Many people living with mental illnesses often use medication to help manage their symptoms and, while it certainly helps many address the issue, it can also cause side effects and mask the root cause. Today’s guest is Bibi Ladipo-Ajayi, a medical writer and pharmacist turned counselor that operates at the intersection of counseling and medication therapy for mental health challenges. Bibi helps people realize that medication doesn’t heal them, it just masks their symptoms, and she uses a wide range of methods to help her clients reduce their dependence on pharmaceutical medications and transition to a functional wellness lifestyle.. Find out how Bibi makes use of pharmacogenetic and nutrigenomic testing and hear how she suggests we become our own best advocates. She asserts the importance of listening to our bodies, having a team approach to our health, and recording our own medical history, as well as doing research, advocating for ourselves, and having the courage to step out of our comfort zones. Make sure to tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Bibi introduces herself and shares what she does as a medical writer.
• How a program at The King’s University launched Bibi into the counseling world.
• The intersection of counseling and medication therapy for mental health challenges.
• How Bibi helps people realize that medication doesn’t heal them, it just masks symptoms.
• Using pharmacogenetic and nutrigenomic testing to treat medication dependency and individualize diet and exercise recommendations.
• The importance of listening to our bodies and communicating with our doctors.
• How to best advocate for ourselves – get a second opinion, ask questions, do research.
• Having a team approach to your health by finding functional medicine practitioners.
• The benefits of recording your own history with medication – what works and what doesn’t.
• Bibi’s advice for asking your doctor the right questions about prescribed medication.
• Why you should never just stop taking medication with just your own opinion – do your research, talk to your doctor!
• Everything we do is important and makes up a part of who we are and how we function.
• By advocating for ourselves, we advocate for others – being empowered to take charge of our health helps us shine a light for others.
• A story of hope to close: how Bibi got out of her comfort zone and found her passion.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Bibi Lapido-Ajayi on LinkedIn

MyNOW Wellness

MyNOW Wellness on Instagram

MyNOW Wellness on Facebook

True North Counseling