Dr. Rome Intro Video:

Hi I’m Dr Rome Walter I work at the Cal Oaks office at Rancho Family Medical Group my education background started in Psychology and Neuroscience and eventually brought me to the osteopathic branch of medical school and from there I started rural medicine where I would be able to understand the whole whole person care necessary in areas that do not have Specialists and eventually I was drawn to this part of Southern California mostly for family and personal reasons my practice to medicine is to really meet people where they’re at But ultimately most patients want some kind of change or transformation to get them to maximize their mind body and um emotional health like most Physicians I believe that those things are connected to your mental health and your physical health must work together for you to achieve the longevity and quality of life that we’re all seeking I started very young with an interest in the Natural Sciences and in nature um but over time I found that I was not likely going to pursue a career in lab science and so I wanted to be able to take the knowledge of the Natural Sciences to people and help them to understand what they can do to live the best life that they can and also my interest in Psychology and Neuroscience brought me to uh a place where I wanted to bring biological medicine to somebody’s well-being and there was no better opportunity than than medicine I have a pretty active life with my five kids and I try to practice what I preach so I love working out mountain biking more recently I’m into scuba diving but if I’m honest I love to just relax with a good book and just let my mind wander I’m Dr Rome Walter and I would love to partner with you and your health

Discussion on Meditation:

Hey everyone my name is Sienna Boyd and we are here in the Choose Health studio with Dr. Rome Walter and today we will be talking about meditation I know with the rise of mental health especially in this season of being in isolation mental health has been not the best and so Dr. Rome is a huge proponent of meditation and so I honestly don’t know much about it so first off I’d love to hear what meditation is sure meditation is

first of all I’m not the you know meditation expert I’m not a guru I haven’t gone to India you know I haven’t I don’t have a degree in meditation but I am truly noted but I am somebody who has embraced meditation seen its benefits and then studied it and then you know offer it to my patients as a way to train their mind so I see meditation as a practice which trains your mind a well-trained mind is one that doesn’t get too caught up about the past and doesn’t get too worried about the future and one that always tries to see things really the way they really are but is also aware that we have flaws in how we see things so we’re imperfect and definitely being uncomfortable with that state of change and not having a perfect knowledge of everything um that’s the point of meditation to be able to you know to navigate that what led you to first look into meditation and discover that for yourself yeah well you know I’ve always had some kind of introspective practice okay but it was several years ago that I really found some patterns in my life that I felt um were holding me back or harming me or keeping me from being my best self my most authentic self okay and during that time of revaluation I started to look into meditation some of the philosophies of some of the eastern traditions fascinated me and so I looked into them and that’s when I just started meditating started meditating through through an app or some things that I learned online and then I eventually went to a 10-day silent retreat where it was just meditating for 10 days straight nothing else wow and that’s where I realized one how hard it could be but also the the power that it can can give you what does meditating look like for you on a day-to-day say you wake up and you meditate what does that look like yeah my personal practice is I start with um with a with just a basic like 20 minute yoga practice just to wake up to energize my body and my mind to center myself in my body because that’s where you want to be with them with a mindful not mindful life a mindful practice and certainly meditation right is right there in your body right okay you know right here where everything is really happening okay rather than the million different ways you can go in your mind which can be harmful so most of the time my meditations are only 12 to 15 minutes okay yeah uh you know when on the retreats you know you’re doing long meditations like 10, 11 hours a day obviously you know it’s not for most people it’s that’s very limiting um and as I’ve read about just successful people whether it be in business or leadership lots of times they only do 10 minutes right and I think that’s something that people can get their mind around like I can do that right so when you’re meditating you’re sitting there and are you looking to think about things that are specific or are you looking to not think about anything at all focusing on your breathing yeah well one there’s a lot of different kinds of meditation and purposes and techniques but the basic technique that most people use and teach is a simple focus technique where you just focus on the breathing okay you focus on the breathing because you always have your breath with you no matter where you’re at we can meditate anywhere because we got to breathe everywhere right two breathing is somewhat unique you know people don’t think about this but you can control your breath you can hold it you can breathe fast but you also don’t need to think about breathing you can go to sleep and you’re not going to forget to breathe right so unlike your arm muscles where you’re always in control of them or your heart muscle where you really don’t have any control you know this is something in between definitely and so there’s something about that that makes it one of the more ideal uh centers of focus for meditation okay I will say it doesn’t work for some people some people hate the breath it makes them very anxious that’s fine there’s alternatives definitely but it’s a great place to start wonderful do you have some recommendations of resources maybe some online resources or you would mention an app or apps that we can use yeah so you know the best way to do something is to really seek out a real teacher of meditation who has experience and can be patient and help you um and more and more these are available online people who have sessions with you and take you through it but I find for most people they’re able to use some of just the online apps whether it be using their laptop or their phones I know I’ve mentioned to people before uh 10 from 10 happier they have a whole course in curriculum okay that really is gentle really practical okay uh you don’t have to be good at meditating or particularly um you know a believer of meditation or somebody who’s like oriented towards mindfulness you can be anybody and benefit so if I wanted to just start meditating tomorrow I could download the 10 app yes and it’ll guide me as a beginner meditator yeah okay I also like uh insight timer is as a tool okay you can it’s highly customizable for helping set a time for you it tracks how many times you do it how long you do it and you can do it with sound or without you can control the bells of starting and stopping and so that’s very helpful too and then I also like the app from sam harris um it’s like an awake app he go he’s a little cerebral and so if you’re really into the intellectual side of meditation and then he has a great app just to help you help you start meditation get the basics under your belt and then he’ll have a daily meditation to guide you and so I like a lot of what he says about meditation so that you can understand why and how it makes sense in a very practical scientific way very cool without having to have a lot of belief or spirituality with it although it has its own spirituality they can go hand in hand just because of its nature definitely about how we live definitely well thank you so much just for teaching us more about meditation I didn’t know anything about it so I’m going to go download those apps go ahead learn practice my breathing you have to do it don’t have to do it and be patient don’t expect it to take awhile your anxiety or be a pleasant experience remember this is some kind of training and so you’re going to like training any muscle there’s a little bit of soreness there’s a little bit of of pushing through it to get the benefits but it doesn’t work that’s encouraging thank you well Dr. Rome um serves as one of our doctors at our Cal Oaks location if you’re interested in being a patient of his or seeing him as a doctor you can always contact us but aside from that thank you so much just for being with us today and teaching us about meditation you’re welcome

