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Welcome to Full Focus, a podcast by Neurobiologix hosted by Heather Morgan. In each episode, Heather is joined by some of today’s most influential thought leaders in health and human performance. Together, they explore the world of wellness through the lens of cellular health, neurobiology, and personalized medicine—powered by genetic testing.
Whether you're a healthcare provider seeking science-based tools for patient care or a curious biohacker hungry for the latest longevity strategies, this show is your go-to resource. Let’s dive in and unlock your full potential—one conversation at a time.
The content and products discussed in this program have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, nor are they intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Any decisions made around your health should be discussed with your health practitioner.
Heather Morgan: [00:00:00] Welcome to Full Focus. I am so excited to be joined today by Dr. Roseanne Kana Hodge. She is a leading expert in emotional and behavioral dysregulation. With over 30 years of experience helping families transform chaos into calm, known for connecting clinical science with everyday parenting, she specializes in nervous system dysregulation.
The root cause of struggles like a DD anxiety. OCD mood disorders and pans and pandas through her calms, dysregulation, protocol, bestselling books, and top number 1% podcast, Dr. Roseanne gives parents the tools they need to support their child's brain behavior and emotional wellbeing without shame or guesswork.
Featured in the New York Times Forbes and Parent Magazine, she's on a mission to help families regulate first, so healing. Success can follow. [00:01:00] Welcome, Dr. Roseanne. Thank you so much for joining me.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Heather, I always love our conversation, so I'm really excited to be talking about, how can we regulate the nervous system and help families that who are struggling with OCD anxiety and you know, things that are holding their kids back.
Heather Morgan: I, well, thank you. We're so glad we know that we have the expert, the best pro here with us today. As you know, when I reached out to you, I really wanted to talk today about OCD because this is one of the areas that you specialize in, and from what I've seen over the past years, your approach, to OCD and other DYS regulatory conditions
, It's unique. Not only is it unique, but it's also I think, cutting edge and just sort of, I don't know, very, forward for the times. And I wanted to hear you share that with the audience because as you know, Dr. Roseanne, our audience very much is. Families, parents of [00:02:00] children who are dysregulated as well as adults.
So, you know, we, start with early life and that's how this company started out. Early life with children primarily children with a SD. And then it evolved. Far beyond that all the way into sort of early adulthood and then pans and pandas, and then all the way to, , later life, right?
So we're talking neurological disorders and as you know, in some cases if these disorders aren't really addressed earlier on, they can then expand into later life. So thank you so much for bringing your expertise today.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah, and you know. , We live in a world where people are told, you know, they have clinical issues and that they have to live with them for the rest of their lives. And that just isn't the case. And yes, sometimes people do have clinical issues or they're neurodivergence and it doesn't mean we're taking that away, but.
We can reduce uncomfortable symptoms or symptoms that are [00:03:00] holding people back. And what I have found over these three decades of helping so many thousands of kids and families is that. The dysregulation of the nervous system, the nervous system, either being over or understimulated, really is what holds people back from wellness, from, either healing from medical issues or it's an exacerbator of clinical issues.
And it's certainly something that causes a lot of frustration and irritation for the child themselves and the parents who struggle to find the right help. And you know, they come to things like supplements and diet and exercise, or even me, because typically they've become Google MD and they've tried to figure this out on their own.
And met with a family today and they have known that their child had OCD. For nine years,
Heather Morgan: Wow.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: and in the nine years, not [00:04:00] one provider recommended the gold standard treatment OCD.
Heather Morgan: Unbelievable.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: the mother, you know, like she just figured things out and somehow she got to me and I thought, this is terrible.
Not one time somebody recommended what you're actually supposed to do for OCD and said she got anxiety treatment, which just worsened things more. And I said to them, you literally paid people to worsen your child's OCD. And they were like, yes. So, when we think about, clinical issues, right?
We don't really often talk about. Activation, like what happens in our brain and our body when things move from a calm, parasympathetic state, which our autonomic nervous system manages our stress response. But when we have these issues, our body moves to a sympathetic dominant state, which at the, I always say at the tippy top means you're going to fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
I think that's really relatable for our a SD [00:05:00] parents, our kids with, you know, pans, pandas, and mood, but we're not really thinking about that for A DHD. We're not always thinking about that for even anxiety at times. And that body gets hijacked and it just isn't functioning well. So regulating that nervous system through multiple ways.
