Ancient Healing Traditions Meet Technology: Therapies For Mental Health And Addiction With Dr. Donese WordenAncient Healing Traditions Meet Technology: Therapies For Mental Health And Addiction With Dr. Donese Worden
I Love Being Sober
Tim Westbrook talks with Dr Donese Worden about blending ancient healing practices with modern technologies to support mental health and addiction recovery. The conversation touches on gut health, advanced therapies, supplement quality, and the vital role of spirituality and music in creating lasting change.
1:08:15•20 Jul 2021
Ancient Therapies Meet High-Tech Healing with Dr Donese Worden
Episode Overview
- Effective recovery needs mind, body and spiritual support rather than focusing only on medication or talk therapy.
- Gut health and inflammation are central to mental health and addiction, so bowel habits, microbiome balance and diet matter greatly.
- High‑quality lab work can guide which supplements and nutrients are truly needed, rather than taking large numbers blindly.
- Infrared saunas, red light, cold plunges, hyperbaric oxygen and ozone can help, but benefits depend on individual needs and appropriate dosing.
- Music, community and a sense of spiritual connection are powerful, low‑cost tools for lifting mood and supporting long‑term change.
“If we forget about that spiritual connection piece, it's always a struggle.”
Gain insights from experts and survivors on how ancient healing wisdom is being blended with modern tech to support mental health and addiction recovery. Here, Dr Donese Worden chats with host Tim Westbrook about why true healing means treating mind, body and spirit together rather than relying only on pills or talk therapy.
Dr Worden, a naturopathic medical doctor and award‑winning researcher, breaks down her approach: personalised lab testing, gut health, targeted nutrition, and carefully chosen supplements instead of “bags of pills”. She explains that most chronic issues, including addiction and mood disorders, are rooted in inflammation and a disrupted gut microbiome, noting that “health begins in the gut” and that serotonin is largely made in the digestive system.
You’ll hear practical conversations about infrared saunas, cold plunges, red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, ozone, NAD+, and why “more is not better” with any therapy or supplement. Dr Worden stresses the need for individualised plans, caution around long‑term NAD+ use, and the importance of checking supplement quality with proper testing rather than trusting shiny labels. The episode also widens the lens beyond biochemistry.
Dr Worden shares how spiritual connection and community were central to ancient healing cultures, and how practices like music, drumming and dance can quickly shift mood and support recovery. Her tip? Build emotional playlists and “be the DJ of your life” so music can help calm anxiety, lift low moods, or ease you into deep sleep.
For anyone in recovery who’s curious about natural therapies, lab‑guided nutrition, or blending science with age‑old practices, this conversation offers plenty to think about and practical starting points. Which small mind‑body change will you experiment with first?
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