Embracing the Healing Journey: Integrating Traditional and Functional Medicine for Vibrant Health

As a military veteran, mother, and survivor of personal health battles, I've learned that wellness is a journey with many paths. Tune in to hear my story, Dr. Demiris Maria Grossman, as I share how I've woven the threads of traditional medicine with the healing arts of integrative therapies to guide others toward vibrant health. Suffering from chronic illness and injury propelled me to seek out the true sources of pain and imbalance, leading to the discovery of functional medicine's power. I'll take you through this episode's exploration of root causes behind common afflictions, like migraines, and how an integrative approach using therapies such as acupuncture and yoga can offer relief and prevention beyond conventional treatments.

Embarking on this expedition of health and self-discovery requires more than just a prescription—it demands a commitment to look within and address the complexities of our beings. Join me as I advocate for a proactive stance against chronic illness and dedicate myself to empowering others to reach their full potential. Whether it's understanding the intricate dance of hormones, the impact of stress on our well-being, or the supportive role of mindfulness practices, this episode serves as a resource and guide. Together, let's embrace a healthcare paradigm that not only treats but also prevents disease, ensuring a life of vitality at every turn.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:25

Hi, how are you? This is Dr Demiris Maria Grossman and I am your integrated DMP and this is the MindPlay Integrated Show. So, overall, I'm talking today about why I consider myself an integrative nurse practitioner. So what that is is that I use integrated health, which is components of traditional and integrative work. In addition, I also use functional medicine as a practitioner. So I will look at the root cause and the problems of underlying things. But I call myself integrative because I also use other components.

Speaker 1: 1:06

So, for example, you have a migraine. We're going to look at the history of it. Is it a gulfiome issue? Is it a toxin? Is it some overall tension? So, if there is an underlying cause, what the cause is, I would really go with. Then, on top of that, the integrative approach would maybe be magnesium, tension, headaches, acupuncture, massage, movement therapy, yoga, stress management. So that integrative approach is that other additional part, in addition to finding the root cause as a functional medicine practitioner.

Speaker 1: 1:42

So I, then, am very emphasized this is part of who I am. It's kind of one of those things. When I first went to nurse practitioner school and became a nurse, I thought I knew a lot of information and I thought I had a lot of education, which I did, but I really always wanted to help people and that was the bottom line. And when I had a lot of my own illness and my own trauma I'm a military veteran and I'm a mom now but when I was based with my own trauma, my own chronic illness and my own back injury, I had to figure out what was going to make me better. And in my wellness journey and in my healing journey I really went from real dark to then trying to find the answers and I made it my life's work, literally and figuratively, to get better and I make it a mission to understand where the benefits of different things are. So that's when I became a nurse integrative, using yoga, mindfulness, all different modalities of integrated health, and then finding now functional medicine.

Speaker 1: 2:46

So that's for me it's necessity I call myself that to give other people at this point resources and to not think of just pills as the medicine, because that's not the answer. It is part of equation for some, but it's not the whole situation, because when you're not looking at the real reason underlying something, then you're not really looking at your health and what happens is this integrative, functional medicine is work. It takes time, it takes effort and you really do have to look within to find the answers, and you have to look at testing and blood work and look at where things are coming up, because if you don't, then you're just pretending there's acute things that you can fix but also understand. You're trying to find and prevent or trying to decrease chronic illness. So that's what I'm here for.

Speaker 1: 3:46

I'm here to help, be a resource, being advocate for those and others. Now that I know I don't want to go back to just a band-aid fix. I don't want to just go back to thinking about just a disease process. I want to think about where people are and where myself am at, so that when I'm 80 years old, I may not need that much energy. I'm living to my fullest potential and that's what I want for you. So come with me on this journey, and that I'm here to help you.