Is really critical and it doesn't matter what path you're taking, , you know, I always recommend diet and supplements. It's always part of my care plan, but sometimes I do brain-based tools too. But we need behavioral changes too. We can't just expect, great magnesium acetol to shut down symptoms.
We have to do things to improve so that we don't fall back and the brain doesn't fall back on its behavioral habits.
Heather Morgan: Absolutely. So could you just back up just a little bit and tell us exactly what is OCD and what's really happening in the brain when someone has OCD?
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah. First of all, it's very misunderstood, right? People will say, well, I don't have OCD 'cause I [00:06:00] don't have hand washing. And I'm like, that's only one kind. But OCD really at its core is that people develop habits, rituals, ways of thinking and behaving. All for one thing to avoid the bad thing from happening.
It's a fear-based response to an intrusive thought. Does the thought does not have to be real. It doesn't have to be logical. It often is completely illogical, but it sends a message, right? It starts rattling around in a person's brain and it says, you know what? If you get on that bus today, your mom is gonna stop breathing.
these are things people say, or if I go and play on that playground, a lightning strike is gonna hit me today. ? There's not even a cloud in the sky, ? And so we then develop rituals, things that we say, you know, maybe you're, you're saying to yourself, , some kind of mantra over and [00:07:00] over, and you say, mantra is a good idea, not when you say it a hundred times.
Maybe you're avoiding that. Maybe you need reassurance from your mother or your father because we find ways to pull people in. And so our brain tricks us and says, oh, well you avoided that and I got a little bit of relief. So then because the brain got a little bit of relief, it's actually gonna repeat the behavior over and over.
And that is what really causes OCD to really just be so treatment resistant, because in the subconscious brain, it knows it's got some relief from avoiding it. Avoiding that bad thing or some kind of thing. Some ritual is produced it, so what you have to do is learn to talk back and I sounds really easy, but it's really hard.
But the brain has gotten relief on a chemical level, so it's gonna just keep doing the same thing over and over. Even though as I try to explain to [00:08:00] parents every time you do it, yes, you get a little relief. But you move the baseline up so it gets worse and worse and worse. And that's why a lot of times with OCD, like people will say like, oh, it wasn't so bad.
It was kind of up and down, and then maybe real life stressors happen and it just shoots it up. But , the crux of it is , you've created a behavior to avoid the bad thing from happening.
Heather Morgan: And it sounds like sometimes the bad thing is also not realistic or there's actually really is no threat. Is that true or is it always, sometimes
it's a
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: and And you can, yeah, and you can have a real stress trigger or a trauma trigger, but most of the time that's not the case. It's completely illogical I'm going to fail this test, and all your other tests are straight a's. Well, that's completely illogical. There's no sense to that. And it can sometimes sound like there makes sense, right?
So that's how parents get roped in, right? Like, [00:09:00] I have a lot of kids with a meta phobia fear of throwing up. So it might have started with a time they threw up or they saw somebody throw up for. Doesn't even start with that. So maybe there's somebody with pans, so their stomach bothers them. So the parents are like, you're not gonna throw up, right?
Because they're like their stomach bothers them. They don't even know that they're walking into the OCD sand trap. Or, you know, they have fears of germs, right? So, you know, that's very, very common type of OCD, but no logic behind it. Most of the time.
Heather Morgan: So what would your advice be to a parent who has a child who has OCD and their fear that they're trying to avoid is completely illogical. Does it serve the parent just to like, I guess, you know, point out that it's not true, or is that the wrong thing to say?
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: It's not the wrong thing to say except it could really, cause an agitation, right? So there is a balance in how we talk to our kids with OCD, right? [00:10:00] Because if you reassure, you're gonna actually reinforce if you say, well, that's just silly. Then you're gonna feed the anxiety and maybe even shut off communication.
There has to be an in-between. So like instead of them saying, you know, like, mom, I'm gonna throw up, you can say, okay, Amy, now you know that's your OCD brain talking to you. Now obviously you've had to have a conversation and they have to understand this. What did you say to yourself yesterday when you felt that way?
