Can raw food heal my depression?

[futureboy]

Hey folks, I'm new here but have been reading up a lot about raw foods. So the reason I'm really interested in raw is, like many others, I have health issues. Nothing dire like cancer, but I've had these horrible headaches for the past few years that aren't really like a typical headache; rather it's like a pressure on my forehead. I spent years trying to find a cure through physicians, ENTs, dentists, chiropractors, acupunturists, psychiatrists, personal trainers, and neurologists. Nothing really worked.

Eventually a naturopath asked me, "Do you get really bad headaches when you scuba dive?" I said YES! SCUBA diving hurts like hell and when I return to the surface I feel like I have a 15 lb weight on my forehead. He suggested this was due to some form of sinusitis or some problems with my sinuses, and he prescribed I use a Neti pot and some particular pill that is supposed to help clear the sinuses.

Sadly these did not help to cure these headaches. Another symptom of these headaches is overall lack of energy/lathargy -- I'd rather be sleeping most of the time than being awake. Also I have really hard times concentrating. This may be due to some form of depression, but I hate the idea of addicting myself to anti-depressants and sitting on someone's couch for the rest of my life telling them about my feelings about my dead mother.

I feel like life is passing me by and it's right there in front of me, but I'm more of a spectator than an active participant. I really just want to be excited about life every day, be happy, and be happy about myself.

The reason I pose this to the raw foodists is that I've read of depression being cured through raw food. Some guy said there is a huge emotional detox that occurs where lots of pent-up emotions come to the surface. All of this sounds wonderful but it sounds like one must be 100% raw for a few years to realize these benefits, and in the meantime we're just living on a prayer here.

Any thoughts? Has anyone really been cured of depression or headaches or sinus problems or lethargy? I'd love to wake up every morning, excited about life, excited about being healthy and alive, excited to see the blue sky. I want to grasp life by the sides and hang on for the ride, with a big smile on my face. Right now I just feel like I'm watching it go by, and hell I'm only in my mid-20s.

Thoughts?

[Lilly the Naiad]

Join the raw 30 day challenge, got anything to loose? :)

My bet is that you'll notice pretty radical changes for the better but you're better off finding out for yourself :)

[futureboy]

I did raw for 30 days before. Lost like 30 pounds, which was great, but I was still always tired and didn't really cure my headaches. :(

[trinity082482]

I think raw can help with depression. Eats lots of raw chocolate!! Mmm lol.. Actually chocolate releases "feel goods" and could help... citrus is amazing too.. and mint! mmm Smell fresh mint or Lemon and it helps liven up the sensations. You could maybe work with smells and tastes to teach your self to find stimulating ways to help elevate your mood. I am not talking about a cure but if you try to help make your self feel good then you will feel good. Depression can be a real serious illness and if you think your ok enough to go raw to help it then more power to you! I think a combination of detox, aromatherapy, light therapy, social therapy and food therapy combined could do the trick!

[MysticTree]

I read that a low fat diet can increase depression so be sure to eat enough avos and nuts :)

Georgina

[crystalmoon]

Hi Futureboy, Im eating high raw vegan at the moment & am thinking I will be ready for the November 30 day challenge. I have been on Prozac for the last year for Seasonal affective Disorder & depression. Before last year I 'self-medicated' with bad food choices. Three years before that I was using alcohol & drugs! I think I have had depression lurking from as early as I can remember (I suffered childhood abuse) & so want to break free from the heavy, grey feeling of fatigue. I also get tension headaches which cause dizzy spells & blurred vision.

I am currently tapering off medication & will be meds free just before I start the Nov 100% raw experience. I have started talking therapy (a couple of months ago) so I have a therapist to help me deal with the emotional detox & I have bought a light box to help raise my seretonin levels. I have also bought some 5htp & st johns wort that I will use if I feel myself getting too low. Aromatherapy helps me alot as does reflexology. Hope you find some helpful methods to support your recovery too.

After many years researching different approaches I think raw is going to be the way for me, as an entire lifestyle choice rather than a short term experience. Im hoping the 30 day challenge will 'kickstart' my emotional detox, Ive spent far too many years holding loads of negstive stuff inside.
I hope it is the way for you too.
wishing you health & vitality
jane

[veggievamp]

I was going to post about my emotional detox I keep getting trying to go raw for my depression, but I don't know what anyone can say that I haven't said to myself. I am also trying raw mainly for depression, anxiety, sleep problems and so far it keeps getting worse rather then better, so MAYBE if I can get thru it, it will help with the depression. I do not doubt that food effects mood so it does make sense to me to eat better "should" feel better. This all sounds like gibberish now that I reread it, it is 4 AM and still can't sleep, which is typical for me but I just thought I would add my 2 cents. I have not read any posts from past searches about any one here saying they were made better emotionally from raw, but maybe no one has had this problem to begin with?

