requesting the raw solution to beat depression

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by nycgrrl on July 8, 2008 at 9:23pm

Hi! I am so sorry to hear you've been going through a rough patch. It's an awful feeling, I know.

I have suffered from depression all my life, and anxiety. I have been weaning myself off my anti-depressants, which I have been on for most of the last 15 years and also increasing my raw foods. I am about 90% raw now, and down to one seventh (yes i know it's weird, I take one pill once a week, or even once every 10 days--probably does very little LOL) of my original dose.

I really truly think eating a green smoothie every morning with kale/spinach/berries/bananas is the best way to start the day. Be sure to get lots of omega 3 in your diet--it's so important to my mental health and I use Udo's Oil and make flax seed crackers and hemp milk.

Eat LOTS of big salads, and if you can really focus on eating when you're eating: no t.v., no puter, no distractions. Think about your body, and how much you love yourself, even when you don't feel it. Also, please please please, exercise. It's so important. SWEAT for at least 20 minutes each day. Turn on some crazy 80's dance music and just go wild in your house. Nobody's watching. It helps, really.

Please feel free to PM me if you need to talk more. Hang in there.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Julie on July 8, 2008 at 11:01pm

what is GABA?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Raw Artist, Alice Mason on July 15, 2008 at 10:37am

Hey Jeff,
Just wanted to say hello and sent a friend request. I'm on antidepressants, (seems like alot of people here are/were.) I'm delighted for you that you're off them and I hope to go the same route. Your story and others' are inspiring to me.
Love
Alice

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by LOVEBUG on July 8, 2008 at 11:16pm

hey julie. i have suffered from anxiety for the past couple of years. was able to come off medication but relapsed a year later. i am currently back on them and this time not just relying on a pill. i am making many changes in my life to assure that i will soon be off the meds again and this time have other things to fall back on instead of a quick fix.

in my opinion, a good balance is all you need to get by. mind and body. have you researched about buddhism or just any kind of meditation? on the physical side, you are on the raw path, which is going to benefit you IMMENSELY! do a google search on food that is good for your mental health. research and read! it helps to inform yourself, you will feel better reading some facts. for me, eating lightly, making sure i get enough greens each day, and enough omega-3's keeps me stable. also, i read somewhere that a banana can increase your serotonin levels in the brain, literally making you feel better. also, smiling does this. the muscles in your face when you smile activate your happy levels! :)

REMEMBER:
you are NOT alone. this thread is proof! we are all here with you and for you. i envy you for starting this thread.

there is HOPE! although my main mental issue is anxiety, this past relapse definitely hit me hard, triggering some depression. and for the first time, THE FIRST TIME in my entire life, i felt a genuine feeling of hopelessness. it is NOT a good feeling. but i held on...and if you can do that, you are bound to find what it is you are in need of to get better.

what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. this phrase has never rung so true as it does in my life right now. i don't think there's a LOGICAL reason for everything but i do think life is all about moments...and we have to expect to have really really bad and hurtful moments....and when you make it out of these, you not only appreciate the good moment you are entering, but you come out smarter and stronger than you were before. personally, i have turned to raw after desperately wanting to increase my health due to my anxiety, and i have learned SO much. a whole new world has opened up to me and i would NEVER have been exposed to this new stage in my life if it weren't for my anxiety. i'm going to stop calling my anxiety an issue...and start calling it a blessing.

please, message me if you need anything. i can recommend books! i've read lots of books...and they help greatly!

stay positive. stay aware! smile even when you don't feel like it...laugh when you're sad...walk confidently...it's all in your mind...and you have COMPLETE control over it...you just need to realize that, and it's not an easy thing to realize.

lots of love girlie. :)

p.s. another GREAT thing that helps with mental issues (blessings haha) is exercise. any kind of exercise. even if someone HATES exercising and has absolutely no athletic ability, they always feel great afterward....and that's gotta mean something!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by coco on July 9, 2008 at 4:24am

true!
i know just about everyone says "try yoga." i had severe digestive problems that pretty much took over any life i had, no job, etc and even the physical therapist told me to try yoga. i thought it would be boring, but i did anyway...years later, i practice every day, and i can feel a difference in my mood if i miss too much.

honestly, i think that going raw is definitely the most important first step. from reading this post i see that some people get more depressed on sweet fruit...while i must eat sweet fruit or i have zero energy and feel moody.
everyone is an individual, and i find that the longer i eat raw, the easier it is for my body to "tell" me what it needs.

two things that have really helped me are the blue manna and the crystal manna...i think the comany is ancient sun...? basically blue-green algae...i put it in smoothies along with spirulina...it is a bit expensive, but definitely worth it!

i also find that i must eat some form of fat, or i get very lethargic and moody. i use coconut oil, but again, different things work for different people.

one other thing i must add...i know that when i am in a bad mood, and people say this, i want to smack them...but it really makes a difference if you just stop thinking any negative thoughts at all. i had to practice this by flashing a peace sign at drivers who made me mad, instead of showing them one finger!! it sounds simple and stupid, but i learned this from my husband, who laughs off just about everything and is always smiling. i wondered for so long why he was so happy even when he has had his share of pain, and when i told him that i was going to just stop thinking so negatively all the time, he said that is what he has done all his life, so i guess that is why he is so happy all the time.
so, cheesy as it may sound, thoughts are things, and we all need to surround ourselves with good things!

