08: From Overdoser to Overachiever: The Story of Brendan Vermeire

On this episode of the Soaring Child Podcast, we had a very informative conversation with metabolic health scientist/functional medicine educator, Brendan Vermeire. Breandaon discusses his tumultuous journey dealing with ADHD. Two weeks after he was diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and ADHD at the age of 21, Brendan overdosed. The diagnosis for these mental disabilities was supposed to help him, but instead, almost made him take his own life.  It's no wonder that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for Americans. Brendan withstood a lot at a young age and to add to his problems, he was in a toxic relationship. But it was in this relationship where he began to try to figure out his partner's mental instabilities that he was introduced to the world of functional medicine. He became obsessed with health, specifically the dangers of oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.  Brendan knows exactly how over-diagnosed mental disorders have become. We have become so fixated on what's wrong with our child instead of becoming fixated on what's wrong with the environment. By simply cutting out fake foods from your child's diet, living in a cleaner, mold-free space, and other fundamental changes, you can save money, as well as improve your child's peace of mind. Tune in, listen, and learn about the importance of metabolic and mental health!    Takeaways: [3:00] Reasons why Brendan became a health scientist [7:07] Brendan's steps after mental institution  [11:03] What really causes ADHD [13:09] The importance of knowing your biochemistry [16:59] Contributing factors to oxidative stress and inflammation [19:20] Optimizing the gut-brain connection [28:21] Breaking the ADHD diagnosis and medication stigma Memorable quotes: "What we're doing with mental health and psychology is so butchered." "Then I was actually officially diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and ADHD at the age of 21, and it was actually like two weeks later that I woke up in the intensive care unit after overdosing, intentionally overdosing on my wellbutrins."  "I think these diagnostic labels: the ADHD, the autism, major depressive disorder, or bipolar; I think they're really really asinine labels that really just don't make sense… they're focused more on the label rather than other physiological issues."  "With oxidative stress and inflammation, like those are the two mechanisms that drive any illness." "Focus on what we have control on as opposed to focusing on what we do not have control of." "88% of Americans are considered metabolically ill and 70% are overweight or obese, and 43% are diabetic and 30% have a fatty liver." "Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for Americans, and Alzheimer's is #6." "You can't get better in the environment that made you sick." "If you're kid is eating fake food, they're sedentary, you have to get them active., y You have to feed them high quality real food." "50% of the kids I work with, we change the diet, we don't need to spend the money on lab testing… the fundamentals are the way to go for sure."   Dana Kay Resources:  Website - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adhdthriveinstitute  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/  YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ADHDThriveInstitute  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/74302454/  Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/adhdthriveinstitute/ Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@adhd_thriveinstitute     International Best Selling Book, Thriving with ADHD - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/book/    Free Reduce ADHD Symptoms Naturally Masterclass – https://bit.ly/3GAbFQl     ADHD Parenting Course – https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/parentingadhd   ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids Program - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/packages/