I will say that my sinus and headache problems are better when I stick to raw, actually just sticking to vegan and no junk food helps alot. I can't say I have been bouncing off the walls with energy tho, so not sure on the lethargy part, but I have read ALOT that people do feel more energetic raw, altho it may be more to green smoothies,

Email me direct if you want to talk more, I know depression is lonely when no one understands and just says "deal with it" or " get over it" and I have been "dealing with it" for over 20 years with pills and therapists and alternative stuff and nothing has helped.

[viva diva]

i have two friends who went raw for a few months (i was raw for two years...)
both depressed

one said it amde her depression a lot worse
one said she felt slightly better

i really blelieve it is horses for courses xx Good Luck and God Bless xx the people who say wollow what your gut says on here, are RIGHT. Listen to what you think xx

[shine72]

If you choose to go raw for depression and do it as outlined in Alissa's book and dvd, I believe it can help you. I believe some that say that they were raw and it didn't help maybe weren't really doing it for very long and may not be getting enough EFA's if they are cutting down on or restricting fats.

[sunsetsurfer]

Hi, I wanted to share in hopes that it will help some regarding your statement "I hate the idea of addicting myself to anti-depressants and sitting on someone's couch for the rest of my life telling them about my feelings about my dead mother." Our emotions and thoughts have alot to do with our feelings, appetite and rest (or lack thereof). Getting as much rest and sleep and good healthy food is definitely important, especially while going through stressful or emotional times. But I wanted to add something else to try and help. It sounds like there may be some unresolved feelings about your mother (maybe before and even after she died). That could be causing some of the depression and lifestyle changes you are experiencing. And even though the parent is dead, we continue to try and reason or rationalize the relationship. The person may have died, but the relationship still goes on (in our minds and hearts).

My mom died in February 2007 and then my dad died in August 2007 (they were divorced for 30 years). My mom didn't show me alot of love as she did with my other 7 siblings and when she died I had feelings pop up (of anger and hurt) that I didn't know I had. I also felt releaved that she was gone so I wouldn't feel her rejection or competition of the others any more. Then one month before my dad died (whom I was always okay with), he cut off communication with me. I have no idea why to this day. I was crushed by this and have been struggling from his rejection to this day. But just this past Sunday I came across a TV program that helped. It was called IN TOUCH MINISTRIES with Dr. Charles Stanley. You can go to the website www.intouch.com. He preached on "our consciouses" and how we need to have a clear conscious to have peace within ourselves. He also talked about the importance of dealing with our emotions even when the person we are struggling about is dead. If you can find the website and this past Sunday's program message, I think you might want to try and listen to the whole sermon. I pray for relief for you emotionally, physicially and spiritually because I needed it too. I hope this may help you, Blessings

[aililiu]

i really believe raw can help with depression. ive been depressed for years, sometimes causing me to completely cut off from the world, not able to do school or work....... then it started getting better, as my eating habits changed. just the end of this summer i went through a HUGE emotional detox, it was scary, i was back at my worst, etc.... but that has passed now. i am feeling more and more ecstatic now. i do think ill have more emo. detox to go through but IM WILLING TO DO THAT if it means eventually ill be healed. i have faith in raw. its opening me up so much. im also getting acupuncture and thats really helping as well, and im taking some chinese herbs called 'free and easy wanderer'. look into acupuncture! so incredibly healing. ive never felt so balanced.

good luck :)

love,
liliu

[Stina]

Over the last year, I would go from eating raw to SAD/junk and it made a huge impact on my mental clarity and emotional equilibrium. I'm tremendously better off dealing with my anxiety and depression being Raw. But don't underestimate the power of cooked food addiction. I kept stepping back into a familiar haze, but Raw's been so good for me I step back out into the sunshine. I'd also recommend reading David Wolfe's The Sunfood Diet Success System.

[Blazin'Jane]

I think RAW can certainly help. I think lots of us have lots of little allergies that we don't discover unto we go RAW and then we feel so much better it's like a new life! I think regular exercise can help. Start easy walking and see where it leads. However, I also think that in some cases psychotherapy can be a big help, and not forever, either! And there are many people being helped by medication. They, hopefully, won't want to be taking them for the rest of their lives, and won't need to.
I would start with the good food, RAW, add exercise. Then some "talk" therapy might help,, and then go to a mild med if you aren't significantly improved.
Good luck! Keep us posted. Depression is a lonely place to live! ;)

[Gittel]

Futureboy, may I suggest contacting a homeopath? You can find one in your area by contacting the National Center for Homeopathy. My family has had amazing results with homeopathy for everything from annoying ant bites, bruises, cuts, burns, etc., to much more serious stuff like severe breathing problems (asthma-like, specifically reactive airways that put one son in the hospital a few times), head injuries, heart-related scares, female flooding (extra-heavy bleeding), eye injuries (internal bleeding from the eyeball causing one son to only see red from that eye), broken bones, pregnancy/birth difficulties, etc. to emotional stuff such as grief over the loss of a loved one, defiant child, fears (such as hysteria when seeing a clown), as well as depression.