Oh, I don't wanna hear it. And da da da. Okay. Well, all right, I'm here for you and we can work through this together, but you got through this yesterday. Let's think about what you did. So it's really empowerment, and this is based on a type of therapy called Exposure, response and Prevention, ERP. And that is what I had mentioned earlier in the family, that it's a, it's a gold standard, right?
So in. Helping somebody with OCD, there is two parts, right? So, and I have a program called Brain Behavior Reset for a [00:11:00] reason. You must regulate the nervous system. We're gonna talk about different ways to do it. But you also have to reset behaviors, ? So , it's like you give a kid with a DHD medication and they're like, but he didn't focus.
Right. There's a set of skills involved in that too and I don't think people realize that. And OCD, anxiety, these are internal conditions. Like, when I was explaining to the parents today, I said, when you meet with an A therapist, you're gonna actually do what we call the hierarchy.
Where you find out all the things they're obsessing on, and I said, it's gonna be like a clown car. You're literally gonna go. Oh my God. And that And that and that, because we don't even see it. It's the tip of the iceberg. But such a great question. How do we support parents? Parents need their own support.
They need their own instruction in how to do this, and they just can't get into the sand trap with them. They have to be out there and coaching them and supporting them, and they need professional support in that. It's not a quick fix, you know?
Heather Morgan: yeah, and you [00:12:00] mentioned something earlier, the self-talk, so is what I'm hearing. Then the parent is there to be outside of it to guide and support them, but it's the child that really has to do that self-talk work and the parents helping to guide that and it's something they've learned from you and as well, right?
Just those skills.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Absolutely. And any parent can learn these skills once they start learning these skills. They go, oh my gosh, I've been feeding this OCD and you know, it's never my intention to shame anybody. We don't know Until we know, we know we can do better. Right. But it really does feed it and keep it alive and it's so sneaky.
And so, like people with OCD adults, kids, they'll find ways to get reinforced. You may not even make that connection again until you really identify it. And there are great therapists, licensed therapists out there in the world who do this work. You must go to an expert. You can't go to somebody who's like, yeah, I work with people with anxiety and if you do what your [00:13:00] treatment and there are other therapies.
That can be effective. This is just the highest and best. Not everybody is. Ready to do this work. And if the nervous system is too activated, you're just not gonna get far it, it has to occur at the same time. Like some people will say to me like, oh, I'm gonna work with you and I'm gonna do these supplements.
I'm gonna do PMF and whatever, but I'm not gonna do the therapy or reverse. And I'm like, it just doesn't work that way. You want each one helping each other. That's the path to getting rid of this 'cause it's awful.
Heather Morgan: No, absolutely. And it, just impacts you in, such a big way. Obviously you have to be all in to address something. As
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Right.
Heather Morgan: OCD.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah. , And you know, OCD is just gonna hijack you if you're gonna let it, and it is really learning how to talk back to it. It's
Heather Morgan: Oh, that's so, so good. Great advice. Thank you. So, You also have talked about, I've seen and read things you've said about the nervous system being on [00:14:00] fire. So could you talk a little bit about what does that mean and how
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah.
Heather Morgan: up in kids' behavior?
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah. So when somebody has OCD, they have an incredible amount of brain activation. What happens, as you can imagine, in their brain, right? So we often think of the limbic system, right? And that's our emotional center. Our emotional center becomes super active almost. Unable to filter out kind of benign things because you're running hot, is essentially what's happening.
And so when you look at the brain of somebody with OCD, which I do using brain maps, you actually can see hyper communication. Their brain is on fire. You also will see that in autism. You also see that with people with panic attacks. There's just too much activity in just like an OCD brain. You can't shut it off.
Right. So when this happens, we really have to put the fire out in the brain because [00:15:00] what are the behaviors you see? You can see everything from rage to shut down and everything in between, because the brain should have moments of quiet. Yeah. There are times our brain needs to be kicking into gear and
every cylinder firing. But it can't live like that. And what starts to happen is you can have other issues from depression because the body gets totally overdone. Right? You can't have a limbic system on fire all the time. You can't, I. But you often will get medical problems. You'll start to get autoimmune diseases or nutrient deficiencies because your body's trying to use all of its fuel, right?
