNHP

Michelle Kunselman is a Certified Natural Health Professional with Harbor of Hope Healing Services. She has recently started her own business in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. She studied at Trinity School of Natural Health and has numerous certifications. Michelle works with the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of a person and teaches people about how all of these are interconnected.

I recently started working with Michelle as I take care of my own post partum journey with adrenal fatigue. Michelle will also talk about postpartum depression and what she can do for this condition.

I worked with a lot of women who undergo postpartum depression. Usually, the progress is slowed down by adrenal fatigue or hormonal imbalance. Michelle will let you know how they deal with it so you can have a better understanding of your options regarding postpartum depression. Know that whatever the severity of the postpartum depression is, you should get some help and Michelle is one of those who can guide and walk you through the process.

Michelle just wants to make it clear that they do not treat or diagnose particular situations or conditions. They work through supporting the body going through different conditions. When someone sees her, it could take a little longer, but it is worth the journey. Michelle wants patients to know that she does not just have her clients leave with a handful of supplements. She tells them what these things are for, why they need to take it, and more. She wants it to be a conversation so that she can learn about the patient and the patient can also learn a lot about her and what she can do for them.  

How Planning Your Pregnancy Can Help With Postpartum Depression

Michelle was nutrient deficient with her first pregnancy and she has seen that this is a common condition for most women who come in to see her. Also, some of them already had problems with their gut health pre-pregnancy. 

If women can start to work on this issue ahead of time, a lot of the feel-good hormone will be created in the gut, which is where 85 to 95 percent of serotonin is produced. If the gut is not in great shape and does not have all the nutrients it needs to send the hormones to the brain then problems will arise.  

If there is no pre conception planning, Michelle said she works on this first before addressing other things. She usually addresses leaky gut problems and the like. From there, she sees the progress become better.  For her practice, she uses herbs and nutrient-based supplements as well as dietary changes.  

Michelle experienced post partum depression and  felt like she was losing her mind. She also felt like she was not a good mom and felt desperate. There were times she just wanted to yell at her crying baby and questioned herself what was wrong with her for thinking that. Others could also experience the feeling of wanting to scream, go in a hole, or run away. These are real possibilities that you could experience when you have postpartum depression and these should not be dismissed. Whether you feel the most extreme effects of postpartum depression or have nagging thoughts in your head, you should recognize that these are symptoms of a problem and you should not just power through it. You have to ask for help and understand that the process takes time.  Michelle advised that if you told someone what you’ve been feeling regarding post-partum depression and they just brush it off, then you are telling it to the wrong crowd. You should have a good support system who will listen and walk with you through your journey.

The Key Things You Can Do About Postpartum Depression

During your journey in healing from postpartum depression, not every day is going to be smooth sailing but Michelle gave key points you can keep in mind to help with your situation, whether or not you work with a practitioner.

• The Key Nutrients Must Be In Place

Your body must have absorbable forms of methylated B vitamins. Research and studies showed that people who are prone to postpartum depression need methylated forms of B vitamins. This is also great for those who are still pregnant and are taking pre-natal vitamins. This is important for people with the MTHFR gene mutation.  

Iron and ferritin levels must also be checked because most women who just gave birth can be anemic. Your iron level will show the hemoglobin in your blood. Your ferritin level will show you if the blood gets to where it needs to be. So it’s important to have both checked. Having this checked is important because if you have optimal hemoglobin levels and low ferritin levels, you don’t want iron circulating in your blood because it could cause inflammation because iron is not being driven to where it’s supposed to be.

Omega is also good as it is healthy fat. It is important because our brains are made of fat. If we are struggling with postpartum depression or any other kind of depression, why would you deprive your brain with its key nutrient? You can also consume avocado and avocado oil to get healthy fats. Nuts and seeds are also great and breastfeeding moms can munch on these during their downtime.

Michelle also likes to use good digestive enzymes and good probiotics to address gut issues. She also likes using herbs to support the adrenals and thyroids.

Patients should also remember that they should commit to getting this into their system. You can have all the bottles on your shelf, but it needs to be in your body. You have to come up with a plan that you can follow or reach out to a provider who can do the plan for you. You should also pick a provider who can understand that it can be overwhelming for you and will walk you through the process and help you with what both of you can do to make the plan work.   

• Slow Down When You Are Chewing

Take your time when you are eating. Enzymes are created in your mouth and when we are stressed, we deplete our Beta-hydroxybutyrate acid, which helps break down protein, fats, and carbohydrates. As your body is recovering from the stress of labor, delivery, and sleep deprivation, you need to slow down your chewing.  It would definitely make some difference for your nutrient absorption.

•  Caffeine Intake

Caffeine can be really hard on your adrenals.  Adrenal glands produce hormones that help regulate your metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, response to stress and other essential functions.  Coffee can also affect your baby. 

• Do Not Let Certain Things Affect Your Mood Post-Pregnancy

Michelle discussed that one of the things that affects your mood post-pregnancy is your weight gain. So many people believe that if they breastfeed, they would drop all the baby weight. That’s not true for everyone. If a friend of yours gave birth and she immediately lost the baby weight, it could be disappointing that you aren’t having the same results. The negativity you feel from this could feed your postpartum depression.

Because of this, moms start dieting early and it creates a fight or flight response in the body. This could make your condition worse.

You have to understand how the fat cells work and how it works to help your thought process. The fat cell actually opens up when it needs nutrients and when it wants to get rid of toxicity. The worst thing you can do postpartum for weight gain is to not eat and diet hard. The body is amazingly adaptive so it will continue to keep the fat cell open and you will just frustrate yourself. Put good things in your body and just trust that your body is doing what it is supposed to do. Also, stop comparing yourself to others because that will get you depressed faster than anything else.

•   Give Yourself A Little Love

Everything is a symptom and do not feel like you have to ignore these symptoms. It could be weight gain, emotional ups and downs, lack of sleep, mood swings, and the like. Also, even if you are already two years after giving birth, you can still ask for support because postpartum depression does not mean it would only last six months to one year after your delivery.

For Michelle, what made her want to give herself a little more love is when she almost died of COVID. Before she got COVID, she was working nonstop and was giving all her clients and everyone around her the support and care they needed. She never gave herself the same grace. When she got COVID, she realized a lot of things and is now working on giving her children more time and herself more love.

If you want to reach out to Michelle Kunselman for other conditions other than post-partum depression, you can reach out through her Facebook page. You can also book a schedule through https://harborofhopehealingservices.as.me/ or give her a call at +1 724-372-2127.

If you have any questions, you can drop it in the comment section or you send me a message through Facebook or Instagram. I’d be happy to do another podcast about your questions. Also, if you want me to talk about something specific, let me know!

You can also check my TikTok account as I use the platform to educate viewers about movement, chiropractic education, yoga, pregnancy, and more! 

Thank you for listening and see you next week!