Our latest episode of the MindHealth360 Show with Silvia Covelli kicks off a powerful new sub-series of the podcast, “Survivor Stories”, sharing real stories of people who have transformed their mental health with integrative approaches. 

In this episode, Silvia draws from her own personal experience suffering from treatment-resistant depression, explains why depression is not a lifelong condition and reveals how people suffering from depression can sustainably heal.

Silvia Covelli is the founder and CEO of The Healing Depression Project. A former social science researcher at Harvard University, she is also a mental health care innovator and a successful entrepreneur. Despite her professional success, Silvia faced years of unrelenting and crippling depression. Although she explored over 60 different treatments, she failed to find lasting relief until she developed her own groundbreaking programme - a programme which successfully eradicated her 25 year struggle with depression, and has since left her completely depression-free and thriving. Her life mission is to share this programme, called The Healing Depression Project, and help others achieve sustainable and lifelong wellness. 

In this inspiring interview, Silvia shares the story behind The Healing Depression Project and reveals the surprisingly simple yet transformative practices that helped her overcome years of depressive symptoms. She offers actionable insights into the Project’s treatment plans and emphasises why identifying common biochemical root-causes of depression – such as toxins, poor gut health, hormone imbalance, and nutritional deficiencies – and making lifestyle changes – to include better sleep, diet, exercise, and meditation – is also key to successful healing. 

In this episode learn about:

• Why treatment-resistant depression is not a life sentence, and why believing that sustainable recovery is possible, is key.

• Why conventional treatments, including psychiatry and medications, not only failed to address Silvia’s symptoms (such as fatigue, poor cognition, anxiety, lack of connection, apathy, etc), but made symptoms worse and created new ones.

• Why you don’t have to accept medication for life, why de-prescribing takes courage, and where to find support during the process.

• Ways depression isn’t ‘just in your head’ and its biochemical roots. 

• Reasons to put healing at the forefront of your life, rather than the sidelines, and why mental trauma should be viewed in the same way as physical trauma. 

• Silvia’s 4 simple pillars, practiced daily, for successful healing; 1) exercise 2) meditation 3) nutrition 4) prioritising sleep.

• What The Healing Depression Project is, the involvement of integrative psychiatrists Dr. Kat Toups and Dr. Achina Stein, where to find it, and how it provides revolutionary treatment for depression that works.

• Why the project incorporates a 30-day residential retreat and a 15-day follow-up programme.

• Why embedding lifestyle changes into daily life is crucial for mind and body health and permanent relief from depressive symptoms, how to do it and why it requires a personalised plan. 

• Why functional medicine psychiatry underpins the Project, and why identifying the biochemical root causes of depression — such as inflammation, gut and metabolic health, hormone imbalance, nutritional deficiencies, toxins, infections, etc. — is vital to treatment.

• What the science of habit formation is – i.e the daily implementation of radical lifestyle changes – why it’s fundamental to the Project, and how it teaches the cultivation and growth of permanent new daily habits at home.

• How psychological stressors are addressed by the Project, and why talk therapies, life coaching, somatic work, psychodrama and yoga are incorporated into treatment to help patients find peace and purpose.

• More about the scholarships on offer, which can cover up to 80% of the costs, and how to apply.

Episode: https://mindhealth360show.libsyn.com/72-silvia-covelli-healing-treatment-resistant-depression

Podcast: https://www.mindhealth360.com/