do something that has nothing to do with the things that depress you, that will get your mind active and not thinking about negative things. draw or paint. study aromatherapy. write a story. dance. sing into a hairbrush and pretend you are a rock star. anything!

good luck, and re-read k's post. it makes perfect sense!!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Erin on July 9, 2008 at 1:41pm

My sister's depression really lifts when she eats raw. Something that helps me to shift a sad or funky mood quickly is EFT (emotional freedom technique). Here's a link with videos to learn the technique:
http://www.tapping.com/videos.html

You can even get to the bottom of and release very deep stuff. It was originally used to help people with PTSD and abuse issues.

For more in-depth info:
www.emofree.com

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Erin on July 9, 2008 at 2:55pm

It really does work. It somehow interrupts the connection between memories and emotions. It seems to work best when you're actually feeling the emotion. It can take awhile to get to the bottom of an issue, since there are often layers of things.

One of my best friends is a psychologist and he uses EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) in his practice. EMDR and EFT are cousins- similar effect, slightly different method, both odd-sounding:)

It's done working when you no longer have any response to the memory or emotion you're working on. For instance- if I'm feeling very anxious, I know I'm done when I think of the anxiety-inducing issue and I feel no queasiness in my stomach or tightness in my chest. I can't even induce those feelings if I try- it's like they're just gone.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Si Dawson on August 3, 2008 at 10:42pm

yeah, this REALLY works. I've seen it clear stuff that if I told you, you'd think I was nuts.

For me, I know it's working when I yawn, or burp, or cry while I'm tapping. Sometimes you'll have realisations while you're tapping. Sometimes the next day you'll suddenly feel tons better. Sometimes you'll just start thinking that the problem that vexed you so is just ridiculous. All signs it's working.

Just remember: Be very specific. Drink lots of water. Be persistent.

Particularly big things can take a lot of rounds of tapping. As you get better at it, it'll take less work (you get clearer, learn tricks, etc), but especially while you're learning the best thing is just to give it heaps!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Uza on August 4, 2008 at 1:18am

I've been hearing about this a lot over the last few years in the children's mental health arena, only called "tapping." It's used a lot to help kids on the Autistic Spectrum deal with stims, etc.

Lately this subject has been coming up a lot again for me as EFT and I am intrigued. It wasn't until recently that I learned it's the same thing . . . .

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Clement on July 9, 2008 at 3:35pm

Obviously, as well as staying away from refined and sugary foods, and also coffee, black teas, alcohol & tobacco, you might want to try:

A very green juice every morning (not a smoothie, but a juice). This will completely energise you with nature's finest nutrients and leave you humming with positive energy. I do this almost every single morning and the feeling afterward is one of clarity. Ingredients for mine are:

1 handful spinach
1 handful kale
1 lime, skinned
1/4 large cucumber
1 stick celery
1/4 or 1/2 tsp spirulina (optional)
1/4 medium pineapple
1-2 kiwi, skinned (optional)

The reason that I say juice and not smoothie, is because I've learned through experience that nothing acts quite as fast as a juice with absolutely no pulp in it. It's like drinking extremely tasty, nutrient-dense water as it sails through you and your cells in no time.

Apart from the green juice, try going to bed early and waking up at 5am or 6am every morning. Start the day with a spiritual session, of feeling intense gratitude for your being, your companions and the earth. This will tune you in nicely for the rest of the day, and remove the stresses and strains from the day before. I must confess, I haven't done this lately, but tomorrow I plan to start fresh again. When I'm doing this, I'm walking outside. It's so peaceful, everyone is still in bed and the air is tranquil. Try to exercise so that you actively sweat, but don't push yourself too hard. You could run instead of walk during the early hours of the morning, or just go to the gym and do some interval training (high exertion, followed by a short rest period will make you sweat bucket loads which is a good thing - it removes the toxins from your body).

If you've no people around you to cushion this blow, then simply spend time with yourself. You can love yourself just as others can love you. Try to understand yourself and the way you feel, and sympathise. There's nothing worse than blaming yourself or saying that you shouldn't be doing something natural, like being angry or grieving as my girlfriend pointed out to me this morning.

As for the finance, I think that there's a way you can earn money through affiliate sites by blogging. If you're a keen writer and spend a lot of time on the net, research residual-income schemes that allow people who own blogs to make money by being involved with companies that share the same interests. I've heard that it really does work. Let me know how it goes if you plan on doing it.

I hope that this helps, come back if you want more support :)

Clément

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Clement on July 9, 2008 at 5:05pm

I think that it's because of my affinity towards juicing that I so readily advocate it. I couldn't imagine ever getting a "low" from a juice, however if anyone else has experienced this then it would be good to know and equally good for this thread. I think, that these two things are very much similar and even if the reality is as you have illustrated, I can confidently predict that juicing will do more good than bad ;)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Erin on July 9, 2008 at 7:07pm

I don't know what to make of the oxalic acid thing, but Norman Walker said that it wasn't a problem in raw spinach, only in cooked. That seems to echo RawZi's experience.

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last