Blog - Dr. Christina Bjorndal

Beyond the Label

It is often hard to pinpoint the exact moment when mental illness begins in one’s life. A question we are taught to ask patients is: What was going on in your life when you were first diagnosed? I find that the answers I receive in response to that question vary — some people remember a…

Love For Yourself

Ultimately, it is our feelings about ourselves and how we treat ourselves that are critical to our mental health and well-being. I ask every patient how they much they love themselves on a scale of 1 to 10, and it is rare for me to get a response over five. The most common response I…

The Journey into Me via my Knee

Recently, I injured my knee in a ski accident. The last time I had a knee injury, it was a 16-month process from injury to MRI to surgery to recovery. And during that time my mental health took a nose dive. My old friends of depression, suicidal ideations, anxiety & fears of weight gain all…

Train your Brain For Willpower

(adapted from Kelly McGonigal’s book: The Willpower Instinct) It took evolution millions of years to develop a prefrontal cortex that is capable of everything we humans need. So perhaps it’s a little greedy to ask this, but is it possible to make our brains even better at self-control, without having to hang around for another…

20 Things I’ve Learned in 2020

By Dr. Christina Bjorndal, ND At the start of the year, 2020 was referred to as the year of “Vision”. And as they say, hindsight is 2020. In that regard, looking back over the year, I am now referring to 20/20 as the year of DIVISION. We are divided on many important topics. The COVID19…

Environmental Toxins and How They Affect Mental Health

At a time like this, mental health matters more than ever. We need to take care of ourselves, our bodies and our minds. Mental healthcare is one of the biggest unmet needs of our time, and is something most people tend to ignore. ‍ This is why it’s important to acknowledge the effects of…

Understanding Your Triggers and What To Do About Them

Typically, when you are triggered, it is not about the immediate situation you are in. You are triggered because you have unresolved emotional issues that lie beneath the surface. Similar to the iceberg theory – what lies above is a small part of the iceberg that lies below. From Dr. Gabor Mate: “I want you…

Vitamins: It’s Dose that Does it

By: Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Feb 2, 2009 There is a spin to most media reporting on vitamin research. The anti-vitamin blitz, led by the Associated Press and USA Today, provides yet another demonstration, (Vitamins C and E don’t prevent heart disease. The Associated Press Nov 9, 2008) Also: USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-09-suppl…) With a paternalistic…

How I Really Feel About Suicide Prevention Week

Recently, it was suicide prevention week in Canada. There were many posts from people and companies talking about the tragedy of suicide and importance of prevention. It tugs at my heart every year because I have personally had a suicide attempt that came at one of my darkest times. My heart is always with those…

Myths about suicide and what my suicide attempts have taught me

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. It is a day every year where I think about those who have died by suicide, those who have been affected by suicide, have suicidal ideations and reflect on my personal suicide attempts. Suicide can be a very painful topic for people to talk about. I wanted to share…