And a variety of other things. That's what can happen. And that's just not OCD that is straight out. Stress does
Heather Morgan: It is, I'm really glad that you brought that up because not all professionals. Realize that and talk about it, but it's so important because so often [00:16:00] many of these kids are just, they're depleted, maybe because,, they're just burning through, The nutrients and just the raw material, the core, micro and macronutrients, because like you said, they're so excitable.
Their brain is, so excitable and, through stress. We know we burn through all those
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah.
Heather Morgan: materials,
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: We're not supposed to be in an autonomic stress state in the sympathetic dominant state. And what happens is our neurodivergent kids, our kids with clinical issues, they move and stay in a sympathetic dominant state. And the crazy part, or the part that I think people don't understand is that the more you dysregulate, the more you're going to dysregulate, the more you regulate.
The more your body will regulate, it will find calm and it will like calm. But once you activate and then you know, people say, well, what am I gonna do? There is a lot to do. There is a lot to do. And you know, everyone has their own unique biologics and there's things that work [00:17:00] within families, but we are moving to such high levels of societal stress.
We must count, right? We must counter it every day. There is not a day you can say, oh, today's the day. I'm not gonna try to address my stress. And there are easy shortcuts, right? So there, are a lot of supplements that you can do. I take supplements. I mean, they help me.
I don't function the same. I do prayer, I do brain technologies. I use PMF, I do a lot of things and I do a lot of breath work. People will say to me, I mean, you still have to do that. I'm like, we live in a stressed world. There isn't a day.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Today I was running late and there was an accident on the highway.
There's only one way to get to work. And all of a sudden, and then I was like, don't stress, just call the office. I. You know, but my nervous system shot right up and then I had to use my rational brain. Now you can't do that if , your brain is on fire. So we can't ask our kids to calm down when their nervous system [00:18:00] isn't.
Heather Morgan: So, So good. Thank you. That's excellent. I have a couple more questions for you. So why do OCD compulsions or rituals feel so necessary to kids? So we talked a little bit about that and they know that it doesn't make sense, , and I think we talked about the root of it, but why, is it that this becomes,
so important to them.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Honestly, they're operating in a fear state. And so when you're afraid you're gonna fall back on behaviors,
right? And so.
Heather Morgan: comfort in a way or
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: It's, it's really a habit. It's a habit in their brain and they will know a lot of individuals with OCD will talk to you about the shame because they know it's totally illogical.
Right? And they're probably embarrassed.
Yeah. I mean, I've had kids, right. Please know they're have not been sexually abused in any way. Multiple people I've had this happen to that they believe if they are facing a person of [00:19:00] another. Sex that they're either having sex with them, they're pregnant or impregnating. This is no sense.
This doesn't make any sense. And so this is just, these thoughts can be dark, they can be sexual, they can be scary. They often are. So why do they keep performing the ritual? Because they don't wanna even talk about that.
Heather Morgan: No. Got it. That makes complete sense. So those dark thoughts or we'll use the one that you just used as an example, , you know, that typically wouldn't just come out of nowhere, but do you believe that type of situation where. A child will have these dark thoughts that will, chain reacting to OCD, that's coming from a
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: a
real thing.
Heather Morgan: or something chemical in the body that's
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: No, OCD is really interesting. So, ,, when I do , these thousands of brain maps, there are four phenotypes, there are four brain profiles, and in the literature we generally only accept two. [00:20:00] And those are really genetic types of brain profiles.
Right. And I argue a lot with, are we inheriting. The genetics or are we inheriting the behaviors that our parents are showing us?
Heather Morgan: . Oh, interesting. Very interesting.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: but I don't genetic OC d is the least common one that I see. I see an inflammatory profile. And these are not just pans kids. So we see a lot of brain conditions.
We know this through postmortem studies. Autism, 76% of autistic brains have neuroinflammation. So in. Neuroinflammation is a major, major source right now. We can have trauma triggers for OCD anxiety, we know this, right? But many, many people, like the person I had today, there was no clinical trigger.
It just developed. And you know, there are people, sometimes they have anxiety first.
And then OCD [00:21:00] really is a, I hate to use the word maladaptive, but it's just a unhealthy way of coping with stress, right? We can either choose to have
healthy or not. And you'll have families where, you know, three outta four people doing really coping nicely.