Discussion on Anxiety:

Hey everyone, my name is Sienna Boyd and I am the community rep at Rancho Family Medical. And today we are in the Choose Health studio with Dr. Rome Walter, who likes to be called Dr. Rome. And we will be diving deeper into mental health, specifically anxiety disorders today. But before we begin, can you just introduce yourself a little bit? Tell us more about your practice?

Yeah, of course, I have it’s a family practice. We’re out of the office at Cal oaks. And been doing this for over 10 years, I have a pretty broad practice. And some, some people know me as just more holistic oriented I don’t know if I love that title, which is trying to find the best medicine, we tried to find fundamentally what’s going on with people in a lots of times lifestyle, and has a lot to do with that. And so I don’t consider lifestyle alternative. But getting into nutrition and getting into good sleeping habits and mindfulness. And using nature using supplements where appropriate, definitely can be a big help.

Definitely. Yeah, wonderful. Well, we want to dive right into anxiety disorders, mental health, can you tell us some of the anxiety disorders that you come across on your day to day?

Yeah, of course. You know, obviously, generalized anxiety disorder, this is where people are just anxious all the time, and everybody’s a little anxious,

going up on stage have butterflies up on

stage, or just sometimes the day can seem kind of overwhelming. You know, we’re wired to be anxious if we were ever from an evolutionary standpoint, if we were too relaxed, you know, we wouldn’t work hard to be careful or survive. So sure, we’re supposed to be a little uncomfortable a little bit looking for what’s wrong. Oh, but and today’s society, you know, we’re not, there’s not really a tribe going to attack right behind, there’s not a lion, we’re not going to get our food. So now a lot of this feeling of disease is feeling of what’s wrong, what’s wrong. It’s just not functional, right. And so the big thing, though, is if it interferes with your relationships, right, your inability to work or enjoy yourself with friends, now, it’s become maladaptive and now we start talking about this as kind of a disorder, you’re not bouncing it

with anything, your day to day life is getting impaired by this disorder, okay.

But then, of course, you got panic attack. So this is where you just for no reason whatsoever, just have this overwhelming feeling of tightness or alarm, something’s wrong. And lots of times people will think they’re having a stroke or a heart attack, right? They’re often young and healthy, so that it doesn’t really make sense for most of the time. And, and then it goes on or not, you know, fear of places fear of public speaking. So there’s a whole, there’s a whole list. And also, sometimes it’s other mental disorders, if you can’t focus at all, you can’t get anything done, you can’t stay on track, then after a while, you start getting nervous about doing anything. So sometimes you gotta be careful and understand that it can be something else that looks like anxiety.