I hope that you feel better very soon.
Gittel

[MysticTree]

So far (12 days) I haven't noticed any improvement in my sinuses but I think it's a bit soon really. I think reflexology is amazing for sinuses - well it was for me when I found a really good reflexologist!

Georgina

[iamacranberry]

Raw food may or may not cure your depression in time. I don't think it is fair to make the guarantee that it will eventually to everyone, as with chemical depression caused by hormonal imbalances, it's your DNA and not any amount of toxicity that ultimately is to blame for the problem.

Raw food did not cure my anxiety issues. But it's helped in other ways to such a degree that I have found it worth it to continue...and having been on and off raw for over a year, each time I get back on raw it's stronger than the last.

I wouldn't go raw with that as your single expectation, though. For one, you will probably end up disappointed expecting miraculous results right away (or at all, if you aren't going to get any). I would approach it only for the single reason that you want to improve your life--very simply--in whatever way that may be.

And I agree with those who suggested seeing a skilled natural doctor.

[tasha92337]

I was suffering with depression too. I started taking homemade kefir and its packed with Vitamin B which im told is a must for depression, anxiety and nervous system. I suggest you drink two cups of Homemade Milk Kefir a day.


Here is another weblink for depression cures below:

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/depression.html


Best Wishes,

Natasha

[PomegranatePip]

I started taking homemade kefir and its packed with Vitamin B which im told is a must for depression, anxiety and nervous system. I suggest you drink two cups of Homemade Milk Kefir a day.

Be careful if you cannot tolerate milk or even just casein. Some people experience psychiatric symptoms due to the body's reaction to casein, and it could make the problem worse (or you could get an entirely new problem such as anxiety). Children with autism often do well when casein is eliminated from their diets, suggesting that it is putting some sort of strain on their already over-taxed systems.

[futureboy]

I'd like to thank everyone who posted about this and also who contacted me directly via e-mail. You have all given me hope that raw might cure me indeed.

I do believe the body is capable of self-healing -- the body wants to be healthy. I might just have to give it a push in the right direction. :)

I'm going to go raw for longer now--60 days. Maybe I could go "raw until christmas" or at least high raw. And I'm going to be doing 3 days of resistance training, 2 days with kettlebells, 4 days of interval training, and 3 days of bikram yoga -- all to speed up detox and help me rebuild myself.

I'll let you all know how it goes. :)

[puzit19]

I had those crazy feelings in my head aswell.. and they drove me crazy I thought I'm going mad !!
Than I was "diagnosed" with depression and been on anti-depresants for half a year or so untill I got fed up.. I just felt they mess up with my brain in even a worse way...
I've started 2 months raw on july... and an alternative theraphist a few days right after...
Oh just wanted to mention I did go to see some pshycologists after giving up on the anti-depresants... and it helped a bit... because I took a step to cure myself.. so whole my body and soul got on that track of "healing me" .
Today I'm not 100% raw... I'm dealing with hell lots of emotions and depressions and fears.. but lucky I do eat quite a lot of raw I would say 75% at least (aiming to 100%) and going to my theraphist to help me deal with it- going through healing and voice theraphy etc...

My crazy "headaches"-preasure has almost gone with raw...
And I think I've opened my eyes and got to listen to myself more through raw.. I got more conected to myself and much happier about life...
I do enjoy it eventhough I'm going through some slow healing, but I'm thankfull for that I guess that's the way my body soul and mind wants it...
I follow my instincts...

I also lately found that Candida causes presaure in the head and depression :eek: still checking on about it... but I know raw can cure candida... so LOL there's my answer...

If you think you are strong enough to face it yourself than do it :) You are the only one who knows how to heal yourself - just listen to yourself...and follow the instinct...

Btw by the jewish belief and some healing beliefs the body changes, mind and spirit changes every 7 years... so I guess we're on the road for that change...so it has to grab some of your attantion ;)

Good luck on your way,
Would love to hear from you and maybe go through it together
I know how it feels and I hope we will find the light and life step by step, no need to rush..
It took years to get here and it will take some time to get to another way...

Lots of love,
Mary

[tasha92337]

Yes, You are right. I only make my homemade kefir with Raw organic Goat Milk.

[chilove]

Hello there,

I do believe that raw can cure depression and other so called mental/emotional issues. Going 100% raw cured my depression and anxiety and panic attacks. I currently eat a very low fat, fruit based diet and feel better than I ever have! I am happy and at peace 99% of the time and I feel very blessed to have discovered raw.

Blessings,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com