And then this kid, 'cause of their nervous system just disregulates, they fall on this pattern. Why does one person choose to smoke pot every day? Or, yell at others or whatnot? There's variance within a person. There's behavioral tendencies, there's temperament, there's lots of factors, Most of the time it's not bad parenting, , but sometimes parents are super dysregulated and they don't think that's an impact or their, spouse relationship or partner relationship is really unhealthy, right? That is not typical for what I see, but it happens every day in, in all across the world.
You know, I think our people are really trying very hard, right? They're here because they want better health for [00:22:00] their kids, and health is multifaceted, It's not just what you eat, it's really your lifestyle. And you know, with kids, right? And you can have the most amazing home and your kid can have mental health problems.
It is not a reflection. This is just a
common occurrence in society, you
know? For sure. And
neuroinflammation is a big part in chronic stress.
Heather Morgan: Yeah, so great. Thank you for that, neuroinflammation. Let's talk about that just a little bit. How do kids, and we're just talking about kids primarily right now, but this goes for everybody. Get neuroinflammation what causes it.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah I mean, we know we have genetic variants
that put us at a higher rate of having neuroinflammation, poor detoxifiers, right? In particular, slow methylators, all, all these people have higher, I'm M-T-H-F-R and I have lots of detox problems and I
gotta do detox every day. I mean.
Heather Morgan: I know you,
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: So many
things.
Heather Morgan: of taking [00:23:00] care of your health.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Well, I try because you know, I don't wanna have, things, right? Like, my sister had breast cancer. My mom and dad had cancer three times. All because of M-T-H-F-R, so, we, again, we know better, we can do better, but when it comes to neuroinflammation, what are common sources,
so yes, our. Genetic variance can be a part of that, but we can do stuff about that. But. Chronic stress causes inflammation. Right? Why? It interferes with how we detoxify. It also interferes with our gut microbiome. So we need our gut microbiome for a lot of things. Neurotransmitters, we need it in our elimination process.
There's all kinds of things, but also we have an increase. In, toxins from plastics to mold to all kinds of things. And then infections. So we are not clearing, some people are just their makeup and their stress levels and [00:24:00] the other variables, toxins,, um, are making it where it's harder for them to detoxify.
Heal from just common everyday infections. I mean, it is definitely on the rise for sure. And then some people have. Full on neurodivergence or other issues that make it, you're just more likely to stress, you're more likely to have inflammation in those conditions. So unfortunately , there's a lot to it and instead of being overwhelmed, but I always think, tell my parents, this is just each one is an opportunity.
That's all that it is, right? Like we want the
one thing,
but it doesn't work like that.
Heather Morgan: No. Amazing. I think you just, you nailed it, right? With the toxins, , the high stress, all the things you mentioned. So it's not just one thing, but it is a combination of things. Have you seen an increase in prevalence overall with OCD? Over the last, let's just say 10 years?[00:25:00]
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Since the pandemic, Heather, I have seen more cases of OCD since the pandemic than I have in all 30 years.
Heather Morgan: Interesting. Well, infection, which was
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Infection,
but also people are so stressed, parents and kids the shift towards this high level of stress without saying, Hey, guess what? I need to take 10 minutes a day to regulate my nervous system.
Like the power of doing things for yourself. Like we have to power down to power up. And it's increasingly hard. We have a lot of pressures. I went to this cool thing. My youngest is like a science. All my, my husband and my kids, my two boys are science phenoms, but my youngest , has a real affinity for robotics and he does competitive robotics.
So how cool is that? So the different teams want him, Heather, this is like, we're like the, we're like the nerd Olympians over here at the Hodge House. [00:26:00] So we went to the different team last night, which is actually in our Town, and I was like listening and they want you six days a week. From February to April, and I was like, oh my God.
Like I started to get stressed by that because we like our downtime
Heather Morgan: yeah. Good.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: But I also thought this is some cool stuff, you know, like.
Heather Morgan: cool. He loves it.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: So cool. He, He, loves it. He wasn't saying no, you know, , he has a choice of three teams and each one is slightly different.
It's not the same thing of what they do., So, I think this is the right choice. I think his school that he goes to is not gonna be happy. He is not gonna do the engineering team, but he's like, mom, we get practical application here. Engineering team is theoretical only. And I was like, I agree. I agree. But daily stress, you know, it's such a joy, but you have to then allot for what are we gonna do to balance that?