Absolutely. That is very true. I know, oftentimes, anxiety and depression can get confused. Right? Can you tell us the differences between those two? The main differences?

Sure. One, there’s a lot of crossover. And so a lot of the treatments for depression work for anxiety. Oh, really? Okay. Yeah, sometimes is the same.

What are some of the symptoms of both? Well,

the feeling that there’s something wrong all the time and not being able to enjoy some things, or being afraid of things all the time, can give you a sense of just sadness, or being overwhelmed and not wanting to do anything. But of course, that’s how you feel when you have anxiety as well. So like you say, it’s a lot of cross a

lot of crossover. Yeah, definitely. Um, what are some of the biggest tools that you would tell your patients about how to mitigate the symptoms of anxiety or depression and ultimately, how to cure them?

Yeah, you know, the first thing I would say is, you really have to face it. You know, there’s still a little bit of a stigma about it being mentally a mental health issues, including anxiety. So a lot of times people will try to talk about it, you know, I’m here for this, this and this. And then towards the end, by the way, I have anxiety, you got anything for that? Well, anxiety, anxiety is, goes pretty deep. And if you have problems with anxiety, likely your whole life, you’ve had layers of probably maladaptive learning behaviors and habits. And so it’s not something that you’re just going to right away fix. And if you want to get the best treatment from your physician or provider, you really need to focus a visit or two or five on anxiety, because we have to make sure there’s not some kind of underlying physiological reason for it. Right tyroid disorder or, you know, a nutritional deficiency. And you, you gotta realize that it’s, it’s a years of, you know, maladaptive beliefs that you’ve built up. Are you’re telling yourself these catastrophizing ideas about the past and the future, right? So it’s not going to be erased in one day, it’s not going to be erased with one pill. So focus on it is not stop everything, but you know, give your physician the best opportunity to really help you by by knowing that you’re going to need a few, especially in today’s modern 15 minute visit. Sure. situation, you know, you’re gonna have to dedicate a few visits to it.

Definitely, I think something that you mentioned was really interesting how you had said, there’s anxiety, but there also might be some physiological things happening. Do you see often that people who come in with anxiety, it could be a chemical imbalance or something going on nutritionally? Maybe they need to exercise more? Or is it mainly situational anxiety? Yeah.

So I always start with looking for some kind of underlying cause, because it’s more simple, straightforward and share kind of a cure fix. Yeah, most of the time. That’s not it. And most the time, this is a genetic predisposition and some kind of learned behavior with, you know, childhood or early adulthood with some experiences that kind of compounded those genetic predispositions runs in the family, you’ll see that a lot.

Okay. I did not know that. I didn’t know that anxiety or depression or anxiety disorders were hereditary for lack of a better word.

Absolutely, there’s a lot of evidence that there’s a lot of hereditary component, okay. It doesn’t mean you’re going to have it or that there’s no treatment for it. It just means that if not caught early, or if, you know, there’s a lot of opportunities, again, to build this maladaptive belief system or behaviors. For something that you’re basically born with. It’s, I would say it’s not you know, people need to know it’s not their fault and sometimes, right, they feel like it is my fault. I’m too much this. I’m too much that I’m I’m a worrywart,

which then adds to the anxiety. Oh, yeah. self fulfilling prophecy, then? Yeah, yeah. What are some of the tools that you would tell your patients who come in with anxiety or depression, and maybe some practical tools they can do to mitigate those symptoms and mitigate those feelings?

Well, to get back to what you talked about, there’s times where lots of times people are doing pretty well, they do have some coping strategies that they that are helpful that they have, right, but there’ll be a situation where they don’t have their normal coping strategies, for example, gyms, you know, closing during the pandemic, or friends or family that actually made life great for them, then they moved or something happened. And so now they feel like, oh, there’s something wrong when really, they just need to go back to those to those basics. But as far as treatment, you know, like I said, it should be taken seriously. And there’s, you know, three general categories that do work, okay? One, meditation, meditation, meditation works. Not, it’s not for everybody, or it’s not for everybody, at every moment in their life, they might need something different or something, in addition to meditation, therapy, really, really having a good, you know, cognitive behavioral therapist or similar therapist that really definitely is this safe place where they can say whatever they want, like, reveal whatever they want. And they can really examine their beliefs or their thoughts or how they’re looking at things. And finally, medicine, you know, medication, either kind of an as needed medication as if it’s if it’s only every once in a while, like these panic attacks, or daily medication, okay? There’s no perfect answer. All of these either take work or patience to explore, for example, side effects of medications or the white one that works for you. therapy can be uncomfortable, you know, there’s reasons why people’s anxiety gets worse. And so to talk about those doesn’t make you feel better. So why would you want to do something, you want to feel better, but then you’re doing something that makes doesn’t make you feel better? Right? And then meditation is the same thing. People who have a lot of anxiety are not going to feel better doing meditation right away, they’re going to feel really uncomfortable. But of course, that’s, that’s the best place to practice. If you can handle. If you can handle the thoughts and the discomfort of not being distracted, then you’re going to do a lot better during the day where you have a lot of coping strategies, you know, you get distracted at work, you’re just keeping your mind off it exercise. These are all potentially healthy.

