I'm Dr. Melinda Ring. Today, we're going to talk about something that is a hot topic

and very important these days since there's so much stress. That's HPA access dysfunction

and the role of natural products in managing our stress. We're going to go through a few different

areas today. So the first is a journey through this intricate world of stress and how our bodies

respond to it. We'll explore our amazing network inside our bodies called the hypochalamic

pituitary adrenal access. We'll call it the HPA access for short. And that's our internal stress

control system. And if that gets out of balance, things can start to feel pretty haywire.

But don't worry nature has some good tricks up your sleeve. And there's this wave of interest

in natural products to help manage stress, think herbs and roots and other plant-based goodies.

So we'll journey into that green world. But also take into consideration how can we do that safely

and effectively. So we need some of these tools to sift out some of the fiction claims. These big

claims out there about adaptogenic herbs versus the fact because we need to be discerning readers,

discerning health care users and just really understand what we're consuming both in terms of

information and supplements. So buckle up. Let's dive into this fascinating world of stress

physiology, nature's potential solutions and the art of information discernment. Just a quick note.

I'm only sharing this for educational purposes. Of course, you should talk to your own health

provider before starting any dietary supplements or herbs. And also you'll see some pictures of

some supplements in here. I'm not recommending these particular supplements. They're just shown

here, for example. Let's take a moment now to explore recent data that sheds light on the state

of mental health. This particular study was in the US by the American Psychological Association.

And they did this monthly survey called Healthy Minds Monthly that tracks mental health issues

among a sample of American adults. And I want to share a few key highlights from the survey

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