Because you can't live , , in a hyper stress [00:27:00] mode. You can't, not for long. We can do it for periods, but we can't live like that. And I think so many of us are living like that.
Heather Morgan: I think we are , and to your point, I think since COVID people were grounded at home for a while with COVID and went online more. So I also wonder if it's, I. Being in front of computers all day, having the EMFs or whatever it is that just are, you know, affecting ourselves and I don't know this, but I'm just saying, I, often wondered because I feel like even more now, people are working from home.
Versus in an office, they're in front of their computers more. And I wonder if that has anything to do with it as well.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: We have too much time on devices and devices are not bad. We were talking about how much we love some of the technology that's coming out now, but how do we balance it?
Heather Morgan: Mm-hmm.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: to move. You have to get up. You're not getting lymph drainage
'cause you're sitting all the time.
Heather Morgan: air, sunshine.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: you know, fresh air.
How about socialization?
Heather Morgan: [00:28:00] Absolutely. Socialization. That's so, so important. So that's where I wonder, right? I do think since the shift, since COVID, so not only do you have the virus right itself that we know can cause inflammation and those types of things, but then you also have this, new way of living
and so you
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: I mean, some things shut down and never like came back up. I see a young woman in, counseling and I was like, is there any clubs? Do you go to clubs? And she was like. There are no clubs, Dr. Rowe, there's only bars. And I was like, you kids are missing out. You know, like just a whole different social thing, you know?
And I was like, ah, you know, you, you think about, I was a big concert Coer. I think I've only gone to one concert since the pandemic. And I thought, oh, okay. What's that about Roseanne? I think I'm busy. But you're right. I think, you know, we are doing different things and some of them are cool and some of them, you know, like.
How are we resetting ourselves? But OCDs just exploded.
Heather Morgan: Yeah,
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: and that is not what we want. [00:29:00] Yeah, It really did.
Heather Morgan: Okay.
and that's what I've been seeing and hearing as well. So we talked a little bit about why we think that has happened. and then what are some signs that a child's OCD behaviors are actually being reinforced by their dysregulated nervous system. So like I was just thinking about, are they one and the same or Yeah.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah. Or is the dog chasing its tail? You know what I mean? Right. So, , the dysregulated nervous system keeps the OCD going because once you're totally in a sympathetic dominant state, right? Fight, flight, or freeze, or, fawn, your frontal lobes go offline.
So you are not capable of rational thought, so you're not gonna be able to take control.
And that's why people don't get the most set of therapy either. 'cause they're just too activated. I hope that's an aha moment and that's across all clinical issues. Once you're in that, you know, the brain's on fire. But you know, when we really think about, what are some of the behaviors, [00:30:00] how do we know, right?
If you are seeing a high level of reactivity, if you're a child, you're trying to get them to cope. They refuse. You're just gonna assume their nervous system is in the highest level of sympathetic dominance. And you have to prioritize nervous system regulation even before therapy because they're not gonna allow that, right?
If you have a kid who's more reasonable, but that OCD is sticking around and your doctor's telling you, OCD always is gonna be there. That's baloney and cheese. That's just, you have not met a provider who can show you the way, , just like that family today, nine years. Nine years, I mean, that's just so the average person takes 11 years from the start of a mental health problem before they get proper help.
Heather Morgan: Unbelievable.
So right there, that's
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Right there. And we need to do better. And you know, the great part it is, is that, you know, the families that work with us, Heather, they are taking, ownership you know, they're looking for aligned providers, but [00:31:00] they realize they have more control.
Heather Morgan: That's fantastic because you're giving them those tools.
Which is phenomenal. Really do love just the way that you're empowering them, right? Empowering the child with OCD, teaching them the self-talk. That's really amazing. And then you're supporting it, ? With the nutraceuticals and those types of things.
So let's
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: critical.
Heather Morgan: talk a little bit about that. Let's talk a little bit about how you use supplements. . For OCD specifically.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: You know, everything I do, I really look to research to really say, you know, what has the research shown us? Right? And you know, the people have things and they're like, I'm doing this and it's helped me. Great. I. You know what I mean? More power to you. But there really are two supplements that I feel that are absolutely essential in OCD.