Sounds like there are a lot of tools in your arsenal that you can prescribe to your patients and I know you were talking about having a holistic view you and taking your patients and being able to intentionally narrow down the tools that would work best for them individually, which is, which is pretty cool. I know you had mention that gyms are closed right now due to COVID. I’m in just the season that we’re in. Yeah. Has there been a rise in mental health issues with your patients since COVID?

Yeah, I would say definitely, definitely. Okay. A lot of people are coming in, who have had anxiety for a while, but through whatever coping strategy, or they just have a really good life situation, they are able to manage it. And it wasn’t becoming something that, like we talked about, was keeping them from working and retaining or causing undue strife in a relationship, right. So they were getting by, until COVID, until and it’s not just COVID. It’s just, you know, being home all the time, and then looking at media, and there’s so many things going on, right, and you can’t control it, and yet you feel, you know, either responsible or you feel like something’s wrong. Definitely definitely looks like something’s wrong with the world. And so then that just snowballs into this feeling that yup, something is wrong. And I think that’s the main bad belief that people have, that somehow, things aren’t going the way they’re supposed to go. And so getting them grounded with a therapy is important. Okay.

Therapy is important, especially in this season. Well, yeah.

And I always usually recommend a combination of these therapies, not just one, because lots of times people just aren’t ready for change without a medication without even know that they might have a great therapist. Yeah, they might see in a therapy, that their beliefs are dysfunctional, or are putting them in an uncomfortable state that they’re seeing things that are wrong with their past and future, that really are just the way things are, maybe, but they can’t really change those behaviors, until they’re under the influence of a medication or, or the medication works. But if you don’t change your mindfulness practice, you don’t change your lifestyle. After a couple of years, you might, you might get used to that medication, and you’ve wasted an opportunity to really structure your lifestyle and really do the work of evaluating your beliefs. And in creating more of a long term solution for them, rather than just medication. Yeah,

that makes complete sense. Well, one word of advice that you would give to, to your patients right now. And during this COVID season, when they’re in isolation, what are some practical tools you would give them, um, to help mitigate those feelings? Especially right now in isolation, seeing all of the news being bombarded with bad news every day? What are some tips and tricks that you would give those patients?

Sure. You know, that’s my personal bias. But I do think everyone benefits for just 10 minutes of meditation every day. And luckily, there are a host of great apps online. Okay, that help guide you through it. What’s your favorite? The one I’m using, I don’t know, if I have a favorite, the one I’m using right now is called 10%. So it’s after the book 10% happier by Dan Harris. Okay. It really is for the beginner. It really is for anybody, okay, that could be advanced too. I find that the the sessions are small enough, they give you a little a little learning tidbit and then they go right into a medic a guided meditation. Okay, you did you and very practical, very accessible, okay, there is a little cost with that one, not much. Okay, definitely worth your mental health. Very much though. I also like Insight Timer, I use that one just basically for a basic meditation timer, just keep your sanity, you get a little bell every once awhile and know you’re, you know, you’re gonna get to the end. It’s not supposed to be an endurance, you know, sporting event, but when you’re first starting, you’re not used to it. And sometimes you just want it to be over. So Insight Timer is great. There’s some free options, which I use, and then there’s some painful ones. Definitely. And so that’s a, those two are a great place to start.

Well, thank you so much for giving us the suggestions and just for being here and talking to us about mental health. Dr. Rome is seeing new patients that are single or Daleks. Thank you. Yeah, exactly. Dr. Rome is seeing new patients at our Cal Oaks location. So if you are interested in seeing him as your doctor, you can always give us a call or contact us. Thank you again so much just for being with us and sharing your knowledge today.

You’re welcome. Thank you