And the first is magnesium. And it's magnesium, L three, N eight, and glycinate. And I like Mallay too, , but the gly, the three N innate [00:32:00] crosses the blood-brain barrier. What does that mean? It goes right to the brain. So it's gonna put out the fire. It's the, you're right away. And the research shows us those are the two most important magnesiums for the brain, And on top of that when your body's in an overwork state you're draining magnesium at a very high rate. Magnesium already is the most used nutrient in the body. Three to 600 chemical processes require it as a co-factor. So you need it. And I find that it can produce for some an immediate, immediate calming.
So I love to give people relief. So I think it's so critical. I mean, how do you feel about magnesium?
Heather Morgan: Same. I mean, you just, nailed it. I mean, I, I love May late as well. So those three, the glycinate, the three and eight, the Maleate
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: So important. And again, that's what the research shows us. And you know, it's so important to have such well-developed product like [00:33:00] yours because , this is not what you wanna get on Amazon.
and if you're using different forms and you are, might be saying. This is why I haven't had the results. And it's not just the forms, it's the right potency too. So you need to have the certain levels of these things . In order to support, and these forms are the least.
Bothersome for the gut in terms of loosening stools and whatnot. But lots of good, good research. And then the other supplement that I really, really feel like is very helpful and also the research shows that about one third have a dramatic effect. One third have a significant effect, and one third it does nothing is anatol. So an yeah, Anatol has solid research behind it. And it can really, I mean, if you're that one third, we're like, wow. But two thirds have a really good effect from it and, it's very safe. I've never had anybody have tolerance issues of that. And it's helpful.
[00:34:00] And then there can be other things. I mean, I love a genetic profile, right? You know, why do you love a genetic profile? It takes a guesswork out. So instead of taking a handful of supplements, you're taking the right ones for you.
I.
But I could have like OCD people with restrictive eating very, very common.
Zinc might be important for you it might help your appetite. I mean, there can be other things based on the other symptoms that you're having. But for me, those are the two that are most critical. And I always love to do, detox support, because if you've
got OCD, I'm just assuming.
That you're having inflammation, and I want everybody to know that I do all these brain maps. I almost never see a child's brain
it.
inflammation.
Even when they're clean eaters like my kids, we're just inundated. So we need to be active with, our detox support as well.
And there, a variety of supplements, but there's also a lot of dietary things and hydration
[00:35:00] is really
critical for detoxification as well.
And health,
you No,
Heather Morgan: you're just, you're nailing it all. You really are. And as you're talking, of course, our company, neuro Biologics, and we do the genetic testing and then we have the formulas that are designed based on the genetic variants as you've talked about. And so, you know, it's really important to us, and one of our main messages is that everybody should take care of their neurobiology.
And so you just sort of spoke to that, , and how. We really need to be proactive in taking care of our neurobiology. And you know, one of the questions that I was actually going to ask you is how does this show up in your OCD kids? And you did, just pretty much talk about it, but and you actually talked about it for yourself too.
'cause I always ask the question, how do you take care of your neurobiology? And earlier you listed a few things that you do.
. But so we believe that, today in the world that we live in, the high paced, high stressed, highly toxic, that taking care of your neurobiology [00:36:00] should be at the forefront of how you just approach your health.
And I just wanted to hear from you a little bit on that and how that aligns with the work that you're doing in your personal life.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: I mean, I think it's so critical. And I unfortunately often am like. The 12th provider that somebody's gone to. I get more and more people, I get a lot of kids on the spectrum when they're young. And I, I just love that 'cause their brains are just like so malleable. And so you can, you can just do so many cool things , and usually those are parents that are already really holistic.
So parents come to me because they've, you know, tried all these things. And so I can say that a lot of times they're like, well, I've already tried the supplement, or I've done this, I've done, and they come with a long list and then I explain to them. Looking at the variance really just takes the guesswork out and that we can get to Right.
You know, really helpful. And on top of it, we actually can make better decisions about our food. So, I know I. Through, [00:37:00] what works for me, different genetic testing, but also just listening to my body, like what food feels right, what supplements feel right? And I just make sure that I am doing small things throughout my day.
I do big things too. I'm going to massage tomorrow night. , It's a Maya fascia, so it like drains me. It does all kinds of stuff, but we do have to make that time. And it's so important for us, particularly as parents, we, I. Put ourselves last. And we need to, I'm not saying put ourselves first, but we need to take care of ourselves.
And we could do that with our kids and we can model for them, and we can also use that as connection time. Right. And it can be small things, two minutes, three minutes, 10 minutes, and they add up and they're really, really helpful. But I know that, I do a lot of things
if I wasn't taking care of myself.
I wouldn't be
able to do these things,
Heather Morgan: No, so true. and you do, you walk your talk, you always have. And that's so impressive. And you can [00:38:00] sit there across from a family who's struggling and you know, firsthand
how to help
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: I know as a mom of kids who struggle, I got two neurodivergent
kids, and you know, I'm happy to talk about that. And it's, it's hard and I'm very mindful of what I ask my parents to do because I know what it's like to be in their shoes, to be overwhelmed. I think the thing is, is when you bring health.
Into your family's life. Like it's just amazing, like what can happen for you and how much things change, and I love to hang out with other families who are drinking the Kool-Aid too, you
know, Because like, , when I'm with people who are eating, eating, Cheez-Its, they're just not my people.
, And luckily, you know, we are all opening in the awakening of taking supplements and, my husband's like. he takes whatever I give him, , but he was like, do you think I have a leaky gut? And I was like, honey, I know you do. This is why you're on this protocol, and I just love that the conversations are happening, like it's coming
into the [00:39:00] consciousness of America,
Heather Morgan: so nice to see the shift. It really is
right. Yeah,
to see the shift and you know, I think, people are by choice, right? Even the younger generation are moving
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Totally.
Heather Morgan: and moving more into healthier options and it's so nice to see the timing couldn't be better.
I think we're seeing this, across The board now today. So
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: generation really
Heather Morgan: they are,
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: their mental health and they set boundaries
on it, which is pretty cool.
Heather Morgan: It really is. It's so, so cool. Dr. Roseanne, this has been so fascinating and truly, I just can't thank you enough for spending time with us today and just sharing your wisdom about OCD and just giving hope to families that are out there and that, maybe struggling.
and yeah, I just really wanted to thank you for your time, but I also wanted to hear a little bit about. Where we can find you. Let's talk about your book. anything else, because I want parents to be able to find you as a resource. So could you please share with us the
best [00:40:00] way for
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah.
Heather Morgan: reach you?
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Thank you. The easiest way is just to go to my website, 'cause that is the hub for everything. So it's Dr. Roseanne, D-R-R-O-S-E-A-N n.com. And you can find my podcast there. You can find all kinds of things. I have a solution matcher there. You know wherever. but, listening to my show and I have a book called The Dysregulated Kid.
It's coming out in 2026. I'm super excited about it. and,, it's gonna change the conversation about parenting and we're really gonna be, helping parents to see their own power, just like in this conversation. So I know how hard it is wherever you are. I always try to say to parents, wherever you are.
In your journey, don't give up your hope and keep working on what you're working on and lean on to the little winds because there's no magic bullets. There's no magic wands and, these little things that we talked about and some are big, can make a huge difference, you know?
And, I always get so excited when somebody [00:41:00] takes one supplement and they're like, this is it I feel great. You know, like, and then it
inspires them to the next
part of
what it is. Maybe
it's, you know, a
daily walk or whatever it
is, but always have hope.
Heather Morgan: Yes. Thank you so much. That's the perfect way to end this because parents are always looking for hope and to your point, I think so often parents think they're alone and, you know, you've seen it. I think just about every family is now touched by
some sort of mental
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Absolutely. Absolutely. Neurodivergence mental health issues are the norm.
Heather Morgan: They're the norm now,
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: are the norm. I just don't want people to feel stuck
in what's holding them back. And that there's
a lot of empowerment. If something you're struggling with, there's no reason
why it can't get better,
Heather Morgan: Wonderful. And what is the name of your podcast? Because I do want people to know your podcast is highly successful. People
Love it. You have a
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Yeah, I
do. I'm super excited. it it actually has a long name. science backed Solutions [00:42:00] for Dysregulated Kids. But you
Heather Morgan: Okay.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: it if you just look Dr. Roseanne and Apple, or you go to dr roseanne co.com/podcast
like it's there.
Heather Morgan: Perfect. Well, thank you again and we'll look forward to having you back on at some point in
the future.
Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge: Thank you